Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay in my post! We've had so much going on lately, that when I finally sit down...I'm exhausted! Jack Everett's first court hearing took place Tuesday, 8/23 at 3:50 am our time (4:50 pm in Taitung). Needless to say, I did not get any sleep Monday night when I went to bed. I think it was around 1:30 when I dozed off and then set my alarm to wake-up at 3:30 to pray for JE, the staff, the judge, and his birthmom. I could not go to sleep after that, as I was anxious to hear from our adoption contact. And, we did at 5:15 am...court went great! JE's birthmom arrived, they were able to apply for his passport, and the judge did not request any other information from us. The only thing we are waiting on now, is for the social work report for our birthmom. Once they receive this, it is estimated 4-8 weeks before the final decree..at which time we can travel!
We received a picture of JE last week with his adorable friend Amber Joy and it is the cutest picture! He is changing so much and is the cutest little thing! He now weighs 12 pounds and the doctor says he is growing perfectly! I hope to post some pictures on here soon of JE's room. My sister-in-law is making his drapes and covering his cushion for the glider in his room and his bedding should be done within the next couple of weeks...it is all starting to come together :)
David & I are so thankful for all of our friends and for all of your support and prayers. Please continue to pray with us and for us!
Blessings,
Sherra
Lilypie Waiting to Adopt tickers
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Oh Happy Day!
Big news for the Williams household....we have a court date!!! This morning at 5:30 we awoke to a text stating that on August 23 at 2:20 pm, our first court hearing will take place. This is such joyful news!! We entered the courts last Friday and were expecting our first court hearing to take place somewhere in mid September. It seems the courts may be moving a little faster than anticipated and it is with high hopes, that our other hearings will move swiftly as well!
In the very beginning of our journey, our dear friend Jeff (whom we are forever grateful for!) introduced us to a couple that lives in Nashville that had received their referral for a daughter around the same time we received ours. Since the moment Stephanie and I were introduced, we have developed a life-long friendship! We talk weekly and it is so good to have her with me in this journey. Although we have never "physically" met, we have held eachother's hands throughout this emotional and joyous journey and it is so nice to have someone to talk to that is going through the exact same thing at the exact same time. She and her husband, Justin, received their court date this week as well and it is scheduled for August 18th! We are so very excited for them! David & I look forward to meeting them very soon and we look forward to the future when Jack Everett and Amber Joy can meet for play dates. We consider them girlfriend/boyfriend already...hehe!
During this journey, God has opened our hearts and our lives to so many new people! Bringing Jack Everett into our lives has hands down been the best thing that has ever happened to us and we cannot wait to see what else our awesome, loving Father has in store for us! Thank you all for continuing to follow us and for your prayers! Please be in prayer for us and for the Miller's, that our court dates will move swiftly and that the judges will have what they need to make our first ruling. Please pray for safe travels for each of our birthmothers, as they do not live close to Taitung and will have to travel for court. Pray for those taking care of our sweet children and the ministry they provide in Taiwan. Pray for their mission work to lead others to Christ and His love.
Blessings to you all!
Sherra
In the very beginning of our journey, our dear friend Jeff (whom we are forever grateful for!) introduced us to a couple that lives in Nashville that had received their referral for a daughter around the same time we received ours. Since the moment Stephanie and I were introduced, we have developed a life-long friendship! We talk weekly and it is so good to have her with me in this journey. Although we have never "physically" met, we have held eachother's hands throughout this emotional and joyous journey and it is so nice to have someone to talk to that is going through the exact same thing at the exact same time. She and her husband, Justin, received their court date this week as well and it is scheduled for August 18th! We are so very excited for them! David & I look forward to meeting them very soon and we look forward to the future when Jack Everett and Amber Joy can meet for play dates. We consider them girlfriend/boyfriend already...hehe!
During this journey, God has opened our hearts and our lives to so many new people! Bringing Jack Everett into our lives has hands down been the best thing that has ever happened to us and we cannot wait to see what else our awesome, loving Father has in store for us! Thank you all for continuing to follow us and for your prayers! Please be in prayer for us and for the Miller's, that our court dates will move swiftly and that the judges will have what they need to make our first ruling. Please pray for safe travels for each of our birthmothers, as they do not live close to Taitung and will have to travel for court. Pray for those taking care of our sweet children and the ministry they provide in Taiwan. Pray for their mission work to lead others to Christ and His love.
Blessings to you all!
Sherra
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Patience Is A Virtue?
