We are home

Unfortunately, I was unable to update our blog from China as they don't allow access. Over the next few days I will be updating with details and photos of our trip. Makalynne is doing very well and we are so fulfilled with the addition of her to our family!

Time Ticks On

Well. Last week was definitely wild. After we got our travel approval on Monday, everything took an odd and scary turn on Wednesday. The agency called and said our travel was on hold because of a problem with the spelling of our daughters Chinese name! What? Ugh!!! We just couldn't take it! They told us they didn't know when we would be able to travel nor how much paperwork would be required to be redone. The issue was that she has a compound last name but there is no Chinese character to symbolize such. Therefore, no one knew it until they were verifying our consulate appointment. THEN... It comes out!!! Why now??? We were so distraught. We just knew we could not handle having to redo all of that paperwork... So, we called in all of our prayer warriors and they each called in theirs. We had people all over the U.S praying for us! Well, God heard and He answered!!! At 10:00 that night we were called by Jenny at GWCA and she said all was squared up and we were set to leave as scheduled! Whew, what a relief. We are so thankful to God for intervening in this for us! He knew we were just to weak to go on:) So, here we are.... We are leaving for China on May 11th! Just one week away!!! And the best part is that we will be traveling with our new friends the Jenkins!!! Again, just one of Gods mighty blessings... We are so blessed to have friends to share in this journey together! I know we will be friends for a lifetime and our daughters will have each other to support and love for equally as long! Again, what a mighty blessing! Glory be to God for all of His miraculous ways:-)
For the next few days I'll be running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to finish getting ready! Lots to do and time just keeps ticking away.... We are almost there. Yippee!!!!!

TRAVEL APPROVAL IS IN!!!

Woo hoo! We got travel approval at 10am today!!! We are so excited. We were so surprised though because our agency told us there would be no way to get it any sooner than this coming Thursday as families have never received TA before two weeks. We only waited one week!!! That's what I'm talking about... Why couldn't everything have gone this well?? It doesn't matter because we will soon be on our way:) We have been given a tentative date of May 12th for departure.... We have to wait for the consulate to verify our appointments and then we will have a definite date for departure. I can't believe that three weeks from today my daughter will be in my arms!!!! We can't wait:))

1 week down

Well, we are one week into the wait for the travel approval!!! We are praying everyday for it to come on in.... We really aren't expecting it though until week after next at the very earliest. But hey, we will take it just as soon as they'll send it:) I've started our packing and we are just about ready. We just need to pick up one more list of stuff and we will be set! Hooray!!! When they call with that TA we will be ready to board that plane:) Everything is really starting to feel real, although another 5-8 weeks away does seem so far in the distance. We know that it will fly by though.... I'll post with any news of course!!!

Article 5!!!

Hooray! We got news today that our article 5 had been picked up and would be delivered to the CCAA by Thursday, April 14th. The article 5 lets the CCAA know that Makalynne has been approved for a Visa to get back into the US as a citizen. Now..... We are finally on our last step!!! We can hardly believe that we are at this step in the adoption process. Now, we just have to wait 2-9 weeks to get our formal travel invitation from China to come get our little angel:) What???? We really cannot believe this!!! While they say it can take up to 9 weeks, the average is 3-4 weeks so please pray that it comes sooner rather than later.... Jenny, our travel advisor is really expecting to see our travel approval come through by the first week of May. PLEASE PRAY FOR THIS:-)
We also think this is pretty cool how things are working out. This week we have really been trying to re-evaluate things since we are going to be traveling after the kids get out of school for summer. After careful consideration and weighing all pro's and con's, we have decided to take them with us on this journey. We really feel that they need to be a part of this process from the very first day. Makalynne will probably adjust better too. We are so very excited about our forever family day! We will keep you posted.

