TIME + PATIENCE X FAITH = LID!!

WE FINALLY HAVE OUR LOG IN DATE!!!!We could not be more thrilled and relieved that the most ridiculous wait is over and we are logged in with the CCCWA.  We received the news from our adoption agency on Thursday July 11 that we were logged in as of May 13th.  Hmmmmmmm, some may wonder why the hold up, why did it take two months to get that information?  That's a really good question and one I would loved answered, but unfortunately when dealing with other countries that do not do things the way we do things here, it can be quite baffling!

You see right when our paperwork was logged in, the CCCWA decided to implement a whole new computer system for adoption agencies across the globe to access information.  It would streamline how agencies received important dates, information on referrals and other information for adoptive families.  Sounds good, right?  Sooooooooo WRONG!!!!  The system literally crashed the moment it was implemented (why they never did a test run before fully implementing it is beyond me) and everything came to sudden stop, i mean E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G! Not one single piece of information was coming out of the CCCWA -no travel approvals, referrals, letter of acceptances, and no log in dates.  Everyone across the world was frozen in their steps with the system failure.

Well one would think that if you have a system failure you get your IT guys and fix it ASAP.  NOPE not at all!  It literally took a month and a half for them to get everything going where information could be sent.  It was so hard knowing we had lost almost two months of referrals before our agency could access our actual date of our LID.  BUT we are logged in now and we are so grateful.  I guess going through 5+ years of infertility makes a person good at waiting, waiting and patience ...which all grows and strengthens our faith.  I am so glad the LORD provided such peace during that whole debacle.

We are coming down the home stretch and are simply waiting for our family to become forever...it won't be long now!  I know Jesus has so much in store for us and we are so excited.  During that waiting period for our LID I had to really fight against being upset or losing hope.  I reminded myself that with God all things are possible and not to fear.  I could not have stayed as calm and peace-filled without the WORD.  I think that's why I didn't blog for so long.  I had to stay focus and not let any distractions get me down and I think blogging about waiting would have turned my faith down a bit.  

So here we are again waiting...but this time it's the most important wait...to be matched!!!!!!  This little one(s) is so wanted and adored and loved and prayed over already and I cannot wait to them face to face.  I pray they know how special, loved and WANTED they are.....

 God is good and we are BLESSED!

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us

Romans 5:5

LIDDDDD Wheeerreee AAAREEE YOOOUUUU!!!

A quick update for you all!  Our dossier was received in Beijing on May 6th.  This week we found out that our dossier has been logged with the CCCWA, but our agency could not access our Log In Date which is necessary before they can start the matching process...happy that our paperwork is logged in...yes, frustrated that they couldn't access our LID.....a touch!  You see just as our dossier was logged in, the CCCWA (The China Center for Children’s Welfare and Adoption) decided that would be a good time to update their database systems, which put matching and dossier processing on hold for what was supposed to be a week...it was longer that.  In the world of adoption you NEVER want to wait longer than you should because let's face it we do enough of that already!

So we waited this week, somewhat patiently, praying believing and speaking scripture over their systems to be fixed.  We got word from our agency on Friday that the systems are now completely up and running and we should have our LID Monday which means America World can start the matching process for us!!!!!!!   WOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (and no that was not an overuse of exclamation points..some of you can relate).  PLease keep use in prayer for:   * the matching process to be quick
        * we will travel quickly
        * all our needs will be met with overabundance

We love you all and if you have not sponsored a puzzle piece to help bring our babies home please check out the puzzle icon on the right for more info or donate through our PayPal button on the top right!  We need as much support as possible!  Love you all!

God is Good and we are BLESSED!

He lifts up a banner for the distant nations, he whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Here they come, swiftly and speedily!

Isaiah 5:26

Fun Times with Family!

Over Memorial Day Weekend AJ and I took the long drive upstate to Rochester, NY to visit AJ's side of the family!  We had been away from them since Thanksgiving and it was a WAAAAAAYYY overdue visit.  We had such an awesome time catching up with friends and family and just simply hanging out and laughing (we do a lot of that when we are together)!  AJ and his sister have such great senses of humor and the two of them together will get you laughing so hard you might just tinkle your pants!  Most of the humor, though, is at the expense of their mom, but still funny all the same (sorry Peggy).

The first night we were there, AJ took his Dad to an all you can eat Chinese Buffet and the Ladies (my MIL and SIL) got to spend the evening together at Black and Blue...yummmmmmm. Us ladies definitely got the way better end of the deal and had such a great night...love these gals!!!

Meaghann and I have such a special bond...love this gorgeous girl!

Not too many people can say they can't wait to hang with their MIL, but I CAN!!!!  Love her!

Always a great dinner when you have these too to chat with!

