Double Dog Dare TODAY.......

Guan Ya is now in the SINGLE digits of days she has left to be adopted!!!!

Today I have a massive headache that is on the verge of a migraine!   Yes, I'm sure it's stress related, but I have GOT to get it controlled before it gets full blown!  Which likely means lying in a quiet dark place....which I of course have NO time for but I don't have time for a full migraine either!

I have not been able to book flights yet, but it is highly likely we will be leaving in 3 days after looking at the flights last night! Next Tuesday, we will be united with our beautiful Guan Ya!  Next Wednesday, we will complete her adoption and forever be a family!

Everyone has done so very much for us that words just do not cover our hearts of gratefulness!  The love you have shown for our daughter is greater than I could have ever imagined!  We pray God will bless each of you as you have blessed us!  I hate to ask anything else of you, but we were given a "match fund" by a family. I know many of you have given so very much of time, prayer, encouragement, donations, & so much more.  However, if you have considered giving a monetary donation, may I ask that you please give today because Guan Ya's donations given today will be doubled for every dollar!  And if you feel led, PLEASE share the following anywhere you would like (FB, blogs, emails, tweet, word of mouth, etc)  We have had $135 total donated at  (=$270) YEAH!!!! Please keep praying & sharing!!  Our goal is to have $1,115 more donated today so if you can help us meet that goal in prayer, sharing, donating any amount, it would help lift a burden from us.

I have a lot to do before we leave and I need to get this headache gone so I can be 100%+.  Please pray that it will be gone ASAP & that everyone will stay well!  I'm trusting you to help spread the word today as I am now going to rid this headace!  We need your continued prayers to carry us through!  

This is the message I posted last night & you are welcome to Copy & Share this message:


Last night we t had an incredible offer from the Reilly family!!!! They have offered to MATCH every dollar donated up to $1,250 that is sent though Guan Ya's paypal account https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=3JP9XTQ2JDMWL 

This is what Mrs. Cathy stated:
"Okay..so here is a "double dog dare" for everyone. The Reilly's will match every dollar donated by the end of the day tomorrow (which is now TODAY)  February 26th, up to $1,250. So, with matching we can reach $2,500. please donate though paypal so they get the funds ASAP.

Kevin(Gracie's BaBa) Cathy (Gracie's Mom) ....And...Matt, Chris, Sarah, YaoYao, Jack, and Mei Mei"

PLEASE SHARE!!!!! If you donate $50, then it will be matched with $50 so for your $50, we get $100 thanks to the Reilly family!!!!

If you've heard me speak then you know about Gracie's room that GiGi was in while in the orphanage in China! We give credit to Gracie's room for GiGi bonding with us so quickly & having less problems with catching up among many other things. If you do not know about Gracie's room, please read about it here and consider donating! I plan to help Barbara McKissick Bennett with her new position with their program when we return from China. This is about Gracie's room:http://www.dianjiangkids.org/#!what-is-gracies-room/c1q5t
(Do you even recognize that little puff ball playing the xylophone?)

COME on, what are you waiting on???? Go donate so it will be doubled and SHARE, SHARE, SHARE! We have not booked flights but we will be leaving on Friday or Saturday!!!! THANK YOU REiLLY FAMILY!!!!!!!

Don't forget our video is featured on Give1Save1Asia
http://give1save1asia.blogspot.com/2013/02/new-week-meet-smith-family.html 

Double Dog Dare You!!!!

O.k. we have just had an incredible offer from the Reilly family!!!! They have offered to MATCH every dollar donated up to $1,250 that is sent though Guan Ya's paypal account https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=3JP9XTQ2JDMWL 

This is what Mrs. Cathy stated:
"Okay..so here is a "double dog dare" for everyone. The Reilly's will match every dollar donated by the end of the day tomorrow February 26th, up to $1,250. So, with matching we can reach $2,500. please donate though paypal so they get the funds ASAP.

Kevin(Gracie's BaBa) Cathy (Gracie's Mom) ....And...Matt, Chris, Sarah, YaoYao, Jack, and Mei Mei"

PLEASE SHARE!!!!! If you donate $50, then it will be matched with $50 so for your $50, we get $100 thanks to the Reilly family!!!!

If you've heard me speak then you know about Gracie's room that GiGi was in while in the orphanage in China! We give credit to Gracie's room for GiGi bonding with us so quickly & having less problems with catching up among many other things. If you do not know about Gracie's room, please read about it here and consider donating! I plan to help Barbara McKissick Bennett with her new position with their program when we return from China. This is about Gracie's room:http://www.dianjiangkids.org/#!what-is-gracies-room/c1q5t
(Do you even recognize that little puff ball playing the xylophone?)

