Excitement!

We have news!
We have received our
Travel Approval
or
TA!

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This is the next step on the road to China!
We will hopefully have travel dates to share with you in the next few days…
but I can tell you, we are almost there!

We also received our passports back today via FedEx…
with Chinese Visas inside!!

P.S.
We have raised 75% of our $3,000 goal at mySTORY!
Thank you so, so much to everyone who has contributed!
We have been Tagging the Bag with many wonderful and special names!
That leaves a little under $800 left to raise toward our matching grant.
We have a few days left to do this to be able to realize the
full $3,000 that Lifesong is willing to bless us with.

the gift

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“Now, every day I am offered the gift of living in such a way that I get a taste of what it means to need him… I get to be knocked around by the fallout of belonging to a life where I am wildly ill equipped to meet its demands.”
Shannan Martin
Falling Free

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(In the boys room – they are all 3 represented here!)

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p.s.
you should read this book!

p.s.s.
there are still a few weeks left to Tag the Bag!

Update Received!

 

Oh, my goodness!
The cuteness!
I just can’t even!

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Yesterday, we received 2 new videos and 3 new pictures and
also a written update on our little man!

I have been so excited that 4 1/2 year old Michael gets to be a big brother…
big brother is right!
Michael is almost 42 inches tall and weighs 42 lbs.
At 3 years old, Yang Yang is less than 35 inches tall and
weighs in at a mere 26 lbs.
He is just a little peanut!

We so appreciate all the information that his caregivers shared
on his development and life in China.

“His general health is good.  He seldom gets ill.”

“His mental development is normal as compared with his peers.”

“His gross motor skill is normal… His coordination is well.”

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“He can understand and follow the orders from the caretakers.”

“He can express his needs well.”

“He gets along well with the caretakers. He also likes to play with the other children.”

He is going to fit right in with the other boys around here…

“He likes to play balls, build blocks, and ride a children’s bike outside.”

This one cracked us all up!
Hmmm…

“He is an active, clever, lovely, and naughty boy.”

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Did I mention that I think he is going to fit right in around here!?!?
*smile*

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!
Psalm 133:1

p.s.
There is still time to Tag the Bag!

Adventure!

It’s such a privilege and so fun to take our precious children on adventures. I can’t help but think of all the children, who although very well cared for in that place in China that has grown so dear to our hearts, miss out on so many life experiences. They just don’t have opportunity to explore God’s wonderful world.

Just this last weekend we attended a day of Family Camp
right here in Nebraska near home.

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The week before, while visiting dear friends, we were able to
have a mountain hiking adventure.

Heading to St Mary’s Glacier… as the Colorado Rockies came into view, Lucy said, “I’ve never seen such a thing before! It’s just TOO pretty!”

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There may have also been some zip lining going on that week too…
lots of zipping around for us this summer!

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Now, we are so excited to be preparing to embark on one of our biggest adventures yet to bring home our new son and brother …

Rothfuss China Tour 2016!

We are so grateful that God invited us on this amazing family adventure
of welcoming new sons and daughters, brothers and sisters
into our family through adoption.
We have all stretched and grown, seen Jesus, and are so much better for it…
both as individuals and as a family.

We want to bring our New Little Birdie
home to our nest, ground him,
and plant his roots in our family…
and then show him the wide world.

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Thank you so much to everyone who has
given towards our matching grant by Tagging the Bag!  
We are so blessed by each and every one of you!

While there will be continued adoption related expenses upon returning home, giving received in the month of September will be able to be used towards our travel expenses. Gifts received after that, may not have time to be processed and sent to our agency who will be helping us to arrange our travel.

Would you consider partnering with us?  You can read more HERE about giving towards our matching grant from Lifesong for Orphans when you “Tag The Bag!”

I know that the Lord is great… He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; he sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
Psalm 135:5-7

Letter Of Acceptance!

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Driving home from Colorado today,
we received a call from our agency…
We now have our
Letter of Acceptance or
LOA
from China!

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With this in hand,
we can start the process with USCIS or US Immigration and
also have a better idea when we may be able to travel.
We are hoping to be in China this coming November,
just as we were two years ago to bring Lucy home!

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With this in hand,
we can also share a picture of our precious boy with you!

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The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine upon us.
Psalm 118:27

P.S.
You can still~
“Tag the Bag”

We Have a Match!

Friday, July 29, 2016
We received our call from AWAA!
They have a file for us to review…
and it belongs to a precious little boy that Becca met while in China last October.
We know his little face, had asked about his paperwork being ready or not, and had prayed for him.  We are just a little excited. During story time, Lucy comments, “wow, you are reading so fast!” We are thrilled to be able to contact Becca in Sicily before her days ends! (they are 7 hours ahead of us.)

