There's a Reason They Call It PaperWORK

From T.J.,

First, I want to apologize for it being so long since my last blog post.  I know you have all been agonizing over the lack of my witty, informative rantings.  A lot has happened since I posted about us being accepted by CCAI for adoption.  I have been entrenched with loads of responsibilities at work.  I have devoted what little free time I have to working on adoption paperwork with my beautiful wife, and treating her to the most romantic date nights imaginable.  The look on Brandy's face is indicative of our emotions when this paperwork process began.  We were concerned and overwhelmed.  "How much paperwork is there?", you ask.  We are required by our Home Study agency and our Adoption agency to compile an extensive list of documents, photos, and training; some of which overlap with each other.  



A few items are:

Home Study - This one deserves a blog all it's own, but it went very well
12 Hours of Adoption Education
Autobiographies
Child Safety Agreements
Background Checks
Sex Offender Registry Checks
Rankin County Sheriff's Office Checks
Mississippi State Background Checks
Police Reports
FBI Fingerprinting
Medical Health Evaluations
Professional Photos of Family and Friends
Passport Photos
Firearm Statement
Swimming Pool Statement
Petition to Adopt
Employer Letters
Form I-800 Homeland Security Travel Document
Financial Statements
Copies of every personal document imaginable

....and I'm sure I left a few out.

I bought Brandy a Christmas ornament that became our mantra for this entire part of the adoption process. It had an angel standing on the words "One Day at A Time". Once we got started, things really started to click away. We are still hard at work, but we see the light at the end of the tunnel. However, I feel like Punxsutawney Phil. Once we get to the end of the tunnel, I wonder if I will see my shadow and have six more weeks of paperwork.  Nevertheless, we know that what we are doing is driving us toward the goal of bringing home our child.  We hope and believe that will happen in 2014. Today, we actually completed our twelve hours of adoption training.  Here is what Brandy posted on her Facebook:
T.j. Paul and I are done with our adoption training! Yay! It was a lot to take in however we did learn a great deal about what to expect when we get our child home! Feeling a little overwhelmed and excited at the same time. With all the support that you all have shown by praying, donating and encouraging we feel truly blessed beyond words! This journey has taught us that God love is still shining through His people! You guys keep His light shining no matter what because, I promise you, it is making a difference! We have to give a shout out to Ramey's in Florence who donated ALL the paper goods for the soup supper next Friday! Thank you everyone and we love you all!

We are still working and raising money, and being blessed with so many kind words and donations.  This week, we are gearing up for our soup supper fundraiser that Brandy and co. have dubbed "My Cup Runneth Over."   Please see our previous blog post for more information and join us and invite your friends this Friday the 31st.  We have already received pre-orders and donations for the event. Now, here comes the part where we thank our sponsors.  We would like to thank all our friends and family for their personal donations of money, soups, deserts, and time to My Cup Runneth Over.  Also, Ramey's of Florence provided us with a gift card that we used to purchase all of our supplies for the soup supper.  We would also like to thank Wrapro Graphics in Florence for providing the venue where we will host the supper.

Again, thank you all for taking time out of your busy lives to support us in this endeavor.  We are truly touched by your support.  We are constantly reminded and become more and more confident in the generosity of all people.

My Cup Runneth Over: Soup Supper Fundraiser

A lot of people have asked how they can help with the adoption.  This would be a great opportunity!  We're having a soup supper to help raise money for the adoption. Please come by for take-out for you or your family, or stay and enjoy a delicious meal with us to help our child come home! 

Date:   Friday, January 31st
Time:  5-7 p.m. (stay and eat or get it to-go)
Place:  WRAPRO, 2990 Highway 49 South, Suite N, Florence (by the Mexican restaurant)
Cost:   $7 per person
Meal:  Your choice of one of our delicious homemade soups, roll or cornbread, and sweet or unsweet tea.

*We will also have a dessert table and will accept donations for the dessert(s) of your choice.

We want to encourage you to pre-pay through our Paypal account so that we make sure to have plenty of soup available.  Just put a note that the money is for the soup fundraiser.

Thanks in advance for your support and prayers!

