Tales & Ales

We have been presented with a unique opportunity to raise funds for our adoption! The owner of Blue Deuce Entertainment (who happens to be a friend through tennis) approached us recently and said that his company would love to help with our adoption expenses. We are always grateful when people are touched by our story and want to help. 

Blue Deuce Entertainment is involved in putting on a big event at the New Orleans Fairgrounds each year called Tails & Ales. This year the event will be held Saturday, September 7th from 4-8pm. Tales & Ales includes world class quarter horse racing, premium beer tasting, lots of food and fun. Every year at this event, Blue Deuce sponsors a raffle where attendees can purchase a $5 ticket to win a huge mound of premium beer from around the world. The proceeds are always given to a cause they deem worthy. This year, Blue Deuce has decided that "Bringing Home Emily Hope" will be the one and only recipient of all funds raised at this raffle!

We can't wait for the event and will take plenty of pictures! I'll be excited to share pictures, the amount raised, and more about our day, so look for an update on my blog after the event. If y'all can make it out, we would love for you to stop by for the raffle! Sounds like it's going to be a super fun day. For now, a special shout out to...

BLUE DEUCE ENTERTAINMENT... Y'all are awesome!!! We are so thankful for your involvement in our journey!
www.facebook.com/bluedeuceentertainment

When is Emily Hope Coming Home?

This is the question we hear more than any other. Everyone wants to know when we actually go to China to pick up our daughter. Man, we want to know too! The truth is, we really don't have an answer for that, only an estimation. I'd love to explain a little more about the process and timeline to give you an idea of why it's such a rough guess. I'll spare you the time frame on milestones passed.

Currently, our dossier documents are being authenticated. When this is complete (in about 1 week), it will be sent to China and we will receive a log-in date (LID) about a week later. This is an important step because it means we are officially in China's database to begin the process with them.

Once we have a LID, we are eligible to receive a referral. A referral is the package that has a sweet baby's picture, possibly a short video of her, any medical history and other information they have about her (possibly when and where she was abandoned, birth date if it's known, etc.). When we receive a referral, we have the option to accept or ask for another. When we receive a referral, we will not make that public until we decide, through prayer, that particular child is absolutely our Emily Hope. From LID to receiving a referral can take anywhere between 1 and 6 months. This time frame depends on so many factors. We are praying to have a referral before our November Orphan Awareness fundraiser. How cool would that be to honor Emily Hope by unveiling her sweet face at this special event?!

Once we decide to accept the referral, we send a letter of intent (LOI) to China, stating our desire to adopt that particular child. They send us pre-approval (PA) about 5-10 days after they receive our LOI. That begins another long wait.

Our PA date starts the wait for our Letter of Approval (LOA). The current wait for LOA is about 3 months but I have seen couples get LOA after a month and others wait 6 months. At that point, it's all in the hands of the Chinese government and how quickly they work on our case. Well, it's really in God's hands but you know what I mean. ;-) Receiving LOA is probably the most exciting news an international adoptive parent can share. It is the letter that means that China has officially accepted us to adopt from China and to adopt that particular child. There are plenty of scenarios that can cause China to ask more questions, request more information, or even turn a family down. When I post, "LOA!", there will be a serious party happening at the Loman household.

After LOA is received, there are several mini-steps that occur before we travel. These steps should take about a month, maybe two. These steps involve things like applying for her visa, scheduling appointment with the US Consulate in China, cabeling documents to the foreign embassy, receiving travel approval, and booking travel. Then we're crossing oceans to bring home our baby girl!

So many acronyms, so much information. It's all very overwhelming to us too! We finally have a good grip on the process, what's involved, and an estimated time frame. I just wanted to share this with y'all because I know sometimes it doesn't make sense when we answer your question with, "Could be 4 months from now, could be a year." We love you to ask us when Emily's coming home. So please, keep those questions coming! It means you care and that is big time encouragement for us.

Grass, Worms, Orphans

I actually wrote this post on 8/19. I was literally typing the last line when the mail lady pulled up and I ran to find our Immigration approval letter in the mail. I couldn't post twice in one day so I saved this. :)

Today was my Anna Grace's first day of Kindergarten. Mercy. After dropping her off (and holding back the tears), I got a lot done this morning as I was finally on my own with the day off of work. I love my kiddos but the summer was loooooong. I spent most of the morning talking to businesses about our event in November. Can someone please remind me why I was ever in outside sales? Seriously... Yuck! Our house had plenty of laundry and dishes waiting for me but I decided to put that off. I decided instead to mow the lawn and weed our front beds.