We got another update:)

Last Monday, I requested our agencies waiting child specialist, Cori, to get an updated picture and measurements for us. Well today.... Here they are! That was the fastest update ever... I wasn't expecting it until next week. But I was so grateful to have it arrive early! If we could just continue to get things early, I would be one happy momma!!! However, I'm unsure if our article 5 will be able to be picked up this week as apparently the Chinese are off for Tomb sweeping Holiday and are closed through Wednesday of this week. Oh well, we are still going to stay positive and hope for the best:) We were so excited to see our little princess in the photos today. She looks absolutely beautiful and she even looks happier in these photos. (Or maybe that's just her momma thinking she looks happier because I'm so happy to see new pictures of her, lol). Please continue to pray for our family as we hold on for this last couple of steps. Looking at other families travel approval dates and actual travel times, we are anticipating travel by the first of June. However, we are really still praying for the first of May... Makalynne truly looks well and we couldn't be happier!!! We also sent her a care package along with a photo of our family and a letter written to the nannies of her orphanage. It won't be long but we really need prayer to get us through this last stretch of time. Hold on Makalynne!!! We love you so much and we will be on our way soon:)

A little Early:-)

Well, we were hoping that our packet would be dropped off at the consulate for article 5 processing on Monday 3/28/11 or yesterday 3/31/11 at the latest... Well, I emailed Jenny Monday to see if it had been dropped off that day. She emailed me back Tuesday and informed me that it had actually been dropped off the Friday before 3/35/11.... What?!!! I was so excited. Finally, something working in descent time:) So we are just waiting to see when it gets picked up. As of right now, we are scheduled to have the article 5 picked up next Friday, April 8th!!! Then........ alll we wait for is travel approval from the CCAA so we can get our consulate appointment set up and get on that plane!!! Hold on baby girl, we are almost there:)) Keep praying!!! PLEASE!!!!!

Step 2 Complete- Yay!!!

Well, after we received our immigration letter last week, we thought we would get our NVC letter just a couple of days later.... Well, that didn't happen!!! However, we did get the letter emailed to us yesterday so hooray for that! Our file was sent back to China yesterday for the final two steps.... Then we will be on our way to Makalynne!!! It should get to Beijing by tomorrow where it will then be forwarded to Guangzhou. Maybe travel in 5-6 weeks if all goes as we hope????!!! We are now asking that everyone please be consistently praying for our quick processing through these last 2 steps. We know that God is in control and look how far He has brought us.
Hold on Makalynne, we are almost there.... God please protect her and prepare her little heart for the family that you have designed just for her:) We can't wait to share the love of Jesus with her...

A Blessing!

I can't believe what happened to us today. We received such a blessing from God!!! Today, as I had to be home recovering from the flu, my husband took the boys to a friends birthday party. While there, he met a lady who lives in the same town as us and who is adopting a little girl from China as well!!! And the best part is that she is going through the same agency as us and we are both just waiting on travel approval!!! This is so awesome as I have been praying that God would send me someone who could understand and relate to how hard it is going through this process... Ask and ye shall receive:) I am so excited! The other family is about 2 weeks ahead of us in the process, but there is still a possibility that we may catch up and actually get to travel together!!!! It would be such a blessing to have someone from our area to travel with, how fun that could be!!! This is her second adoption through China, so she has alot of knowledge too!!! Have I mentioned what a blessing she is to me?!! As much as I need this new friend in this process, I can only hope to be a great blessing to her as well. The other family only lives about 15 minutes away from me and the little girl they are adopting is just under a year older than Makalynne so they will be close enough in age to really be good friends for each other. I can't tell you how many blogs I have read in the glimpse hope of finding another family in our state let alone in our same town... And, what do you know, We met them at a birthday party!?! Who says birthday parties aren't for the parents?, lol!! After talking with my new friend for 45 minutes over the phone, we have plans to meet next week and compare notes for the upcoming weeks!!! Yippee!!! How awesome! How Great is Our God!!!! It means so much to have someone there that can feel your pain, so to speak, as this is the most difficult process ever..... But those precious babies have it much more difficult than us, so who am I to complain?

Hip, Hip, Hooray!!!

