OUR TRIP!! Itinerary for the 2 wks we are gone!

10/19   Leave U.S. for Beijing.  Please check your tickets for specific information.

10/20   Arrive in Beijing 

            Go to the Holiday Inn Downtown Hotel. Free time. Enjoy!

10/21   Tour Beijing. Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Hutong Tour, and optional acrobatics show

10/22   Tour Beijing. Great Wall

10/23   Depart Beijing for Zhengzhou Go to the Crown Plaza Hotel. 

10/24   Take a bus to the registration office to receive your child this afternoon.  Congratulations!

Pingdingshan - The Orphanage Officer Ms. Wang Ling Juan will deliver your child to you

This afternoon, all families will sign the Guardianship Agreement.

10/25   All families will take a bus to the registration office to complete the Adoption Registration in the morning.

Rest or optional group shopping trip to the Lotus Center (or Wal-Mart) in the afternoon. 10/26   Free time or rest.

Optional tours maybe available please ask Yisha for details. Pay as you go. 

10/27   Free time or rest.  Optional tours maybe available please ask Yisha for details.

Receive your notary documents in the afternoon.

10/28   Receive your passports.

Leave Zhengzhou for Guangzhou on China Southern flight CZ 3619 (18:10-20:25).

Welcomed by CCAI representatives Kathy

10/29   Take bus to Shamian Island to complete your child’s visa physical and visa photo taken this morning. 

10/30   Free day in Guangzhou. Pay you go

                                    Banicky, Chisholm, Langley, Natale:

Your family has a US Consulate Appointment on MONDAY, October 31st.

PLEASE FOLLOW THE SCHEDULE BELOW.

10/31   Today is your Consulate appointment. 

Your CCAI representative will deliver your visa packets to the U.S. Consulate Adoption Unit in the morning.  In the afternoon you will go to the U.S. Consulate to take the oath.  

11/1     A CCAI representative will go to the U.S. Consulate to receive your child’s visa packet

DO NOT OPEN YOUR CHILD’S VISA PACKET!

Prepare to leave for home..

11/2      Langley - Leave Guangzhou for Shanghai on China Eastern Flight MU 5316 @ 7:55-9:55.

When you arrive in Shanghai please proceed to your hotel. Booked by you

We got to Shanghai and see the Shanghai Healing Home, where Zoey has been since she was 10 days old, and our AMAZING friend that GOd placed in our lives, Charlene (and her husband Mike) will come and get us and take us for a tour of Shanghai! HOW AMAZING is that?? We are sooo excited!! Thank you Charlene and Mike! You have NO idea how much this means to us!!!
 Our flight leaves a little after 10 on the 3rd and we will arrive home at 4:15 pm on the 3rd in Memphis!

This is what we will be doing so I thought you would like to know. PLEASE pray for us when it comes to ALL of these things...esp the flights and Gotcha day! Remember we are 13 hours ahead of you so we will post either at night or in the am, so you can check at night or in the am also to see if we have posted. There might be days that we can't connect or are having trouble with Zoey or something, but we will try to get on here and atleast let you know what's going on!

PLEASE leave comments for us. You would not believe how much it helped us when we were there for Olivia. We read everyone. YOu can leave some for Mr. Willie and Mrs. Betty too because they will be close by and we will let them look and even post if they want to!!

Sometime in the next few days I will post prayer concerns. We CHERISH your prayers and feel that is the only way we will get through these 2 wks. Our God is an AWESOME God and HE has put this whole adoption into place for HIS glory! We feel it an amazing blessing that HE has chosen us to bring these girls out of a place that His name would probably never cross their ears and here to a place where His name will always be in their ears! Yes, she is a lucky girl! NOT because We have her as a daughter or anything but because she has a second chance to spend eternity with our Lord and Savior AND be loved by a family! But WE are lucky because God chose her from the beginning of creation to be our daughter and we get to raise not only one, but now two BEAUTIFUL CHINESE girls! Thank you God for this awesome priviledge!

More to come..when I have time! :)



Just HAD to show you this!!!

SO, in case some of you have NO idea what this is!! Notice we are #1 (Zoeymakes7) and  it says SAFE TRAVELS by it!!! *(the first group is I600 and we are I800 so different requirements and time frame. I had to move up on the second #1 spot, not the first) Well, this is a point I have been waiting on for MANY months!!! Not only am I #1, I'm not PINK!!! This is a chart that an amazing woman does on a forum that has saved me with BOTH adoptions. It's helped me know time frames, stats and I have found MANY friends on this chart! It was my steady when I didn't know how long our wait could be! Although it might not mean much to you, to me, it means we are about to get our baby girl and it's an AMAZING feeling to be PINK with SAFE TRAVELS beside my name! And NOW...my friend Mary is #1 (first one in green) which means SOON she will be going to get her baby girl and be PINK also!!! What an amazing ride this has been!!!

8 days til we leave (well, in the am in will be!)

Today we received the email about our final conference call. I am pretty sure that is the call that made it real when we were adopting Olivia! Josh and maybe Lilly (the founders of my agency) are  supposed to get on there and talk to us. It will be interesting!
We have our flights booked and I was able to get a hotel in Shanghai (I had to book that bc the day before is where my agency's duties stop) Unfortunately it's 41 miles from the airport, but all the ones closer were booked up! I guess the Trade Fair has ppl staying there. But my part is done. All we are waiting on is the final travel packet which they said should come Wednesday or Thursday! So after that, we are ready to go!
WOW!! IT's getting closer. I am SOOO terrified to fly, still! IT's really only my second time on a plane, so I guess it's okay, but I was hoping it would be easier this time.
We leave from Memphis at 9:21 on the 19th. Fly a little over 5 hours to Seattle and have a 7 hour layover! UUGHH!! Then fly to Beijing on our 11 hour flight! SO...PLEASE pray. I'm not just saying that..PLEASE pray for me to feel at ease (and Olivia and Mrs. Betty..the men say they aren't worried) and pray that the plane flies SMOOTH!!! No crashes, no electrical problems, no gas problems, no TURBULANCE and no landing problems. AND that it arrives and lands on time!! I am going to compile a list of prayer things in a little while, but for now, if you would start praying for this, I would really apprecite it!!! We have to take 7 different planes for this trip...so I'm really nervous!!
Well, until our itinery comes in..this is it for now! WOW!! A day over a week! AHH!!! We are coming Zoey Fei!!! We love you!!!

Leaving the 19th!

Oh my goodness!! I cannot believe how stressful getting ticket to and from China was going to be such an ordeal!! I mean I was on the phone with Delta for AN HOUR AND 24 MINUTES!!!! The person I was talking to obviously had NO idea what she was doing and she never gave me time to say let me talk to  your supervisor because she would say, "Let me check, ok?" and then off the phone!!! UUGHH!! I was so aggravated. THEN she came back and said that she was going to have to charge me for a full ticket (lap seat) for Zoey bc she wouldn't be an American citizen and she would have trouble traveling and some sort of jazz but I KNEW that was wrong bc we did it with Olivia! So, FINALLY she talked to someone and they set her straight!!! I mean really!!!
But after all of that, it's done! We leave at 9:21 on the 19th and return at 4:15 on November 3rd. We will fly out of and return to Memphis!
I do not have the exact agenda but I know that we will be in Beijing from the 20th-morning of the 23rd.
In ZhengZhou from the 23rd to the 28th and then Guangzhou from the 28th to the am of Nov 2nd and then flying out of GZ to Shanghai the am of the 2nd and leaving the am of the 3rd! Once we get it all from our agency I will put it on here!
We will tour Friday and Saturday in Beijing, leave on SUnday and get Zoey on MOnday, unless something strange happens and we get her early, which has happened but not expecting it.
Another good thing...there are personal TV's on the plane so Olivia can watch all her movies on the 11 hour flight!!! YAY!! We have her Mobigo, coloring books and colors, books, an etch-a-sketch (small) and just paper and pens for drawing. If you can think of anything else for her, then please let me know. Well, I'm gone now! Will write more next week when we have more definitive plans!!!! WOOHOO!!! 10 more days!!!

IT'S OFFICIAL!! WE ARE GOING TO CHINA!!!!