Disclaimer: I am by NO means a tree hugger but I'm just warning... I'm about to weird out on y'all.

God wooed me today as I completed the simple task of working in the yard. It was hot and hard. There were earthworms and bugs and even a snake (dead because my kids played with it yesterday until it died... but a snake nonetheless). I loved every minute of it... the sun on my skin, the sweat dripping down, the smell of grass, the soil under my finger nails, the buzzing of the honey bees all around me, the worms and bugs, and especially the cold glass of lemonade that my sweet neighbor walked over. I love God's creation and He so beautifully shared it with me today.

The fact that God revealed so much of His beautiful world to me today reminded me that I just don't do it enough. I pass by every day in my rush to get to work, cook dinner, or whatever else the day holds. It's easy to forget how special the little things are. Turns out, they're not so little. It's all created by God and if we would just behold them, we'd notice how spectacular they are, how spectacular HE is.

My experience this afternoon reminded me of how easily we just pass by the orphans of this world. They're all right under our noses, waiting to be loved, waiting to share their beauty with us, waiting to feel the love of Christ. But we walk past them, without thinking about it, without even knowing we're doing it. God wants us to focus on our work, our homes, our families. We bring Him glory when we are tending to these things. But He also wants us to take our shoes off and feel the soil in our toes. He wants us to enjoy his earth and give him thanks for it, and he also wants us to look past our living rooms and reach out to a hurting world.

Before Seamus and I were bonked on the heads about adoption, I'm pretty sure I was oblivious to God's love of orphans. I mean, I thought it was sad and all but I wasn't doing much about it. And the truth is, just because we're adopting a child doesn't mean we're doing enough. My very sweet friend Angie McGinty will be speaking Monday night at a local church's ladies' gathering. I will be there to support her and to hear all the practical ways we, as believers, can help relieve the orphan crisis and share the love of Christ. Oh yeah, and there's a pie auction to benefit the McGinty adoption... pie... I'm there. I am eager and excited to have her educate me on practical ways I can help. I'd love to share these ideas with you and will blog about that very soon.

God may be calling you to adopt an orphan. I pray daily that hearts would be softened to give homes to so many in need. And I ask that you be open to how he may be speaking to you about this. God may NOT be calling you to adopt. But He absolutely calls all of us to care for orphans. This looks different in everyone's walk. Some people are prayer warriors, some have financial means to donate, some have room in their homes for children in need, the list of gifts that enable a person to help goes on and on. I look forward to sharing ways we can all help. Keep an eye out for a blog post soon on ways you can get involved!

I-800A Immigration Approval Received

Another major milestone conquered! Woot woot!

We have been waiting for our USCIS (Immigration) approval since they received our application on June 7th. We found out that an officer had been assigned to our case on Tuesday, August 6th. She reviewed our file (home study, fingerprints, etc.) and approved us to be adoptive parents of a Hague convention country on Wednesday, August 14th! We received our approval letter in the mail today and immediately scanned it to our social worker at Lifeline.

Now what? While we were waiting for our Immigration approval, we were busy gathering all the required documents for our dossier (the packet that goes to China). Our I800A approval letter was all that our social worker was waiting for to complete our dossier. Now that she has every piece, she begins authentication (Secretary of State seal and other legal necessities). It takes 2-3 weeks to authenticate our dossier and then it's off to China!

I must say, completing this step and seeing our dossier off to China makes it more real than ever! It's clear that we are getting closer and closer to meeting our Emily Hope. It's all very bitter sweet because we are so excited to wrap our arms around her and bring her home but we know there's still a good bit of time that separates us. And we know that a lot can happen in that amount of time. It's daunting to consider. If you would, please continue to pray for our family. We are trusting in the peace of God that transcends all understanding. Please pray for that peace to cover our hearts every day and for our focus to remain on Christ, the only source of good. We understand God's providence, his holy hand holding our Emily Hope. But y'all, it's so hard to be on this side of our adoption. The tugging of my heart strings... harder and stronger as we get closer. I see pictures daily of the inside of Chinese orphanages, as other adoptive parents post the joys of picking up their bundles. I see babies in the background, in metal cribs (many without a mattress or blanket), on the floor, wherever, and I wonder if that could be our Emily Hope. I can't imagine the pain we will experience after knowing who she is but not yet able to go scoop her up. (Sigh) Yes, this is so real, all of it. We do long for the day we are looking back at this process when all the pain will have been so worth it!

