Hide and Seek

One of our favorite games is hide-and-seek deep-woods-style.  Hide-and-seek is always fun, but it's even more fun if the person who starts the game doesn't tell anyone else that we're playing.

One minute you're walking through the woods hand in hand with the love of your life....kids running ahead looking at this and that...

...and the next thing you know you're being dragged off the trail and through the woods in search of a tree to hide behind. 

All of a sudden it's real quiet, and it takes at least a minute before anyone realizes that we're gone.  

The first one to notice our absence knows right away - GAME ON.  

He begins his search in silence so he doesn't tip off of the siblings up ahead.


When he finds us, he hides, too.

Next comes a chain reaction as one after another finds us....

until we're all crouched down behind a tree that's no longer big enough.

Within seconds we hear the humming of the ATV.  A big boy is coming.  What perfect timing!  He has no idea we're playing a game.  

Dean signals everyone to "hush" as we hear the ATV approaching.  Blake is looking for us.  He doesn't know we're hiding.  The fact that he doesn't know makes the hiding even more fun.

Miraculously Blake doesn't see 10 people crouched in a pile behind a skinny pine tree.  

The humming of the ATV fades as he heads back to the house.  That's no fun!!  I send him a text.  We've got to have a seeker and all the young ones have become hiders.

Blake doesn't respond.  Hmmmm, that's odd.  He's all about this game.  Still, the humming doesn't return and the hiders become restless.  Before we give up the game, though, I give my Blake a ring.

"Hi, baby.  Whatch doin'?"

"I'm looking for y'all, " he says.

"Um, I didn't hear the ATV?"

"I'm on foot, " he replies.

Sneaky boy!  Time to hang up and huddle close.

Not 5 minutes later, he's won. The boy doesn't even bother putting on jeans and shoes.  Apparently he's pretty confident of victory.  

GAME OVER!  Time to head through the mud hole and back to the house.

Good times with Team Robinson, indeed!

The Final Countdown

We have finally reached the LAST wait in this crazy, beautiful process - the wait for TA....Travel Approval!! 

While our hearts pound and our heads spin at the excitement of our impending travel, we are also very aware of the fact that we cannot travel until we raise the remaining $25,000 needed to pay for orphanage donations, airline and hotel costs and in-country legal expenses.

When God first showed us His plan for another Robinson, we knew we would have to trust Him to provide - to move the financial mountain that stands between us and the children He intends to weave into our family with His mighty hand. 

God has so faithfully provided through each step of this process, allowing us to experience loaves-and-fishes miracles with our bank account, a grant from Jeeah's Hope in partnership with Lifesong for Orphans, and love offerings from both friends and strangers. To date, we have been able to cover nearly $16,000 in adoption expenses.  

We are trusting God to provide the remaining $25,000 needed for Wyatt's and Jubilee's adoptions to be fully funded.

We don't know exactly what this will look like.  We don't know who God will work through or how He will provide, but we know that He will. 

As we've prayed, we've felt the Lord urging us to take a step of faith and share our need....to rid our hearts of worry and anxiety over money that is nothing in the Kingdom of Heaven.

And we will listen to Him.

As the Lord leads, please pray for provision for Wyatt and Jubilee and give to help us bring them home.  We are humbled, honored and so grateful for each and every person playing a part in the gift of a family for two children who will soon be orphans no more!! We can't wait to share with you the next chapter in Wyatt's and Jubilee's journey to a family.

During the next 25 days we'll need to purchase airline tickets and wire money for our orphanage donations and in-country legal fees.

$25,000 in 25 days is a lofty goal! It's a God-sized mountain to move, for sure, but God has shown us that we can expect big things from Him and from His people! 

Will you intentionally pray for Wyatt and Jubilee?

Will you share with those who you think might join us?

Will you give?

DONATE HERE

To donate directly to our adoption fund, tax-free, please look for the TAX FREE DONATIONS information on the lefthand side of our blog or use the direct link above this paragraph.  100% of what you give will be sent to Lifeline Children's Services and applied to our family's account.  

Many blessings to you and yours!!

Article 5 and an Update

As time ticks away and we draw closer and closer to adoption day, every milestone is downright exciting!!  Last Friday our Article 5 was picked up!!!

Isn't that the most exciting news you've heard this week?!?  