Saturday, July 30, 2016 and Sunday, July 31, 2016
We pray and ponder, communicate with our amazing pediatrician (who is on vacation, yet still makes time for us!), talk in code with Hanna and Spencer over Michael and Lucy’s heads (*smile*), manage to have  phone call with Becca…realize that Michael will get to be a big brother, wonder if Lucy will be disappointed to not be welcoming home another sister (this had been her vote) and how she will process this whole, well, “process.”

Monday, August 1, 2016
We contact AWAA and say “yes!” we want to move forward!
Receive an overwhelming email with several attachments including directions on how to do so… and then that evening we get a chance to share with Lucy.  We tell her that we have heard from our friends that talk to China for us, we think we know who our “New Little Birdie” is… we show her his picture and share that he is 3 and in her city.  She looks at his little picture and said, “I like him. He is cute. Great.” The wheels were obviously turning, she holds up 3 fingers and says, “we have 3 brothers, and 3 sisters!”  She then proceeds to make plans to help him feel safe… Felt safety is different than being safe… she likes the ideas of playing together, feeding him good food, bringing along the stuffed panda we have for him with us to China.  Next, she tapes his picture to her bedroom wall and shares it with her favorite doll and then continues to “introduce” her new little brother to several other dolls and her own stuffed panda bear.  Oh, my heart, grace upon grace, thank you, Jesus.

Tuesday, August 2, 2016
This morning I get the chance to tell Michael about our “New Little Birdie.” I show him the a picture and he asks me, “Is he a boy or a girl?” He responds to my answer with, “Yay, he will be in my room!” Michael, you get to be a big brother…Wheels turning… “yes!” He answers with a big smile.  I tel him that his new little brother’s Chinese nick name is Yang Yang and thinks for a minute and asks, “Does he speak Chinese? Then he won’t understand what I am saying…” Well, you can help him learn English, “Ahhh…” I give him the picture to keep and he tells me, “This is my own little picture of our new little birdie, I can look at it whenever I want.” Yes, you can, Michael, yes you can!

We are still hopeful to travel before this calendar year ends.  Our little man will be just about 3 1/2 years old at that time.  We are just so grateful and rejoicing!  If you would like to help us bring him home, you can Tag the Bagtake a look here!

Tag the Bag!

As you probably already know, all adoptions are a big financial undertaking. Our agency estimates that we will need approximately $30,000 to complete this entire process. Some of the things covered by these funds are background checks, physicals for everyone in the family, the home study, travel expenses, and fees to the US, China, and our agency.

We just can’t say thank you enough to all of you who are helping make this dream God has put in our hearts a reality.  Spencer has been kept busy working, Lucy’s notecards are almost all spoken for, and Hanna has been baking away!

And now we are so excited to have received a matching grant of $3,000!!
Every gift given to our fundraising efforts will be matched by
Lifesong for Orphans up to this $3,000 amount!

Every dollar given will be matched!
This is a potential $6,000 towards our adoption expenses!

If you would like to help us meet this goal,
you can donate online by
visiting our page
at My Story
by clicking here.

AND….
When you make a donation,
we will write your name on this awesome red suitcase!

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This cool bag will accompany us to China and travel home with us again.
It will then become a holder of keepsakes for our new son or daughter.
Help us meet our goal,
and we will use your name to
TAG the BAG!

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Thank you again!
The Rothfuss family
(who cannot wait to bring our “New Little Birdie” home to its nest)

 I thank my God every time I remember you.
Philippians 1:3

All Your Needs

Thank you so much to everyone who has ordered scones from Hanna
and purchased notecards from Lucy
and provided jobs for Spencer.
We appreciate you so much!

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We are grateful and amazed by all of God’s provision for us as
we work to bring home the newest member of the Rothfuss family
to our nest this year!

Jason started an amazing new job this week and we also received this news in an email…
Lifesong for Orphans is thankful to be a part of your adoption journey by providing a matching grant of $3000.  Our God is an awesome Provider God!”

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We will be posting more information on how to contribute towards
the matching grant soon!

And my God will meet all your needs
according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19

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Lucy’s Adoption Fundraiser!

Another sister has been working hard and is doing her very own adoption fundraiser!
She has crafted some limited edition 4×5″ notecards
that feature original artwork
by Lucy Joy
to help bring home her new brother or sister!
No two notecards are alike!

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Each notecard is stamped with
the artist’s name on the back as seen below.
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One very special notecard has a Sicily theme…
because this is where big sister Becca is spending the summer!
If you don’t know why this says “Sicily,”
look here!
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$10 for 5 notecards and envelopes (4″x5″)
We will pick a set for you, all tied up with a ribbon!

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 12 sets of 5 notecards each are available!

Please leave your order in the comments below!

(If you are not local friends or family, please inquire about shipping costs.)

P.S.
Spencer has also been working hard doing odd jobs and
yard work to contribute to our adoption fund and
Hanna is still taking orders for scones!
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