Merry Christmas

Last weekend we gathered as a family to celebrate Christmas . All of the stockings were hung on the chimney with care. However this year a pink baby stocking adorned center stage. Our motions ranged from great joy to a deep longing for our daughter to be home with us on this her first Christmas. Apparently Lindsey, my niece had the following conversation with my mother, "the baby will need a stocking too!" We honor our daughter and celebrate her gift to our lives. Merry Christmas baby!!

Final Stage

We have received our visa for travel to China. This is most exciting, as we are entering into the final stage of our adoption journey. Our documents indicate that we must be in country prior to February 23, 2011. We are one phone call away from America World, which will inform us of when we officially travel. Thanks be to God!!

Happy Birthday

Perhaps you've wondered why ladybugs are considered lucky in the China adoption community. We have too, and found out that though ladybugs are red, (the good luck color in China), the root of this belief is not found in Chinese culture.

In the late 1990's in southern China, international adoption programs began growing rapidly as people learned of the many benefits of Chinese adoption. One Fall the ladybug (Chinese beetle) population grew unusually large in Guangzhou, China. Guangzhou is a necessary stop for all Americans, Brits, Australians and Canadians adopting from China. (The city houses many Consulate-General offices.) This large ladybug population explosion was thought to be a lucky omen for the many adopting families flowing into China.

From this incident the legend has grown, so that now ladybugs represent happy adoptive families being united with beautiful children in China. Additionally, on Shamian Island in Guangzhou, there is a very special shop a shop catering to adoptive families called The Ladybug Corner

At times over the past weeks, this is a very fitting image. Who knew adopting a baby would require so much paperwork. Acceptance letters, visa forms, travel options, passports, just to name a few. I think we are nearly completed, obviuosly we are not complaining, as all of these steps are necessary for our trip to bring our daughter home. But, we are close friends with Fed-Ex, Staples, and the Copy Machine

The first time ever I saw your face

After years of waiting, on November 1st, at 11:00am, our long awaited phone call came!! This is our beautiful daughter. She was born on March 23, 2010, and found on the steps on an orphanage on March 24, 2010. She is an extroverted healthy girl, who likes music, and cries when she doesn't get her way!!

We have experienced a blizzard of paperwork, time consuming, but all steps moving towards bringing our baby girl home. Words cannot express our love for her, our family and friends. We are so blessed to be surrounded by an amazing community as we are in our final stages of this adoption journey.

Baby Basics

I love this picture!! This picture provides me with a sense of hope and joy as we prepare for our daughter. We attended a parenting class last week, to learn how to bathe, hold, and dress a baby. My thoughts varied from, "this doll is heavy.......to.... how do people get anything else accomplished in the day?" Everyone tells me, you are never ready to become parents, so we will take the wisdom from others, but we will give it our best efforts.

2 Wounded Hearts Recovering

September has come and gone and waiting continues. Our hearts were not prepared for the devastation of our phone call which is our new reality. One might think that after 4 years of waiting, another 30 days should be a walk in the park. This is far from true, our hearts are filled with excitement, joy, and anticipation, only to receive loss, pain, and heartache. Have you ever been to the airport and was randomly selected for further screening. While you where there, you watched everyone all around you board their planes, but you waited. People were filled with love and laughter, while you waited until someone else determined your clearance. We know we have been cleared for travel, we are just waiting for our phone call to tell us where and when.