Virtual Tidings

You know what they say about the best laid plans? They often go awry.......or in our case, my plan assumed to much about the speed of our timeline and that our sweet little miss would be home by Christmas or at least soon afterwards (since, you know, we got our referral last February).

However, the "plan" that I am referring to above has to do with Christmas cards.

Yes.

Christmas cards.

Our annual touch base with our far-away beloved friends & family. This Christmas my plan was to delay our much anticipated (sarcasm implied) Christmas card and witty Christmas letter (written by the real writer in the family, the hubs) to our regular peeps/family. Instead of our annual expected tidings, we would send out those tidings a little later by way of Little Miss's arrival announcement and first full family picture!

Great plan, right?

Well, it sure would have been - except now it is looking like Little Miss's arrival in the states won't be until February at best.  And, believe it or not, guilt is getting the better of me. All of these beautiful Christmas greetings from friends and family coming in the mail and going seemingly unanswered.

I am here to tell you folks.

You.are.not.forgotten.

Look for it in a month or so :) But for now? This will have to do! Much love to you all ;)

Merry Christmas!

Love, 

The Calders

Great pic - right? Happy Tidings to YOU!

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In the celebrating of Christmas I would be remiss to not point to the why we celebrate. 

Take time and reflect in the wonder of it all. 

The birth of Christ. 

The birth of CHRIST. 

Not the beginning of time, but the start of the story. The enacting of the plan spoken about from the beginning. The kickoff of the redemption plan. The incarnation. The Almighty not only stepping INTO mankind, but starting at the lowest spot imaginable. Savior of the world - helpless babe. 

Let Christmas be a day, a season, where we sit and soak in how much we are truly LOVED. That redemption plan? For you. Oh, how you are Loved. Loved so much that the God of the universe, knowing we would sin and how that sin would separate us from Him, made a way. 

Take a step back and look. It is truly magnificent.

Isaiah 9:6

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given, 

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace

there will be no end.

He will reign on David's throne

and over his kingdom,

establishing and upholding it

with justice and righteousness

from that time on and forever.

The zeal of the Lord Almighty

will accomplish this.

Update (with ACTUAL news.....)

Believe it or not we finally have an update with NEWS in it! 

Late last week our agency informed us that we were not only submitted to court (which is what we were waiting on), but that our 1st court date (the one we do not travel for) has been assigned and will take place during the second full week of January. Although obviously we were hoping for a closer date, due to the upcoming holidays, the delay was inevitable ;) But having an actual date in time? Amazing. Especially after having experienced multiple unknown timeline waits like we have throughout. I'll take the 3ish weeks away, thank you (.......now that I've processed through the initial disappointment of it being that far away, come on people, I'm human!). So what *should* happen is soon after that day we will be assigned our court date, which means that we get to travel! Oh my heart. How I have been waiting for that day!

Not only that - another unexpected blessing/update happened just this morning. One of my adoptive mom friends, who is in country for court for her well-waited for little love, was kind enough to act as a pack mule and bring my girl a much needed case of formula. Which in itself is awesome. What is even MORE awesome is that my friend was allowed to see, hold and interact with little miss for awhile. Sigh. What amazing news it was to wake up to. To have someone lay eyes on my girlie. To give me little tidbits of info that I'm dying for daily - things such as how little miss can now stand all by herself when holding onto a table. (Little miss loved to stand when I visited in late August - but it was only holding onto hands, she was not steady or predictable enough to put her up to "cruise" on anything or support herself). Unbelievable. Especially thinking of her size, what that must look like her standing there alone. She is such an itty bitty girl.

Ahhhhh.....Good day!

We can not express how much it means to have people praying for little miss, for us, for this process. Please continue to do so! Please be praying for her to stay healthy, for favor throughout the rest of our process and for us to rest in God's timing! I never would have thought it was possible, but it is getting harder and harder the closer we get - I so badly want to get to this sweet little one and at 10 mo. since we accepted her referral, we are ready to stop seeing her grow up in pictures (although we are extremely grateful for weekly update pics) and ready to watch her grow day by day here in her HOME!