So, I am sure that we have all heard the phrase "Patience is a virtue," Right? As I sat here trying to think of what to title this post, this is the first thing that popped into mind. As you all know, I tend to lean a little more toward the impatient side of things. During our adoption journey, this struggle to gain patience seems to be a little more challenging....well, A LOT more challenging! I wanted to look up the exact meaning of the above mentioned phrase and this is what I found: The phrase "patience is a virtue" is just a way of expressing the importance of being patient. A virtue is a trait or quality deemed to be morally excellent and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. Patience is to tolerate delay, implying self control and forbearance.
The past few weeks have been really hard on me and my struggle with patience has seemed to have grown! Last night, my women's circle group at church met and I told them I sort of feel like a drug addict (what I think they must feel like, anyway)...with every step we take and accomplish...I find myself wanting MORE! Getting our paperwork to Taiwan was a HUGE deal and it arrived 2 weeks ago. We are now waiting to hear when our first court date will take place.....the court dates have now become my newest "addiction." There will be 3 rulings and I feel like if we could just get that first one under our belts, I will be satisfied...but, probably not!
Back to "patience being a virtue." The page I found the interpretation was titled "Walk In Jesus's Footsteps" and below the defined meanings, they quote scripture from the book of Romans, and it says: 3 not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. During this journey, I have known for certain that the Lord is with me always and that He will take care of David, myself, and our sweet son, Jack Everett. Although it is hard at times and struggle and worries sometimes consume my inner being, I am gripping tightly to His hands and pray daily for His love, patience, and strength.
Jack Everett turned 2 months old on Saturday! Please continue to be in prayer for him and his caregivers; please pray that our documents will enter the courts soon, so our first court date can be scheduled. Thanks to all!!
Blessings,
Sherra
The past few weeks have been really hard on me and my struggle with patience has seemed to have grown! Last night, my women's circle group at church met and I told them I sort of feel like a drug addict (what I think they must feel like, anyway)...with every step we take and accomplish...I find myself wanting MORE! Getting our paperwork to Taiwan was a HUGE deal and it arrived 2 weeks ago. We are now waiting to hear when our first court date will take place.....the court dates have now become my newest "addiction." There will be 3 rulings and I feel like if we could just get that first one under our belts, I will be satisfied...but, probably not!
Back to "patience being a virtue." The page I found the interpretation was titled "Walk In Jesus's Footsteps" and below the defined meanings, they quote scripture from the book of Romans, and it says: 3 not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. During this journey, I have known for certain that the Lord is with me always and that He will take care of David, myself, and our sweet son, Jack Everett. Although it is hard at times and struggle and worries sometimes consume my inner being, I am gripping tightly to His hands and pray daily for His love, patience, and strength.
Jack Everett turned 2 months old on Saturday! Please continue to be in prayer for him and his caregivers; please pray that our documents will enter the courts soon, so our first court date can be scheduled. Thanks to all!!
Blessings,
Sherra
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Out of Our Hands
So, this past week was somewhat of a roller coaster. As you know, we recently finished up our paperwork and sent it immediately to Taiwan via FedEx. David and I were stuck like glue to the FedEx tracking page...we tracked our package non stop day and night....and finally it said DELIVERED on Tuesday! BUT, when I looked at the delivery city it was not Taitung City, rather it was Taipei City. My heart immediately stopped and shear panic took over. I called FedEx and they informed me that once it arrives in Taipei, it then has to be shipped by the Taiwanese postal service to its final destination and there is no way to track it from that point on.....WHAT?! Immediately I felt a sense of loss of control. How come this was not explained to us before...Don't they know these are the most important documents ever and they must get to Taitung City as soon as possible?! I quickly called David and informed him about all of this chaos. As usual, he was very reassuring and positive...I just love him for that! He is always my strength when I am weak and always knows just what to say. He told me "don't worry, our papers are being hand delivered by God and they will arrive safely." After hearing that, I was able to calm down and take a deep breath. I prayed and asked God to take my worries away, as I know He will take care of us.
Wednesday morning came and I checked my email first thing...this has become the routine to the start of my days. Our documents had arrived safely! It was probably about 530 in the morning when I was reading the email...but I instantly ran into the bedroom and jumped on the bed to let David know. I was so overcome with excitement! And....attached in the email was a picture of JE and a video! He is growing so fast! What a joyful way to start the day :) Friday morning brought even more pictures and a update on JE from his check-up. He is now 10.5 lbs. and is 21.2 inches long. He is eating 4 ounces every 4 hours and loves to be held! This was the first email that contained information about him other that just pictures. It was so nice to hear about him growing and a little about his personality. We sent him his second care package last week as well and in it we included a recordable book that we were able to record our voices as we read it. We have read that this will help him to recognize our voices when we meet him. What a great idea! We also included disposable cameras and asked his nannies to take snapshots of him throughout the days....we plan on sending a couple with each care package so we can include these pictures in his baby book! His package should arrive on Monday or Tuesday.