Smile, You are Approved! :)

Last time we updated, we were in the process of applying for a new adoption agency.  We had to switch from Taiwan because of issues with New Beginnings and their orphanage partner.  We are still doing our home study through New Beginnings, but our adoption will be through CCAI.  CCAI is a China adoption agency located in Colorado.

We just got confirmation today, that we are approved to proceed with our adoption through CCAI.  There were some things that meant that we only qualify for the Special Needs/Waiting Child program, but that was all we had signed up for anyway.  To me, it was just confirmation that we are following God's will.  Below, is the email we got from CCAI.  I edited it to just show the parts that let us and our friends know what to expect next.

Hi Brandy!

This is terrific! J I am thrilled to say that your CCAI Application is approved! Congratulations! J  Full-steam ahead (with your home study agency as well!) Please open and print the attached Orientation Packet, you will find a cover letter with detailed instructions concerning the documents. Also attached is a Risk Statement that CCAI requires for families who do not meet China’s qualifications in some way (a formality really). 

         

Upon receipt of your signed Risk Statement, Fee Agreement, first fee payment and Service Agreements, we will send you an e-mail with your family’s password that will allow you to access the secured portion of our website and the instructions to download your Adoption Dossier Guide, Home Study Packet and access to CCAI’s online, Hague accredited, Parent Training Program. Please let me know if you are unable to receive this attachment. We look forward to serving you!

Also, we had a really great week in fundraising.  We sold some donated items on eBay, and got a check that really boosted our adoption fund!  Thank you all for your support, whether it be money, items, prayers, "Likes", questions, or encouraging words.

The Great Wall of Taiwan

As you know from previous posts, the adoption was slow moving due to changing in the orphanage in Taiwan. We have since found out that it will take even longer and with no sight to when everything will get back in order. We have stepped back from New Beginnings Agency (they have been wonderful so nothing against them) and we are now starting with the agency called CCAI. This will be a Special Needs Program from China. We are filling out the paper work this week and studying up/praying about each special needs so we can know, for us, the best match. This is a small hiccup in our journey however we have FULL trust in God! We feel as if we are back on track with His will! Please continue to pray for us and our child. Thanks to everyone for your support and encouragement! It is much appreciation! Love you all!

Brandy and T.J

Re-A-Rangered

Well, we have been in the process of adoption since the beginning of this year.  Up to this point, our lives haven't really changed.  We've been filling out paperwork, writing checks, raising money, and we took a physical.  Everything else has pretty much stayed the same......Until today.  Today I parted with my Ranger that I have had since it was new in 1998.  My Ranger and I have been through a lot together.  Today was bittersweet, but as comical as this may sound, selling my Ranger marks the beginning of a new era in our lives.

As funny as all of this must sound, there is a bit of a God story that goes along with this momentous occasion that I would like to share.  As Brandy and I looked ahead to bringing home a baby, we knew that my truck would not be "baby friendly" since it does not have a back seat.  We kind of went back and forth over whether now was the time to sell, or if we could afford a bigger truck.

Now, here's where the God story comes in to play.  Let's back up to one week ago.  I have been feeling a calling to read my Bible more.  I've also been thinking a lot about fasting.  Chip Henderson preached last week about us being children of God, but during the message he also talked about knowing God more by reading the Bible.  After the service, I decided that I would fast my radio in my truck for one week, and listen to a Bible reading plan provided by our church called the L3.  So, for the whole week, I did not listen to music on my drive to and from work, or anytime I drove my truck.  Instead, I listened to my Pinelake app and followed along with the L3 reading plan.  Many times when we fast, it is because we are praying over something, but for me I was just answering a calling.  I'm glad I answered, because I really enjoy my time listening to the Bible in the mornings, but I did not expect any kind of response from God.  I certainly didn't expect to sell my truck.

So, I've given some back story on what was going on this past week.  Brandy and I weren't sure what was the right move, but what we were sure of was that God would provide for us whatever we needed.  So, fast forward to the end of the week.  I had stuck a "For Sale" sign on my dash around Thursday or Friday.  Saturday, I went down to the shop to work on my race truck and get caught up on some stuff in the office and decal shop.  While I was working on some decals, I made a sticker with my phone number to put on the For Sale sign.  I decided on a whim, to get my Mustang out and park the truck next to Highway 49 with the sign in the window with no great expectations on getting any calls any time soon.