THANK THE LORD we got confirmation that we WILL be leaving on the 19th of OCTOBER!!!! We will get Zoey on the 24th (we call it Gotcha Day!) and our CA (Consulate Appointment, when China makes us take an oath to love and take care of her as our own children and they recognize her as "officially" adopted) on HALLOWEEN afternoon. All of Zoey's big milestones have fallen on or close to important/celebrated events!! It's VERY evident that GOD has been in controll of this whole adoption from the beginning, just like He was with Olivia's! How GREAT is our GOD?!?!?!
Just so you know, China is 13 hours ahead of us here. If it's 1:00 pm here, it's 2:00 AM there.
When we get our iteniary, I will post it. This way you know when to pray for things! BUT, you can start praying now for amazing flight deals and continue to pray for us on the flights! STILL not a big fan of flying and this time we will have a 4 yr old and a 20 month old on the LONG flight!!!
So, until I know when we are doing what, this is is!
I can't believe that we are LEAVING in 11days!!! AHHHHHHHH

HUH?

Well, got an email this am from my agency. Funny thing is, it said our CA was for DECEMBER 31st!!! My agency should get another email in the am saying that it was a typo and it's really October 31st which means...WE LEAVE OCTOBER 19th!!! That's 11 days from now!! AHHH!!!
We don't know FOR SURE but are pretty certain that it was a typo and so tomorrow I hope to post with the CORRECT date and I don't know what else, if anything!!! BUT...thinking it will be right! AHHH
I can't even type. I'm so gonna get off here. Just wanted to let all of you know! SO, here's to an amazing post tomorrow!! :)

WE GOT TA!!! AHHHH

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all that prayed for us! We received our email today around 2 that we got our TA!! AHHH!!! Cannot tell you how excited we are! Possible travel dates are 10-19 or 10-26. We will know for sure as soon as the consulate is back open, so either the end of this week or beginning of next!!! AHHHH

Have alot of ppl to call so I will be back on! Just thank you for the prayers!! I knew they would work! Our God is a BIG GOD!! THANK YOU GOD FOR MY TA!!! I know YOU sent it to me!!!!

Prayers please!

So, this week could be a HUGE week or a disappointing week! If we receive our TA (Travel approval) this week, we could leave as early as the 12th!! If not, I'm not sure if we could leave before Nov! I KNOW God will send us when HE deems it right, but I can't just sit around and not pray and ask for prayer. I have to accept HIS answer, whether yes or no and I will, but I'm still going to pray!
There is a chance for TA all the way to Wednesday, but I'm praying that we get our answer tomorrow. I am going to be cleaning all day and have a new route on Monday and Wednesday, but that's not til 4:30 so I have all day!! I will have my phone right by me at all times!
Really, I know not alot of ppl actually follow me on this blog, but alot read it, so if you read this post...please pray that our TA comes this week! We are ALL ready to go and get Zoey!!! thank you!!

God, I pray right now for Your will to be done in this TA matter. You know how much we want to go and get Zoey, bring her here and show her how it will be to have a permanent family. The family she has had has given her MUCH love and they are amazing people, but she will not have their name as her last name. We want her to be home, have our name, play with her siblings, feel safe in her own bed, go to church and hear God's word (which I am praying she heard some of at her home in China), feel all the love we have to offer and be our baby girl! We know this will happen, and we can wait, but God  you KNOW I'm not patient and this has been sooo hard of a wait! Please end the wait soon so that we are safely to and from China with our little girl! I will praise you no matter your answer this week, but I am praying that your answer is a yes! Thank You for all You have done, are doing and will do in our family's lives!! You are amazing and awesome and we LOVE YOU! AMEN!

VISAS ARRIVED!

Okay, so the last step that WE can do is to get our visas!! They came in yesterday!! ALL 5 of them! (and my friend Mary's stuff!!!) SO, all we can do is wait! Our article 5 was picked up on the 20th and so our OFFICIAL wait for TA started then. There is a holiday coming in China the first week of October, so don't know when we will get TA. I have the 11th maked on my calendar so I hope it's no later than that. I am still holding out hope that we will get to leave the last Wednesday of October, but not sure if that can happen, so it will probably be Nov 2nd, but that's only a week difference, so I can handle that..not really but whatcha gonna do??? HAHA
Anyway! All we can do now is wait! Realisically we could be on a plane in like 32 days but even if it's not then, it should be 39 days!!! AHHH!!! that's a little over a month! WOOHOO!!!
I SO hope it's shorter!!! I will keep you updated as we go along. If you haven't already, check out the previous posts..it has pics of my twin nieces on it!!! We are SOOO excited!!!

Aunt to twin girls!

Well, I am home after being gone for 8 days. My brother and his wife blessed our family with TWIN GIRLS on  Sept 15th. Their names are Cortlyn and Caitlyn and they are BEAUTIFUL! Cortlyn weighed 5 lbs 15 oz and was 19 inches long and Caitlyn was 5 lbs 8 oz and 18.5 inches long! We are over the moon! I was blessed to have been asked to go into the nursery with my brother to see the girls for the first time and take pics. THEN I got to stay with them and help take care of them when they came home. I even got to keep them in my room for the first 2 nights while the parents got rest!!! I can't tell you how much that meant to me. They have been trying for 5 unsuccessful years and this is a TREMENDOUS blessing. NATURAL twin girls. We are waiting on test results to find out if they are identical bc they look ALOT alike!

Proud Parents! My brother Cortney and sis in law, Kristi

Caitlyn Dian on Top and Cortlyn Rae on bottom..Coming home

Caitlyn Dian

Cortlyn Rae

Anyway, here are a few pics of them I thought you would enjoy!!!

Visa Apps

Well, after a crazy, messed up time at the hospital, Mrs. Betty has been cleared to travel to China! They said she has the heart of  a teenager!! PRAISE THE LORD! So, tomorrow, they will send their Visa apps off and so will we! That is the VERY last step we have to do until we have to plan our trip!

On September 20, I will be the aunt to TWIN GIRLS!! Cortylyn and Caitlyn will make their entrance, so I will be on the coast for a while so I can spend time with them. The next time I will get to see them will be Christmas and they will be 3 months old, so I'm spending as much time with them as I can!!! I can't wait to see them and hold them!!! AND find out if they are identical or not! :) I know they will be beautiful and take after their Aunt Mysty!! BAHAHAHA! Just can't wait! Making their coming home outfits this week!! :)

So, unless God decides otherwise and our paperwork is done early! (not a big chance of that, but I can dream, huh? :) then I will probably post pics of my nieces next and then maybe the fact that our A5 was picked up and we will officially be waiting on TA!!! WOOHOO!!! Can't wait!

10 years ago today, I was doing clinicals at DeSoto Hospital on floor 3! I saw what happened on the TV's, got scared, and got my phone, went to the bathroom and woke Anthony up to tell him! He had gotten the boys to school and laid back down so he didn't know what was going on ! I BEGGED him to go and get the boys bc I didn't know what was going to happen next and he assured me that they were in no danger in little ole Byhalia!! I got off the phone with him after telling him I loved him, and tried to concentrate the rest of my shift on work! IT was hard and I prayed the whole day for NY, Washington and Pittsburg! For the families, and the cities! It was a horrific day and I will never forget it! God Bless the families of the victims today and all I can say is God Bless America! We MUST bring God back to our country!!!!!

Article 5

Well, after worrying sooo much about my agency not getting my PDF on Friday when I sent it, because I thought they had left, I found out today that they DID receive it and emailed it Friday!!! Now, the consulate isn't open on any Monday, so it was actually dropped off today!!! They say that it is picked up exactly 2 weeks later and then the wait for TA begins!! Now, the avg wait time of that is 21 days, although it varies! So...here is what I am thinking:
Article 5 dropped off 9-6
Article 5 picked up 9-20
TA 10-11
Travel possible:
October 26th
November 2nd or
Nov 9th

I am actually leaning toward the Oct date or the 1st week of Nov for some reason!! SO, we will see!
I will be mailing our Visas off tomorrow or Thursday. That takes 5 business days so we should have that back around the 21st! So, it would be awesome to get our Article 5 and our visas on the same day!! Then the only thing left is TA and CA!! WOOHOO!

Can you believe that we are getting this close??? I can/can't! I'm so excited and am so ready to hold that baby girl in my arms!!!! Gonna keep praying that our times are quick but also knowing that it's God's timing!!! He's in control and has been, so I will keep trusing Him!!!!
WOOHOO!!!!

And I am finished!