I just got off the phone with Jessa at Great Wall. My adjudicator at immigration received my file yesterday. This process normally takes 7 - 10 days once the adjudicator gets the file to get it approved. However, we were so fortunate to get the adjudicator who stepped in to help us out last time again this time! She approved our file and put it in the mail yesterday afternoon!!! That has to be a record!!!! Only a few hours with the adjudicator, Hooray!!! I am definitely sending her a gift for all of her help, she is awesome! The unfortunate part was that she did not find the overnight Fedex label in my package and so she sent it out via regular mail... That means we should hopefully receive it by the middle of next week. As soon as we get that letter, I will send the last of my paperwork to the agency and send an email to the NVC to request the letter that I need from them. As soon as I get the NVC email, my agency will forward my file to Guanzhou to the US Consulate via courrier. It will take approximately 3-4 days to get there. Then, it will take 2 full weeks at the consulate before being sent to the CCAA. We are expecting the CCAA to have the file by the middle of April..... Please begin praying every day for us that our file will move expeditiously through the CCAA and that we get our travel dates for the beginning of May (hopefully by the 7th!). God has definitely shown His face today and reminded us that all things are possible if we will just trust Him! If things continue to move at this pace, we just may get to China by the second week of May:) We are so very thankful for the wonderful support that our friends and family have poured over us. We humbly ask for dedicated prayer during this last phase, we are almost there gang:) I'll post next week with the latest and greatest:))

No News:(

Well, we are still waiting. I did call today to check with immigration and they have still not sent my file to my adjudicator (case worker). I will call back on Friday as they said it usually takes 10-14 business days to transfer over. Jessa also told me to call her when it had been 2 weeks so she could ask my adjudicator to fed ex me my approval notice to try and cut off about a week or so from their time frame. I do know that the adjudicator is not supposed to have the file on his desk for more than 7-10 business days. That being said, if my file is transferred over by Monday of next week, we should be looking at no more than 4 weeks total processing time:) While this is a rediculous amount of time in total, we are just thankful that we may be able to cut a week off of the time frame. For now we are on our knees praying steadfast that the time keeps moving and we get every day a step closer to our Makalynne:)) Just for a breakdown of what our time looks like after immigration this go around, here's what lies ahead... Next, our file will be transferred to the NVC where it supposedly only stays for about 2 days. During this step, I will be able to send an email to the NVC and ask them to email me the notice that my file has been transferred to Guanzhou. This should cut off about 1 week of time since I won't have to wait for regular mail. Once my file leaves the NVC, it will be transferred to Gaunzhou where the US Consulate is. After I receive the notice from the NVC (hopefully by email), I will send my last packet of info over to my agency who will then forward it to the courrier in Guanzhou. Once the courrier receives it, they will take it to the Consulate. There will then be an exact 2 week wait time from the time it is dropped off to the time it can be picked back up. After the two weeks, the courrier will then pick it back up and send it overnight to the CCAA!!! Hooray! This will be the last step. Once the CCAA receives my file, they will take 2-8 weeks to issue my travel approval. This is where we will be asking that everyone be on their knees in constant prayer for us. The CCAA took over 8 weeks to get us the LSC so we are really hoping that they won't take that long this go around. We are really hoping for 2 weeks!!! Wouldn't that be nice??? Things haven't seemed to go our way thus far, but hey, we can still have faith and PRAY!!! The way things look right now, we are estimating that our file will be received at the CCAA around the week of April 25th. Then if they take only a couple of weeks, that would put us traveling probably the last week of May! Our prayer is still for the second week of May but at this point, it is very unlikely. In fact, what is most probable is that we will travel around the second or third week of June. Again, we are really praying for God's intervention in this. We would really like to travel in May when the kids are still in school as we think it would be of great benefit in passing the time for them. We are worried about how they will hold up for 2 long weeks if they are out of school and able to focus more on the fact that we are not here. Whatever happens, we know God is in control so we will just trust His time...

Still Floating on Cloud 9!!!