Update week #41

It has been 41 weeks since we first saw Little Miss's sweet face. As pregnancy typically last 40 weeks, I am officially one week overdue with this sweet child ;)

I can not adequately express the joy this week's update pics brought - not only are Little Miss's bitty baby hairs in sweet puffs for the first time (at least the first time we've seen them), she is also solidly sitting AND she has apparently been packing on the ounces.......as she is now 12lbs. 11oz. Which means she has put on over a pound in under two months. THIS IS HUGE PEOPLE!!!! It took her from June to October to put on just one pound. Wowza. So excited!

Thankfully the last 2 months have been passing quickly - between the T-shirt fundraiser, transitioning at church and Tori B-day/Christmas - if it had not been for these things on top of the regular mom & household duties? This mama might be going bananas! (there is the potential that I might have already crossed that crazy line, since I am now apparently using bananas as a descriptor)

As far as where we are in process? What is next? Well, early this week our agency received the documents they need in order to submit us to court, so all we are waiting for is word that we've been submitted! Once we are submitted an assigned court date will follow. We still don't have an idea on timeline, it *should* be somewhat soon, but *should* obviously has a very loose meaning to us, since everyone knows how our timelines have shaken out in the past ;) I do know that come early January, it is going to become harder and harder not to hop a plane and head over!

Please continue to pray for our process as we are coming up towards the finale. For Little Miss's health the final stretch of her wait, for continued peace in God's timing, for the hearts of our three kiddos staying stateside while we travel and for wisdom in our preparation.

PAIR letter......has arrived!!!!!!!

Can you hear me shouting for joy, no matter where you find yourself on the planet??????

Ahhhh.......isn't it beautiful?

Maybe only to a mother's eyes ;)

The PAIR letter arrived just this afternoon, and let it be known that my children are going to be thanking the good Lord that it was just in the mailbox, not hand delivered. MONTHS ago I told Tori (jokingly, well somewhat jokingly) when the PAIR letter arrived? It would be so exciting I would literally kiss the mailman. I had forgotten all about it, until last week when we passed our I-604 investigation, and the PAIR letter in the mail was imminent. Tori's second response (her first response was cheering wildly at the news) was to say within 5 seconds, "Oh no! That means mom is going to kiss the mailman!"

Ha!

So for all you folks not fully submerged in our adoption timeline, what does this mean?

It means that we can be submitted to court!!! (hopefully in the next week) All that will be left after that is to wait on a court date for little miss which means we would have our date to travel!

Of course, between now and then is massive thinking through every possible need and scenario that we could potentially encounter while we are in country until we can bring Little Miss home (hopeful for an only 3 week stay).......which means MASSIVE list research and writing on my part, the resident Calder planner of the Jason & Cheryl duo :)

Thankfully I have time on my hands for extreme list prep - because I just finished updating 12 documents, yes TWELVE docs, in our over 2 year old dossier - that will need to be sent along with our PAIR letter. All of these documents need notarizing, state certifying and authenticating before heading over to be submitted. Whew. Crazy - yet I love it (did I mention I love a good list? Keeps the mind occupied and purposeful!)

Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Giving Thanks

I am overwhelmed with how much I have to be thankful for this year, much of it unfolding in the last few weeks. Let me count the ways.....

• We awoke this morning to a glorious email from embassy letting us know that our case passed the I-604 investigation TODAY. Praise the Lord!!! We should receive our official PAIR letter in the mail stating this in the coming week. This is a HUGE step forward in our process, this PAIR letter enables us to be submitted to court soon!

• One of the documents had a blessing in the details that we weren't expecting. Pure love.

• The T-shirts arrived!!!!! They are super-soft and awesome. Can you tell I love them? Ha! If you ordered a T-shirt, I will be getting them to you ASAP, but unfortunately due us to going out of town for the holidays, most deliveries and mailings will take place early next week.
  