Well, much GREAT news on the adoption homefront this week!! We received Anthony's passport on Wednesday! So, that's the last in our family we are waiting on. I am sure the Langley's have theirs but they aren't home yet, so we will find out. Unfortunately Mrs. Betty has to have some tests run on her heart, so we will have to wait and see if what is going on is going to prevent her from going with us. So say a prayer for her! Anyway, once we find out what's going on, we will mail our Visa apps and that will FOR SURE be the last thing of paperwork I can do!
THEN...we were cabeled on Thursday (the 1st) and got our PDF yesterday! NOT in time for our agency to send it to China to be dropped off Tuesday, BUT...it should be Wednesday! This is an important step bc it's the FINAL thing I can do! All the rest is up to China! What's left is our Article 5 which is a preliminary approval of our immigration file by the US Consulate and it is required by the CCCWA in order to issue the travel approval! That is said to take basically 2 wks! THEN the last step is TRAVEL APPROVAL!!! So, once our Article 5 is delivered to the CCCWA they will begin the process to issue our approval! They say this takes about 2-4 wks but most have been getting it in about 21 days! It's after THIS part that we will choose a consulate appointment date and know exactly WHEN we will be traveling!!! So, basically, we should know our travel dates in about  4-6 wks!!! Then you normally travel 1-3 wks later! So we are still looking at Nov. My agency said late Oct or early Nov!!!
So, as you can see, my work on this side of this adoption is FINISHED!!! It's been basically 9 months (HMMMM that's how long you  carry a baby!!!!) of me getting paperwork and filling it out..calling and checking on where it is and how long we have to wait for this and that! NOW..there's NOTHING I can do but sit back and wait!! UGGHH!!! THIS is going to be hard for my obsessive self! :) BUT..I do know that God is  in control, and has been from the beginning, of this adoption and knows exactly when we will leave! It would be nice if He could somehow tell me! :) But, I have to be patient. On the grand scheme of things, the time we have left is short! We have ALOT of money that still has to be saved and I have things like gifts for the AYI's, sewing, planning where my children will go while we are gone, getting the room REALLY prepared for Zoey and still spending time with my other China baby while she's only with me by herself for about another 8 wks! So, much to be done in really, a short amount of time!
BTW..got updates on Zoey's size....she weighs 25.6 pds and is 33.5 inches tall! I can't believe that we will have (what I think is the only other ) TALL CHINESE GIRL!! AHAHA Isn't God amazing?!?!?!? Wow!!!

So, until there, there are prayer things!
1. Pray that Mrs. Betty's heart issue is a non-issue.
2. That the timeline is short and nothing prolongs it.
3. That Zoey continue to stay well and that God prepares her heart for us!! (ours is already prepared for her!)
4. The money we need comes and the stress of that goes away!
5. That all the things I have to get done, get done!

I am so blessed/honored to know that I don't have to worry about any of this, but can just take them to my Lord and talk to HIM about them and know, that He's had it all planned out..I just have to sit back and wait for Him to reveal everything. How peaceful that is!!!

Hang on Zoey..we are coming!! We love you more than  you could possibly know!! You will soo have a BIG family and we are ecstatic to make you the last Langley and our last little girl from China! What a blessing it is and you are! WE LOVE YOU!!!!

Olivia's passport/Approval in mail

Well, Olivia's passport came in the mail on the 25th! That's 20 days after we mailed it! I cannot believe the passports have come in so quickly! Just waiting on Anthony's now (and then the Langley's) and we will be mailing them off for our visa's to be added!!! YAY! So glad they are coming in so fast!!

On the 26th, we received our I800 Approval in the mail. That was pretty fast. They just mailed them out Wednesday afternoon! Now, we wait for about a week for our NVC notification. Then, 2-2.5 weeks for our Article 5..the 2-4 weeks for travel approval and then we leave anywhere from 1-3 wks later! So...that should put us about the beginning of Nov leaving!! YAY!!!! Can't believe we are this close now! THANK GOODNESS!!! Thank You God! Please let the remainder of our journey go as You want, but with speed, too! :) Keep our Zoey well!!! Please put it in her heart that she is about to have a family. Please let her look at that pillowcase and know that we are her family. I pray that when she sees us that it's like she's been with us forever and the transition is perfect!! Tell her we love her. Hold her in Your arms til we get there and then hold all of us in Your arms as a family of 7! Only YOU can give that comfort! AMEN!

SO, hopefully by next Wednesday, we will have more news!

I800 APPROVED!!!!

After a VERY difficult morning...my officer told me he had 19 cases in front of mine and he hoped to get to me SOMETIME this week...I called around 3:30, just to check and he had approved it about 5 minutes earlier! See...God DOES talk because I wasn't going to call and that still small voice told me to!! I am SO glad I did.
Now, the next wait is our NVC number. That is supposed to take about  a week. My agency told me to call them 5 days after approval, so of course, I will be doing that! I just pray that the rest of our times go quickly! God has been SOOO good to us through this whole wait time. We have been above the average wait everytime...even if just by days, we have been. He is an amazing God and although I get discouraged and even upset with the whole proess, I KNOW that HE is the one controlling this and it's in His timing...although that's very hard to be okay with sometimes when your baby is half way across the world, just sitting there getting older! We do have comfort in knowing that she is in an amazing home and being loved and taken care of, so that helps...but I'm a mommy and I want my little girl home! Thank you God for the comfort of knowing YOU control this!!! AND forgive my inpatient self!!
So...unless Olivia and Anthony's passport come in, this will be the last post for a few days!! But NOT many!!! Please pray with me for things to go smoothly (and fast!) and for Zoey to stay well!!!
WOOHOO!!! SOO excited to have approval!!!!

Nothing today!

I have called USCIS 2 times today. First call the lady was TERRIBLY RUDE and didn't want to help me out in any way! So, I went to the church and worked outside all day to get my mind off being upset! Then I called about 3:30 and talked to a VERY nice officer and she said she is pretty sure that we will get approved tomorrow! She said that it was at the VERY last stage (but they told me that Friday AND Monday) and that it should go to my officer tomorrow! I'm not holding my breath and I'm going to work more tomorrow at the chuch to finish there and get my mind off of this waiting. People who have the same dates as us, but 4 days later on LOA, have been approved so I don't understand...but again..all in God's timing! SO, I will just be upset, still knowing that God has this under control, and wait for tomorrow! About to go watch Chase play at his first game. He plays the drums in the band! SO...until tomorrow....Oh and Happy 30th bday to my best friend, Lana! Love you!

Praying for good news tomorrow!

Someone with the same Notice dates as us, got their approval today! SO...I am really praying that tomorrow (my bf's bday) we will get really good news, too!! Travel is usually about 1.5-2 mths later and I cannot wait to be at that point!!!
So, pray with us that we get our approval tomorrow and that the rest of our journey goes by FAST so that we can hold our baby girl!!!!
Hopefully, another update tomorrow!!!!

This video is the prayer of so many..like us!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Omj8BMxl9a0
Verse 1:
From sun’s rising to its setting
Orphans call upon your name
Crying Abba, Saying Father
We trust you to make a way
For us, for love

Chorus:
Bring our children home
Bring our children home
We sing Abba, Father
You are able to bring our children home

Verse 2:
In the morning through the evening
Families pray and praise your name
Asking Abba, to be Father
Rescuing the one’s He’s claimed
For us to love

Chorus:
Bring our children home
Bring our children home
We sing Abba, Father
You are able to bring our children home

Bridge:
When we cannot see you moving
And it seems the dark has won
May you find us still believing
That you want this more than us
You will finish what you started
And your plans for us are good
Help us cling to what you’ve promised
You are faithful. You are sure…
(back to chorus)

I found this on another adoptive family's website. They, like us, are praying for not only our children to come home soon, but also for the finances to be there. We can't help it that God calls us to STEP OUT ON FAITH and Bring Our Children Home. Some He's chosen to bring orphans home, some he has not. We are the lucky ones He's chosen and we wait, oh not so paitienly, but with FAITH and ASSURANCE that HE will not only bring our children home quickly, but to provide a way for what He's told us to do! So, enjoy the video. Pray with us that the $$$ is there when it's need. God is never early and He's never late..He's always RIGHT ON TIME! Help ME Lord to remember this!!!

WE RECEIVED UPDATED PICTURES!!!!

These pictures were taken on today!! She is 18 mths old (as of Tuesday!) No measurements yet, but might get them later! I can't tell you how grateful I am that the Healing Home took all these pictures and how they did them. My day was horrible yesterday, I just needed to see her face and God sent me MANY of her face! How amazing is HE??? Thank you God! You are, and always have been, amazing!!! OH and we should have our I800 approval by the first of next week! It's moving along now!!!! WOOHOO!! She is also wearing one of the outfits we sent her, her shoes, and the picture is her pillowcase we sent her! So, 2 months after mailing it, she finally gets to see her family!!! I love these pictures!!!! AHHHH!!!

Enjoy the pictures!! We sure are!!

The wait is killing me!