Now, get ready for some dynamite stuffed with God powder.  The very next day after I parked my truck, the end of my week long fast, I get my first phone call not long after church.  A guy sees my truck on his way to Hattiesburg to look at another truck.  Later, his wife told me she didn't even know how he saw the small sign on my dash.  He asks me a couple of questions and says that he has a couple of other trucks to look at.  Later that day, he calls to see if I can meet him at the shop.  He takes the Ranger for a test drive while his wife waits at the shop with me.  I explain to her that we are selling the truck to help pay for a bigger truck for our adopted baby.  More dynamite, she tells me that she is adopted and encourages me for what we are doing and shares a little bit about her experience.  After the test drive, I do some negotiating with George, using some skills I have picked up from watching American Pickers.  We shake on it, and they leave a deposit with a promise to return on Monday.  Did that just happen?

Really, I'm exaggerating about the American Picker skills.  I was nervous, and I think I was shaking.  This truck has become a part of me.  Letting go of it was much harder than I thought.  I just felt surreal afterwards.  I was going to say goodbye to something that was with me for a big part of my life.  Still, I felt like I handled it pretty well.  I go to bed last night just thankful to God that he had answered a prayer that I had never really asked him directly.  I just trusted in whatever his plan was.  I went to sleep quite peacefully.  Then, 3:15 A.M. came and I awoke with my mind going in all sorts of directions.  I kept thinking about my Ranger, what I was going to do without it, and whether or not I could find or afford something else.  I kept reminding myself about the confident T.J. who put everything in God's hands and eventually fell back to sleep.

So, this morning I told my dad that I was going to take the truck for a ride to the store one last time.  The buyer couldn't come pick up the truck until after work, so I had to look at my old Ranger all day knowing it would be the last time.  He came this afternoon, we signed the bill of sale, and I watched him drive away.  I feel like my Danger Ranger is going to a good home, but it was weird seeing someone else drive away in "my" Ranger.

I know I am dramatizing a little, but I can only think what other kinds of life changes are we going to make?  How else will we rearrange our lives?  What else are we going to give up?  As funny as all of this is, it was the first change in what I know is going to be a whole lot of changes in our lives.  It's a weird thing to blog about, but it's come at a time that has been sort of a lull for us in the adoption process.  We last heard from the agency that they were in the process of finding a new orphanage to partner with in Taiwan.  They said it would take about a month, so we hope to hear something soon.  Keep praying for us.  We truly feel the support from all of the prayers and donations we have received.



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If you want to support our adoption, we have an account with BancorpSouth under TJ Paul or Brandy Paul called Paul's Adoption Fund.

We also have a Paypal account

Moving to Face Space but not completely

We are dropping the blog and moving the chronicles of our journey to facebook.com/pauladoption

Edit:  Changed my mind.  I like the blog, but we will keep the facebook.com/pauladoption as well.

Spring Forward

Okay, so Spring is here and so is the pollen.  Our thoughts and prayers are with those who suffered damage from the hail storm this week.  For many people, this is the time of year for Spring cleaning, but wait, before you get rid of anything, you may be able to help us raise money for our adoption.  Here's a post from Brandy's Facebook:

 TJ and I are having a yard sale on April 6 in Brandon to help raise money for our adoption! If anybody needs to clean out their closets with clothes they don't wear anymore or make more room we would really appreciate any donations! Just let us know and we can meet you anywhere!

We'll take anything that we can sell to raise money for the adoption.  You can bring the stuff to us, or we can come get it.  Please spread the word.  We want all the junk in your trunks.

No big news on the adoption right now.  Our application has been submitted, but the review committee was all gone on Spring Break last week.  We are just in full fund-raising mode right now.  If you know of any adoption grants or great ways to raise money, we would love to hear your suggestions.

We also want to say a BIG thank you to those who have made donations so far, including this beautiful gift.

One more thing.  I'd like to tell people how they can follow this blog and get notifications when we make new posts without checking the blog constantly.  Does anyone know how to do this?