It Is What It Is ~ Pressing On

First let me apologize for not posting the winner of the iPad fundraiser. It is coming, I promise. But not until tomorrow. I am really, really sorry for keeping you waiting, but I can assure you it is not without good reason.

In my mind, this post was going to be very different. This was going to be THE post announcing that we were finally DTC. So, to answer the e-mails and texts I have received to day, NO, we are NOT DTC, and we have no idea when we will be.

We have hit a snag like no other.



The roadblocks, the hurdles, and the mountains are no match for what we are up against now. Never in a million years could I have imagined being where we are right now. Never. I wish I could shed some light on the situation, but for now I feel we must keep this to ourselves. I have struggled with whether or not I should even mention it. In the end, I felt like I owe it to you. Many of my followers and readers have been with us since the beginning of our journey to Mylee. You continued to follow and support us through our journey to Drew and Jaxon. And you have been right here with us every step of the way to Keliah. Your prayers and support have helped us over hurdles, through roadblock, and over mountains. So, it is only fair that I be as honest as I can and for now, the only thing I can say is this is a doosey.

I'm not gonna lie, I am terrified. I am heartbroken. I am in complete shock, we all are.

What I am not, is a quitter. I am a fighter, and I am going to fight like you cannot even imagine to bring our girl home.

Our agency is working with us, and are doing everything they can to sort this out. Obviously, their main concern if for Keliah. This is a unique situation and as much as it s#@cks, we completely, 100% understand their concern and will do everything to alleviate that concern.

Believe it or not, we are seeing some light at the end of the tunnel, but it is definitely not over, in fact, I think we have only just begun.

We have already been blessed beyond measure by friends and family who are continuing to support us. They are behind us 110%.

Right now I asking you, begging you to pray for our family. Pray for Keliah. Pray that this is resolved quickly so we can continue to move down that path that He laid out for us. You may not know the specifics of those prayers, but He will, and He will hear them.

It is what it is. Plain and simple. The only thin we can do at this point is to continue to move forward, which is exactly what we are doing. We are moving forward with a fire and passion like no other. We are trusting in the Lord that He is once again testing us, and pray that we will pass. We are giving up all control and laying it in His lap as He is the ultimate decision maker. No one, or no thing is too big for Him. In the end, if it is His will for Keliah to join our family, He will make it happen.

I will do my best to keep you updated, but for now, I may be MIA for the next couple of days while we sort this out. Please e-mail me with any questions. mmyag@comcast.net

Hang in there...

I just wanted to let you know that we are tallying up all the entries and the winner will be chosen and announced tonight! I am so excited to see who the winner is!

Tick Tock

The clock is ticking. Today is THE last day to get in on a chance at winning one of these bad boys...



The all-new thinner and lighter design makes iPad 2 even more comfortable to hold. It's even more powerful with the dual-core A5 chip, yet has the same 10 hours of battery life.1 With two cameras, you can make FaceTime video calls,2 record HD video and put a twist on your snapshots in Photo Booth. And the iPad Smart Cover attaches magnetically and wakes up, stands up and brightens up your iPad 2.3
What's Included

* Apple® iPad™ 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G - 16GB

Product Features

* 9.7" LED-backlit display with IPS technology
* Dual-core A5 chip
* Front and back cameras
* Up to 10 hours of battery life
* Built-in Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n)
* 3G data service with AT&T (data plan sold separately)
* Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology
* 16GB flash storage
* Over 65,000 apps made for iPad, available from the App Store

Plus, your choice of one these colors...



And of course one of these...



All you have to do is one of these, or even all of these. The more you do, the more chances you have to win.

1. For every $25.00 donated, you will receive 5 entries!
2. For every $50.00 donated, you will receive 10 entries!
3. Post about the fundraiser on your blog, receive 3 entires!
4. Post about it on facebook, receive 3 entries!
5. Become a follower, receive 3 entries!

This is really a win win situation. Not only do you get a chance at winning the above prizes, but even better, you will walk away knowing that win or lose, you had a hand in uniting a little girl with her forever family.

UGHHHHH!!!!!!

Seriously, I am screaming right now and on the verge of tears. I know there is a reason for everything, but come on! So much for being DTC next week.

Yesterday I found out through e-mail that there is another problem with one of our documents, actually the same document from before. I got an e-mail from the courier in Chicago which I thought was a status update letting us know that she had dropped our papers off at the Consulate and would pick them up on Monday. Uh, no! This is what I got instead...

"I'm sorry to tell you that the date listed on the Sec of State document says it
was signed on April 15, 2011 by the notary, and the was actually signed on 4/18/2011...
The Consulate will reject this, so it will have to be redone, notarized and State Sealed."

Once again and I was on the phone trying to figure out how to get it there tomorrow. I called the bank to see if they are open today since it is Good Friday and YES, they are. So, my next call was to the Secretary of State's office to see if they were open. Nope, they are NOT open. Imagine that! So, it will be Monday before I can get it done again for the THIRD time assuming Matt or I can get off work Monday (especially since I just took off on Tuesday last minute).