COME on, what are you waiting on???? Go donate so it will be doubled and SHARE, SHARE, SHARE! We have not booked flights but we will be leaving on Friday or Saturday!!!! THANK YOU REiLLY FAMILY!!!!!!!

Don't forget our video is featured on Give1Save1Asia
http://give1save1asia.blogspot.com/2013/02/new-week-meet-smith-family.html 


If you missed the news, we have not booked our flights yet, but maybe leaving out as early as FRIDAY (yes, like a few days!)  We will meet our YaYa on the 5th & her adoption will be completed on the 6th!  In 1 week from today (China time) we will have our forever family of 6 united!  Oh how I love the sound of that!

This was my message this morning  from our precious daughter:
"I am excited to see this video my photo (referring to the video from this posthttp://long-road-to-china.blogspot.com/2013/02/guan-yayoure-coming-home-video.html)
I'm so happy! I would like to see you right now - I know within 7 days! I also hope that it is that soon
I love you!"

Guan Ya....You're Coming Home Video

We want to let http://give1save1asia.blogspot.com/ know how grateful we are for featuring Guan Ya's video on their blog this week!  We will be featured from today to next Sunday.  We love their blog and what they are doing for orphans & adoptive families!  They are truly an asset!  Thank you so much!  If you are not familiar, you can read about them here http://give1save1asia.blogspot.com/p/about-us.html  Their goal is to ask people to give at least $1 each week to the featured family of the week and this week they are featuring Guan Ya's story!  How awesome is that????  

PLEASE PRAY and SHARE so that we can raise the rest of the needed funds THIS WEEK & can travel to unite with our daughter! :)  After you do this, we ask that you will continue to give at least $1 to each family of the week to bring home an orphan!

Our adoption agency has requested us in China by March 4th, 2013 (yes just a FEW days!!!) to bring our daughter, Guan Ya HOME! We are so humbled and blessed to be part of this journey and to be Guan Ya's parents!

We are still short several thousand we were needing prior to travel.  God has moved so many mountains and I know He will provide the funds for this also.  If you feel led to donate, we ask that you donate at this time through our PayPal because we can get our money quickest that way (and we MUST be on a plane NO LATER than a week from TODAY - February 24, 2013 today's date!).  
This is the link to Guan Ya's fund

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=3JP9XTQ2JDMWL

(GoFundMe can take up to a week to get to our account and we need these funds prior to travel.  That is why we are requesting donations for Guan Ya not be made through GoFundMe at this time.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIcsY2YqNoc&feature=youtube_gdata

If you are on a phone and cannot access that link, you can watch it here:

http://studio.stupeflix.com/v/50414rOAhM/ 

Thank you very much to each of you that have helped to get our daughter home!  We are so thankful God has brought us to this point!  We're praising the Lord for everything including making you part of our journey!  We are thankful for your willingness to help us follow His will and give Guan Ya a family!   Without God using others & others following His lead, we would not be able to think about bringing our daughter home!  You will forever be a part of making an orphan become part of a forever family as a daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, & cousin. Please continue to remember us, pray for us (especially Guan Ya), and share our page with others!  Then, watch as God continues to move mountains & change lives!  Thank you for following His will and loving the orphans!  We pray that each of you will be blessed as you follow our journey!

If you aren't familiar with our story, Guan Ya is a beautiful 13 year old orphan that is deaf.  On her 14th birthday (March 9) she will become ineligible to ever be adopted. If  we aren't able to complete her adoption by her birthday, she will forever be stamped an orphan.  God has placed Guan Ya in our heart as our daughter!  Our story is one of Faith, the moving of mountains to reach our daughter in time & the great love for our Father.  Follow our story  here and read about a modern day miracle!  

For those of you that missed Friday's post, here is the message  Guan Ya sent to her Daddy:

"I got your message! I'm in school now! But I wanted to know that you are alright? I'm fine now!  Is mother and brother and sisters alright? I am so missing you, I love you!  Yaya"

If you missed our story from WREG, you can watch it here

http://long-road-to-china.blogspot.com/2013/01/blog-post_23.html?spref=bl#ooid=l0MDlvODok4fyqZhAe1bnCIc0hfGRxOt

You can read more about our family in this post

http://long-road-to-china.blogspot.com/2012/12/and-this-is-our-story.html?spref=bl

We are using LifeLine out of Birmingham, AL if you feel the need to verify our adoption.

Deuteronomy 31:6

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

Proverbs 22:2 (NIV)

“Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all.” 

Pouring like a sponge that can hold no more.....