 We spent almost a full week up in Rochester and enjoyed the gorgeous weather even though it was a bit chilly.  I love upstate New York. The pace is soooooo much slower than New Jersey and I feel like I can breathe when I am up there.  We are not constantly rushing here and rushing there...there is definitely a huge emphasis on family up there and people's lives center around it...I love that!  Here in New Jersey it's all about running to the next thing and WORK..which is not the life either of us want for our children. NOT A FAN OF NEW JERSEY at all!!!!!!!!!!!!

We had so much fun relaxing and visiting with family.  AJ's cousin Neal and his wife Lisa came to visit us and check in on how our adoption process is going.  It was awesome seeing them and getting the chance to visit!  We spent Sunday dinner at AJ's dad's house and usually it is a HUGE Italian feast with many MANY family members, but this time it was just a HUGE Italian feast minus the family members....you can never have too much food!  He made a delicious dinner filled with copious amounts of grilled meats, salads and of course bread.  We always leave with bellies full and doggie bags!

The Pilato Men!

This is one of the smaller meals I have seen at his Dad's house and there was enough food for 50 people!

meat...lots of meat

We had so much fun being with friends and family,  most importantly our family.  For AJ and I, family is one of the most important things in our lives, God being first.  We enjoy spending our time with them and CANNOT wait to add to the bunch!  Everyone is soooooo excited to welcome the Pilato babies home!   Love your family, enjoy them, forgive them, support them, teach your children how to be a part of a family and honor your family.  There are 147 million children out there that would LOVE the chance to have one to call their own...don't ever let anything come between the strong bond of family!

 GOD IS GOOD AND WE ARE BLESSED!!!

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 

Exodus 20:12

The Wait Is On!

I think going through years of infertility prepared AJ and I for the waiting process of adoption. There is ALWAYS some sort of waiting involved in every step of the adoption process: waiting to confirm with the Lord this His plan, waiting for your application to the agency to be approved, waiting to have the paperwork sent to us, waiting to get approval on paperwork, waiting for others to fill out paperwork and so on...it's one big test of patience and FAITH!

Now AJ and I are in the most important waiting stage of adoption and the waiting only gets more exciting and challenging as we are so much closer to seeing our children for the first time!  Our dossier arrived in Beijing May 6th..you better believe I checked the FedEx tracking website like 5 bazillion times before it said it was officially delivered on that Monday.  From that point on it has now been a waiting process and a major prayer endeavor to pray it through the right hands to get our Log In Date.  It's a HUGE deal to have our Log In Date because that means we are ready to accept referrals of children!!!  WOW!!!  This time last year we were just praying about adoption!  We are believing and praying that this process to our LID and accepting referrals for children will go quickly.  God has been so faithful to us and has pushed paperwork through much faster than expected before and we truly believe He will do it again for us!

Please keep our dossier and LID in prayer: that the LORD will makes path smooth and straight for it and it will reach the right hands.  We also want people who come in contact with our paperwork to have an encounter with the LORD and to come to know Him!  We are believing that we will have our LID tomorrow in Jesus name!  WE trust the Lord and all He has done for us during this process!  We thank all of you who lift us up daily and keep us in your prayers.  We feel God's Love all the time and know His hand reigns in all we do!


God is Good and we are BLESSED!

 The Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes. 

 The Lord has done it this very day;
    let us rejoice today and be glad.

Pslam 118:23-24

A Love Letter to the ONE

God has guided me down some really interesting, tough, exciting and trying paths in the past five years of my life.  The last several years have been a mixture of pain, tears, laughter and joy.  The one thing that has always remained the same is my hope in Jesus.  Without that hope, this blog would not exist, I would not stand before you a confident woman and I would not be here to tell you how much Jesus changed our lives and how He is waiting to change yours.  God has given me a platform to speak, not just my mind, but his Truth, His Word, His Hope for us.  Especially in the times we are seeing now with so much devastation, heart ache, bitterness, anger and unforgiveness we need Jesus more than ever!!!  He is our only hope in this lost and dying world, He is the only hope for those who are lost, who are bitter, who are hurt.  I know this because He became my only Hope in many of those times above.

I will not shy away from telling people what Jesus has done for me.  In some of my darkest moments, when I felt one bad thing after the other happened and I couldn't get my head above water I had the promise of salvation to pull me up and lift my head above the perils that I was sinking in.  It wasn't easy to get through infertility, or two years of illness or having both parents almost die months apart. It wasn't easy watching one person after the other get pregnant, 30 people I know give birth in one year, it wasn't easy knowing I had people very close to us judging us for our faith in God to deliver us from our trials....but God never said living a life for Jesus would be easy as long as we were on this Earth.  He never said we wouldn't be judged, or looked at like we were crazy for taking a route that looked completely ridiculous to others because that's what God said. God never promised we would not experience disappointment, pain or ridicule even from our own family.  But what He did promise me far outweighs what this world has to offer me and that is why my heart belongs to Jesus....He has promised a joy everlasting, He has promised me victory in every battle, He has promised prosperity, health, healing, salvation and LOVE!  He is Love. God loves me!