Aren't you a tad bit curious about what an Article 5 is and why it is the most exciting news this week?

What it is really doesn't matter all that much, but what it does is the exciting part.  The Article 5 has something or another to do with Wyatt and Jubilee's travel visas.  It is the very last piece of paper needed for their home country to issue Travel Approval - TA, baby!!  TA could come in as little as two weeks - maybe a little longer than that, but it's coming!!!  That's the exciting news!  We're now down to just weeks before our babies are in our arms.

After Friday's exciting Article 5 news, we woke up on Saturday to a beautiful update on Wyatt.  We received his measurements and two precious photos of our little man.  I know the photos are what you really want to see, so without further delay....

He's unbelievably cute, isn't he?  

Riley asked me why he was wearing a headband since his brother's a boy.  It's actually a bone conducting hearing aid.  According to his caregivers, it's pretty effective unless it's really noisy around him.  Uh oh!  It's a little noisy around here.  We'll have to work on quieting things down a bit, I think.  

That dimple is amazing, and those little lips - be still my heart!!  I just adore him.

We're so close to bringing him home, along with sweet Jubilee. I can't wait to get an update on her!

Please keep praying for us.  We are still in need of funding for the final portion of our adoption expenses.  As of right now, we still need to raise $25,000 to travel in May.  God's provision has been perfect throughout this journey, and we're trusting that he will provide what we need to bring home Wyatt and Jubilee.

Thank you following us on our journey!

Many blessings,

Team Robinson

Another 800 Approval

My unhealthy stalking of the PO Box has come to an end.  We have our 2nd 800 approval!!

I sent Blake early this morning down to the old post office in town to check once again for envelopes from the National Benefits Center.

When he came home empty handed, I pouted like crazy for at least 5 full minutes while small children patted me on the back and told me it would be okay.

Never one to pout for long (and too neurotic to not chart), I started charting receipt dates and approval dates and made the decision to call immigration and inquire about the status of our request.  No one answered the phone, so I emailed....and I got a response!!  Our 800 was approved on March 1!! This is great news because it means that our case can be transferred to the US consulate in China.

The email response from immigration also said that as soon as our case was transferred to the consulate, we would be notified by email.  I really didn't think that notification would come today, but it did!! We are cabled!! This might sound like mumbo jumbo, but it's good stuff, folks.  It means that the consulate will now begin working on processing all the paperwork necessary to issue entry visas to our children once their adoptions are complete.

Today, March 8th marks the end of the stateside paper-chase!!!  We're celebrating with a walk through the woods and a relaxing evening of tossing rocks into the pond in this gorgeous weather.

I know Wyatt and Jubilee are going to be so loved and have so much fun with all their brothers and sisters.  I can't wait for them to be home with us!  It won't be long now!  Next up Article 5, TA and CA!

Blessings,

Tamara

800 Approval

The minute I saw Blake up and at 'em Saturday morning, I sent him off to the post office to check for mail.  Having a teenager that can drive is SO handy.  Extra driver = extra person to assist you in stalking the PO box while you wait for envelopes from the Department of Homeland Security.

I was not disappointed by Saturday's post office plunder.

Those little envelopes from the National Benefits Center, containing an I-797C, Notice of Action, turn an ordinary day into a milestone celebration.

OUR FIRST 800 APPROVAL HAS ARRIVED!!

I called my sister to share this exciting news, and she kindly reminded me that she has NO idea what an 800 is.  She confessed that, in fact, most of my announcements make no sense at all.  It seems that all the acronyms I've been slinging around aren't used by the average Jane out and about on the town. I must fix this!!

800 Provisional Approval is a BIG Milestone, worthy of a celebratory Chinese dinner.  This approval comes from the US government and it concerns immigration.  We cannot proceed with our adoption without it.  Immigration has determined that we can proceed with our son's adoption!!  Praising God!!

Since we are adopting 2 children, we won't be able to move on in the adoption process until we receive our second 800, but we're hoping we'll have that one by mid-March.  If that does, indeed, happen by mid-March, we will likely be in China around the first week of May.

We greatly appreciate your continued prayers for our two sweet ones as they wait for us and for us as we continue to seek funds to cover some of the adoption costs.  Right now, with orphanage donations and travel expenses, we are $27,200 away from being fully funded.  I'm tempted to worry at times, but we know that God called us to these children and that He will make a way where there seems to be no way.