I was not going to write a blogpost today. However, I'm pouring out tears like a sponge that is being squeezed and can hold no more. When I was called to share our journey with you, I obeyed and I want to share our entire journey regardless of how busy I get.

It has been a roller-coaster tense kind of a few days!  I promise I don't like drama nor am I attention seeking!  The things that happen in our lives cannot be made up!  Our paperwork that has been expedited well........more hangups!  

Surprised? I'm not!  

1.)  Hangups have included the closing of the facility due to a snow storm - trust me when I say this is extremely uncommon!  

2.) Then, we lacked the Chinese documents of  Guan Ya's medical paperwork; we had them in English just not in Chinese.   I went on a great search to find these and did not remember seeing them - good reason why!  The CCCWA did not send these.  I honestly laughed out loud this morning when I figured out we didn't have them.  My contact person probably thought I was nutz (she probably thought this prior to my laughing).  I just said I expected nothing less!  This is just typical for us & I said God's got this!  It's still provokes anxiety but there was nothing I could do about this!    I did think about it for a second & my anxiety wanted to skyrocket because I remembered it was FRIDAY NIGHT around 11p.m. in CHINA where the paperwork sat.  

I mean really - what's the likely hood of getting them today?

Just about the time I started to spiral in a panic, I walk around the corner & see this

and I hear

"Luv Lu tooooooo!"

For those of you that missed it on my FB, this is a guilty look and phrase!

Again, I laughed because what else are you to do when..........well, I'll just say she knew she was in trouble!  

I mean she has the cuteness perfected!

In less than an hour, I get a phone call from our adoption agency.  Our paperwork FROM CHINA was received and sent to our officer so our paperwork could proceed!  Nope, I'm not even kidding!  Again, I laughed and said I'm not even asking because I know this is only by God's hands!

It's not my lack of care that makes me laugh but lack of control so what else is there to do???  Maybe it was just God's way again of letting me know He's got this!

Then, I got a text from Phil.  You see I didn't mention it a lot but he was just torn up for a long while because he knew the odds were not in favor of us adopting our daughter before she aged out.  I mean honestly there was no way to slice it to make it work by looking at everything!  We handle things differently most of the time.  He could not handle the thought of not having his daughter here and the reality of what would likely happen to her!  It was really  more than his daddy heart could handle!  It was no different than being told  this was Macy or GiGi as Guan Ya is equally our daughter in our hearts!

Well, the last week he has started to turn the corner and see the light!  His attitude has changed & as I blog, handle paperwork, etc. he has started nesting!  I love it when he starts to nest!  He has done it with all 4 of our children!  He goes in super Daddy speed to get things done - those of you the know Phil know that it is a defect from birth that causes him to never have this speed! (Love ya hubby but you cannot deny that getting in a rush is not your style!)

This morning during his break, I get a message!  You would have thought God was standing before Him because he was so excited.  (Trust me again when I say I love my hubby but he stays on a pretty flat playing field with his speed, emotions, etc.  For him to get excited it must be something pretty big!

 "Got an email from YaYa!!!!!!!!!!  Forwarded it to ya!!!  

This is really happening!!!" 

(I wish I had Emoji icons on my keyboard because I think he used them all at a minimal of 3xs each!  I didn't know he knew all those icons!  That's how I knew that boy was excited! )

I opened my email to find the sweetest message Phil had sent from Guan Ya to her Daddy!

"I got your message! I'm in school now! But I wanted to know that you are alright? I'm fine now!  Is mother and brother and sisters alright? I am so missing you, I love you!  Yaya"

Oh be still my beating heart!

 Well, he was OVER the moon excited and I was too!  What a precious child God has blessed us with!  This is the point where the tears began to rush like a sponge filled to the max and being squeezed!  Oh baby girl, we will be there soon!  Have I told you how much we love her and how humbled we are that God picked us of all the people in the world to be this sweet girl's parents?

It has been a fight to get her home 

and I don't regret one second of it!!!!

I will also tell you this too about her teddy bear Daddy!  See the girl's are always Daddy's girl's here!  If Mommy says "No", Macy will say, "I knew to ask Daddy first." Yeah, they are the apple of Daddy's eye & they so love their Daddy!   Obviously Guan Ya will be no different!  She has him wrapped just like the other 2 (Colt is more Mommy's boy but NOT the girls!)

On Sunday, I will share with you a special short video (only about 3 min) I made of our journey!  I showed it to Phil last night and he cried!  Wait, do you remember this is the man that basically cries over NOTHING!  It's just Phil & he just doesn't cry so if something makes him cry it's a pretty stinkin' big deal!

O.k. there are my ups & downs & shining daughter!