People may say, why didn't God do this or why didn't God do that, but it's a never failing hope and belief in His word to turn EVERYthing and work it for His good and His glory.  In the Bible, Jesus' disciples were asking Him why certain things happen even to believers in Christ.  Jesus' response resonated with me so much so and I see His answer resonate in my life.  He responded "but his happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life."  I love this because it demonstrates so clearly that God will show Himself mighty in our lives IF we let Him.  He can and will turn every situation around so He can gain the glory...how amazing is that...to have that hope...to have that LOVE.  I see the work of God displayed in our lives right now. I see how Jesus has has given me beauty for ashes in our testimony of infertility and adoption.  What once looked bleak, lonely, fruitless has transformed into an amazing testimony to help others follow God's plan, know His purpose for them and stand firm when their legs are shaking under a surmountable weight of despair. We now have the opportunity to help other couples going through infertility, we are bringing orphan awareness to our church body and we are saving children from a life alone, without Jesus.  I cannot think of a better way God has turned our trials into triumphs!  He has made all of what we went through worth it, so we can share with others (including our children) the Love He has for us and the life He has planned for us as long as we continue to hope and trust in HIM! 

I know this word is for someone reading this blog.  If you feel alone, confused, depressed or hopeless...know there is a Father in Heaven who gave His only Son to die for YOU, for your pain, your anger, your trials, your broken heart.  He fills the void we all feel until we ask Jesus to fill it.  Jesus won't force you to Love Him, He has given us free will to have a relationship with Him or not...that's how just and Good He is. But without Him, we only have man, this world to hope in and honestly I do NOT want to hope in this world right now.  Trust the Lord, He loves YOU and He will show Himself MIGHTY in your life if you ask him to.  Remember God is for us not against us!  I cannot thank Jesus enough for what He did, hanging on a cross, He took it all for me so that I may live a glorious and joy-filled life sharing His Word and His Love to those who will hear!  Thank you Jesus...I love You!

God is GOOD and we are BLESSED!

to bestow on them a crown of beauty
    instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
    instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    a planting of the Lord    for the display of his splendor.

Isaiah 61:3

The Joy of Old Friends

Over this past weekend we had a going away party for some very dear friends of ours.  Mike and Rima are getting out of New Jersey (insert jealousy here) and moving to Texas!  We are so happy for them, but will miss them greatly!  Our Hartwick College get together won't be the same without them!

A large group of our closest friends (all from college) moved down to New Jersey years ago.  I am from NJ so naturally I ended up back in this state after graduating from University of Wisconsin-Madison.  We live relatively close to each other and always get to make happy memories together.  Our friends Ryan and Kelly hosted the party at their house and all our friends and their adorable little ones came.  We had such a great time being all together again and enjoying all the adorable additions to our Hartwick family!  Pretty soon there will be a few more!!!!

Being together with all our family of friends made me realize how blessed AJ and I are to have a support system so unbreakably strong.  Each and everyone of the people there have had a part in bringing our children home and for that we cannot be more humble and grateful.  A "thank you" could never sufice, but we are forever thankful for who each and everyone of them and their love!   Our hearts are so full with joy!  We love them so much and we cherish their  children like our own. 

I pray everyone who reads this gets to experience the amazing love and friendship we have in our Hartwick family. We love you guys!!!!




 God is Good and we are BLESSED!!!

Friends love through all kinds of weather, and families stick together in all kinds of trouble.  

Proverbs 17:17

Now...we wait!

I hope and pray all of you had a wonderful Easter.  My parents and younger brother all attended church together and then came back to our house for relaxation and yummy food.  It was such a great day and we kept thinking how next Easter will look and be totally different in a really great way!  You see two weeks ago, AJ and went to get our fingerprints done for our I800 application for Homeland Security. FOUR, yes FOUR days later our application was approved and we were ready to send our dossier in to our agency. It usually take 2 months for the I800 application to be approved, by the favor of God ours was approved in 3 weeks! We spent last Monday night with a long long line of many piles of paper creating four packets of documents and compiling all our original documents.  The next day it was overnighted to our agency, who is in charge of getting our dossier authenticated and certified by the state and the Chinese Embassy for us.

Once the dossier is authenticated it will be sent to China, translated and approved.  We then are ready to receive a referral.  It's only now about waiting and praying and trusting God and fundraising and trusting God and, oh yeah, trusting God! WE are soooo excited to be at this step and each day getting closer to meeting our little ones!  Please keep us in prayer as we enter a new phase in our adoption journey. 

If you haven't read about our puzzle fundraiser and our coffee fundraiser please read here to check it out or click on the puzzle or coffee icon on the right of this post.  We have been so blessed by those who have donated, but we have a ways to go.  Please consider sponsoring a puzzle piece or two to help bring our children home! We can't wait to welcome our children home forever!

God is good and we are blessed!

Father to the fatherless, defender of widows — this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families.

Psalms 68:5-6