I am NOT a patient person and this wait is killing me. I don't know why bc we still have alot of money to come up with, but I know that God told us to do this adoption, so I know HE will help us!
It's day 13 since LOA. The USCIS says it takes 12-15 days for approval, so we are praying that approval is right around the corner. I haven't gotten any new pictures of Zoey in a long time and I'm just really wanting to hurry this up and get to her and get home! She's been over there LONG ENOUGH!!!
We are supposed to be getting an update sometime soon and they are supposed to be letting us know if they have given Zoey her carepackage that was mailed on my birthday (JUNE  8th) and I just pray they did!
I am just very discouraged right now. I Know I shouldn't be and it's all God's timing, but it's hard as a momma to sit here and not be with my child. I know that I have never met her, but she's my daughter and I want her home! I want to be able to hug her, kiss her, give her a bath, get her dressed, put bows in her hair, teach her things, watch her play with her sister and her brothers, see how Anthony is going to do with TWO girls and all that important stuff! I know my time will come and I am at peace with it, although it doesn't sound like it, but I am. I am just praying for alot of things to happen right now and it's not on my schedule and that's frustrating! BUT..I know WHO holds tomorrow and I know WHO holds this whole process in HIS hands...so, I will wait!
PLEASE God...You know me! We need to make sure we have all this money, we need to make sure we have the situation with the boys school done! We need to get all this paperwork to go through fast and we need to get to our little girl! I am trusting YOU because I know YOU had this planned from the beginning of the world. But God, I am also asking for guidance, security, speed and comfort that only YOU can give me! You are an amazing God and I know that You have this under control! Just take over my spirit, Lord! I love YOU!! AMEN!

Lovey bear

The month we saw Olivia's picture, we went to Build-A-Bear and got her a bear. We put a message in it saying we loved her and were glad that she was in our family now! We went and got her 6 wks later. Well, of course we have to carry on that tradition, so today (August 13) we got Zoey her bear! Olivia and Chase helped pick it out and Olivia picked out the clothes. We are hoping that this will make time go by fast and that we will be with Zoey in just a few short months. We are also hoping that on Gotcha Day she will see us holding Lovey and feel love (hence the hearts! :) So...introducing....LOVEY BEAR!!!

Zackery!

Well, my oldest is on his way to college today! It's an exciting, but kinda sad day! He's never been away from me for more than 2 wks and that was when we went to China in 2007! Other than that, not longer than a week! I'm excited to see what God has in store for his life and how he handles being an adult, but I'm also scared! He will be taking 16 hours, he's the head of the band (One Way) for the BSU and he will be getting a job soon. He will have a full plate. Please pray for him. He needs all of the prayers! I always woke him up for school...that will be new for him. I hope Hannah's phone calls will wake him up! :) Hope he eats enough, studies enough and sleeps enough!! Oh the worries of a mother!
I love my boy and expect great things from him! He loves God and lives like he does, so I pray others can see that in him. I look forward to seeing how he does! He's a good boy and I will miss his face around here all the time! Hope he visits alot! :) Love you Zackery!

On it's way!

Well, our paperwork is on it's way to Texas as of 7:33 tonight! PLEASE pray that all is there and correct! I wouldn't think that my agency would send it if it wasn't so I'm pretty confident, but there is always that fear! Also, pray for a fast turn around!!
We aren't that far away!!! WOOHOO!!!! Can't wait to hold our Zoey in our arms!!!!

LOA MAILED!

Well, overnighted our LOA Sat and it's guaranteed to be at my agency before 4 tomorrow. I am praying that it's before then though because if they check over it and everything is ok (PLEASE let it all be ok) then they said they turn around and overnight it to immigration!!! SO!! I would like to know that it's on it's way Monday, but Tuesday won't kill us! :)
Moved Zackery in to college yesterday. He leaves Wednesday to start classes on Thursday! SO please be in prayer for him. New experiences, new temptations, new friends, new classes and new not seeing us everyday!! So, prayers are needed!
We always need prayers but I think I will be doubling up this week! :) Just praying for all to be good with Zackery (he's a good boy!! just hope he stays that way! HA) and for speedy paperwork!!
Thank all of you for your prayers and for following us! I will update you as much as possible! I can't believe that we could be holding our Zoey in like 3 mths (and sooner would be better!!!)!!!!!! AHHH!!!

LOA!!!!!LOA!!!LOA!!!!!

I am ECSTATIC to announce that, after only 44 days of waiting, we received our LOA today!!! This is one step closer to getting our Zoey!! My agency said it will be 11-15 wks before travel, which makes it around Nov.
I HAVE to tell you how God worked in all this because we KNOW that He's the one that planned this from the very beginning. These are all the things that happened between last night and today that if ppl can't look at this and say it's ALL GOD, then we would REALLY need to talk!
1. I had a dream that a Chinese lady brought Zoey to me. She got out of the van, walked to me and hugged me...all the while smiling. I remember just holding her the whole time in my dream. She looked older than I expected, but her body was TINY!! I can still feel holding her!!
2. My best friend had a dream last night also, that she and another woman, were on a beach and opened a huge shell, and a Chinese baby girl was in it. (I have always thought we would travel in Nov and maybe around Thanksgiving and have said that from the beginning but I see how it's sooner!!!YAY!) anyway, my friend was taking care of that little girl and was on the Islands during THANKSGIVING!!!
3. We were at a redlight today, and Anthony looked down and said, "Look, we just passed 177,777 miles. For those of you who don't know, that's my favorite number AND the number of ppl that will be in my family when Zoey gets here. Well, in my mind I said, "Maybe that's a good thing and we will get our LOA today!"
4. My friend Mary calls me and tells me that she got her LOA today, also, RIGHT as we were parking at the CHINESE RESTAURANT that we had already decided that we were going to eat at today!
5. As we were sitting down, I decided to open up my email on Anthony's phone (with MAJOR hope) and see if my LOA came in. While Anthony is PRAYING...the email opens up, and I Looked to see what it was doing (I know, I'm supposed to be closing my eyes!!) but I looked down and see....YOUR LOA!!!!
6. Today is also the 6 mth anniversary of my 2nd moms death!! Thank  you Mrs. Sheila...I know you had a smile on your face when God told you He was sending this to us today!!!

Now, I know that all of this might not mean much to some of you, but for me, this all means EVERYTHING!!! All the dreams, the praying last night (yes, I have been praying longer than just last night, but extra hard for "some reason" last night) my friends dream, the number on the odometer, being at a Chinese restaurant, and 6 months to the day that Mrs. Sheila died..this is only GOD! I know it was planned from the beginning of time, but all of these are ways that God showed off today! He has always shown off for our family, esp with these adoptions, and I am so glad that we have someone else besides ourself to trust in for our lives!

Thank you God for today! Thank You for once again showing that YOU are in control of all of this adoption process! Now, we I just pray for the rest of the process to be speedy, without any hiccups and that You show us where the rest of this money is coming from. You have always provided and I will not stress over the not knowing!! But show us comfort in this time and we will give YOU all the praise for everything you have done, are doing and will do in our lives! We love You! AMEN!

Hold on a few more months Zoey!!! We are coming!!!!!

Passports~

Went and applied for Anthony and Chase's passports today. Got them mailed off but forgot a piece of paper for Olivia's, so will have to do all that tomorrow! I am praying (and you please pray too) that we get them back in 3 weeks or less. We will apply for our visa's sometime after our LOA and we have to have them! So, one more step down to getting Zoey!Still waiting on LOA though!!

My beautiful Children

Our Zoey girl!

Cameron, Zackery, Chase and Olivia

Today makes day 40 waiting for our LOA. My agency says that we should get it in August, so today also marks the month that we COULD have our LOA! I am just praying that it comes before our 60 day mark, but there are no guarantees. Until I have better news, enjoy looking at all FIVE of my beautiful children! We are so blessed and can't thank God enough for HEALTHY children and beautiful children that we are VERY proud of!

