elswickadoption

Happy 1st birthday Chase!!

2009-10-06T20:42:00.001-07:00

Tonight was a special night for Jon and I. We spent the evening with our friends in ministry (Janie & Matt) celebrating their son's (Chase) 1st birthday! Chase became a part of his forever family a few months ago and is doing great! He is yummy, cuddly, cute, and loves to explore and of course put things in his mouth too! Chase was adopted from The Home of God's Love orphanage in Taiwan, which is where baby Elswick will be adopted from! We are so excited that Chase and baby Elswick will have history together and will be buds! Please continue to pray for the Mehaffey family...what a gracious God we have! P.S. Isnt' Chase so yummy!?!? I just love it!

(Posted by: Melissa E)

BIG UPDATE! :)

2009-09-27T19:12:00.000-07:00

Hello dear friends and family!

It’s been about two months since our last post about our adoption process! Phew! There has been a lot going on in the Elswick world…the most time consuming and exciting (aside from the adoption) is our new church plant! We are planting a new church in South Florida (Crossway Church) in January 2010 and have been working very hard with preparations and planning. God has been gracious to us and we are excited to begin this new work!

The reason we haven’t updated for a short while is because we were in the waiting process regarding a change we made in our adoption journey. After much prayer, talks, and seeking wise counsel, we made the decision to stop our adoption to South Korea and turn out attention towards pursuing adoption from a small orphanage in Lo Tung, Taiwan. This is the same orphanage our sweet friends (Janie & Matt) recently adopted their son, Chase, from. Chase will be celebrating his 1-year birthday soon! Golly, time flies!

After successfully completing our Home Study, we met with our social worker to discuss our desire and opportunity to change from South Korea to Taiwan and she was 100% supportive! Her words of encouragement and desire to help us become first-time parents through adoption were so comforting! She truly loves her job and said that it’s not about where you adopt from…her job is to help families become families!

After a series of events, followed by applications, references and some paperwork, we received an email from the orphanage director last night at 12:08 am that we are officially on the waiting list! I, of course, ran upstairs to wake Jon up to share the great news and we are very excited! We still have a lot of work to do throughout the process and promise to keep you update every step of the way.

Now that we have officially made the switch to Taiwan, our updates will become more frequent again. J So, check back often and pray for us! Thank you for coming along on our journey through adoption – what a beautiful one it is!!

Proverbs 16:9 (ESV)

The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.

(Posted by Melissa *E)

Katherine Heigl adopts from South Korea!

2009-09-21T19:51:00.001-07:00

Was so excited to hear about Katherine Heigl's adoption from South Korea to a baby girl with special needs! So cool! You can also check out pictures of her lil' beauty here. I love adoption stories! More updates from our adoption story coming soon!

(Posted by Melissa *E)

Love going to the mail!

2009-07-22T16:53:00.000-07:00

Extra! Extra! I went to the mail box yesterday and was thrilled to receive our fingerprinting appointment with the USCIS!! We will be heading down to the Hialeah office on August 12th to have our fingerprints taken. This is one more big step in the process! Can I get a yee-haw!?!?

P.S. You can click here to enjoy a short clip of our friends, Janie and Matt, when they arrived in Taiwan at the airport...it's the first few moments of meeting their son, Chase! Love it!

(Posted by: Melissa *E)

Yard Sale - a huge success!!!!

2009-07-20T13:13:00.000-07:00

Jon and I are overjoyed from this past Saturday! We hosted (what seemed to be) Broward Counties largest yard sale!!! Haha! The yard sale was held to raise money for towards some of our adoption costs and we are thrilled to announce that we made $2800 dollars! Yee haw! There are so many people who donated items, helping at the yard sale and made financial contributions - and for that we are so grateful!

Here are a few pictures from the yard sale to enjoy:

This is the night before with our house filled with goodies to sell!

Jon and I at the yard sale!

The Claxon Family - who generously offered their home for the yard sale! We love them!

Even Janie & Chase stopped by for a few things! Thanks guys!

Needless to say, the South Florida summer heat did not disappoint! It was extremely hot but nothing a Freeze Pop and ice cold water bottles couldn't cure! We are once again so thankful to everyone for their encouragement, prayers and support during this adventure!

Our hearts are so grateful. We thank our gracious Lord for all of you!

(Posted by: Melissa *E)

Yard Sale & prayer request

2009-07-15T21:33:00.000-07:00

Hello family & friends!

Jon and I have been very busy (along with the help of our family & friends whom we are so grateful for) preparing for the Elswick Adoption Yard Sale this Saturday! Woo hoo! We are 3 days away! We have received lots of great donations to sell and are hoping this fundraiser will put a big dent in our next adoption payment due in August. Please pray along with us as we trust in our gracious God to provide all we need financially. This will take us one step closer to Baby Elswick next year!