If you would like to partner with us financially and be a part of giving two children a family, hope and a future, check out our fundraising page by clicking here.  Even if you aren't in a position to help us financially, check out our fundraising page. There's a video about our family posted there that makes me cry every time I watch it. I'm still in awe of all that God has done in our family and in the lives of the children he's brought to us.  Maybe you wouldn't mind sharing it with a friend or two or two-hundred.  We'd be so thankful!!  Please keep praying for us and praying for the children that wait.

Many blessings,

Tamara and Dean

Jubilee

Today is our baby girl's first birthday.  Actually, it's probably not her birthday.  It's the birthday she was given, though.  And so we'll celebrate and dream about the joy and celebration of bringing her home.  

I've been consumed with thinking about her and praying for her tonight.

We finally chose a name.

Jubilee.  

It's different.

I know.

It's perfect, though.

Try it out a few times, and you'll smile when you say it, too.

You just can't help it!!

Our blog banner is no longer accurate now.  It says Wyatt and Josie.  I wish I could find the file where I created said blog banner so that I could edit it.  I'm too lazy to create another one.  It's okay 'cause we're all about confusion around here.

Happy First Birthday, Jubilee!!

Tornados

It's not uncommon for children from hard places to experience fear that might not make sense to the adults or peers around them. Loud noises or voices, quick movements, sudden changes in plans, inability to access food or water and a number of other things can trigger fear responses in children who have experienced trauma.

Some of Team Robinson are known to struggle with fear responses at times. Learning to identify the types of things that trigger fear responses in our children has been life changing for us. Trying not be actually BE a fear trigger is something I'm still working on. It's sad to say, but I might have been responsible for freaking out my little darlings more than a time or two.

You see, questionable weather is my trauma trigger.  If there's a tornado watch, I will be a basket-case for the duration.  It's just a given.  So, last Thursday when storms repeatedly rolled through Georgia, I was determined to remain calm - you know, be the grown-up and all.  Thanks to the National Weather Service's special alert tone, the phone provided the play-by-play as the storms rolled in.

Just to be neurotic, I decided that we should spend the day in the basement. With an ever-so-calm tone of voice, I asked everyone to put on their shoes...and two people to put on their pants....and then I ushered them down the steps to the basement.  I know they thought I was a little weird for piling them all on the sofa in the back corner, safely under the house, but I played it off cool saying, "It's SO fun to watch movies this way, isn't it?"

I think Olivia rolled her eyes.

And Brooklyn started pushing people that touched her.

When I jaunted up the steps to start lunch, I heard someone say, "She's freaked out by the storm, y'all. Bless her heart!" Nice!!

I happily carried big bowls of mac-and-cheese, green peas and rolls down the steps and to the air hockey table with a big grin on my face, holding back the panicky WE'RE GOING TO DIE expression until I was back in the kitchen alone.

About the time the oven timer went off for the chicken nuggets, I heard the phone alert again....this time a tornado warning in our town.  I made the mistake of peeking out the door and snapping a picture of impending doom. Quick as lightening I was down those steps and face-to-face with 8 beautiful little ones looking to my neurotic face for reassurance.  It wasn't 10 seconds before the tears started, and I felt terrible.

As I was mentally bashing myself for being a poor encourager, the real concern for the hysterical sobs of my young ones became clear.

NUGGETS.  It seems I left the nuggets in the oven.  They would burn up.  We would never be able to eat them.  We may never get to eat nuggets again and now we can't eat them now.  (With my crew, fear about food shortages is always stronger than fear for personal safety.)

I knew that I had to do what any of you would do, risk my life to go upstairs during the tornado to retrieve the nuggets from the oven - because the thought of not eating the nuggets is what freaks out my peeps during a tornado!

Well, as the story goes, the tornado bypassed us....Praise God....100 nuggets made their way into 8 hungry bellies, and we all enjoyed a cozy movie together. All in all, it was a crazy fun day.  At least, that's what my little darlings thought of it.

I am almost certain that just I heard the big girls giggling about me from their beds.  Surely I didn't just hear the word "scaredy cat!!"  I am not a scaredy cat!!  Be nice to your mother, girls!