We are still so excited!!! It has really become a reality for us now as we gaze our beautiful LSC! It is framed and on display in our living room for us and everyone else to see:) God is so good and faithful to His promises! Time has flown by this week and i am feeling pretty good so far, after all we are one week into the 3-5 week possible wait with immigration. We are still hoping that they will process our file sooner rather than later. But, hey, we can rest now knowing that Makalynne is ours and all we have to do is wait this final step out. I know the wait will get harder as more time elapses but I am really trying to keep myself focused on the positives so I don't go crazy before our travel approval arrives... I'll post with any news of course:)

Hooray!!!! The LSC has arrived!!!

We are so happy that our official papers have finally arrived and we are 100% Makalynne's family now!!! Glory Halleluiah:)) Now we just have to wait for travel approval which is a 4 step process. I sent the documents out this afternoon to immigration after receiving my LSC. This is the first of the four steps! Travel should occur in 3-5 months but we are definitely hopeful for three.... For now, we are just floating on cloud nine that we are new parents to a precious baby girl!!! Blessing # 3 from God!!!

And We STILL Wait!!!!

Ugh! We are so frustrated! It has been 8 weeks and we are still just waiting!!! I must admit that we are very much over this part of the process.... I have had 2 complete melt downs with the agency over the past couple of weeks! My worker, Jessa, has been very patient and kind. However, I do wish that they could or would be a little more aggressive. She told me that they would call and check on things if we had not heard anything by Friday this week. My thought though is why wait until Friday? Why not today? I know that they know what's the best way ton approach this but it sure doesn't make it any easier for Makalynne's mommy to wait with no progress toward bringing her home! Oh well, we will continue to pray and wait.... we are still hopeful for later in the week! I will post when we have more news:(

STILL WAITING!!!!

Ugghhh! I am so tired of this wait.... It is utterly exhausting:( I talked to my agency this past Thursday and had a complete meltdown while talking to my case worker. It has been 6 1/2 weeks since log in and not a single word from them. On the update we recieved a few weeks ago, I found out that Makalynne's palate has not been corrected as we were led to believe on the information we recieved in October. However, I dont think that it was an intentional error as the wording then just didn't quite make sense. That's why we questioned it on this update. I must admit though that since I got this information, I have just been increasingly anxious about this wait!!! I certainly do not want to have to get her mid summer and not have adequate time to both bond with her and put her through surgery and recovery before I have to head back to work.... On the better note, we did find out that she has gained 4 pounds since the last information that we received! She still is only 30 inches tall and 18 pounds, TINY:) I am just praying every single day that the LSC will come on and get here!!! A friend of mine sent me a verse this past week that was an inspiration to me- All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.  Matthew 21:22

This was a much needed inspiration:) Thanks Lisa!
Anyway, I wanted to post the answers to those 20 questions that I had asked so here they are:

1. Current measurements

Height: 29.94 inches   weight: 18.04 lbs   head size: 17.34 inches Chest size: 17.73 inches  

foot length: 4.33 inches   teeth number: 7

2. What are her favorite foods? milk and congee

3. What is her current feeding schedule and is she drinking from a bottle only?  Eating time: 7:30, 11:30 and 18:00. She can feed herself with bottle. She also can be fed with spoon by caregiver.

4. What is her sleeping pattern? Get up at 7:00, have a nap at 12:30 and go to sleep at 20:00.

5. Does she share a crib with another child or sleep alone? She has her own crib.

6. What things is she afraid of? She is afraid of the stranger.

7. What comforts her when she is afraid or sad? Hold her up and touch her.

8.  How well does she get along with the other children? She likes playing with other children. She gets along well with them.

9. What is her favorite toy? Stuffed toys.

10. Has her palate been repaired and if so, how has she recovered since the surgery? She was only given lip cleft repair surgery and the wound healed well.

11. Is she saying any words? She isn’t able to say any words.

12. How many teeth does she have? 7

13. How is she doing developmentally? Is she walking? She develops well. She is able to sit up. She can stand up for a while with hands holding onto the handrail.

14. What is her personality like? Is she a happy baby? She is shy when she meets strangers. She is a happy and active girl.

