Wake Up Call

Ever have one of those moments in church when you know God is speaking directly to you...no one else...just you? Well, I had one of those moments today. God gave Deron the words to speak directly to me. I don't know if anyone else needed Deron's message today...but I certainly did.

Acts 17: 26-27...From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.

That scripture has a lot packed into it. But, in the margin of my bible today I wrote one of the tidbits from Deron's message. "If you believe God is good, you must believe his timing is right". WOW....that hit me in the gut. See what I mean? God sent this message today just for me to hear. I know that God is so, so good and why do I ever question? It's that human heart He gave me. But...I KNOW....and today I'm SURE....God's timing is right. No one besides God determines the beginning and the end. God knows exactly who our child is, when he was born and when he'll be revealed to us.

Thank you God for Deron and his message today....you alone God knew that Nadra in Tulsa, Oklahoma needed to hear these words today. Thank you God for allowing us to be human, but then also reminding us that you, and you alone, are in control.

Pouty Party

I'm kinda bummed. We received our "Waiting Families" letter today from Katie (at Dillon). The letter was fine, but for some reason it just made me sad. Partly because they are doing away with the number system on the waiting list. For example, when we went on the waiting list for the India program, we were #6 on the list. Now, all we'll know is that we're on the waiting list. I know it doesn't matter what number we are, when the OUR child is referred...we'll get him. But...it was good to know how many people were ahead of you. Oh well...I'll get through this pouty day.

Finally...Dossier Complete

Today, I turned in the final documents for the Dossier. Yay!!! It's a huge relief to have this part finally completed. Once these documents have been authenticated...then we're "officially" on the waiting list.

I'm so ready for a referral. But...I've said that before. Our child is out there somewhere and I know, in my head, that he'll be revealed to us in God's perfect timing. It's so hard to wait, but we'll get through it.

WOO HOO!!! I-171

Yippee!!! Our I-171H came in the mail yesterday. We'll get our doctor's letters this week and then our dossier will finally be complete!!! I'm so excited. Charlie, on the other hand, is now just a little nervous. He said that it's finally sinking in that before long we're going to know who our child is. I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

Next Friday, September 7th will mark two years since we saw our precious Ian's picture for the first time. It would be kinda cool if we could find out who his little brother is around the same time.

Anyway...it's a happy day in the Conner household!!!

Meeting Thomas

This evening we attended a reception for Thomas held at the Dillon office. Thomas is one of the Dillon staff in Vietnam. We actually met him at India camp last week, but were able to see him again this evening. There were so many people there. I loved it. But, it was crazy hot. The conference room at Dillon is not very big and with the number of people there....it was nuts. But, we had a great time. I'm so ready for a referral now after seeing all of those cute kiddos. It was fun to actually meet people I've "talked" to on the Dillon forum and through our blogs. I feel like I know so many of them already.

While we didn't get to spend much time with Thomas, it was great to be around all of the Dillon families. It's amazing how adoption brings a whole new circle of friends into your life.

Did I mention that I'm ready for a referral?

We're waiting on our I-171H approval. It's been two weeks...but who's counting?

Hey....I'm ready for a referral......is anyone listening? I shouldn't be complaining. There are people out there that have been waiting a lot longer that we have. Hopefully the referrals will come soon for all of us.

I'm especially hoping for G & R dates for the families who are so close to traveling. Good news has to come soon!!!

Finger Prints - Check

Today was a great day. We left Tulsa around 8:00am after dropping Ian of at day care. We arrived at USCIS around 9:50am. Our appointment was at 10:00am. We walked in, passed through security and headed into the room for our appointment. We were pleasantly surprised when we found we were the only people in the room at the time. We filled out a little bit of paper work and received our numbers. About 10:05am, my number was called. My fingerprints were taken and then Charlie's number was called. By 10:20am...we were done!!! Woo, hoo!!! One step closer to our little angel somewhere in Vietnam.

I emailed Jynger and Katie yesterday and told them that today would be a great day for a referral since it was my birthday. But....the call didn't come today. Hopefully soon, as Jynger puts it...she's so politicly correct and non committal. I love her!!!

Now we wait for the I-171H to come in. Waiting....I should be pretty good at it by now...but not so much.

Finger Printing Appointment

We received the letter yesterday from USCIS. Our appointment for finger printing is Friday, July 27th in Oklahoma City. What a great day!!! July 27th is my birthday. Wonder if I can convince them to expidite the process as a birthday present to me? Hmmm....probably not...but you can bet I'm going to ask. :)

I Stopped Counting

Last week was such an exciting week for the waiting Dillon families. I stopped counting after 6 babies had been matched with their forever family. Not really...but I may have lost count. I think....think...there were 11 referrals last week. Maybe even 12...but I'm not sure. That's HUGE. Now, we're probably in for a "dry spell". But that just means that our children are not ready for us yet and they will be revealed to us in God's perfect timing (I must keep telling myself that). Charlie and I had a date night on Saturday and looked at each other over dinner and laughed (you know, that nervous little giggle) that this was feeling more "real" now. Not that we ever doubted that it was going to happen, but when you see so many families united (especially ones that are just a couple of weeks ahead of you in the process), it makes it seem much more exciting and..well..."real". We are thrilled for all of the families that received referrals last week and we pray that the remainder of their process moves quickly so that can meet their children very soon.

We are planning on enjoying every minute we can as a family of three. I want to really enjoy the alone time with Ian before our family grows to four.

What A Week

Wow...it's been an exciting week for Dillon families. I think there have been 5 or 6 referrals this week. That is amazing!!!! How fun that so many families now know who God picked out for them.

Congrats to Jessica, Ruth, Shelly C, Dawn & Kim....you will be heading to Vietnam very soon. I'll be praying for the remaining part of your process to move quickly.

It just goes to show you....God is at work in the lives of these families and in the lives of their little ones waiting in Vietnam. God is sooooooooo Good!!!!!!

Update: 7-6-07.....another referral has been announced....Congratulations to Dianna and her family. They received a referral of a precious baby girl yesterday. Yay!!! That's 6 referrals for sure....maybe more. What a fantastic week!!!

Dossier to Dillon

Today we turned in our Dossier to Dillon International!!! Yippee!!! One more step closer to our new baby. We are still waiting to be fingerprinted and then the I-171H will be issued.

No major problems with this Dossier. Compared to the Dossier we had to prepare for India...this one was a piece of cake. I was totally, but pleasantly, surprised.

There have been three referrals so far this week that I'm aware of. One is a precious little boy who was a "waiting child". Stormy and her family have spoken for him. He's just the cutest little guy. We're thrilled that he now has a forever family. One little girl was referred to the Varn family and a little boy to the Cline family. It's been an exciting week on our discussion forum.

The families who are in Vietnam now picking up their kiddos are returning home tomorrow and Friday. That is so exciting!!! The left the US on Thursday, June 21st. So, they're coming home in just under two weeks and just over 2 weeks. That's good news!!!!