Not only that, but I can't help but think of the extra money this is going to cost, again as well. With gas prices at $4.00 a gallon, it is costing quite a bit to make these trips to Indy plus the added postal expenses.

So, instead of being DTC next week, we are now looking at being DTC the following week which means we won't be DTC now until May!!!!! I am seriously irritated. I know there is nothing I can do about it. I just keep repeating to myself "there is a reason for everything, there is a reason for everything, there IS a reason for everything."

I know there are lessons in everything we do and I am really, really trying to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I am going to be honest, it is not so easy. I think my first reaction to this latest news was "okay, are we really supposed to be doing this?" With all the roller coaster ride this has been, it has really been hard at times to not wonder this. Once I was able to think clearly, I KNOW without a doubt Keliah is our daughter, and I WILL continue to do everything to bring her home. I also started thinking of all the lessons we are learning and testes we are being given through our journey to Keliah. Our patience is definitely being tested. Our faith is being tested. Our perseverance is being tested. We only see part of the picture, bits and pieces. We see the hurdles that need to be jumped and the mountains that need to be climbed. We wonder if there is light at the end of the tunnel, we question if we are doing the right thing. God sees the whole picture, he knows how this is going to end. He knows the exactly when we will be united with our daughter. He has known since the beginning of time.

I just got off the phone with our agency to let them know what was going on and to make sure that since we already had to ask for one extension that we were still within those dates. They have assured me that we are "good." I also asked about time frames again because we were really hoping to travel by the end of the summer and since we are re-using our dossier, we were told that that may be a possibility. After talking to them today, it seems like the time frames are 30-45 for LOA (letter of approval, China's final approval), then another 2-4 months form immigration. So, from DTC we are still looking at 4-6 months to actually travel which means IF we are able to get our dossier to China May 3rd or 4th, we won't travel before September and maybe even as late as November.

So, after yet another setback I am asking you all to pray that this will be the LAST setback. If everything works out, I will make another trip to Indy on Monday and with the turnaround from the courier, our dossier will go to China either May 3rd or 4th.

So, we will continue to jump these...


We will continue to knock these down...


And we will continue to climb these...


We are going to ride this til the end. We may not welcome the ups and downs, or the twists and turns, but they will definitely be worth it in the end.



We are moving forward with a determination like no other. We will not cower to the enemy, we will not let the detours stop us. Instead, we will take on whatever is thrown at us because Keliah IS our daughter and we WILL bring her home.



"Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty..." ~ Theodore Roosevelt

Roadblock #4,786...

Well, not really, but we have hit yet another roadblock. I know, by now I shouldn't be surprised, but seriously?

I called our agency yesterday to make sure they received the information that was mailed to them last week and to make sure everything was there. They got it, and yes, everything was there now they were just waiting on our authenticated documents that were being picked up from the Consulate yesterday. I reassured them that I would have them Tuesday and would overnight everything to them so they would have them in their hands by Wednesday which would be we would be DTC on Wednesday or Thursday. Sounds good, right?

Wrong! Not twenty minutes after I hung up with them I got a call on my cell phone and almost didn't answer it because I didn't recognize the number. I went ahead and answered it only to find out that it was the courier in Chicago that was supposed to be picking up our documents. She kindly let me know that the Consulate had rejected one of our documents for authentication. By this time I was pretty much freaking out. She said that they would not accept our application letter because the dates from the notary and the dates from our signatures were not the same. Not sure how, or what happened, all I kept thinking was this was just one more roadblock that was going to slow us down.

After talking to her for a few more minutes, I knew what I needed to do and was immediately in "go" mode. I called Matt, let him know what was going on and that we were going to have to meet at the bank to get the application letter (this is the letter we sent to China assuring them that we are fully aware that Keliah has medical issues and that we will get her the treatment she needs among other things) notarized again and that I was going to have to make another trip to Indianapolis to get it authenticated at the Secretary of State's office. I began making arrangements for our kids along with the two boys I watch during the day. Luckily, my mom was planning on coming up this morning, so she went ahead and came up last night so she could stay here and get Gabe from school. I am also pretty lucky that the parents I sit for are flexible and understanding.

After getting meeting at the bank, Matt and I decided to take ALL the kids to dinner which is something we rarely do so we decided on Chinese. There is a great Chinese restaurant down the road from us and the kids love it because one, all the workers are actually Chinese, and two, they get ice cream when they are done. As with all Chinese restaurants, when the bill comes out, so do the fortune cookies. Everyone gets a fortune cookie and we read it so everyone can hear. Once the kids were done, it was my turn to read mine. I opened it, read it to myself and started laughing.

How fitting was this...