Also, please visit this blog and join Jon and I in praying for the King family. They were a part of our church family last year and moved due to a job relocation. They are such a wonderful family and we love them dearly. Carson (their son) was just diagnosed with leukemia. Would you join us in praying for him? We would be so grateful.

We will keep you posted on the yard sale...until then remember what they say, "One man's trash, is another man's treasure!"

(Posted by: Melissa *E)

Pursuing Chase - the pursuit has ended! :)

2009-07-07T20:08:00.000-07:00

Tonight was a special night for Jon and I! Over the last few months, we have been updating you all about our friends (Matt & Janie) on their adoption process of their son (Chase) from Taiwan...well, tonight we finally got to meet Chase live and in the flesh! Woo hoo! He is even cuter in person and is such a happy and content lil' man! :) Janie and Matt are wonderful parents already and it was such a blessing to talk with them about their travels to Taiwan recently and to ask Janie a bunch of questions about their transition back to the US with their son! This will be a reality for us next year and we are so grateful to have friends locally to talk to and walk with through our adoption journeys. Check out the pictures of the "Chasenator" - isn't he yummy! :) God has shown Janie and Matt His grace and providence through this process and for that we are so grateful.

Rejoicing at the blessing of adoption tonight...

(Posted by: Melissa *E)

One more step closer (part 2)

2009-07-01T18:39:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day for me! Today was the day I met with our social worker for my individual home study interview! Jon did his individual interview a few weeks ago. After two and a half hours of questions, answers and chit chat about random things (b/c we are gals and we like to talk)...we are one step closer to Baby Elswick! My individual meeting went really well and we are so thankful for our social worker, Efrat. She has been such a source of encouragement and knowledge to us.

The next step will be one final joint home study meeting (with both Jon and I). Once we complete the final joint interview and submit all of our paperwork (3 more forms to go), Efrat will write up a long report on our home study meetings and then it will be sent to Immigration and to Korea! Woo hoo!

By the way, did you know we are 18 days away from the Elswick Adoption Yard Sale!? Time is ticking away and we are so thankful for all of the donations so far...keep 'em coming! Our hearts are filled with thankfulness and joy as so many people have joined us in our adoption process! When we arrived home last Saturday night from a birthday party, we were greeted at our patio with a bunch of goodies to sell at the yard sale! This family heard about our adoption story through a mutual friend on Facebook and they dropped off stuff within the week! This is the note they left for us on our front door:

How cool is that, huh!? I am completely blown away at the generosity of our family, friends, and now people who I haven't even met face to face yet! I am keeping everything in our Baby Elswick Adoption Memory box...we are so thankful! God's goodness to us through this process is overwhelming.

Come and be a part of the Elswick Adoption Yard Sale!!

Love you all...

(Posted by: Melissa *E)

Elswick Adoption Yard Sale :)

2009-06-23T18:05:00.000-07:00

An international adoption is very expensive. There's just no other way to say it. It's unfortunate that the cost of adopting a child is so high...but that won't stop us! :) As a way to trying to raise funds for our adoption, the first thing we will be planning is a HUGE Yard Sale! Yippee!

Saturday, July 18th

Location: Pembroke Pines, FL

(specific address will be sent via email to those interested in stopping by or donating stuff)

How can you help? Great question!

1) Pray for us! :) Pray that God would provide all we need financially for our adoption

2) Donate items that we can sell at the Yard Sale - every little bit helps!

3) Spread the word to your friends & family about donations

4) Help us sell stuff on July 18th

If you are interested in helping in any of the ways listed above, we would be very grateful. Please email me and let me know!

Thank you again to our friends and fmaily who have been such an encouragement to us since March when we began our journey to South Korea for baby Elswick!

(Posted by: Melissa *E)

Pursuing Chase part 5

2009-06-23T18:00:00.000-07:00

Janie & Matt are now officially parents to their lil' man Chase! The courts in Taiwan so say! Yippeee!!! Looks like they are having a wonderful time in Chase's homeland purchasing gifts, sightseeing and spending time with their son! Here is another picture of Chase chilling out on Matt's back! Too cute! We can't wait for their arrival back to South Florida! Chase is already so loved and prayed for!!

(Posted by: Melissa *E)

Pursuing Chase part 4 & Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T15:50:00.001-07:00

Hey friends and family! Jon and I pray you are all doing well this weekend! We are excited to serve you with another update from our friends Janie & Matt in Taiwan this week preparing to bring home their son, Chase! This update comes to you via video...don't you just LOVE technology!? They were able to share this video with their church this morning too! How cool!