Week 6

Just wanted to keep you updated to know that we are on week 6 of waiting for our LOA (as of Wednesday, the 27th!) We still are not sure how long we are going to have to wait but my agency told me this week that they felt certain it would be soon. Now, my soon and their soon are CLEARLY different bc my soon would already be or will be like tomorrow! But, they feel "certain" that it will be in August, so that's just around the corner and we will see!
Well, my other kids have their lives going too! Zackery moves into his dorm in about 2 wks and starts school on the 11th of August! Cameron, who is a junior) got his schedule and knows where his locker is. He is also still working and we recently got him a car. A 1993 Ford Taurus! He's loving it. Put a new radio in and cleaned it! Chase, who is a freshman now, got his schedule and knows where his locker is, also. I think he's excited to go to High School! I am praying for him bc he is on meds for ADD and I just pray he can keep up with the work. He's smart, just can't comcentrate as well and his memory for like homework and things is short! All I can do is make sure he takes his meds and pray for him! I will pray for all of them. I worry about Zackery being away and "on his own" and hoping he realizes it's not a party, and that he needs to do good! He's smart enough, it's just applying himself! Needless to say, we are about to have a busy school year! Olivia is doing fine. She wants her sister here though. She asks everyday when she's coming and tells me what they are going to do together! She's growing too! We are going to do school with her also bc she needs to know something before she goes to school NEXT YEAR!!! :(
We are all hanging in there. Not happy about the wait, but hanging in there! I just can't wait until this wait is behind us and we have our little Z in our arms!
PLEASE GOD! Let our LOA come soon (tomorrow would be great!! ) I know it's ALL in YOUR timing and I'm ok with that, but as You know, patience isn't my strong point! Thank you for the knowledge of knowing that Zoey is doing fine and in a great place, but we want her here with us, so all I can do is say Please let it be very soon! Amen!
Love you Zoey! We are trying to hurry to get you! Hold on sweetie, we are coming.

It's been a month!

Well, today marks the 30 day wait for LOA. Alot came in yesterday but only up to May 31st, so that means we could possibly be getting our LOA in a few weeks..could go to a month, but not thinking so! I can't wait to see that email, but until then, gotta save more money...get passports...mail off grants and get even more ready to pack!
Hold on baby girl! We are coming soon!!!

27 Days

Not expecting much today, although you never know when China could surprise you!  Right not the avg wait for LOA is 56 days, so we are getting closer. Some ppl have gotten them around day 30 and some around day 42, so if we are like them, we are closer than we think! Just praying for a surprise today because today, I am pretty sure, gonna be horrible! Probably going to have to put my 10 yr old dog to sleep. I could use a pick-me up after this!
Will keep you posted!!!

Well, 9 days down!

Can you tell I'm a little impatient?? NOOO, not me!! HAHAHA Just wanted to let you know that we are on day 9 of our LOA wait. They say the average is 50 days, so we have 49 days left (if we are in with the avg) which means we only have a month and a half left! :)
Got a new packet to download tonight! The first one was not so fun bc it told of all the money we have to have (and it was a little more than the original paperwork we received!!) We also found out that we have to have 3 new passports (well, 2 I didn't know of ) We have to have one for Olivia, Chase AND Cameron! SO, I'm the only one who didn't have to get a new one! UUGHH!! That's another $400 we weren't expecting! Oh well!! So is the life of adoption! :)
Anyway..nothing new. Just waiting like we have been doing. Hoping with vacation and all that jazz this summer that the time goes by fast, but don't want to rush our summer!!! It's short enough already!
ANyway, will update if there is anything new but probably will just be counting down the day! :)
We are coming as soon as we can our China beauty 2!! Love you very much!

We got an update on Zoey!

She weighs (as of June 10) 23.5 pds, she is almost 29 inches tall. Her foot is 11cm (which is 4 inches) She has 4 teeth. They said she does NOT like riding in the car. When she has to be in a car, she cries until they reach her destination!!! Gotta get OVER that!! :) Hoping to hear more. Her foster home is moving to a bigger location and they said they could get the address and I could send it straight to her next time!! YAY!!!  But, she is healthy and we love her sooo much! Hope to get more and better pics later, but not sure if I will from my agency! But I will take what I can get!

WE ARE LID!!!!

We got the LONG AWAITED email that we are LID today!! (the 22nd of June) Now, we wait for up to two months for our LOA and then travel 11-15 weeks later to get our Zoey!!! WOOHOO!!!
This is very exciting for us and I am so glad that I can stop stalking my email to see if it comes in !!! WOOHOO!!!!!
Today marks exactly TWO MONTHS since we saw our Zoey's face for the first time! WOW! Seems like forever but she's worth the wait!

THE WAIT!!

UUGGHHH!! I am NOT a patient person. I know that I should be bc God says not to worry about tomorrow. I'm not worried about tomorrow, I just want it to hurry and be time for us to go and get our Zoey! I am praying every night that this process is fast..like really fast. I want to defy alll the "stats" and get my stuff done sooo much earlier than the numbers say. I guess that's mean bc everyone else wants the same thing, but when I have to wait over something that I have NO control over, I OBSESS!!! I can't find enough things to do. If I'm not at home, I ck facebook and email on my phone for messages and/ or updates! I wonder what she's doing, is she well, is she having a great time where she's at, all these things. I'm her mom and I feel I have the right to feel this way. It's just like going on vacation without your kids...you miss them and want to know how they are. This is a little worse bc I can't just "come home" and hug her and love on her. I have missed all of her first two year "firsts!" Things like this hurt my feelings. If she's been sick, it hurts my feelings bc I couldn't help her. I know she's being taken care of and I am sooo thankful for that, but there's nothing like a mom's love, ya know! Anyway, I'm just having a hard time with this wait and it's alot more, but I will be ok. Please just pray that it goes fast! I don't know when I will have my LID date or my LOA, but I am praying they are both in my hands by August! A far fetch, but I can pray!!! Thanks for listening to my rambling! :)

DTC!

Well, finally got the email we have been waiting for! We are FINALLY DTC (Dossier to China!) on Friday, June 10th. Now it's a waiting game! We just have to sit and pray that our days waiting are short! We should be LID (log in Date) sometime this month then the 2 mth wait for our LOA (Letter of Acceptance) starts and then, after we get that, we are supposed to be on our plane sometime between 11-15 weeks later! So, the sooner we are LID and have our LOA the faster we will travel!!! So, if you want to pray, please pray that it doesn't take long for these "letters" to happen!
BUT..we are very excited that we are DTC! Have to get here before we can get any further! :)

Dear God, although we know it's all in YOUR timing, we still pray for fast approvals on all these things we are waiting for. We would like to travel to get Zoey early in November so we can be home for Christmas with all 7 of us! Please give me peace about this wait! Keep our Zoey well and please let her receive her care package so she knows what we look like and that we are coming for her as soon as we can! In YOUR Name!

MOre pics..these from her 1st bday party

She's sooo cute! She has the same hairline as Olivia did at this age. I love her!!!

GOD written all over this!!

LOOK! She's the one in the back/middle! She's unrepaired and she's having to be held up so I'm guessing she's around 9-10 mths?

This one has to be most recent!! SHE HAS HAIR!!! :) SOO beautiful and her repair is amazing!

Not sure about when this was taken, but she was yonger than the previous one in the blue shirt bc she doesn't have much hair here! But she's beautiful!!

I cannot tell you how happy I am right now! I found out that there was a possibility that I could find out where Zoey was. I have been searching for DAYS and NIGHTS looking for what foster home she could be in and it ended in a dead end! I was sooo frustrated. So, I prayed Friday night and last night and when I was putting Olivia to bed, for SOMEONE to be able to tell me where she was so that I could atleast see an updated picture of her! Someone saw my posts on another forum and told me that they think they found Zoey! So, they gave me the website and told me to look under the name of Grace. I did and it was her! I was ecstatic!!! There were only 3 pictures, but that was more than I had bc it was updated pics of her...and that's all I needed.

This is the GOD thing: Zoey is at a home where the director is AN AMERICAN PASTOR!!! AND almost all of the staff is AMERICAN! There is a possiblity that she is hearing ENGLISH!!! But more importantly, she could be hearing about CHRIST!!!! AHHHHH gives me chills just thinking about it! How AWESOME is GOD?!?!?!?!
 I wrote them and asked somethings about her, but then, as I was waiting for a reply, found some rules in my paperwork that said that we weren't allowed to have contact even if there is a way to. SO, they responded and gave me a sight that had pics of her on there. Although I cried and was overjoyed that they gave me this, I had to write them and tell them that I was sorry that I contacted them, that I didn't realize it was against the rules. I told them thank you for the sight and I would cherish the pictures, but that I would not contact them again! THAT was HARD!!!  Don't want to do anything to jeopardize this adoption, so I just cried, looked at the pictures and watched a video they have on their sight! Although they were only of her at a year old, there were many and pics of her 1st bday which are PRICELESS to me, so I was overjoyed!!!

SO, here are a few pictures. My agency is supposed to request an update sometime in July, so maybe I will get more info and more pics then! But until then, I know our little girl is being taken great care of...that she is beautiful and healthy and that we are closer today to getting her than yesterday!!THANK YOU GOD FOR THIS!!! YOU ARE AMAZING!!!!