PLEASE don't forget about our fundraiser tonight!!!! 

It's from 5:30-7:30 & you can drop by and get a to go plate if you cannot stay! There has been a lot of hard work put into this fundraiser by some very special friends so PLEASE come and make it a success!!!

AND Don't Forget to BRING YOUR CHANGE!

 Thank you!

( I told you I cannot make it short!)

Final Push......

This is AWESOME!!! 

$21,355.00

We need one more push to get this met  ASAP!!!

 Please read on our other site about the $2,000 in 

fees they charged us on the $22,500. Our $22,500 goal still 

lacks $3,360 ($2,205 due to GoFundMeFees & $1,145  to

 hit our goal) GoFundMe charged us fees but didn't include  

their deduction in our total met. 

PLEASE KEEP PRAYING & SHARING!!! 

I know we can get this knocked out 

within the next 24 hours 

if you will just help us by sharing again!!!!! 

Thank you!!!! 

YOU 

ALL 

ROCK!!!

GoFundMe may not like my big fat green $ eating 

GoFundME monster! lol

http://www.gofundme.com/240pg4?utm_medium=wdgt#description

So we now have 2 GoFundMe sites to try and clarify why we were lacking $2,205 more due to fees.  

The one directly below the green $ eating monster 

& our original GoFundMe account here

http://www.gofundme.com/longroadtochina?utm_medium=wdgt

You have blessed us so very much already!  I cannot wait to show Guan Ya how many people love her!!!!

Would you help us with this last push????

It's a 24 HOUR PUSH to get the remainder funds ($3,360)

 online met.

If you are willing to pray for this need to be met within the next 24 hours, please place your name & location below this post.

We will be traveling in less than 2 weeks. 

I'm honestly thinking we could be traveling in one week.

So if you are willing to share & pray for this need ($3,360) to be met we would be most grateful!!!

John 14:13-14 

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me  

anything in my name, I will do it

Lord you have been so good to us!!!  Thank you for all the blessings!  I praise & glorify your name alone!  You know our need and I have Faith you will provide!!!  Thank you for all your wonderful servants that you have sent our way to fulfill your will for Guan Ya!  I'm sorry when I doubt your abilities & my faith lacks!  I give it all to you Father!  You have my heart & my life!  I praise you for the people that follow our blogspot and I pray that you will give very special blessings to each of them as they have blessed us!  

I Love you & thank you for always loving me!

Please be with our precious Guan Ya!

O.k. I need something from all of you....

I'm pretty positive you will want to read to the end of this post to find out  about newest news.  I'm going to make you read all of it before you read about our miracle child! :0)

O.k. I need something from all of you!!!!!!

I mean we are getting our daughter!

First,

 I NEED YOU TO PRAY for Guan Ya & for all of us!  

She is so excited to get a family but the transition at the age of 14 years old couldn't be the easiest.  

We need to have her a birthday party when we get back to the US.....whatchathink??? 

Getting everything together to go to China has not even crossed my mind until last night!

SECOND, 

I NEED YOU TO PRAY for our FUNDRAISERS  to be a SUCCESS!!! AND PRAY FOR THOSE that have spent many, many  long hours to make it a success!  PLEASE come join us & bring friends because our hosts have put so many hours into these & without people, there cannot be success!  That is just disheartening when people have worked so hard to prepare!  So I'm not even asking you to come for me, but come to show the ones hosting it how grateful you are for their long hours spent to prepare it!

Just as a bonus....GiGi will be there! :0)

We still have our 31 ONLINE Fundraiser here

https://www.mythirtyone.com/shop/eventhome.aspx?eventId=E2816094&from=DIRECTLINK&verify=true

This fundraiser is only happening another 5 days.

Restaurant Coupons

 http://coupaide.com/deal/smith-adoption-fund/

Change a Child's life 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Change-A-Childs-Life/430628360341115

We would like to get a total on the amount of change collected next week so if possible please turn it in by this weekend!  It's still not too late to collect it!  This is a great way to get your kids involved and they love to be a part!

We ARE still doing our 300 puzzle pieces and drawing

 http://long-road-to-china.blogspot.com/2013/02/new-fundraiser-u-do-not-want-to-miss.html

Once donations started coming in, the puzzle piece buying almost halted completely.  We still need to sell these pieces to help pay for prior fees.  In less there is another miracle (which is absolutely possible!) we will not be drawing for this until after we return from China & can sell more pieces.  Again, that depends completely on YOU and how many pieces we sale.  Our puzzle for Guan Ya needs to be completed before we draw for the prize! :0)

THIRD

SHARE our Fundraisers & STORY 

& CONTINUE Following!