Also, Happy Father's Day too! Jon and I love our father's so much and we are so thankful for the wisdom and support they are to us. Father's Day this year was a little bit different for me personally. I woke up this morning with such joy in my heart thinking about what a great poppa Jon will be to our baby! Although we don't know who our child is yet, we are definitely parents in our "hearts"...and so in celebration of the joy of fatherhood being bloomed in Jon's heart - I hit up the local Godiva store to bless my honey with his favorite treat - Godiva chocolate brownies! He also received yummy chocolate chip cookies from my niece, Kaila, and his sister, Luisa. He is in chocolate heaven!

I think of the verse, Proverbs 37:4 (ESV), " Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Jon is a man who seeks after God, who serves Him wholeheartedly, and who desires to be a dad...and God is allowing that desire to bloom and blossom through the blessing of adoption for our family. For that, I am so thankful.

(Posted by: Melissa *E)

Pursuing Chase part 3

2009-06-20T06:28:00.001-07:00

Hey friends & family! I would love to serve you with another update about our friends Janie & Matt who are in Taiwan as I type this! Well, they have pursued Chase and now, their prayers and dreams have become a reality! Just look at this yummy lil' guy! Jon and I are so excited for them and our hearts are so full of joy as they spend time with their son in Taiwan! We can't wait to meet him when they return to South Florida! Until then, continue to pray for them and rejoice with us as we celebrate the goodness and grace of God through the blessing of adoption! To God be the Glory!

(Posted by Melissa *E)

Pursuing Chase part 2

2009-06-17T18:06:00.000-07:00

Well, today was the BIG departure day for our friends Matt & Janie! They are headed to Taiwan to meet and bring home their son, Chase! Jon and I are oozing with excitement for them and have been praying constantly for them! Woo hoo! They will soon be a forever family! Please feel free to follow them on their travel journey over the next few days on their website. And of course, please pray for a safe and smooth flight and an gracious and lovely transition with Chase in Taiwan. More specifically, please pray that their I-600A form will arrive to Taiwan by Friday. This is very important! :)

We love the Mehaffey's. We love adoption.

(Posted by: Melissa *E)

John Piper on Adoption

2009-06-14T18:55:00.001-07:00

Pursuing Chase :)

2009-06-13T19:08:00.001-07:00

Our friends, Janie & Matt, are preparing to leave for Taiwan on Wednesday to meet and bring home their son, Chase Gehrig Mehaffey! Janie and Matt planted The Pursuit Christian Church in our city and we have had the privilege of getting to know them, spend time with them, learn from them, and now follow them on their pursuit of lil' Chase! It's so exciting and comforting to have Janie and Matt as friends and co-laborers for the Gospel...but even cooler to both be going through the adoption process! Would you join me in praying for Janie & Matt as they travel to Taiwan and as they enter the wonderful world of parenthood! Boy, I can't wait to meet Chase - he is already so loved by his parents, their church and by us too! You can read more about their pursuit of Chase here. Rejoice and pray with us for the Mehaffey family!

(Posted by: Melissa *E)

I600-A forms sent! :)

2009-06-11T14:22:00.001-07:00

Today was another great day in our adoption process! I waltzed right into my local post office with a big grin on my face and mailed off our I-600A documents to the United States Citizenship & Immigration Services office in Miami! Woo hoo! The I-600A form is an Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition and is a big deal in the paperwork process! The I-600A is the first form we filled out with the (USCIS). This form is completed before an orphan is located or has been identified for an adoption by you. Once our paperwork is received and processed, we will be issued a date and time to be fingerprinted. One more step closer! We will continue to work on paperwork, online training classes, and getting physicals from our doctors. The process continues!

Stay tuned for information about an upcoming Yard Sale and dinner event to help us raise funds to bring home baby Elswick! It's going to be a fun summer! Stay tuned and check back often for details!

Love you family and friends...

(Posted by: Melissa *E)

Adoption is a team effort!

2009-06-04T20:52:00.000-07:00

Jon and I are so thankful to have our family & friends supporting us through our adoption journey! Our hearts are filled with joy just thinking about all of the wonderful people God has graciously allowed us to do life with, especially as we prepare to become a momma and papa!! One of the coolest things for us is how God continues to bring all of the puzzle pieces together as we prepare documents, continue with our home visits, and prepare our hearts for our lil' one!

Today was yet another example of God's goodness to us through this process in the way of our beloved friend, Carol. We used to work with Carol on staff at our previous church for many years and have continued a wonderful friendship with her. Carol and I meet monthly for lunch to catch up on life and to encourage one another...she is lovely friend! After our lunch date today, I pulled out a bunch of papers that needed to be notarized. Carol pulled out her nifty notary seal and went to work! I kept thanking her profusely and she kept saying "no problem" and "it's my pleasure!"