Zoey's Care package

When we received our PA (Pre-Approval) for Zoey, we also got the information to send her a care package. Whatever we wanted to send her, that would fit into a shoe box size box, we could send her. We were told that she, and probably not even the orphanage, knew that she had a family and that with the care package, she would know and the nannies could start preparing her for us. SO, I went shopping! :) I wrote a note and had it translated to Chinese and will be sending all of that TUESDAY ( Cameron's 16 bday, May 31st) I THINK it takes about 3 weeks to get to the orphanage, although I could be REALLY wrong about this, but whatever. As long as she gets it!!

I bought 2 outfits, 2 night outfits, socks, baby doll, toy, My Little Pony, a photo book with all of our family in it(both sides) and had a pillow case made with our picture on it so she can see us when she is going to sleep and wakes up and hopefully this will help her "recognize" us and not be so scared on Gotcha day! I also send a "bag" for her..Olivia said she needed one and hey..I'm the bag lady, so it was fine with me!! The best thing is I sent 2 cameras. I was told that alot of times they will take many pics with them and then on Gotcha Day, we get them back. Can't imagine having pictures from her orphanage with her bed, friends, nannies and just to see her life there without us! I soo hope they take pics and send the cameras back! I am so excited for her to get this! Gotta get some goodies for the nannies and then it will be ready to mail!!! WOOHOO!!!

AND IT'S OFF!

Well, got our documents back from Houston today. I had everything else ready to go except making some copies..and it was mailed to our agency today! They should receive it by noon tomorrow! They will hold it 9-11 days for Critical Review and then we will be DTC (DOssier to China!) Soon after, we should be LID but don't know if we will actually know our date. SOmetimes that's not revealed until your LOA...but I hope we find out! This is a big deal bc now, all we can do is wait!!! (AS long as all our papers are correct that we sent to them!) But it means I have done all the paperwork I can do, so now, we do the HARDEST part, which is wait!!
Please pray we are LID quickly and our LOA comes quickly. SOme ppl are having to wait up to 100 days for it and I just don't want to have to do that!! She's waiting for us, even though she doesn't know it, and I want to go and get her! (Of course, so did/does the ppl who are having/have waited!!) So, as soon as we are DTC, I will update! HOpefully, that's soon!!

DOSSIER IN HOUSTON!

My friend, Katie, from High School, dropped off my dossier today in Houston. She can pick it up anytime after 9 Tuesday, so she should have it mailed by 11 and hopefully it will arrive here on Wednesday so that I can mail it to my agency Thursday and they will have it Friday!!! Then, they hold it 9-11 days for critical review and then we will be DTC!!! So, unless it's earlier, we should be DTC by June 6th (2 days before my bday!) Things tend to be happening on Fridays for this adoption, so I wouldn't be surprised if we were DTC by June 3rd!! ANd maybe LID by June 17th, but if that happens earlier (any of it really) then I won't have ANY problems with that!
SO!!! By the middle of June, we will be LID!! BUT once we mail this dossier to our agency, I will feel better bc it's out of my hands! I've done all I have to do until our LOA (and I already have that paper filled out, just have to wait for a copy of the LOA to send it in!!) So! We are almost there!!!! WOOOOHOOOO!
Prayer? We need prayer that Zoey stays well first of all! Second, we would really like to travel in October bc of the holidays, and for that to happen we have to have our LOA in July, so..please pray, if it's HIS will, that we get our LOA in July! Other than praying that we are DTC and LID fast, that's all! Will keep you posted! ONE MORE STEP CLOSER TO OUR ZOEY!!!!

WE ARE APPROVED!!!

Found out today that our I800A was approved and was mailed out today! Hopefully we will get it no later than Thursday!! Then I can get it notarized, and send it to Little Rock for certification and then get it all together to mail to Houston for authentication!!! Looks like June we WILL have a LID!!!

This Friday, my oldest son graduates with honors! Can't believe he's graduating!! He's such a smart, funny, loving, talented and Godly young man! In 2011, my oldest will be leaving for college and my last will be coming home! How bitter sweet is that? I love you, Zackery and am so proud of you!!

So, this month is full of alot of good things! And I see nothing but great things in the future!

Thank you God for the person of Zackery! Thank You for the time You have given him to me to raise. I hope I raised him according to Your standards and that he leads his life with You as an example!!! Be with him as he grows into a man with decisions and help him to make the right ones with confidence! He loves You, so keep him near to You and let him know that You are there for him, no matter what! Hold him in Your hands, as I can't, while he's not with us in our house and we will be confident knowing You take care of your own!!

Be with Zoey tonight, Lord! Hold her close and let her know we are coming as fast as we can! Whisper that we love her in her ear. Keep her well and prepare her even now for us. Thank you for letting us know who she is and thank you for making her part of our family! In Your name I pray both these prayers! AMEN!

WE CAN SHARE WITH THE WORLD!!! PA!!!

What a GREAT Pre-MOther's Day! I can tell already that Zoey is going to be full of great things!! We hear about her on Good Friday and now the Friday before Mother's Day, China has acknowledged her as our daughter, so we can share her with the world!!! WOOHOO!!!

AND we've been assigned an officer, which makes us one step closer, after we get approved which HOPEFULLY is Monday, to sending off our dossier!!!

This is a GREAT day!!! NOw, nothing is private and all can view!!! WHOOHOO

Thank you, God, for this "Good" Friday again! Thank you for our PA not taking very long and us being assigned an officer! It's the little things in adoption that get us to our BIG thing, which is bringing Zoey home! Please keep her well...happy and hold her in your arms at night and tell her that her family is coming REALLY soon to get her!!! Give her kisses and comfort her like only YOU can!! Thank you!!

LOI

We are officially, LOI. This means, Letter of Intent. All our information was sent today. My agency has told me that we should get the pre-approval (which is when we can share her picture publically) within about 2 weeks! Man...waiting is soo hard for an impatient person like me! Two weeks seems sooo long!!!
While we WAIT...we should get our immigration approval this week or next at the latest. Once we receive that, we will get it notorized, certified and then ALL the documents will go to Houston to be authenticated. Once we receive the documents from Houston, we add our pics and passport things and then send it to CCAI (our agency) They will keep it for 9-11 days for translation and then we will be DTC (Dossier to China)
I was told by my agency that since we have a referral, our LID (Log in Date) should be pretty quick...like days to maybe 2 wks. Once we have our LID the wait starts for our LOA (Letter of Acceptance) They say that takes about 2 months (some have had to wait longer, but I'm praying that won't be us!) Then we have to do another immigration paper (800A) and once that is received, we will be boarding a plane 11-14 weeks later! So...
This means that if all goes the way it's supposed to (yeah right!) then we will have travel dates between October and December. We are prayin that it's NOT December bc the flights are ASTRONOMICAL and we don't want to add to the holiday craziness!! So...
Prayers that all goes according to schedule, we get all the money we need in time, and that we travel either Oct or Nov. So..
Next post will prayerfully be that we got our acceptance from Immigration and that we are sending our documents to Houston!!!
One step closer to our Zoey!!!! Praise the Lord!

HERE SHE IS!!!!

Her name is LI (For those of you who remember, Olivia's name has LI in it too!!!!) Yi Fei

So LI YI FEI!!!

Her bday is February 16, 2010...yes, she's only 14 months old!!!

She in from Henan, China (that's 2 provinces above where Olivia was born in Hunan!!)

We are sooo excited! She's fair skin like Olivia and I don't even think she has black hair, but the color of Olivia's, but we don't care..she's just so cute! She doesn't have much hair (of course) but we will get it to grow!

There is NOTHING else wrong with her other than REPAIRED cleft lip and small issue with cleft palate that we are sure won't take much to correct!

God is SOOO good! Really, you have no idea. I was praying with all the pain I was in, that God would do something to make me smile and He did that in a HUGE way! We were in the post office in Trumann when I got the call, getting Cameron's passport to go to Guatelmala this summer. It's truly amazing!

For those of you wondering, we are thinking travel between October-December. Not sure. Have more paperwork and MORE MONEY to get done with before we can move forward. China has to accept us to be her family and that takes a little while too, but AS SOON AS WE KNOW..it will be posted on here!!!

I hope you all think she's beautiful and enjoy looking at her! We are over the moon, and Olivia wants to get her NOW!!!!! My mom was able to share in this excitement this time (Her And Anthony thought something was wrong bc I couldn't stop crying to tell them!!!!) So, it's been a great day!!!!!

