DA has issued final letter

Exciting news!

The department in Vietnam has issued the final letter in regards to our adoption.  We are now awaiting for the Thai Nguyen province (where Victoria's orphanage is) to schedule a giving and receiving ceremony so that we can book our flights.  The estimated travel time is end of this month or early December.  So excited!!

Prayer needs:

1) We are still awaiting for Part 1 of our Citizenship application for Victoria.  We could still travel without this but it could complicate things.  We would then be applying for Victoria to become a permanent resident which would mean we would likely spend more time in Vietnam.  This would be upsetting because we do not want to be away from the boys for an extended period of time.  Please pray that we will receive this soon!!

2)  It has been very busy around home lately.  I have been working full time to help with the adoption costs.  Anyone who has children knows how hard it is to balance work and family life.  Although we do not like to think of money when it comes to welcoming home our third child, the adoption has been a huge financial burden.  Please pray that we would trust God in His provision and that we would not become overwhelmed with the financial aspect of the adoption.

The boys lately

Isaiah has been doing very well these last few weeks.  He loves Kindergarten and has been fine staying the full six hours minus steroid week.  Steroids make him very emotional/moody so we've decided half days are best for those weeks.  He has picked up a lot of French vocabulary already and enjoys teaching Adam the new words.  Adam as a result knows how to count to five in French and sing some songs in French as well.  So sweet!

Isaiah recently had an appointment at Childrens' where he received chemo in his spinal fluid.  When he got home, he gave "Mouse" the same procedure...poor Mouse!  He even put a band-aid on his back.

Isaiah and Adam both finished their skating lessons.  Both boys loved being on the ice and improved a lot.  Isaiah passed his level and looks forward to more lessons in November.  Adam's classes were all full but I'm hoping we'll still be able to get him into a class.

I think I mentioned in an earlier post their new obsession with stuffed animals.  I was told to make Halloween costumes for Hippo and Mouse so this is what I did for an hour today.

Adam has grown so much lately.  He's wearing 4T clothing which is weird because Isaiah just grew out of 4T.  I think they'll be wearing the same size by the summer even though they are two years apart.  Adam has really been loving reading in his bed.  He knows a few stories by heart which is so fun to listen to.  He has also been giving me some weird smiles when I take pictures.  I just love his spunky personality.

Brothers after church

Family Bike Ride and Light the Night

On Saturday we started off our day with a family bike ride in Port Moody.  Isaiah and Adam have a new liking for stuffed animals and thought it would be nice if "Mouse" and "Hippo" could join our bike ride.  We fastened Mouse to Isaiah's bike with some rubber bands and stuffed Hippo in Adam's jacket.  It made the bike ride just that much better.

We rode to Newport Village at the end of our bike ride for some yummy Halloween cookies.

Later that night, we made our way to Stanley Park for Light the Night, a late night walk with lanterns in support of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  David's mom had the idea of participating this year in honour of Isaiah.

Supporters carried red lanterns, survivors carried white and those who lost a loved one from a blood cancer carried yellow lanterns.

Pumpkin Patch

This year, rather than visiting our usual pumpkin patch in Richmond, we ventured out to Maple Ridge to pick our pumpkins with cousin Joey and cousin Melissa.

It's official!

Vietnam has approved our application to adopt Phuong Lan.  We've been waiting for three months for this!  We're over the moon.

Next steps:

1-Formally accept the proposal (we sign papers and get approval from the province of BC).
2-When the Department of Adoption in Vietnam receives these letters, they will inform Thai Nugyen province (this is where our daughter resides) in Vietnam to proceed with the adoption.
3-Thai Nguyen province will finalize the paperwork and will invite us to come to Vietnam!!!
4-We book our tickets and then apply for Vietnamese visas.

Keep praying that this will happen quickly.  We really want her to celebrate her first birthday here in Vancouver.

Still waiting

The waiting is definitely the hardest part of the adoption process.  We first received news of a possible match on May 23rd with photos of our little girl and her medical report.  Now, here we are in October and are not yet able to travel to pick her up.  We are still waiting for the DA's approval that we can legally adopt our little girl.

We've named her Victoria Jean.  Her middle name is after my grandma who was a foster parent her entire life.  She only stopped when she was dying of cancer in her 80s.  She was an amazing human being and an example to me that our lives should never be lived for ourselves but instead in service to others.

Jesus is our ultimate example of this.  Matthew 20:28 "even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."