  
  

My uber cute model :)

• Updates today showed a smiley Little Miss, who has put on weight AND sitting unsupported.....might not seem like a big deal, but believe me, it is. Little things make a big difference in relieving a mama's heart.
  

  

  Lovin' the oversized socks!

  
  

• A friend, who is in country right now, had news for me today that Little Miss is beginning to crawl! Be.still.my.heart. Go baby girl, Go! 

• Blown away by the provision that God has orchestrated in ways we honestly could have never imagined in our most craziest out there dream. More details to come later.....but needless to say, Ephesians 3:20 "Now to the one who can do infinitely more than all we can ask or imagine according to the power that is working among us." has been on continual repeat in my head as I shake it in absolute awe of what God is doing.

• Then throw on top of all of that ^^^^^ the fact that I have a family that is healthy and safe, friends that are like family, have all my needs provided for....even the ones we most take for granted - running water, food choices, toilets, cars, heat, ample clothing? Oh my.

 God is good.

I'm not deserving in the least. Unmerited grace. Unmerited favor.
Oh the love He has for each one of us.
 
Throwing in a song for good measure.....Love this one!

How Can it Be?

Lauren Daigle

Ups and downs

Ever wonder what a week looks like in the adoption process? 
(or does the thought of that scare your socks off?!?!?!)

Come. Take a little ride with me through my past week. It's a doozy.
This also serves as an update.

Monday (11/3) - Down - another week starts with us still waiting for a document requested by embassy to arrive (current wait time: 4 weeks)

Tuesday (11/4) - Up - find out via email, from our agency, that the document HAS indeed been obtained. Document must be translated before it gets turned into embassy.

Tuesday (11/4) - Down - the news in the email above ^^^^^ although good, is sent wrapped in not the nicest word choices. That definitely proved to suck some of the "we finally got our document" joy out of the moment.

Wednesday (11/5) - Up - Tshirt design turned out amazing......unveiled to the public (sounds dramatic right? All tens of you - ha!). Honestly, I was excited. Worst case scenario, even if the T-shirt thing would happen to turn into a flop? I LOVED the shirt and couldn't wait to have one (and deck my fam out in one) myself!

Thursday (11/6) - Up - Update week #38 on Little Miss comes a day early. Little Miss's age is correctly reflected (for the first time since June) in her updates AND she is wearing what we sent for her birthday. Check it out below.......her birthday outfit was chosen based on what needs the foster home has (practical shirts/pants) since pretty much after a quick photo, it obviously becomes public property for all to use. Also, for size reference, this is a 0-3mo. outfit.

Friday (11/7) - Down - emailed embassy to ask if the translated document obtained by our agency early in the week had been turned in. It had not.

Sunday (11/9) - Up - Due to an awesomely shared T-shirt link on FB, found out that we have a close connection to someone who has a home in Addis, because of this we might have an opportunity that we could have never imagined.

Monday (11/10) - Down - Email from embassy stating that the document was indeed turned in by our agency, however it was the wrong document. Five weeks of waiting for nothing, it appears that we are now back at square one. (oh the ugly crying that went along with this news.......)

Tuesday (11/11) - Up - God's mercy is new every morning. Nothing has changed in our circumstance, in fact things seem utterly ridiculous in light of yesterday's news. However, because of the extreme ridiculousness my heart is encouraged. The last time things were out of whack in seemingly epic proportions? God had already given us a word months before that we needed for that exact moment, for hope to rise up.....and then God moved big time. This time? Again epic proportions of ridiculousness. No specific word, but we are watching God orchestrate some things presently that are beyond what I ever thought possible, and again, hope is rising up. Unexplainable hope. I am believing that God is going to move.

Seriously crazy, right? When thinking about the Up, down, up, down of this process I had a song in my head that wouldn't go away and I couldn't think of the source - but then I figured it out. Boundin'. Ever see that short animated Pixar cartoon? About the sheep all fluffy & fine? Then he gets shorn? And the jackalope comes bounding by? I'd attach it here - but I can't. So you'll just go look it up yourself. Anyhow. Not that it is our exact situation, but bound and rebound, because sometimes your up and the next thing your down!