Thank you, GOD that on this GOOD FRIDAY, you chose to show us our Zoey! You are an awesome God and we saw all the "God" handprints on Olivia, and YOu are again showing those handprints through Zoey!!! You are an amazing God and I'm so glad I worship you and you are my FATHER...giving me all I need, when I need it, in YOUR timing! I love you!!! Thank you for this, our 5th blessing, from YOU!!!!!

Surgery done

Well, last Wednesday (13th) I had my complete hysterectomy! 5 days after and I'm still pretty down. The pain is worse than I thought and I'm not able to do much at all!! I didn't think it would be like this, but I'm sooo glad that my mom is here to help me. I remember telling her I would be fine, that she didn't need to come here, but boy was I wrong! Anthony might have been able to handle it, but he would've had to take off work for a while. I know it's going to take a while and I'm okay with that, well not really, but this is one thing I can't change and it will hurt me more than help me if I try to rush it! So...I'm gonna try to enjoy the time down and just look forward to 6 (well now almost 5) weeks from now! :) Called today and both our fingerprints are cleared! Haven't been assigned an officer yet, but hoping that will be sometime this week!!! FINGERS CROSSED!!!! Will update when we have an officer and are approved!!!!

THEY ARE DONE!!

I called Lee's Summit, MO to tell them that I was having major surgery on the 13th and the drive was over an hour AND my appt was only 14 days after the surgery. I asked them if there was any way I could get them done earlier. The first lady said for me to take my chances and walk-in, but we weren't comforable with that, so we just figured that we would "deal with it" and I would try not to hurt tooo much with the drive. THEN..another lady called and said that she had spoken to someone in Memphis and they told me to come in anytime before the surgery, that it would be fine!! WOOHOO!! ANSWER TO PRAYERS!! 1. I don't have to drive that far in pain and 2. We could get our approval earlier, which means earlier DTC!!!!! We are so excited. SO, got our fingerprints done today (4-8-2011) and can't wait for approval!!! Praying for this government shut-down, but looks like God is dealing with that too, in a postive way! God always shows us that HE is in control of our adoptions...thankfully so b/c if we had to do these things on our own...we wouldn't have our Olivia and soon have our Zoey! GOD IS AWESOME..in the GOOD TIMES and the BAD!!! Thank you God for being in control..ALWAYS!

Surgery

Well, I found out that I will have a compete hysterectomy April 13th! In the hospital for 3 days with 6 wks recovery! YUCK! But so looking forward to feeling better...forever! HA I'm thinking alot about Zoey! I am NOT a patient person, as most of you know, but I so want to see her, how old she is, what her special need(s) is/are, where she is from and all that good stuff! I know it's all in God's timing and I'm okay with that, it's just hard! Got Zackery's graduation invitations in Monday! They are exactly what he wanted. I think they turned out pretty good! Now we have ALOT left to do for these last 5 weeks! UUGHH!!! 5 WEEKS and my first-born will graduate! I'm so proud of him and sad at the same time! Just praying for God's hand to be ALL over him!!!! Well, I guess it will be about 4 weeks before I have anymore news on Zoey! I wish it could be sooner, but it won't be! Just stay tuned...getting closer and closer. Pray for Z to be well, stay well and already get her heart ready for us! Pray that she's revealed to us soon!!! :) Pray for our family with this surgery. God is amazing and we put all our concerns, questions and trust in Him!

FINGERPRINT APPTS!!!

They came in today!! Our appts are April 28th at 11 and 212 (but we will go in at the same time!) They are saying from receipt date to approval is running 45 days right now. Don't know if that will change by the time we get our appts done, but if that's still how it's going, then we will be approved the first week of May, get our papers authenticated and have them back by the 3rd week of May and hopefully be DTC by the time Anthony leaves on his mission trip (June 2-8)!!! I am even thinking we could be LID by the end of JUNE!!!!! AHHH, it's getting closer now!!! PLEASE keep praying that everything is ok and goes through smoothly and we get to see Zoey fast!!! ANd leave to go get her!! :) Thank you!!

Certification

Well, we got our certification papers from Little Rock today! YAY!! Now we are just waiting on our fingerprint appointment, which I think we will have by next Friday..the 8th! But now we have all but one paper and then once that's back, we have authentication then we will be sending it ALL to the agency and hopefully be DTC!!! So, moving right along! Had some bumps here and there, but it's going fine!

Privacy!

This adoption is different from Olivia's. It is illegal for us to post a picture or information about our daughter on a public website, and that's going to be HARD for me. How will they find out??? Who knows, but I will do NOTHING to jeopardize this adoption, therefore, I will follow the rules!
That being said, I need all the emails of people that would like to see her and her info and follow us in China because this will become a private blog as soon as we have info or a picture. NO! We know nothing, but you never know with the special needs adoptions! But if I have your email, I can add it to the privacy setting and you WILL be able to see it, so if you want to be added, just send me an email to mystyfy@rittermail.com, leave it on here or message me on facebook. Sorry about this, but I know you all understand!

One more step down!

We received our notice in the mail that our I800A paperwork has been received. NOW, all we can do is wait for our fingerprint invitation. Looks like it's taking about 3-4 weeks to have your appointment date then just days to get approved. So, that's a plus!
I have some documents already certified, and should receive the others in the mail this week. Then I have to send all those papers off to Houston to be authenticated (A PAIN WITH MORE MONEY NEEDED NOW!!!) and then just wait on our approval to come back...send that to be certified and authenticated, then mail it all to CCAI. Then, 7-11 days later, our dossier is OFF TO CHINA!!!! (DTC) We will then wait for our LID and pray that a referral comes in QUICKLY after that! So, as confusing as all this is...it's still looking like we will be DTC the end of May, but we can always pray for sooner! Our God is a BIG God and HE knows who our "Zoey" is and when she will be ready for us to come and get her! Although patience is NOT a virtue of mine, I know from experience that GOD is in control of this situation and I just have to sit back and wait for HIS timing!! (Although I do pray for speed! HAHA)
But...one more thing down! WOOHOO!!!

IT'S DONE!!!

WOOHOO!!! Our homestudy has been Approved!!!! This is a BIG step because until this was done, we couldn't get an appointment to get our fingerprints done, which this step is taking up to 60 days, which it's taking almost all 60 days!! So, while we wait for an invitation to do this, we will notorize, certify and authenticate our paperwork which will take about 4-6 weeks for all of this! It all goes well, my goal for being DTC in May will become a reality!!! WOOHOO!! Thank you Lord!!

WOOHOO!!!!

Have just been notified that our first draft of our homestudy has been sent to our agency!!!! That's a HUGE deal! Now, we need prayer that there are NO mistakes and that it gets approved on the first try bc that means we can apply for our fingerprints and it's closer to getting that back to have things certified and autenticated to be sent to CCAA (China) If we don't have a baby picked out by then, it's the CCAA that will choose our baby girl a few months from the time of receiving our dossier!! So, the faster this gets approved, the faster we are DTC and get to see our baby girl!!! In reality, all this could happen (things mailed off, DTC and seeing our baby girl) by September...then we just have to wait to travel after that!!!!! WOOHOO!! Please pray for first time being a charm!! Thank you in advance! We are coming, Zoey....as fast as we can!!! We love you already!!!

Im SoOOO excited

I feel pretty safe in saying this on here and I have to say it somewhere!! I AM GOING TO BE AN AUNT TO IDENTICAL TWINS!!!! AHHHH My brother and his wife found out today. They have tried for 5 years and it finally happened and God gave them TWO!!! AHHH I am so excited and feel so blessed. Now I can't wait to find out what they are!!!! WOOHOO!!!!

UPDATE!!! Found out at a later ultrasound, when they are now bigger, that they are NOT idential! There are two of everything and that takes Kristi out of the high risk category! It would have been cool for them to be identical, and they still might be (confusing to explain) BUT we are happy that Kristi is no longer on that list! We just want TWO healthy babies to love and spoil, so we don't care if they look alike or not! We find out (if they cooperate) on April 18th and if not then, she has an appointment in Mobile the next month, so we will know by the end of May what they are!! CAN'T WAIT!!!!

WOOHOO!!!

I just got the message that our Mississippi forms came in the mail to our social worker today and we will meet with her on Saturday to finish our part of the homestudy which means....PROBABLY sometime next week, our first draft will be headed to our agency!!! woohoo!!! I sooo needed some good news today and God provided!!! Thank you God!!!

