Things about Zoey!

Adopting an older child is alot harder than we thought! Well, atleast harder than I thought. There are several things you have to learn because she has been with other kids and learned things from them, learned from other adults and has her own way that's very evident once you spend time with her! Here are some things that we have come to realize about her!

1. She LOVES to eat!

2. She is VERY strong willed (yes, we now have TWO of them!)

3. She has great tactile control. She can pick up anything! She can "draw"

4. She is pretty much left handed! (yay! Now my brother's 2 nieces are lefties like him!)

5. She goes to sleep with a bottle and on her back...EASILY!!! No crying or anything. Just has to know you are there til she falls asleep.

6. Did I mention she LOVES to eat???

7. Grunts ALOT!! But we were told she would because the kids at SHH all are cl/cp and don't talk much, so we expected it.

8. KNOWS what she WANTS! You offer her something that she wants, she shakes her head yes, if not, she either shakes her head no or pushes it away!!!

9. Is VERY strong...physically!

10. Can climb stairs GREAT holding your hands! Maybe even by herself but we haven't tried that yet.

11. She is HEAVY!!! Scales say only 22 pds, but I'm not so sure!!!

12. Likes playing with balloons!

13. Nana got a few giggles out of her last night and Daddy got some tonight! Those are coming around more often.

14. Smiled ALOT today!

15. Daddy FINALLY got to hold her while walking back from the park! She even reached for him! YAY!!!

16. Prefers women. She's fine with me and Nana...

17. OH, she LOVES to eat!!!!

18. She does have cleft issues with her gumline, but not as bad as others. Pretty sure atleast one surgery, if not 2 on her gumline.

19. Eats solid foods with no problem

20. HATES baths..but getting better. Don't like her hair to be washed esp!

21. Knows what a toothbrush is and lets me brush her teeth!

22. Takes meds OK...yes, already having to give her some. Had fever tonight and then coughing issues.

23. Talks in a language that nobody understands. not Chinese or English but VERY funny and sweet!

24. likes holding Olivia's hand! (and mine!)

25. Has GORGEOUS eyes!!! And her hair isn't "straw" but not as soft as Olivia's! But..we can deal with that!

No longer just guardians, now we are her forever parents!!

No longer just guardians, now we are her forever parents!!

Well, since I can't post myself, I have asked Lana to post for me!! THANK YOU!!!

On Tuesday, the 25th, we signed the final papers! They asked us if we were sure we wanted to keep Zoey as our daughter forever and of course we said, "YES!" So, we signed the papers, paid the fee and we were done!! Now we are waiting on her passport which we should get Thursday evening. 

We received a photo scrapbook for the time she was at SHH that is VERY special to us. Has many pictures that we don't have, including some with her and her favorite AYI and even a good one with Charlene and a VERY sweet note to her in it! Someone (we have no idea who) gave her a beautiful white dress and beautiful black shoes with stockings (All which are too big but she will wear them soon!) that we will cherish! Found out her pillowcare is still at SHH so we will get that when we go there, and we got our 2 disposable cameras back that I can't wait to develop!!! I didn't get as much about her past as I wanted, or really even about her beginning but I think I might have more things coming! Anyway it was a great day! So now, her offical name is Zoey Fei-Li Langley!!!

Enjoy the pictures!

We leave on Friday to head to Guangzhou where we will go to her Dr. appt on Saturday and then her Consulate appointment (where the US embassy is in China) to make it "official" with them on Monday and then wait on her visa, which we should get on Tuesday. We leave out at 7:30 on Wednesday to head to Shanghai to visit Shanghai Healing Home and then home on Thursday the 3rd!

Gotcha night!