Just a sidenote, I created a page to track our adoption timeline. You can go to that page (link on the top right column of blog) at anytime to see where we are in the process.

Also, we just placed another big order of youth and adult sized t-shirts. So, if you haven't ordered yours yet, shoot me an email (lauraloman@yahoo.com) or click HERE for more details!

Bigger and Better than Death Valley?

I just want to remind y'all of what an amazing impact your encouragement has on us.

Seamus ran in to an acquaintance the other day. Like so many, he revealed that he has been following our journey through our Facebook page and blog. "I saw your adoption thing. I'm following you. I'm rooting for you!" Seamus was grateful and told me, "It gave me goosebumps. Like Death Valley on a Saturday night!" Okay, you may or may not be an LSU fan but if you are, you understand exactly what Seamus was talking about. You know the chills, the tears, the pride. It's overwhelming and AWE. SOME. If you're not... well, I'm really sorry. ;-)

My response to Seamus, "... but better." And it is, y'all. Your words of encouragement, your promises to pray for us, the hugs, all of it gives us the same feeling... times a thousand! It's hard to explain the effect every encouraging comment has. It's big. Way bigger than Death Valley.

So from our purple and gold hearts to yours (whatever colors yours may be)... Thank you for your encouragement. This journey is difficult on so many levels, and we don't want to go one day without it.

"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." (1Thes.5:11)

Let My Lifesong Sing

God loves to be in relationship with his children. I'm humbled by the access I have to boldly approach His throne with my eucharist, repentance, and petitions. He doesn't just tolerate my prayers. He loves them. He longs to still my heart, for me to talk to Him, listen to Him. This is a mystery I may never figure out, this mystery that a perfect God who created the universe loves to be in relationship with me.

Yes, He loves my prayers. But they are far from perfect, I assure you (thank you, Jesus, for your blood that washes my imperfect prayers clean). Far too often my prayers are shallow, self-centered, lacking faith. They remind me of many of the songs we hear on Christian radio. My intentions are good but oh how easy it is to take my focus off of Him, even in prayer. Through my shallow requests, the Holy Spirit often reminds me that the answer to all my prayers is simple. It's all about who God is. My prayers (and my entire life) should be central to who He is. My prayer should always reflect how perfect, how sovereign, and how loving our God is. I want my prayers and my life to reflect who He is.

This is my prayer today. "God, you alone are good. You are completely just and completely merciful, both in perfect harmony through the cross of Jesus. Reveal yourself and who you are to our broken and hurting world. Burden my heart for what burdens yours. Let my life be a reflection of who you are, nothing else. Let my life song sing your praises!"

Empty hands held high
Such small sacrifice
If not joined with my life
I sing in vain tonight

May the words I say
And the things I do
Make my lifesong sing
Bring a smile to You

Let my lifesong sing to You
Let my lifesong sing to You
I want to sign Your name
To the end of this day
Knowing that my heart was true
Let my lifesong sing to You

Lord, I give my life
A living sacrifice
To reach a world in need
To be Your hands and feet

So may the words I say
And the things I do
Make my lifesong sing
Bring a smile to You

Let my lifesong sing to You
Let my lifesong sing to You
I want to sign Your name
To the end of this day
Knowing that my heart was true
Let my lifesong sing to You

Hallelujah, Hallelujah,
Let my lifesong sing to You
Hallelujah, Hallelujah,
Let my lifesong sing to You
Hallelujah, Hallelujah,
Let my lifesong sing to You

Let my lifesong sing to You
Let my lifesong sing to You
I want to sign Your name
To the end of this day
Knowing that my heart was true
Let my lifesong sing to You

Let my lifesong sing to You
Let my lifesong sing to You
I want to sign Your name
To the end of this day
Knowing that my heart was true
Let my lifesong sing to You

November Fundraising Event... New Information!