What do we do now?! We wait! We are hoping that this week we will receive a court date for our first ruling. We are praying that this court date will be sometime in August! After the first ruling, we will have two more before we are able to travel. Please continue to be in prayer for Jack Everett and those taking care of him and that the courts will move swiftly!
Blessings,
Sherra
Wednesday morning came and I checked my email first thing...this has become the routine to the start of my days. Our documents had arrived safely! It was probably about 530 in the morning when I was reading the email...but I instantly ran into the bedroom and jumped on the bed to let David know. I was so overcome with excitement! And....attached in the email was a picture of JE and a video! He is growing so fast! What a joyful way to start the day :) Friday morning brought even more pictures and a update on JE from his check-up. He is now 10.5 lbs. and is 21.2 inches long. He is eating 4 ounces every 4 hours and loves to be held! This was the first email that contained information about him other that just pictures. It was so nice to hear about him growing and a little about his personality. We sent him his second care package last week as well and in it we included a recordable book that we were able to record our voices as we read it. We have read that this will help him to recognize our voices when we meet him. What a great idea! We also included disposable cameras and asked his nannies to take snapshots of him throughout the days....we plan on sending a couple with each care package so we can include these pictures in his baby book! His package should arrive on Monday or Tuesday.
What do we do now?! We wait! We are hoping that this week we will receive a court date for our first ruling. We are praying that this court date will be sometime in August! After the first ruling, we will have two more before we are able to travel. Please continue to be in prayer for Jack Everett and those taking care of him and that the courts will move swiftly!
Blessings,
Sherra
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Hurry up and wait!
Where do I start? Well Thursday was crazy (Got all of our legal documents notarized at the local and state level)...and then came Friday! All of our legal paperwork had to go to Houston, Texas to TECO (Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office).
There are a number of TECO offices across the U.S. but Mississippi is designated to Houston. Once the paperwork is there, they will verify that all of the paperwork is legit and all of the notaries, local and state notaries, are correct. IF we would have sent the paperwork via FedEx...it could have taken more than a few days for them to verify it once they received it. So if we would have sent it FedEx there, the time it would take TECO to review and notarize the paperwork, and then send it back to us....would have taken TOO long! (Not to mention the website specifies that they are not responsible for lost documents!) So we decided to take the documents to TECO and personally deliver it to them. This process only takes a few hours! Sherra dropped me off at the airport around 6 Friday morning and my flight left at 7:10. After arriving in Houston at 8:30ish, I picked up a rental car and drove directly to TECO (found it with no problem!) Oh, this was my first trip to Houston and that city is just HUGE!Everyone at the office was extremely nice. I was told that the paperwork would be finished around 11:30 so I could wait there or come check back then. Lucky for me I decided to pack my running gear just in case I had to wait...so I went for a run. I really enjoyed running through downtown Houston (it was very flat) and found a nice neighborhood to run through. I made it back to the office at 11:20 and it was almost exactly 11:30 when she gave me the paperwork. Now my flight was scheduled to head back to Jackson at 8:40 pm. Luckily I contacted Mrs. Jo Ann (who set up all of my flight and rental car) and she informed me that there was a 3:00 flight heading back if I made it in time. I called and verified the flight change and made it back to the airport with plenty of time to spare (after getting lost a few times on the way back...did I mention Houston is HUGE?). My flight made it back safely and boy was I tired. I slept late Saturday morning, which I do not usually do, and then we set out to FedEx. The documents were sent to Taiwan Saturday morning...so now we wait and pray that they make it safely! From there everything goes to the Taiwan courts and we wait some more! Oh the waiting......
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Starting to Get a Glimpse of the Light
Hey guys! Today has been an exciting day for us! Yesterday, we received all of our paperwork from Taiwan....yippee! David & I immediately blocked our work and school schedules for today so we could begin the notary process. We started our day off with a nice, relaxing run this morning, which I needed because I did not sleep a wink last night! Running is always a good way to relieve stress.. at least for me anyway! Not sure about David...I think I slow him down quite a bit when we run together..but he's such a good sport and always provides me with words of encouragement during our runs :)
We immediately came home and got dressed and headed to the bank....1st stop for notary..thanks Ms. Janice! Following this, we headed downtown to the Secretary of State office for our second step in the notary process. As I told you guys in a previous post...this is a very meticulous process, but it is all so worth it! Tomorrow morning, David will fly to Houston to hand deliver our papers to the Taiwan officials at TECO...this is the final step of the notary process....woo hoo! You have the option of sending the papers through mail, but we are so ready for Jack Everett to come home and decided to hand deliver them ourself! This will take about two hours (if all goes as planned) and then he will fly back home tomorrow afternoon. We will immediately send these documents back to Taiwan and hope to be entered into the courts sometime next week. IF this happens, then it should be about 4-6 weeks until our first court hearing!!!
