HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANA!!

Friday was my mom's birthday, and we all called her to sing "Happy Birthday" - Emma loves to sing that song! I am just posting a few pics of Emma for NaNa's birthday...

7 months today

Since we arrived home with our little girl, and yesterday, she was 26 months old! I can't believe it has been 7 months, then again, it seems like she has been with us forever. She is an amazing little girl. She has adjusted really well and we are very excited to be going back to China in a few months to bring home her jie jie, Allie. I found this poem, and it speaks volumes - particularly to anyone who has experienced the miracle of adoption.

The Gift of Life

I didn't give you the gift of life, but in my heart I know.

The love I feel is deep and real, as if it had been so.

For us to have each other is like a dream come true!

No, I didn't give you the gift of life, life gave me the gift of you.

Author unknown

Emma's first Easter

We had a busy weekend!! On Saturday morning, we cleaned house and Josh and Emma played with Easter eggs. See what they came up with? They put them on their eyes, and Emma just laughed. Then, Saturday afternoon, Emma and I went to Martinsville to pick up my mom and grandma to go to a baby shower for my cousin. Toni got lots of nice things for Baby Turner (they are not telling the name yet) The painging someone at the church did for her is amazing!! Emma got lots of attention from everyone, and of course, loved it. After the shower, we went to the mall for a pic with the Easter Bunny. She did great - not afraid at all. Then, we shopped a little for Allie, and Emma got a new pair of tennis shoes from Nana.

Then, on Sunday, Emma celebrated her first Easter at church. It is our risen Savior that put it on our hearts back in 2005 to pursue adoption in China. Through obedience to that call, we have been so blessed by this child, and by the many friends we have made on this journey. Emma did great in Sunday School, and went to theShe did great in Sunday School, and went to the nursery during church. After church, we went to Maw and Paw's for lunch and play. She had a great day, including getting lots of candy and goodies from the Easter Bunny...

From our wonderful agency today...LID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Regina,

CCAA logged you in today - 3/19/08. CONGRATULATIONS!!

Sara


Now, there will be a little girl in this bed, and a sister beside Emma in their Dora chairs!!!

Good news!!

Our dossier was delivered, and signed for by Mr. Li - See below from DHL tracking:

Track results detail:

Tracking results detail for 8877894782
Tracking summary
Current Status Shipment delivered.
Delivered on 3/17/2008 11:15 am
Delivered to
Signed for by STAMP MR LI

Now, we are praying for our LOA to come very quickly!!

Praises tonight!!

Here is Josh and Emma smiling because as of 8:05pm tonight (8:05 am tomorrow morning Beijing time), our dossier is our with the courier for delivery to the CCAA!!!!

Emma's first St. Patrick's Day Parade

Today, we went downtown to see the St. Patrick's Day Parade. Emma enjoyed it a lot. It is wonderful to get to celebrate so many firsts with her! We are looking forward to celebrating her first Easter with her next weekend too!

We had sent off for Emma's passport about 2 weeks ago, and it came in the mail yesterday. Now, we are all ready to go back to China to pick up her sister, Allie. We should receive our LID (log in date) sometime next week, then the count to LOA (letter of approval) begins. Lately, they've been running right at 2 - 2.5 months, then TA, or travel approval has been coming 2-3 weeks after that! We should be traveling sometime in June.

Enjoy the pictures...

Praise the Lord, today, we are DTC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DTC means dossier to China in the adoption world. Our next big acronym is LID - Log in Date. When we adopted Emma, it took almost 2 months to find out that date. This time, our agency enters our dossier electronically in the CCAA system, and they expect our LID to come in 2-3 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!! We should definitely be on our way to sweet Allie before the Olympics!! Hoping and praying to travel by mid-June. Please pray that Allie will have a smooth transition to her new family! Pray for her foster family, who we know loves her and will miss her dearly. Pray they will be comforted that we love this little angel, and, for Allie to feel in her heart already how much her new momma and baba love her!

Here she is again...(we are hoping for new pics again soon!!) TODAY, ALLIE IS 3 YEARS, 3 MONTHS, AND 3 WEEKS OLD!!

Spring Cleaning

On Friday, we had a dumpster delivered from the county and worked all weekend to clean up and clean out. Boy are we tired now!! On Friday morning, Bobby waited on it to be delivered, so he dressed Emma and fixed her hair. She had a big water-spout on top of her head!

Then, Sunday afternoon, we packed up some of her clothes for winter, and tried on some of the 12 month stuff from last summer to see what fits and what doesn't. We found two outfits her foster mom gave her, the traditional Chinese dress she made her and a pair of shorts and shirt, and both still fit. We took her picture in both of these and will email them to Jing Yan later tonight. Enjoy the few pics from the past few days!

Our documents are now on the way

On the way to Madison Adoption and should be received by 10:30 in the morning! Hopefully, they will turn it right around, and we will be DTC by tomorrow evening!! YEAH!! Here is the pic of our house we included in our dossier, and one of Bobby, me and Emma...

They are on their way!

Well, our documents are on their way back from DC to us. We will have them by 10:30 in the morning, and will make copies and have them all back in the FEDEX to Madison Adoption by the afternoon!! We hope they will receive it Friday morning, and send it off to China Friday afternoon - Little Allie, we will be there soon!!

A busy weekend

We went to a birthday party for Miss Lucy on Saturday which was lots of fun. Thanks Deb and Russ for inviting us!! There were lots of Emma's little Chinese friends there, and sweet Karina from Guatamala. Lucy had a great time, and got lots of wonderful gifts. She is a beautiful little girl. Now for the bad news, we forgot our camera, so we don't have pics from the party.

Sunday, we worked to finish Allie's part of the girls room, and spent a little time outside too. So, the pics this week are of Allie's bed and wall, and Emma and family enjoying a break from house cleaning and rearranging furniture on Sunday afternoon...