I sat across from her getting so excited because this means we are yet again, one step closer to completing our mountain of paperwork! Notarizing some papers is really a no big deal to the notary or in the regular day to day life. But for a family who is adopting, this really was a big deal! We believe God gave us Carol as a blessing.

Every little thing matters, everyone has a part to play and today, Carol played her part. She helped us complete more paperwork because she is a notary, but more importantly, as an adoptive momma herself (who's about to celebrate her daughter's 16th birthday soon!) her words of encouragement to me were priceless.

What part can you play in helping a family who is in the process of adopting or fostering? Everyone has a part to play...it's a team effort...and no part is too small! Ask God how you can be a blessing to those around you who are adopting or fostering. Trust me, they need it! :-)

Our hearts are thankful.

(Posted by: Melissa *E)

Adoption Resource: Weaving Families Online Magazine

2009-06-01T17:34:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the Twitter world (which we are still getting used to - but hope to use the Twitter network tool to raise awareness about adoption) - the Weaving Families Adoption Ministry is providing a new online adoption magazine! Check it out! (Thanks to the "@abbafund" for keeping us newbies in the loop! Can't wait to print this out and learn from it!

(Posted by: Melissa *E)

One more step closer!

2009-06-01T17:25:00.000-07:00

Today was another exciting day in our adoption process! Jon met with our rock star social worker, Efrat, for his individual interview as part of our home study process! The meeting lasted about an hour and a half and I wish I could have been a fly on the wall during that conversation! :) I was at work and was just itching to know how it went. When it was over, Jon called to check in and he said everything went great! I am scheduled to complete my individual interview within the next two weeks. Once that is complete, we will have one more joint interview to finish!

We are one step closer!!! Woo hoo!

(Posted by: Melissa *E)

Home Study & Paperwork - bring it on!

2009-05-25T19:48:00.001-07:00

A big part of the adoption process is doing a home study. A home study involves several visits from a social worker (usually one who works for your agency or is recommended by your agency). The home study is very detailed and involves tons of questions about our childhoods, discipline styles, marriage, home life, and philosophy as a family. The social worker also helps adoptive families understand the uniqueness involved in bringing a child into your home from another country and culture.

We had our first home study visit on May 11, 2009 and we just love our social worker! She rocks! And of course I made Jon take a picture of her and I after our first meeting. Hehe!

Another big part of an adoption process if PAPERWORK! Gheesh! Thankfully, I don't mind filling out forms and staying organized...there's just something so thrilling to me about checking off items on a to-do list! :-) Can anyone relate to that!? Here is a picture of Jon and I (taken by our social worker who delivered this hefty pile to us during our first visit) with the first of many sets of paperwork.

We are scheduled for our second home study visit within the next week. We are looking forward to meeting with our social worker again and can't wait to take one more step in our adoption process. Thanks for checking in - come back soon with more fun stuff and updates!

Have a beautiful week everyone!

(Posted by: Melissa *E)

Link: Adoption Myths

2009-05-25T19:33:00.001-07:00

Here's a great post that addresses a few adoption myths.

(posted by: Jon E)

Video Welcome

2009-05-25T17:50:00.000-07:00

Thanks for stopping by our blog!

Life Link Training

2009-05-14T20:26:00.000-07:00

Saturday, May 9, 2009 - Jon and I woke up bright and early to hit the road for Sarasota, FL for our Life Link Adoption Training class. This was a day packed full of information for adoptive parents about cultural awareness when adopting a child from another country, how to handle adoption challenges, and an opportunity to meet other families who are going through the adoption process as well! We connected with a few couples in the central Florida area and even a few families from Broward and Miami-Dade county! We are excited to stay in touch with these families and will be praying for them as they go through the process too! We certainly learned tons of helpful information, which provided great discussion on the 3 1/2 hour trip back home :) We are one step closer to meeting baby Elswick and are happy to check this off our list! Woo hoo!

(posted by Melissa *E)

Korea or bust!

2009-05-14T20:24:00.000-07:00

March 30, 2009 marked the beginning of our adoption journey to South Korea! After seeking the Lord for many months through prayer, wise counsel, and much dialogue between the two of us, we felt completely confident that this was indeed where God had directed our hearts as the means by which to begin our family! On 3/30/09, we drove to the Post Office with much anticipation and excitement in our hearts and we mailed off our application and self-studies to Life Link International Adoption! This was truly the "one envelope to rule them all" - that's for all of you Lord of the Ring junkies out there ;) Let the process begin! Woo hoo!

(posted by Melissa *E)