Please pray for a safe day of travel for David tomorrow! Thank you all for your prayers and kind words...Jack Everett sure has a lot of love to come home to!
Many Blessings,
Sherra
We immediately came home and got dressed and headed to the bank....1st stop for notary..thanks Ms. Janice! Following this, we headed downtown to the Secretary of State office for our second step in the notary process. As I told you guys in a previous post...this is a very meticulous process, but it is all so worth it! Tomorrow morning, David will fly to Houston to hand deliver our papers to the Taiwan officials at TECO...this is the final step of the notary process....woo hoo! You have the option of sending the papers through mail, but we are so ready for Jack Everett to come home and decided to hand deliver them ourself! This will take about two hours (if all goes as planned) and then he will fly back home tomorrow afternoon. We will immediately send these documents back to Taiwan and hope to be entered into the courts sometime next week. IF this happens, then it should be about 4-6 weeks until our first court hearing!!!
Please pray for a safe day of travel for David tomorrow! Thank you all for your prayers and kind words...Jack Everett sure has a lot of love to come home to!
Many Blessings,
Sherra
Friday, July 8, 2011
Growing In Love & Faith
Tonight we enjoyed what has come to be, our weekly dinner at Mr. Chen's. When we are there, it makes us feel as if we are in Taiwan and that much closer to Jack Everett. As we sat down, I looked over at the table next to us, and there was the cutest Asian family enjoying their delicious meal. They had a son who was probably about 4 years old, and I could not keep my eyes off of him. My mind was overcome with thoughts of Jack Everett soon sitting there with us! As each day passes, my love and hopes for him grow stronger and stronger!! David and I began to talk about our love for him and our love for God, and how since we began this journey our faith has exploded! We know, 100% that this is the plan He had for us all along and we are more than honored that He chose us to adopt one of His children! We are excited to walk in this journey with Him and throughout our lives and can't wait for Jack Everett to join us! It is unimaginable to truly understand the love He has for us!
So, what has been going on this week?....A LOT! Our final homestudy was sent to Taiwan and will be FedEx'd to us on Monday. We are hopeful to receive it by Wednesday, along with other legal documents that will undergo an extensive notary proces. After this takes place (which will probably take about 2 weeks), we will immediately send it back to Taiwan and within 48 hours, be entered into the Taiwanese courts. On Wednesday, we sent in our USCIS application. This is immigration paperwork that must be done for Jack Everett to become a U.S. citizen and usually takes one-three months to be finalized. We aren't as rush, rush on this paperwork, because it is one of the final things that needs to be completed....BUT, of course we would like to have this done as soon as possible!
The next and most popular question we are asked is...when will y'all be bringing him home?! We wish more than anything, that this question had a "final" answer...but unfortunately is does not. We did receive an email today with a "guestimated" travel timeline that suggests November. Please continue to be in prayer for Jack Everett and those taking care of him. Please pray with us, that our paperwork will be completed very soon and entered into the courts.
Blessings,
Sherra
So, what has been going on this week?....A LOT! Our final homestudy was sent to Taiwan and will be FedEx'd to us on Monday. We are hopeful to receive it by Wednesday, along with other legal documents that will undergo an extensive notary proces. After this takes place (which will probably take about 2 weeks), we will immediately send it back to Taiwan and within 48 hours, be entered into the Taiwanese courts. On Wednesday, we sent in our USCIS application. This is immigration paperwork that must be done for Jack Everett to become a U.S. citizen and usually takes one-three months to be finalized. We aren't as rush, rush on this paperwork, because it is one of the final things that needs to be completed....BUT, of course we would like to have this done as soon as possible!
The next and most popular question we are asked is...when will y'all be bringing him home?! We wish more than anything, that this question had a "final" answer...but unfortunately is does not. We did receive an email today with a "guestimated" travel timeline that suggests November. Please continue to be in prayer for Jack Everett and those taking care of him. Please pray with us, that our paperwork will be completed very soon and entered into the courts.
Blessings,
Sherra
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