Whew. So there you have it. An updated week in review. Although I am thankful that normally our weeks don't have quite so many valleys and peaks as this last week, this is how we've lived for so long......it is exhausting. Can I just send a HUGE shout out to my real life family and friends walking through all of this with us? Day in and day out as this news comes in? Up.Down.Up.Down. They are living it right along side us - although their emotions aren't quite as extreme as mine (with the ugly crying), they experience sheer frustration when we do, and show such love and loyalty. I just wish little miss knew just WHO was in her corner advocating for her. I know it myself and I know how much I need it. The advocating. Having others come along beside us and cry with us, be mad with us, want to tackle people for us (Tracey - ha!). It is so appreciated you all. So appreciated.

Thank you to all those who have ordered T-shirts so far! The sales of these fine T's are still going on if you'd like one (it's pretty obvious that they are awesome). They are $20 for super soft adult sizes and $15 for youth. I am placing the order next Monday (November 17th). If you want to get in on Team Calder support - you can email cherylrcalder@gmail.com to order OR via paypal by clicking on the donate button in the upper right hand corner of the blog. Why are we having a fundraiser now? All your questions answered and MORE (ha!), just click here.

Please continue to pray for us folks - for little miss's health & growth, for peace in the wait, for breakthrough, for movement, for favor. We believe in the power of prayer and we believe that God will move on this sweet girl's behalf!

Help needed. T-shirt anyone?

Team Calder T-shirt. Yes. It actually says Team Calder

Let me start out by saying that I literally know of no one who has started a T-shirt fundraiser this near the end of their adoption. However, there has been absolutely nothing predictable about our story so far, so why start following norms now? That would just be plain ridiculous.

I, of course, feel the need to explain why are we needing to raise some funds this late in the game. You know the phrase "long story short?" This is not it. In the words of Jason, I am most gifted in the art of making a "short story long".....I love everyone to have back-story - no matter WHAT story it is, and this is no exception. (If you are not a backstory lover, but would like to support us by buying a shirt, here's a tip - scroll to the end to find out how :)

So the long of it is - with all the delays we have experienced it has brought on unexpected extra expenses. Little Miss has been at our agency's transition home since we accepted her referral early March and since that point, we have been paying for her care. We had 7 months of care budgeted (which should have given us breathing room, cost wise).....however, we are currently on month 9 and not done yet (at now $350/mo., as the price increased last month). Due to Little Miss's size, we have also been providing her specialized formula since early June and sending it over by the case, and she goes through one can in 3 1/2 days (which equals a lot of formula purchased over the last 5 months) Add onto that a homestudy update in June and a hospital bill in October? You get a whole lot of things that were not factored into the budget. We have been praising the Lord that thus far we have had the ability to cash-flow (albeit difficult) those extra things out of our budget.

If it had only been those things? We would have been fine. Tight, but fine. However, now our delay has brought us something else that looks to be inevitable.....plane travel around the holidays, most likely in December. What does that mean? Airfare will pretty much be double the price it would have been had we traveled at almost any other time during the year, and when you double the price of already pricey airfare? Oh my. That is overwhelming. Then when you also factor in plane tickets purchased somewhat "last minute" (as there is normally less than two weeks notice to be in country after court dates are assigned)? Oy. We had budgeted for average airfare, not insane holiday airfare.

Those added travel expenses combined with the extra funds we've already cash-flowed in the last 6 months because of the delay? Has left us in the position of needing some help late in the game. Honestly, it is hard to be vulnerable and throw ourselves out there again, especially considering all the support we've already experienced.

But then it hit us. T-shirts. People love a good T-shirt. Since we have not yet done anything with supportive adoption wear (think T's not underpants - because that would just be awkward) AND with so many people following our story? Perhaps this would be a great opportunity and potentially one of those famed Win/Win situations.......people, who have been following Little Miss's adoption story, now would have a chance to step INTO the story - WIN! (and get an awesome shirt to boot!) AND Jason & I could potentially have this unexpected financial strain lifted - WIN!

