Bringing Cole Home Update and ipad Fundraiser Giveaway Details

Sorry it has been a while since I posted, but life has been a little busy around here, more to come on that later.  My reason for posting today is to update on our journey to bring Cole home from China.

Things are moving fast. Our article 5 was issued in China yesterday, which was the last piece of documentation we needed before we can receive travel approval (TA).  It normally takes two weeks to get TA, although we have been told it could take a little longer as they are redoing the computer system in China.   Once we have TA, we plan our trip and schedule our US consulate appointment in China.  We are hoping to travel around July 22nd.

 

We can not wait to go to China and meet Cole.  We sent him a care package, with a photo album of pictures of us, a toy, a letter from us and a cake to share with his friends.

There is mass preparation going on in our house - I am seriously nesting.  Sorting, room rearranging, painting!!

We have been so blessed by the generosity of many of you in giving financially and supporting our fundraisers towards helping us bring Cole home.  We still need approximately $8000 to be fully funded.  It is hard to know the exact amount as we don't know how much tickets will cost yet.

We have set up a GO FUND  ME page if anyone would like to help towards the last part of our journey.  No amount is too small.  If 800 people gave $10 we would be funded, if 80 people gave $100 we would be funded.  We appreciate more than words can say the love an support of our family and friends, and even strangers.

We are having a giveaway for an ipad mini. 

For every $10 you donate you earn a chance to win in the drawing.  The more you donate the more chances you earn.

We are going to make it a little more fun by creating a puzzle to hang in Coles room.

So each $10 you donate will also earn you a puzzle piece that will go towards a 500 piece puzzle.  We will right your name on the back of the puzzle pieces, and once it is complete, it will be framed in 2 sided glass, and hung in his room.  We chose a puzzle showing panda's, as they are native to China.

 

 

 

To donate, enter giveaway and build the puzzle, click HERE

 

Introducing Coleman "Cole" Walter Yeatts - We have RA!!!

Today we received our Referral Acceptance for Cole 

 

 

 

 

We are now allowed to publicly post pictures and send him care packages

 

 

 

We also get to say Happy Birthday to OUR SON as he turns 5 TODAY - how amazing is that!!

 

 

 

We already love you, but we can not wait to meet you, hug you, play with you, teach you, make you laugh and smile, and take care of you

 

We are DTC and LID for Cole!!

 

To put it plainly DTC means our dossier (all the paperwork we have been working on for Coles adoption since May 2012) was sent to China in February!!

 

 

 

 

The LID is the date that paperwork was official logged in to China's center for adoptions.

Our LID was March 3rd!!

Now we wait for China to give us our official RA - referral acceptance, this can take 2-4 months.

Once we have that we are finally able to post pictures of our precious son - we can not wait to show

 you how adorable he is.  It also means we can send him care packages, including pictures of us, so that he can start to learn and identify his family.

 

 

My heart aches to get on a plane, and bring our son home - but for right now we just have to wait!!

Leaving for Philadelphia and Lily's heart cath

Tomorrow morning we are getting up early to drive to Philadelphia.  Lily will finally be getting another heart catherization on Tuesday.

It has been 14 months since her last one.

                                                   (pre-hospital dinner -  mac and cheese her fav.)

 We are excited to find out what is going on with her lungs - if her pulmonary hypertension has decreased?

Will she finally be able to get heart surgery?

We are also nervous, she is doing so well, she is happy, growing, developing.  We know she needs surgery, it is what we are praying for, but the though of her going through it is hard!!

We appreciate all your prayers and support, it's a big week for our crazy, wild, princess :)!

THIRTY-ONE ADOPTION FUNDRAISER

We are currently running an online adoption fundraiser to bring Cole home from China you can shop NOW through MARCH 31st

Ordering towards my party is so easy.  Simply go to this website:

http://www.mythirtyone.com/tscoggins/

 

click on “Place an Order” at the top

find my - Rachel Yeatts

Click “shop now”

 

 

All proceeds from sales are generously being donated by Tracy Scoggins, an amazing lady with a big heart for orphans.

 

Have fun shopping, you'll find some great things for this Spring and Summer

 

Thank you for your support we appreciate it so much

 

 

 

 

February is Congenital Heart Defect awareness month

I wrote a guest post on 28 Days of Hearts about Lily today.  Go check it out  here each day during February and read about some amazing adopted children all with congenital heart defects. Their stories of survival, and endurance are inspiring.

LILY'S CATH IS CANCELLED

Due to the hospital having no beds in the cardiac ICU we have had to cancel Lily's cath for next week.  They require her to spend one night in the ICU for monitoring after the cath.  We could take a chance and drive up there, but as they feel it will more than likely be cancelled, and we live 4 1/2 hrs away, we decided it was better to reschedule.

The plan is to reschedule for March

If they results are good, we are hoping for surgery in May.

At first I was disappointed, not that I want her to go through this, I know how terrified of the hospital she is, but it is hard not knowing what is going on inside of her.  She is doing so well outwardly, but we have no real idea as to what her pulmonary hypertension is doing!!

By postponing the cath we aren't changing plans for surgery, we were always shooting for May/June. 

We will now just have to wait longer to find out if she is a candidate for surgery or not

Our journey with Lily is continually teaching us to trust more and more on our heavenly Father, we are not in control - I have to tell myself that over and over again.  Oh how I like to be in control (yes I am a bit of a control freak)!!