Well, it's been 12 hours since we held Zoey for the first time. In just those short hours, ALOT has changed! Zoey is warming up to daddy. I can't be out of her sight still but if I am where she can see me, then he can hold her some! Even got some with her smiling on daddy's lap! She didn't want Olivia near her either but as you will see in the pics, she even puts her arm around her to take a pic! She is copying Olivia which is hilarious! She is eating EVERYTHING! She's walking around the room without me. She is talking up a storm but it's jibberish so we just laugh. She says, "MO" for more! She is sooo smart! She saw Anthony's phone, pointed to it and looked for Anthony! I mean she knows it's his after this short period of time!!! She relates people with pictures. Looks at them and then points to them. She shakes her head NO and pushes things away if she doens't want them. I can't think of the other smart things she's done, but it's really cool to see her do these things!

I just layed her in her baby bed and she hasn't made a peep! I hope it stays that way!! I am heading to bed myself. We finalize the adoption tomorrow! I hope you like the pics!! Olivia was not having anymore pics so she looks mean, but Zoey is cheese'n it!!! She likes the flash and smiles after the first pic is taken!! HAHA See, daddy is holding his girls!!! BTW..not one sound when I layed Zoey down and she was asleep in 8 min!!! WOOHOO!! More to come later!!! NIGHT NIGHT!

Gotcha Day

Well, we have our Zoey Fei-Li! She is beautiful, just as we thought we would be and we are thrilled! So, the day started with butterflies and mostly praying!! It's a chilly day, thank goodness because we have been burning up!!! So, on our way to the registration office, Yisha told us that we wouldn't know which babies were there because they came from different areas and with the traffic, they would get there at different times. So, we weren't sure whose would be there but to my surprise, it was OUR baby!!!! We walked in and she was the one in the front looking right at us when we walked in! She wasn't as happy to see us as we were to see her, but I had to take her from the nanny anyways! It wasn't as pleasant as I wanted it to be, but I was expecting it. I mean, she is almost 2! She was scared and probably tired and hungry! So, for about 15 minutes, she cried..pretty hard..reaching for any Chinese woman that would get her (none of them took her of course) but that's who she wanted. So, I held her for a while, no problem!! :) Well, I tried to give her to Anthony, but she wasn't okay with that so I held her for a LONG time. Let me tell ya, she's not that light!! Especially with all the clothes they had on her. It upset me that she wouldn't go to him, but sometimes that happens! I finally sang Brother John to her and she calmed down and layed her head on my shoulder. She had a few outbursts still but overall calmed down!
Once we go to the hotel room, we skyped my mom, Zackery and Hannah and then it was time for a bath!! She did NOT smell nice! This was NOT a good thing! She does NOT like baths!!! So I bathed her fast and got her in an outfit  and she took a two and a half hour nap!
After she woke up, she ate some mashed potatoes and she has been eating snacks since we first held her!! She's an eater. The nannies told me that she gorges, so we have to be careful! She signs "more" and "eat" ALOT!! She grunts alot and points. Anthony was able to hold her just a little while ago and she's finally taken a bottle (yes she's on a bottle but that will change in due time!)
She JUST said MAMA too!!! AHH! She shakes her head NO when she means no and she moves her hand to make ppl move or move things. She LOVES the computer and our phones! She has been sitting here with me the whole time while I have been typing! She is REALLY smart! She had a packet of pretzels and KNEW to tear the package from the top..she even tried! She's so smart!! And I'm not just saying that. SHH took such good care of her and I thank them so much for what they have done for her! Joy, Jane and Daniel are part of my group so they all know eachother! It's been amazing!!! SO, here are pictures! More posts later!!!!

Charlene and Anthony are my heros!

I am able to blog!! AHHHH!!! We are leaving in just an hour and a half to get our baby girl!!!! I will post pics as soon as I can! I will also go back and update on what we have done so far just so there can be pics on here!SOO glad I will be able to post! Please say a prayer for Zoey! For her little heart to be accepting and not be scared of us!!! Thank you God for this day!!! It's finally here and it's all because of YOU!!!pics will come soon!!!