So - this is your chance to jump INTO the story. Not only will a portion of the cost of the shirt help us get little miss home, but it is also a great way to visually stand with us.

The shirts were designed by Fund The Nations. This company works differently than a lot of companies. The T-shirts are pre-sold before ordering and printing (think how the whole girl scout cookie thing works). This enables us not to have any upfront costs OR left with extra shirts to sell.......there it is again - another win/win!

Awesome, right?

Since the T's are pre-sold AND our traveling is hopefully happening next month - we will only be taking orders for these shirts for a very limited time. 12 days total. Short and sweet (very unlike me or my writing) The final order will be placed on the morning of NOVEMBER 17th. Shirts will be printed in about one weeks time and to you (ready to wear) soon after!

If you dislike T-shirt apparel (although I really can't imagine anyone falling into this category - since personally I'd give just about anything for a good T-shirt, but that probably says something about me), and still want to help? We would obviously welcome that - however keep in mind that we are not a 501(c)3, so any donations would not be tax deductible.

The suggested donation is $20 for adult sizes (standard shirt sizes) and will be printed on a super soft cotton Tshirts. Suggested donation is $15 for youth sizes (Youth XS-L) and will be printed on regular cotton Tshirts. All shirts fit true to size. We will deliver if you are local - but shipping (if needed) is $3 per shirt.

So, how does one go about purchasing this amazing T? There are two options:

1. Click on the paypal "donate" button in the sidebar located at the top right of the blog:

• Enter the total donation amount (which will be based on how many shirts you want)
• Enter payment information (you can either login to paypal, or if you don't have a paypal account just click on "don't have a paypal account?" to use a credit or debit card)
• Then click on "Review donation and continue"
• The next screen has a spot to leave a message for the seller (me) before completing your transaction....please enter the size/s information and quantity you need here. 

2. OR Send an email to cherylrcalder@gmail.com (or PM Jason or me on Facebook)

• In the email include the size/s information and quantity (address if you are not local)
• I will send you our home address so payment can be sent via snail mail by check.
• OR, of course, if Jason or I see you in our daily lives, shirt payment can be in person!

Why did we choose this particular shirt? One Less? Easy. Identity. There are many numbers as to the true number of orphans in the world, some estimates come in at 147 million - but that all depends on how you define an orphan. Are the parents living, but impoverished, so the children aren't in their care? One parent alive, but can't support? Abandoned? A double orphan (meaning both parents have died). The count can vary based on what you are specifically counting. We chose One Less, because regardless of what the stats are - little miss will soon be One Less. One Less Orphan. Her identity will change. Orphan to daughter. Unattached to anyone in the world to attached. Part of our family, forever a Calder (even when she weds and changes that last name - although don't mention that to her dad :) Oh how that reminds me of my own adoption in Christ......

So, what happens if we get blown away by support and take in more than we need? Or what happens if we don't end up traveling during the holiday season? Hard to imagine, but should either one be the case.....it will go towards donations to bring when we travel AND towards things that can only be purchased in country. Plans were already in the works to fundraise for a much needed WASHING MACHINE for the orphanage which Little Miss's story began (the cool thing is we already have some of the funds raised for this specifically do to some amazing friends/family). However, there are so many needs and this is SO where our hearts are, we would not run out of amazing places to put any amount should there be an abundance!

Whether you can help support financially through this fundraiser or not, please know how thankful we are already to have the prayer support and emotional support of those following the story!

One last thing. If you do happen to become a shirt purchaser - for Team Calder - could you do us one last favor? (beyond reading my lengthy "short story long" posts, ha!) Once the shirt is delivered, it would be amazing to have you, your family, or whomever has a shirt take a picture WEARING it - to send to us, for little miss. How amazing would it be for her to someday not only hear about the support for her as we awaited her arrival, but to also see it? To always have a tangible visual of how much she is loved? Powerful.

Oh girl. You are loved.

Thanks all.

*Questions? Need more explanation than described the epic novel I just wrote? Feel free to ask/email cherylrcalder@gmail.com