It's official.... OUR DAUGHTER Selah Coriell !!!

As of today 04/17/2012 our adoption has been made complete in the eye's of China. Today she is officially Selah Coriell!!!

We also celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary today. Thank you Jesus for the gift that is our daughter!

She is one amazing little girl who has gone through so much in her short 2 little years in life and in the last couple of days.

But she has has shown so much strength and so much bravery. In her times of grieving, she shows how us much she has been loved and learned to love . She amazes us by her ability to trust us in those moments, to let us hold her and see her through it.

She is blossoming before our eyes. Letting her guard down little by little. We were blessed to see first smiles and laughter by the evening and even a first word in Cantonese "Wa Wa" = Toy (it was a giant teddy bear that was in the dinner room that caught her eye.)

We look forward to the days and years ahead with our beautiful girl. Praise the Lord oh my soul!

"..and provide for those who grieve in Zion--to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness 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

Adventures in Hong Kong!

We made it to Hong Kong! When we got into our hotel we managed to set up skype to to our kids for a little bit and crashed around 11:00pm. We slept hard tell around 4:30...then we were wide awake.

Shortly after sunrise I started my morning devotions.

View from our room.

Just after I finished writing these words in my journal " Tomorrow...she will go from fatherless to family. Everything we have will be hers. Praise be to our God!" I heard a load KABOOM and shouts from the bathroom!!! My straightener had exploded in Nathan's hand.

Nathan had been trying to figure out why our power converter did not work. He was trying to figure out why the computer was not charging (later realized the cord had blown a fuse) and was trying to test things out with the power converter and straightener when the explosion happened. Thankfully there was no injuries or damages to the hotel (just to Nathan's pride ;) )

So this lead to us hopping on the earliest shuttle to the outlet mall near the hotel. No guide, just Nathan and I. It was fun.

When we found the computer shop we learned that it did not open tell 11am and we had to check out by 12pm. So that was a no go. We decided to grab some easy breakfast (Mc D's) and had a seat on near by stairs.

This was our view.

Our outing was not a lost because had we not gone out we would not have got to experience a small piece Honk Kong .

We are now here at the airport and we found a store that sells the replacement cord that we need! Thank you Jesus! Please pray we get the problems with our power converter figured out. We would love to continue to have internet access and be able to stay in touch with the kiddos.

Oh and these last couple of pictures are for Noah. On the way back to our hotel there was a "car parade" of very fast, very fancy cars. Too many to count! We have no idea why they were but a man outside the hotel smiled at us, laughed and said "Welcome to Hong Kong." :)

1 day to go.......

I can't believe I just typed those words...we leave EARLY Friday morning!!! It just seems like yesterday and yet forever ago that I wrote about about the dream and how God would lead us to our little girl...Selah.

We did not know how we would get here but we stepped out anyways. God has given us miracle after miracle along this journey and especially in these final days opening the doors for us to come for Selah right now, when were being told it could not be done! Praise and glory to our God!!!


Selah sweetie we are coming!

Happy Birthday Selah!!!

Did you hear a scream this morning??? That would be me! It was still the last few hours of Selah's birthday in China and her orphanage had already sent these pictures to Ann who in turn sent them us! Through Ann we had a cake and a few gifts delivered to her orphanage.

I still can't type without crying so here are the pictures...




Eating cake with her friends.


A priceless picture of her foster family, singing happy birthday to her!!!

Feeding her foster mom...open up!



Sharing with her foster sister.




Happy 2nd birthday baby girl!!! We love you!!

More adoption lingo....Update.

The next step after our LOA from China was to get our I-800 approval from USCIS.

We found out on LEAP DAY of all days that our I-800 was approved!!!


The next step after that was our approval from the NVC (National Visa Center). I was not so pretty when I found out that my name was misspelled on our I-800. Oh but praise the LORD, His grace abounds! It was fixed in a matter of 24 hours and I feel so foolish that I let my heart go THERE so quickly. As of today Selah's visa petition was approved and we have been "cabled" to the U.S. Embassy in China!!!



Our in-China contact will be walking over our paperwork tonight (Friday 3/9 China time) to the US consulate where we wait for our Article 5 letter. This step takes 2 weeks.


After this we only have 2 steps left!!!!!! Article 5 pick up and then the much anticipated Travel Approval....NEXT STEPS:




Article 5 pick up - 3/23



Travel Approval -can come any time after that - but they have been coming in an average of 2 weeks, with actual travel as soon as 2 weeks after TA. SOOOO.....earliest possible travel being April 20th.

PLEASE continue to pray over our process, our family (health), against the spiritual warfare as we get closer to our daughter, the battle increases.

"...because greater He who is in us then he who is in the world." 1 John 4:4

Both Hands Project Update

This weekend was our Both Hands project day weekend. It was a tremendous blessing seeing everyone come together to serve Cruz and her home repair needs, in return we had a day full of love, fellowship, smiles, tears and encouragement.

I want to answer the big question that everyone is asking.... "How did the fund raiser go?"
Right now we have raised approximately $663. These donations came in prior to the project day, what a blessing! We still need a lot of prayer as most of the donations for Both Hands projects come in after the project day. Our account will remain open until we are home with Selah, so it's not too late to donate :)

So what is our need now? We still need to raise approximately $15,000 to complete our adoption. Travel is estimated to be 6 weeks away!!! We were blessed yesterday with some amazing news from the Chosen Marathon that Nathan and a couple of our friends ran for in October. We were chosen to receive additional funds through the general fund and they are sending us a check that will cover exactly what we need for some up coming fees. God has been so gracious to our family during this process and has provided what we need just when we need it. We believe He who is faithful will complete it!

Thank you to all who have blessed our family during this journey. Video and Pictures from project day to come!

You can click HERE to visit our Both Hands family page.

A Valentine for Selah

(Oh dear me....the cheeeeks!)

Earlier this month we sent a care package to Selah with a couple gifts for her, her foster family and orphanage nannies. We wanted it to be an expression of love for those who are caring for her while we are separated. We were thrilled to find out through my dear friend that our children's orphanage is really receptive to care packages and totally invested in preparing the children for their families.

(Director opening our gifts and reading our letter of thanks!)


It had been a little before Thanksgiving since we had sent our last care package. IT. WAS. TIME .



This morning we were filled with joy to see precious pictures filled with excitement and smiling faces...



(She is listening to our voices for the first time as we read a recorded story.)




Sharing treats!







The face of a little girl who knows she is treasured!

I have studied every detail of these pictures. From her supreme cuteness and how much she has changed over the past 3 months. From the expressions of her foster mom (Which praise JESUS I have pictures of her known foster mom!) To the tender expressions between her and whom I will assume is her foster brother (which my heart longs to know his story...how old is he, does he have a family coming? Is he aged out? What does his future hold?) These are the things that keep me up at night. Once you have been touched by one orphan, the way you view the world never looks the same.

But soon... very soon...there will be one less.

Valentine's Day may have come and gone, but every day is an opportunity to show love, especially to the least of these.

"And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!' Matt 25:40