Can't connect

So...I know how upsetting it is to wait and wait on a post from friends in China but this is t our fault. For some reason we cannot connect and right now I'm using out data plan to update so it will not be anything special unfortunately!
I will try to send an email to someone for the to pOst for me but not sure how that will work either. Right now I will just say we are all fine! We leave to get Zoey in 14.5 hours! I will make sure to take a picture of her with my phone to be able to atleast post one until we figure out what to do! I'm so sorry!!! Can't use all my data to do this though be wise this is how we are keeping up with the boys! Love to u all and thank u for the prayers! They have been heard!!!!

On a jet plane in 12 hours!

Well, the time has FINALLY come! We are leaving in the am!!! We have done all we know to do and weighed all the luggage and are praying they are under the 44 pd limit for China!
Again, prayers much apprecited! Love to you all!!!
HERE WE COME, ZOEY!!!! WOOOHOO!!!

Prayer list

As we start on this journey in about 36 hours from now, there are a few things I would like for you to be in prayer for! Your prayers are the BIGGEST things we are counting on. Although this process is beautiful and a miracle, it also have potential to be a hard trip! Although we don't feel this will happen, we would just feel better if prayer was lifted EVERY day. The itinerary in the post below will let you know what is going on everyday and might help you to know what to pray for specifically!

1. Zoey! I am pretty sure she left today (Tuesday) to head back to the orphanage. Not only is this an 11 hour ride for her (and she HATES to be in a car, so I was told on an update) it's with people she doesn't know. Pray for her little heart so she's not scared, pray for her mind tha God is preparing her for us to come and pray for her body that she stays well! Also pray that she's comfortable and can sleep well. On the day she comes to us, she will have to travel 4.5 hours, so on the night of the 23rd, please pray for safety for her in travels.

2. My boys! It is, again, going to be severely hard for me to leave them. I know they are big boys and they are going to do fine, but they are my boys! I love them more than they know and I wish they would've/could've gone with us, but God saw other ways. Cam and Chase didn't feel like they should miss that much school (work) and Zackery just couldn't miss that many days in college, so they have to stay here. They are staying with very reliable ppl from the church and I am so thankful for their willingness to watch them, feed them and give them a place to sleep! I know our church members will be taking care of them....but I will miss them terribly! Please pray, although they will say they are fine, that they ARE fine and athough they may miss us, they won't be troubled! and that they stay safe and well!! Don't need ER visits!!

3. Church, as they will have ppl filling in for Anthony, The men of God he got to fill in are great and we know they will do amazingly, but just pray for the speakers and the church in our absense!

4. Us! Our plane rides (there will be a total of 7 planes we will be getting on!) I am very scared of flying, but will do it, yet again, to be with my baby girl!
Pray that we stay WELL!!! We do NOT need to get sick!
Pray that we have an amazing time!! It's a once in a lifetime trip, and we are excited (even though Anthony and I have been there once before! :)

5. Olivia.  This will be a huge thing for her. Some ppl take for granted that she's a kid and she will be fine and go with the flow, but this could change her! She's never seen all the Chinese ppl like she' about to see. People are going to be upset bc she can't speak much Chinese and people are going to want to take pics with her and touch her. No regard for personal space here!!!
SHe's also gaining a sister. In normal situations, a baby sister doesn't come into the world and want to do things for herself, play with ALL the toys and things like that. So please pray that she's able to deal with it and take on her role as a big sister and be willing to take the back seat for a little while until Zoey KNOWS we are mommy and daddy!

These are the main ones and I'm sure if I wasn't DEAD TIRED  I could think of many more, but you can fill in the blanks!
We are super excited! All our suitcases are packed and ready to go. Have one more Walmart run for things here at the house and then we are ready!!! AHHH!!! I cannot believe I am about to be the mommy to another BEAUTIFUL little Chinese girl!! MY 5TH CHILD! God is so absolutely amazing!!! He has blessed us so much and we are honored to have taken this calling to adopt, one last time!

HERE WE COME ZOEY!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!!

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!!