Progress... sweet, sweet progress. I wish I were talking about our Immigration status but I'm pretty stoked about what's recently been accomplished for our November Orphan Awareness Fundraiser.

First, a very special friend stepped up to take the lead and be chair-awesomeness over the event (or chair-lady, but I personally prefer "chair-awesomeness"). A special thank you to Renee Cresap for responding to God's lead on this. You are awesome, not just because of your dedication and faithfulness but because you are so stinking good at this!!

Second event news to report... we have our live music lined up and although I can't reveal the name just yet, I'm excited to tell you that there will be amazing praise music on the village square that afternoon! Put "bring blanket" on your calendar reminder because you're gonna want to stay put and relax for this gig!

I also had the opportunity to have lunch with an amazing lady named Barbara Kellar, who will be cooking our jambalaya for the event. She has a Facebook page at BeBe's Kitchen Cooking for a Cause where you can read more about her ministry. She has a beautiful heart for Jesus and specifically for orphans around the world. We are honored to have her cook for us and feel so blessed to have this new relationship!

I'm super excited to reveal the incredible partnership we have for our event. Without further adieu, we present... (un)adopted, a ministry of Lifeline Children's Services! "(un)adopted exists to provide a hope and a future for orphans around the world by facilitating a safe environment to disciple and equip children in need." I encourage you to learn more on their website but here's a little blurb about what they do:

We Go: Proclaiming the message of the Gospel to orphans worldwide to provide immediate and eternal hope for those who have never heard the good news. 

We Equip: Initiating planning and partnering strategies with orphanages, indigenous bodies of believers, government officials, businesses, schools, and homes, seeking to mentor orphans and equip them with job and life skills. 

We Disciple: Developing sustainable relational ministry models that mobilize the indigenous international church to care for the orphaned and impoverished with viable long-term solutions. 

We Facilitate: Facilitating short-term trips, multiple times a year, to expose churches, students, and business leaders to the plight of orphans, and to build relationships and trust within the international communities to begin affecting change and community transformation. 

(un)adopted will be available during the event to chat with folks about their ministry. They will give a presentation towards the end of the event to bring awareness about the global orphan crisis and share ways we can all help. We couldn't be more excited to have this ministry to partner with. (un)adopted is an organization that is dear to our hearts. They are gospel-centered in everything they do and provide hope for so many who wouldn't otherwise have it. We can't wait to welcome (un)adopted and see God work through them at our event! A portion of the proceeds from our event will go to (un)adopted, to aid in their ministries abroad.

We now have a rain plan in place! Thank you to our family at New Covenant Presbyterian Church for opening her doors for our event. If the weather is terrible, we still want everyone to plan for a great event in the fellowship hall of our church in Mandeville.

Thank you to Bridge Church for donating their block party trailer for our event! Because of their generosity, we'll have a big bounce house, a popcorn machine, and tons of other equipment to help make this event a success.

Last, but not least, we have several volunteers dedicated to specific tasks for the event. Lots of people have stepped up and we are forever grateful. If you are interested in helping, we still have slots open for set up (noon-3:00), clean up (6-8pm), and several tables at the event itself (3-4:30 shifts and 4:30-6:00 shifts). Feel free to email me or leave a comment here and let me know in which of these areas you would like to help. We would be oh-so-grateful if you'd like to be a part of this. We'd like to have all volunteers secured soon.

If you believe you have an item or service that you may like to donate to the silent auction, please let me know. One friend had the fun idea to auction himself! He's still working out the details but it will look something like him being a slave to someone for a day. Ha! Now that's one good friend!

Oh! Be sure to wear your Emily Hope t-shirts to the event (we may have to wear a long-sleeved something under it since it's in November). ;-) We'll give one free beverage to anyone wearing our t-shirt at the event!

Between now and November 16th, I'll be posting updates and reminders about the event. We will have flyers available as the event draws nearer. If you have any questions at any point, feel free to shoot me an email or leave a comment. Be on the lookout soon for a page on my blog dedicated solely to the event. I'll update this page as details arise.

Reminder of Event Details:
Saturday, November 16th, 3-6pm
Terra Bella Village Square (rain plan: New Covenant Presbyterian Church in Mandeville)
Live Music, Food, Activities for kids, and Silent Auction
Orphan Awareness Presented by (un)adopted Organization