Joy in the Journey

Joy in the Journey adoption ministry asked for adoptive families to submit posts for their blog.  I submitted a post about how God miraculously provided for Nathanael's adoption through amazing friends.  It was encouraging to write that blog post because every word I wrote was a reminder that God can provide in amazing ways for this adoption.  I'm so excited to see what he will do.  If you are interested in reading my post, here it is...http://joyinthejourneyadoption.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-fear-of-finances.html  While you are there, check out their other articles.  They are an amazing resource for families considering adoption, in the adoption process, or already home with their kiddos.  I highly recommend their ministry.  Now go check them out! :)

What's happening?

Hi everyone.  I apologize for neglecting my blog.  I wanted to help you understand why I haven't posted.

1.  There really hasn't been much news to share.  Our agency is referring babies to families at a slow pace right now.  They have been fundraising to meet a new requirement in Taiwan that would enable them (Taiwan Xi En) to place children independently.  They expect referrals to increase once they have met their goal.  ***Good news:  Taiwan Xi En has reached 74% of their goal.  If you'd like to help I have a few more baby bottles where you can collect change to help them reach their goal.  Just comment on this post if you'd like one and I will be happy to get it to you.  You can fill a baby bottle, you can hand them out at work, or you can donate directly here.  God is providing and it is so exciting to see it!!

2.  We have been in full on craft show mode.  You can also purchase our items on facebook here and on etsy here. They make great Christmas gifts! Be on the look out for some deals before Christmas!  Here are some of the items we are making and selling to raise funds for our adoption.
Brian makes wire crosses...

I make several styles of scarves...

 

And Nathanael and I make yummy striped lollipops called Jollypops.  These make great party favors or stocking stuffers and you can choose from several colors...

 

 

Thank you so much for praying for us during this adoption journey.  We really need it!  Waiting is so difficult, yet we know that God is in control.  He has confirmed to us that he will provide for our adoption and we are trusting HIM. 

 

Love to all of you,

 

The Shuberts

 

 

 

 

We are adopting again!

We have felt God tugging at our hearts to add to our little family.  We are excited to announce that we are adopting from Taiwan again.  We have been on a waiting list to adopt for quite some time and just recently received approval of our adoption application. 

Here's how you can help.

“Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.”—James 1:27

YOU are the missing piece!  

Help us bring our baby home from Taiwan.  We need to raise funds for our adoption and we wanted something meaningful for our new baby’s room so that he or she would be able to see who helped to "love them home"

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We have purchased an Asian-themed puzzle.  For each $10 donation you make to our adoption fund, we will write your name or the name of your choosing (your mom, dad, child or grandchild’s name) on the back of the puzzle piece. 

Then when our baby is a little older, he or she will be able to look at the back of the puzzle and see all of the people who gave so they could become a member of our forever family. 

We will post pictures as the puzzle begins to come together.  

So, how do you buy a puzzle piece?  Email me at adoptionrocks4 at gmail dot com.  I will reply with our home address, where you can send a check and the name(s) you want written on the back of the puzzle piece(s).

You can follow our adoption and the progress of this fundraiser here or in our private facebook group.

To the right you will see a fundraising thermometer.  As funds come in for this puzzle fundraiser, I will update the thermometer and you can see how things are progressing for us.

If you cannot give, please know that we understand.  Please follow our journey and pray for us!
Thank you so much!

How'd That Happen?

I did not update here yesterday, but if you are on facebook, you may know that yesterday was emotional and frustrating. After run-arounds from several government agencies, and the help of my congressman's office, we finally got the tracking number for our documents, only to find out that the US Postal Service had no record of this piece of certified mail. This sent us into a scramble because USCIS doesn't keep some of the documents. I was going to hand deliver the documents to USCIS, but wasn't given approval until it was too late to make the 2 hour drive to Metairie, LA before they closed. So, I Fedexed the documents.

That was yesterday. Today, I checked the tracking number with the US Postal Service. I'm not really sure why I did, but.....It arrived at the National Visa Center at 8:48 this morning EST!!! Now how did an item that did not exist, suddenly get delivered this morning? I have one answer that I was able to share with my congressman's office and USCIS: God answered my prayers.

Oh, and you know that Fed ex package? It contained original birth and marriage certificates that we didn't want to send, but felt we had to. Guess what, somehow, it did not leave the Fedex facility last night, even though I was there before they closed. I called and am going to pick them up today!

I say praise the LORD!!!!

Please continue to pray that the National Visa Center processes our documents in time. I don't know about you, but seeing what happened with the documents, my faith has been strengthened!

"He is my strength, my shield from every danger. I trusted in Him, and He helped me. Joy rises in my heart until I burst out in songs of praise to Him." Psalm 28:7

Fingerprinting: Check, Waiting: Check, Check

We completed our biometrics (digital fingerprinting) appointment yesterday with more than a little freaking out on my part! We left 30 minutes earlier than we needed to for the appointment. However, a semi was blocking one lane of traffic on the bridge on I-10 over the lake. It took us over 30 minutes just to cross the bridge. Needless to say, we were late and I was worried that we would not be able to continue with the appointment. Those letters from USCIS can be so threatening, stating that you are abandoning your application if you do not make your appointment time. Anyway, as a newbie, I did not know that they schedule several people for 8 a.m. and we were fine. No problems, Praise the Lord!!!

I am continuing to wait to hear that USCIS has received our corrected homestudy. As of yet, I have requested this information with no response. Please pray that they respond to me soon.

Other than that, we work on the nursery and wait for our court date on March 9th. Please continue to be in prayer for the court date and our birthmom.

Do you see a recurring word in this blog: wait. For now, I am trying to do what the following verse states that David did. I'm trying to improve with the "patiently" part.

"I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry." Psalm 40:1

God's Timing

I was reading Matthew chapter 2 in my devotions this morning. I love reading the story of the Christ-child, especially approaching Christmas. This time I was amazed at the precise way that everything in that chapter fulfilled a prophecy. God's timing was impeccable. He warned the wise men to return another way, in order to protect Jesus. He warned Joseph to take Jesus and Mary to Egypt to protect the Christ-child. Then, He told them to return, because Herod had died and it was now safe to do so. Each one of these things we would view as delays, had a specific purpose. Sometimes the purpose was to fulfill prophecy, "I called my son out of Egypt", and "He will be called a Nazarene." Sometimes simply for the protection and the good of this little family.
As we are waiting for our child to join our family, we have experienced several delays. Right now, we are waiting for the FBI fingerprinting results to come back so that our homestudy can be completed. We have been waiting on this for several weeks. I have found myself impatient for this to happen this week because our social worker is going on vacation the end of this week, and then there is Thanksgiving. We can't be matched with a child until this is completed. God reminded me today that His plan and His timing are perfect. He knows which child or children He has planned to bless our home with. We will be matched with that child or children in his perfect timing. I am going to do my best to sit back and trust Him and stop trying to get answers on my timetable. His is better than mine!

"As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him. For who is God besides the Lord? And who is a Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect." 2 Samuel 22:31-33