NEWS!!!

We are so happy to report progress in our adoption.  Our home study is complete!  We received it in the mail yesterday.  Our next step is to send our application to USCIS (immigration), which brings me to the next subject...fundraising.  I really dislike asking for money, but we are passionate about obeying God and following James 1:27. We have an immediate need of around $7,500 for our referral fee, USCIS fees, Nathanael's passport, etc.

View our profile on AdoptTogether. This is a crowd funding platform where our friends, family, and even strangers can donate to our adoption. And it is tax deductible!  For more information on AdoptTogether and how it works, watch the video on the right sidebar.

We have a profile at www.adopttogether.org/shubertfamily.  Please consider giving.  Any amount will help us reach our goal!  You can also help by sharing our profile on facebook or twitter.  Prayer is always a great support for our adoption.  We need it.

Thank you friends and family for your love, support and generosity!  You have purchased 15 puzzle pieces which is $150 toward our goal! Pictures of the puzzle coming soon!

April 20th to the present

We arrived home on April 20th. We were overjoyed for our family and friends to meet our sweet baby boy! Upon leaving the airport, my mom wanted to ride with her grandson. So, I let her and I rode with my dad. Nathanael, quite worn out from being so sick and traveling for 23 hours, began to cry. They pulled over so I could get in and comfort him. My mom informed me that he was wheezing. Not what a new mom wants to hear upon arriving home!

I immediately called a good friend, Lori Weimer, who helped us get in to see a doctor that day. What followed was the longest, most exhausting week of my life. We ended up being at the doctor's office everyday that week. During the week, he began breathing treatments, had chest x-rays, spiked a fever over 105 degrees and had a Urinary tract infection, resulting in him being hospitalized for the weekend. Did I mention that Brian was also sick upon arriving home and we were experiencing jetlag? We would have never made it without the Lord's help to multiply our strength and send in reinforcements in the form of Libby Sellers and Brenda Visser. Both of these lovely ladies are nurses who each stayed a night to help us monitor Nathanael prior to him being admitted to the hospital.

All that being said, that week taught me that with the Lord's help, I can handle A LOT more than I thought I could!

Nathanael has been healthy since that time. He has the occasional stuffy nose, sneezes, and occasional cough. This mom with allergies thinks he suffers from them as well, but only the seasonal kind and nothing major.

Since we've been home from Taiwan, Nathanael has been able to meet most of my side of the family and some of Brian's. He has met his church family and has many "aunts and uncles" who love him. I am staying home with him and loving it, even though I've become a bit of a hermit. =)

He has learned the following things since we've been home: rolling over from his back to his tummy and back over to his back, sitting up for periods of time, squealing, spitting and sticking out his tongue, grasping toys and mommy's hair, and wrapping pretty much everyone he meets around his finger! Praise the Lord for this precious, giggley, smiley, healthy baby boy!

Arriving Home

After 23 hours of travel, we were ready for final descent into Mobile Airport! The trip was amazing. God had been good to us and we were counting our blessings and feeling the jetlag at the same time!

Our sweet friends and my parents met us at the airport. What a wonderful welcome Nathanael received. It was a giant celebration of God making a family.

PRAISE THE LORD

I am pleased to announce that our paperwork arrived in Taipei. I receieved a call tonight from THOGL to tell me that everything looks great. We are leaving Sunday to go get our son!!!!

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

So What's New?

1. Nathanael is doing well. He remains on medication, but the doctor doesn't feel he needs a follow up appointment.

2. He gained lots of weight in the hospital. In fact he gained so much weight that the ladies helping to care for him nicknamed him "sumo"! :0)

3. The National Visa Center has issued a search for our documents. Also, our congressman's office has sent our information to their contact to try and help get the approval sent to Taiwan.

Please continue to pray and trust God with us!

Court Hearing

I love when I get emails from Ted Skiles that begin with the following verse: "Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land.” Proverbs 25:25 We got good news last night. He said that court went "just fine" and that we can be preparing to travel about a month from now! We won't know exact travel dates for a couple of week probably. Praise the Lord for answered prayer and thank you all for praying!

"I prayed for this child and the Lord answered my prayer and gave him to me." I Samuel 1:27 NCV

USCIS update

I received an email just now from USCIS stating that there was a continued problem...BUT they had talked with my social worker for the homestudy and she is bringing in a correction. Once they have received the correction from her....wait for it...wait for it...THEY CAN SEND ME AN APPROVAL LETTER!!! Thank you so much for your prayers! Please continue to pray for our courtdate which will be Monday night at 8:15 p.m. CST.

fingerprinting and prayer

We received our letters for our fingerprinting appointment on February 22nd. We are so excited. The glitch has not been explained, but I am hoping this means it is resolved. Thank you all for praying.

Our court date is March 9th in Taiwan. Please pray for our birthmom. She has been on my heart lately. I can not imagine how hard it is for her. I keep remembering the story of Hannah and how she gave up Samuel to live with the priest, Eli. She had promised to give him to the Lord. I cannot imagine making the choices these two women have made. What bravery! Yet, what pain at the same time. I am praying that God is the God of all comfort to her for making this brave choice. Will you join me in this prayer?

Court Date

We have been assigned a court date for Nathanael's adoption. It will be March 9th at 10:15 a.m. Taiwan time. Please pray for Nathanael's birthmom. This day should be a happy day for Brian and I, but a sad one for her. It is not easy to choose for your child to be adopted. Please pray that she receives the comfort of the Lord.

Please pray that we receive notification of our fingerprinting appointment soon, as well. We do not want to be delayed in going to get Nathanael, due to a delay in the fingerprinting.

God is so good. We are so excited about the court date! We can't wait to bring home our sweet baby boy!

"Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land." Proverbs 25:25

Nathanael Is Coming Home From the Hospital.

I received an email from Bev that Nathanael will be returning to The Home of God's Love on Monday (which will be Sunday night for us)! Praise the Lord for healing our baby boy! We are so thankful for good nurses, doctors and care givers! Please keep praying for him. He was supposed to come home today, but he still had some phlegm that they were concerned about.

We continue to wait for a court date in Taiwan and a fingerprinting appointment with USCIS in New Orleans. Please keep these two matters in your prayers.

Ted Skiles shared this verse with me a couple of times and I am going to pass it on to each of you.

"Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land." Proverbs 25:25