Now the part you've been reading for, but please take my above requests to heart!  We need prayers & I pray daily you will be blessed by our journey!

I do not know what had happened to communication between us & Guan Ya!  The last I had heard from her she would not be able to contact me for a day or 2 because of exams.  That was in January.  I've messaged her almost daily even though I wasn't getting messages from her.  Sometimes my message just said  we loved you!  TODAY I got a message from her- first since January! 

"Long time and you did not contact, but I have to hear from you! I miss you, I love you! Guan Ya"

She must not have been getting my messages!  I cannot tell you what it means to hear from her again!  Oh we love our daughter!  Tears again are falling to hear from her!  We are coming soon baby and we do not have to worry about emails not getting to you!!!!!  We will be able to hold you and give you the love you deserve!  I'm humbled to be this miracle child's mom!

When I look at our countdown pictures

They have such a different meaning!  

I know that I will be united with our daughter within the next 15 days!  

I have been super excited but the realization just struck me last night between 11-12pm.  I woke up Phil and he wasn't amused with me shaking him yelling like a mad person

"Phil, PHIL, PHIL!!!!! 

WE ARE GOING AFTER OUR DAUGHTER & SOON!!! 

 LIKE VERY SOON!!!!!!!  

GUAN YA IS COMING HOME!!!!" 

He grumbled something in his sleepy state about

 'yeah, I know!  We need to pack!'

I said "YES, WE NEED TO PACK!!!!"

He grumbled but not now!

Me:  Oh yeah, I need to sleep!

My heart was racing and my mind was about to blow up with the magnitude of everything!  I'd been in fight mode so much about going to get our daughter that it has been hard to grasp WE ARE GOING TO GET OUR DAUGHTER!

The shock wore off and total excitement exploded last night so what else is there to do but text your best friend at this time of night - right? :0)

She was like "Yeah, I know!"

Well, how did everyone else know this and not in shock as I'm yelling it from the tops of my lungs....oh yeah, I guess I told you all & You got it!  I was delayed in the magnitude!

WOW!!!

Getting Guan Ya's message this morning, just shot my excitement into space!

We will be leaving in less than 2 weeks!!!!  We are so blessed by each of you!!!!  THANK YOU for being part of this journey & being a part of bringing home our daughter!!!!!

We love you all!

WOW!!!!!

Wow!!!!  What a difference a day can make!!!!!!!!

Lots of updates and lots of things changed!!!

First of all the question everyone has been wondering & I finally have an answer!!!  Where are we at in the process?????  I've not been dodging this question but I honestly did not know.  When you expedite an adoption things do not go in typical order so it was somewhat unclear to me where we were at until today.  

Today, we found out that we were

LID  February 6

Today we got our LOA!!!! 

 That is awesome news!!!  

Next question - so what's next??? 

Our 800 was already turned in weeks ago & waiting the LOA.  The LOA will be emailed tomorrow to the USCIS.  Then, it will be asked of the USCIS officer to overnight our 800 to the department that is in charge of cabling us.  We will need an appointment to the Guangzhou consultant in China.  However, the very worse case  at this point is that we would travel without the Guangzhou appointment and obtain that after in China.  I am not concerned if we need to do this and this is worse case! 

HEY, DID YOU HEAR THAT?????  

The tables have completely turned 

WE ARE GETTING OUR DAUGHTER!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 Do YOU hear me screaming with excitement?????

I have the dumbest looking grin on my face!!!!!  

GLORY TO THE HIGHEST!!!!

 PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!!

I am humbled to be the mother of Guan Ya!  

I have cried for thanksgiving! I have sat here in pure shock that we ARE getting our daughter!!!!  I really don't know what else to say!  I know you are all excited too!!!!  I hope this answers your questions!!!!!!!!

I've got to think about packing but right now, all I can think about is holding our daughter and seeing her for the first time!!!!

In the next few days, we should know more about travel dates.  Of course I'll update you!  You are part of this beautiful orphan girl NO LONGER being an orphan!!!  

For her 14th birthday, she will get her forever family as her present!  

I'm not sure we will be able to top that gift in the future years! :0)

Don't forget about saving your change and the fundraiser on Friday.  Right now I've got to sing praises & stop grinning so big because my face is already hurting from smiling!!!!!

Guan Ya, daughter, here we come!!!!!  

Oh how we Love you baby girl!  

We love you too!!!!  Don't stop following or sharing our story or praying!!!! 

 Over the last few weeks, you have witnessed a modern day miracle!!!!  

Shout His praises & share our page so others can see the miracle unfold to the fullest!!!!!

ALL GLORY to the KING

THANK YOU!!!