Esty's Adoption UPDATE!

All this goes on here…meanwhile she waits.

So…the question of the hour:
HOW MUCH MORE MONEY DO WE NEED TO BE FULLY FUNDED?
I so wish I could answer.
Let me explain what is going on for us…
It's a tricky situation.
So…as you (probably) saw on Facebook with our goofy song…we got our TRAVEL APPROVAL!
But…
what we got was word that our travel approval was ISSUED and COMING from China.
That was last Friday.
We hoped and prayed the hard copy would come to our agency on Monday.
It didn't.
Then…a phone call came.
Our sweet social worker had some news: 
…because Esty lives in Beijing, we cannot have an early consulate appointment. They take 5 complete business days to get the passport processed and it is not possible to have anything but a Thursday appointment.
I was crushed.
You see, we had HOPED and PRAYED to return to the city where we lived and served for 2 years. Our hearts have ached to once again visit and share on heart levels all that the Father has been doing among them. We had hoped to do this trip before meeting Esty…but now that we cannot finish the adoption part of our trip until Thursday (which is really Saturday because you have to wait to pick up the visa in the child's passport)…it would make the time away from our other children TOO LONG.
I grieved for a good solid two days.
And I'll cry again if I think about it.
I SOOOOOO wanted to visit with our dear Pretty friends. ("Pretty" was a code name for the people we worked with years ago.)
{ache.}
Anyway.
Our agency is closed all week so they will not have our hard copy of our Travel Approval until next Monday. 
Which, by the way, is Oskar's birthday. (There are a lot of reasons why this is a crushing time for us…and THIS may be the biggest!) (If you do not know, Oskar was our beloved son who ran ahead to Jesus 7 years ago. My Momma's heart always grieves for him.)
So, the timeline now goes: Monday our agency receives the travel approval and applies for our Thursday consulate appointment.
Then we wait 2 more days now 3 more days (because of the New Year holiday) to hear back if we get the consulate appointment we apply for.
IF we got the January date, then we will immediately book flights and go in a matter of days.
This is the best case scenario.
It is also however, the most expensive scenario as flights are filling up on the return leg already and buying just before you fly is ALWAYS EXPENSIVE.
The difference of this is in the THOUSANDS of dollars. 
sigh.
The other thing that is VERY LIKELY to happen is that the date we can apply for in January will be FULL. (There is only ONE THURSDAY we can apply for due to the Beijing requirement and Chinese New Year.) 
Then…
then…
we would have to delay getting Esty out of her orphanage for another MONTH. Or longer.
sigh. Adoption is truly full of opportunities to grow in patience.
We would have to wait until AFTER Chinese New Year finishes…
which would then allow us to go for less money because we would be buying the tickets a good month in advance.
So THAT'S why I can't give a quick answer to "how much more" because even the quotes we have now for flights will still GREATLY INCREASE if we get to go in January.
Bottom line: we need to keep fundraising. (Trust me, 3rd adoption in a row, I am REALLY READY to be done!!)
I promise to let you know when we know!
In the meantime…keep sharing about our Tshirt blowout sale: 

and keep PRAYING for God to fund this thing.
Ask:  *We can raise enough to purchase our tickets on the spot. *That we can get the ONLY January Thursday consulate appointment. *Pray for Esty's heart. Sweet girl is going to have ENORMOUS LIFE CHANGES AHEAD.

Praise God!!! She IS coming home!!!

Give 1 Save 1/Happy Chinese New Year!

Yep, it's totally the year of the SNAKE!!!

Happy Chinese New Year! This week EVERYTHING in China is shut down. This is like our American Christmas/New Years holidays. That means everything we are waiting on...is at a halt.

So...what a cool thing to be featured on the Give 1 Save 1 blog this week!

This is a blog run by a sweet woman who has a heart of gold and wants to see orphans come home to their families!

The premise is simple: 
Give $1 and help save a child from a life without a family.

That simple dollar goes not only to help a child home to his or her family, but it also frees up a bed in an orphanage for another child to come in off the streets.

Oh the power of a dollar!!

So this week, CHINESE NEW YEAR WEEK, the blog is featuring our family and all dollars collected will help us finish up the gap to bring Toby home.

We have $6,700 left.

So I have a favor to ask...

...in addition to following the link and reading about us and donating a buck, would you also share this blog post with your networks? Tweet it, blog it, put it on your Facebook...and Instagram it!!

The power of this week can potentially bring $1,000 in!!

BUT ONLY IF WE HAVE HELP SHARING!!!!

Here's what you want to paste places:

http://give1save1asia.blogspot.com/2013/02/new-week-meet-shaws.html

How can I thank you enough???

Maybe sweet pictures of Toby in our arms will do the trick! ;) (soon, so soon!!!)

Blessings, dear ones!!!

Oh, and Chun Jie Kuai Le! (Happy Chinese New Year!!)