"Numbers for Isaiah" Updates

8/27/2015 Update:
Our "Numbers for Isaiah" fundraiser is closing out and I am humbled and thrilled to announce that when all of the numbers that have been chosen are "filled" the giving total will be $3,913.  Thank you seems so insufficient but it is the best I can do at the moment.  From the bottom of our hearts . . . THANK YOU!!!!

8/9/2015 Update:

7/30/2015 Update:
As long as people continue choosing numbers, I will continue posting updates!  We are excited to see all of the participation and hope to have a few more numbers chosen before Isaiah comes home.  Thank you for your donations!

7/25/2015 Update:
52 numbers chosen (a few duplicates here and there which is fine), 98 left and $2,263 raised. The generosity of our friends and family is amazing! We will keep updating the number wall as long as numbers are chosen! heart emoticon

New numbers taken: 55 and 61

Day 5:
New numbers taken as of 7/21 (in addition to those in the photo): 68, 110, 142

Day 4:
New numbers taken as of 7/20 (in addition to those in the photo): 2, 5, 23, 24, 34, 148, 149

Day 3:
New numbers taken as of 7/19 (in addition to those in the photo): 73, 78, 150

Day 2: 
New numbers taken as of 7/18 (in addition to those in the photo): 1, 4, 6. 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 19, 22, 25, 28, 29, 31, 32, 40, 84

Numbers for Isaiah

Dear Friends and Family,

This amazing adoption journey began December 2014 (much to our surprise) and the outpouring of love and support since then has been staggering.  This process would not be possible without our amazing friends and family!  We know God has been faithful to multiply our finances through the monies we have received via donations and fundraising, but there is still a large gap between what has been saved/raised (approximately $10,000) and the cost of an international adoption (roughly $40,000).  That said, we are hosting one more fundraiser to help us cover our international program fee ($7,300 cash paid in China), and as much of our travel and in-country costs as possible (roughly $12,000).  Please consider choosing a number (or numbers!) for Isaiah.

“Numbers for Isaiah”

Please choose a number (or numbers) ranging from 1 to 150, donate that amount to our adoption fund* (cash or check), and help us raise approximately $11,000 to bring Isaiah home!  Yes, that is an accurate number. (We were stunned when we did the math!)  EVERY dollar really DOES count.  Our goal is to have each number used once.  If the number you would like has already been taken please choose a number that is one more or one less. You may also combine numbers to create a desired total.  If you choose to participate, please mail your donation to us within the next two weeks.

We will be posting updated pictures of the “number wall” on our Facebook pages and blog so you can track our progress and see which numbers are still available.  After choosing a number, please let Robyn know so we can keep our “number wall” up to date.  If you know anyone who might be interested in participating in “Numbers for Isaiah” and joining our adoption journey, please spread the word or share our Facebook posts and/or blog address.  Thank you for helping us bring Isaiah home!

With Love and Gratitude,

Randy, Robyn, Ezekiel (aka “The Big Brother”) and Isaiah

It's Official!

We are OFFICIALLY parents of two little boys!  

Our dossier was sent to China on May 29, 2015 and logged in to China's database on June 4, 2015.  That is when our wait for official approval began.  We had already received and accepted Isaiah's referral but in the eyes of the Chinese government he was still a ward of Chinese Children's Services.  When we adopted Zeke our wait time for official approval (RA - referral acceptance) was just over 3 months so that was our anticipated timeframe.  Apparently China is processing documents faster than they were in 2013.  Our wait for RA was only 42 days!  We should travel sometime between the end of September and the middle of October rather than mid-winter like we thought.

Since we received our RA today we were able to officially share photos of Isaiah!  Here are the two most current photographs we have received:

I had our next set of documents ready to send to USCIS (Immigration) so as soon as our RA document was emailed from our agency we filled it out, added it to the stack of already prepared paperwork and headed to send it out via FedEx.  Now we wait about a month for USCIS approval to bring Isaiah into the country.  We are getting so close!

Zeke is excited to be a big brother (although he doesn't really understand what that means) and is looking forward to riding on the "big airplane to get Isaiah from China."