Well, it was a possiblilty

I know I haven't updated in a while, so here it goes.
We have our last homestudy this Friday (Feb 5th) and we are still waiting on our Mississippi clearance form for child abuse. Once those two things are done, we are hoping to have the homestudy finished and on it's way for the first look-over by the first week of March!
We had been looking at a little girl with hydrocephalus, but unless we get updates, she will not be the one for our family bc of her condition being much more than hydrocephalus (as of the info that we have now) She will be 2 in April and she is gorgeous, but we have to wait to see if any updates will be sent (Her orphanage has to send them and they don't always comply) so we will wail, bc that's all we can do! If we get more info that's positive, we will send them to the neuro's that have been looking at her file and get their opinion and go from there, but for now, we still wait!!
Please keep praying for Zoey and that she stays well and that she's presented to us soon! We are so ready to see her face and get this ball rolling!!! We know waiting is part of the process, but it's so hard...still! So, your prayers are coveted!!!
So, until I have more news!!! Zoey, we already love you and are praying that you are shown to us soon! Stay well and know that your family here are waiting on you and can't wait to see you!

More papers came in

Well, Lori received our Child maltreatment forms from Louisiana and Arkansas. Mississippi is being a pain and I will mail those forms Monday. We got our certified birth certificates and marriage license in week before last also.
I have gotten all the papers that I could get together for the dossier. I am waiting on Anthony to do two papers, the homestudy (that we hope will be done by the end of this month) and then we will wait on our I800A. Then we can send all this off to be certified and authenticated! Then...well, not sure when but the dossier is sent to China (DTC)
We are still praying for a phone call from our agency for a referral before we are DTC so if there is anything you would like to pray about, that would be it. It would shorten our wait time to go and get Zoey and save us a few hundred dollars which is NEEDED in an adoption!
So again, I just sit and wait! I'm not good at patience things, but in an adoption you have to wait!! The best is yet to come! HA
So...until I know more...that's all for now. Prayers are appreciated and needed!!!

WOW! What a week!

On Friday, November 4, 2011, my second mom, Sheila Taylor, went home to be with the Lord. She found out almost 4 months ago that she had brain tumors and lung cancer. We all left on Monday (the same day I found out that I had the FLU!!) and drove for the services. Zackery was a paulbearer and Anthony did the service. It was a very hard service for my family and the Taylor's and it will be a long time before pics of Sheila stop running through my mind. My mom said things for her best friend and sang and Anthony preached. They both did an amazing job under the circumstances! Continued prayer for everyone who knew and loved Sheila would be appreciated!!! She was a very precious woman and she will NEVER be forgotten but ALWAYS missed!!!! I love you Mrs. Sheila!

Almost there!

I have gotten all the papers together to be certified and authenticated that I can do. Got to wait on the I800A and our dossier to be finished. Can't do I800A til dossier is complete, so it will be about another month before that paper will even be accessible. We are hoping that the dossier will be complete by the end of this month so that maybe we can get our dossier to China (DTC for future reference) by....May sometime!! That's hoping! Right now, I need you to pray for Zoey. We would really like to have her picture before we send off our dossier. If it prolongs sending our dossier, then we will just wait, but if we have her picture before we are DTC then we could travel before the end of the year!!!! That's what we are praying for (and the money that needs to go along with the whole process, of course! :)
Things are going great with the adoption right now though. Things are right on tract. It's always hurry, hurry, hurry and wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! But we knew that coming in! So..we are good!
Please pray for my parents LONG time friends, Jimmy and Sheila and her 4 kids, their spouses and grandkids and of course my parents. Mrs. Sheila was diagnosed with cancer in Sept. and they think we are at the ending days now. She is only 56 and such a special lady to my family. Please pray for either miraculous healing (Which I KNOW can be done) or that when God takes her, that HIS arms are wrapped around the family (and my family is considered family) to get through this! It's going to be hard! Anthony is preaching and Zackery is a paulbearer!!! So, it's gonna be a tough service! Thank you for your prayers in advance! Love you Mrs. Sheila! And Love you Zoey! Stay well in this weather. Mommy, daddy, bubbas and big sister are coming as fast as we can!!!

Legacy of an Adopted Child
Once there were two women who never knew each other
One you do not remember, the other you call Mother

Two different lives shaped to make you one
One became your guiding star, the other became your sun

The first one gave you life, and the second taught you to live it
The first gave you a need for love, the second was there to give it

One gave you a nationality, the other gave you a name,
One gave you talent, the other gave you aim.

Once gave you emotions, the other calmed your fears.
Once saw your first sweet smile, the other dried your tears

One made an adoption plan, that was all that she could do
The other prayed for a child, and God led her staright to you
Now, which of these two women, Are you the product of?
Both, my darling, Both, just two different types of love.
unknown

SNOW!SNOW!SNOW!

We didn't get to do our last homestudy because of the 4 inches of snow we received Thursday night! Kids got out of school early because of ice and stayed home Friday. They say more is to come Sunday and Monday, but we will wait and see if it comes true!
I went and had my physical done. Olivia DID NOT like it when they had to take my blood. She said, "No mommie, it's gonna hurt you. I don't want it to hurt you. You will have a bobo!" So sweet! I told her daddy and I had to do the same thing when we were trying to get her. She just looked at me at that point and didn't say anything!! Then all day, when she would get beside me she would look and say,"I don't want to hurt u's bobo...am I touching it!" HA I told her it didn't hurt, but she was still concerned!
So..I've done all I can do on my side. Waiting on clearances to come in, homestudy to be done, certified birth certificates and marriage license to come in. But...waiting while in the process of adoption is part of it! (esp from China...they are soo thorough!!!)
Well, Livy is in the bed for a nap, Zackery is at work, Cameron and Jake are in Cam's room and Anthony and Chase are getting a hair cut so I guess I will try to find something on TV. I don't feel like doing much, on ABX for a slight infection, so I'm just going to be lazy today! Perfect day for i! :) Until next time!!!

One more thing done

There are new Hague rules that we have to follow for this adoption. It's alot more things that we have to do and one of those things are 10 hours of parent training. It's listening to videos about growth, attachment, China in general, things first time adoptive parents need to be aware of and things like that. It was actually very interesting and I'm glad we watched them. We did all 10 hours in 2 days!! And you have to take a quiz to finish and show that you did do them. We got our certificate today, so we are done! I have almost all of the paperwork ready, and are really just waiting on certified birth certificates, police clearance and the homestudy. So...if the homestudy is done by the end of February, then we could do our fingerprints in March and sending our dossier off in April/May! That's pretty fast! That means it would have only taken 4-5 months for the dossier. Now that doesn't make CCAA speed up, but it gets our paperwork to them faster! :)
Anyway, supposed to have last homestudy done Friday, but they are calling for snow and ice so not sure if it will happen! I have my physical tomorrow so that will be done! Well, that's about all that's happening now..so until another milestone...ttyl!

YAY!!!

Our agency got our first check and now I get to upload all the other things I have to do. This is good because it's a BIG step closer. The faster I get the papers done and mailed, the faster they come back and might have them done by the time the dossier is finished...about 2-3 mths!! I am hoping I can get things done that fast. It's not my first rodeo on all the paperwork, so I should be pretty efficient at getting it done! I didn't even think they were in today, so I'm VERY excited. We have to do 10 hrs of "training" on the computer this time bc of Hague requirements, but oh well!!!
YAY! I LOVE filling out paperwork too, so I'm excited! Gotta finish cleaning my room and Olivia's room, cook dinner and then I can download all of it and get started!!!

And the cat is finally out of the bag!

It was so hard not telling people about our exciting news, but we had a few things we had to do in order to tell everyone. There are several processes you have to go thorough and we wanted to make sure we were sure it was gonna happen! I guess it's kinda like when you are pregnant, you might have taken the home test, but want to make sure with a Dr. appt before you tell many people! In the adoption process, you have to be accepted and that takes alot of numbers and paperwork! So, we sent in our application in December, found out we were accepted and then had to do a few more things before we were ready! But I am SOOO glad that I can run my mouth now! HA!
Tomorrow is our homestudy day, so today I will have to clean. Then she should be coming back for the second one on Friday! The faster we get the homestudy done, the faster we can send it to the CCAA in China and they can "Choose" the baby girl that's right for us AND we get to fill out paperwork for grants! Now THAT will take a LONG time!
So, until tomorrow, we are cleaning. OH we get new windows in the whole house too (THANK YOU CHURCH) so maybe we can save a little money on electricity!!! Please feel free to leave comments or ask questions or whatever you would like to do on here. I am soo excited all of you are joining us on this journey and for some of you, on this journey again! It's so much better when shared by people you love and are interested in your lives! So, until next time!!!
WE ARE GOING BACK TO CHINA!! ONE LAST MEIMEI (little sister in Chinese), Zoey!!