And, if you do the math, our authenticated paperwork will be picked up next Monday (April 25th). The courier is going to overnight it directly to our agency so they will receive it Tuesday afteroon (April 26th). And as long as everything is correct this time, we WILL be DTC on Wednesday, April 27th (please see the lucky numbers above). No, I don't actually believe fortune cookies, but come one, how cool is that one given everything obstacle we have had to overcome. Success will come, I have no doubt.

So, this morning, Andrew and I took off for Indy to get the application letter re-authenticated. The plan was to get down there by 9:30 when they opened and turn right around and be home by noonish. All went well on the way down, but we hit some nasty storms coming home which involved downpours of rain, thunder, lightning, and winds that were so strong I was gripping the wheel so hard my palms were hurting. What normally takes about 2 hours one way, took us almost 3 hours to get home.

The third time is the charm right? I have driven to Indy and back 3 times to get this little gold sticker.


Here is my little travel companion


I was so glad he took a nap because with the weather the way it was, I was able to concentrate on driving and not entertaining Andrew.

So, that is our newest update. The good news is that we are getting closer and closer to our goal and are only in need of $4368.00 to be DTC. And as I said before, anything and everything we raise above and beyond our goal will go directly to Connie and her family who will be traveling very soon to bring home their TWO beautiful girls. See the post below for all the details.

Here's the Deal...

Y'all know by now we are hoping and praying that all goes well and we will be DTC by Wednesday or at the latest, Thursday of this week. Honestly, I cannot believe after all the roadblocks, hurdles, and yes, eve a mountain or two, we are FINALLY at this point. I simply cannot wait for this week to be over so we can finally sit back take a deep breath, and relax (to some extent) knowing we are this much closer to our beautiful daughter, Keliah.

So, I am sure by now you have all noticed the Chip-in button on our sidebar. That whoppin $6595.00 is the amount we need to raise before we can send out dossier to China. We are still $5228.00 short. To most, that is an enormous amount of money that still needs to be raised in only 3 or 4 days. But I know He has a plan, and that plan is bigger than any amount of money. I have seen so much more raised in less time, and I know that it can be done.

$5228.00 is all we need to get our dossier to China. I say all because that is nothing when you look at the big picture. (We are SO close, but I feel like we are still So far away). That's it, not a penny more. We will be doing other fundraisers, giveaways, etc. to help raise the rest of the money we need. Right now we are just going at this one step at a time.

We need $5228.00 to get our dossier to China, and my dear, dear friend Connie is just weeks from traveling to get not one, but two beautiful little girls who are waiting to be united with their forever family. Kasidi and Kennah are adorable little girls who are about to have their worlds turned upside down, in a good way.

Here's what Connie wrote in an e-mail recently:

"Dear Friends~
We will be officially awaiting TA within a week! I'm excited and scared all at the same time :) Excited to hold my Treasures, scared to travel without my amazing hubby, scared of Kasidi's 'unknowns' with spina bifida, but so excited about what the Lord has done in our family and in our hearts.
As you know, we started this journey with nothing and surrendered to the Lord's plans, asking for His complete provision.
He's been so completely faithful, as always! Here we are at the end, bringing home 2 precious Treasures. With travel fees coming due, we are still short $17,000 to get both girls home without incurring more debt.
No doubt He will provide!
I'm emailing you to ask for your prayers as we reach the finish line.
The Lord has also taught us much about giving during this process. Every time we've given to another adoptive family He has multiplied the blessing back to us - so like Him!
I can't wait till we have our girls home and are able to 'pay it forward' by helping other families raise funds."

My immediate reaction after reading this e-mail was "how can we help?" We have a need too, but right now, they do too, and they are SO close to traveling. I sat in silence for awhile, thinking, and praying. "What can we do?" Sure, we could donate, but it would be much. I know all too well that NO amount is too small, but I really felt like we could do more.

So, here's the deal...

Anything we raise over the $5228.00 will go directly to Connie and her family to bring their two daughters home. Just today they found out that someone from their Church is offering a $5000 matching grant. That means anything that is donated to them is automatically doubled up to $5000! ANY amount we are able to raise over and beyond the amount we need, will go into Connie's matching grant fund. At this point, I just want to get out dossier to China, and at the same time, I feel like I need to help them as well. I KNOW this can be done.

Not only do you have the chance to win an iPad 2, your choice of cover, and an iTunes gift card, but more importantly, you will know that you helped unite THREE beautiful girls with their forever families.

Moving Right Along

We got an e-mail confirmation last night that our documents were dropped off at the Consulate to be authenticated which means they will be picked up on Monday and we will have them in our hands by Tuesday.

As soon as I get everything, double check to make sure all is in order, I will overnight them to our agency and they will receive them on Wednesday.

So, what does all this REALLY mean? If all goes well, we will be DTC (dossier to China) by next Wednesday, Thursday at the latest!

What does DTC mean? It means we are that much closer to bringing our daughter home!!!!

So, you still have plenty of time for a chance to win the all new iPad 2, iPad 2 cover in the color of your choice, and a $50.00 iTunes to start loading up on new apps.