15. Does she like to be held? Yes, she likes to be held by her caregiver.

16. Does she have a favorite object that she takes with her everywhere? No, she doesn’t have.

17. Does she use a pacifier? No, she doesn’t use that.

18. Does she wear diapers and is she using the potty at all? She wears diapers. She is not potty-trained.

So, as you can see, most of this was great to hear. Well, all of it really was as we are just so happy to know she is doing all right. However, we are aching so much in our hearts to have her home with us where we can provide all of the love and support that she needs. My case worker assures me that we will have the LSC by 2/25/11 but we are in very high hopes of receiving it this week!!! I will continue to pray earnestly and do my best to be patient with God's timeline. That is certainly not always easy, though:) We are having a baby shower this month on the 26th so I am just really hoping that all goes as planned and that we have the LSC by then. I don't think I will enjoy a baby shower much when I don't have the official word from the CCAA that she is officially ours!!! Please Lord, send that LSC!!!! Ok, well I'll post again when we have more news!!! Until then.....

Update!!!!

Well, we received an update last Friday! Along with the 20 questions we had asked, they sent three new pictures!!!! She is becoming more beautiful by the day!!! It is so hard waiting and I so want China to come on and send that LSC..... I would never have imagined the wait would have been this hard. It is so treacherous waiting day in day out knowing that your precious daughter just waits.... Needing and deserving of the love that you hold bottled inside to give her!!!! Sometimes I find myself thinking of the song "somewhere over the rainbow" and thinking of my daughter:( Each week seems as though it will never end... I guess that's mostly because I am counting every single day in hopes that the arrival of our LSC is just that much closer to arrival!!! I can't even comprehend the love I hold in my heart for this precious little girl. It's like she grew in my belly but has somehow been displaced and I'm longing to hold her in my arms:) How can the love for this child be so string when I have yet to even meet her? I guess the same as the love you have for the child who grows inside of you but that you have yet to meet and actually touch. God, in His infinite wisdom, created a mother's heart and when He places that child in your heart, your mind, or your body it is a bond that can never be broken!!!!! Thank you Holy Father for the many gifts you have given me. Of those, I find so much thanks and amazement at how you made me a mom, not once, not twice, but three times.... And each time I stand even more amazed at your perfect plan!!!! Hold on my precious Makalynne, we are climbing these walls one at a time to come get you!!! We love you!!! :))

Maybe a little closer???

Well, I heard from Jessa at Great Wall again today. She informed me that she had received the LSC's for those families with a log in date of 11/26/10 and 12/8/10. That means we are the next batch to arrive!!! That's a little exciting although shadowed by the knowledge that we may have to wait another 4 weeks to get it. We are three weeks into our wait since log in and these families waited exactly 7 weeks!!! We are still praying and hoping that our wait won't be this long, but we shall see..... For now, We are holding on!!!!

Still Waiting

Well, we are still waiting... I talked to Jessa at Great Wall Wednesday this past week and she informed me that families logged in on 11/26/10 are still waiting on their LSC's to arrive. Ugh! That's a whole month ahead of us so we are not looking to receive ours anytime soon. That is not the news I wanted to hear, but nothing I can do about it. So I'll just stay on my knees praying that God will deliver it on His time table. So for now, I'll just look forward to hearing back on the update I requested on her. We are hoping to receive it later this week. We will keep our fingers crossed!!! I wanted to post the questions that I asked on the update request. I requested the following:
1. New pictures:)- Gotta have these:))
2. What are her most recent measurements and date taken?- I want to make sure I have a good estimate of her size when we go to get her
3. What are her favorite foods?- I wonder if she will have any?
4. What is her current feeding schedule and is she drinking from a bottle only? What solid foods does she like?- I'm not totally sure what to expect based upon the experiences of others. All these kids seem to be a little different in this respect
5. What is her sleeping pattern?- Should I be prepared for a night owl like her mommy or an early riser???
6. Does she share a crib with another child or sleep alone?- I hope she sleeps alone as I think it will make her transition a little easier. However, if she needs a bed buddy, her mommy will gladly fill that role:)
7. What things is she afraid of?- Good for preparation if she doesnt like musical toys, ect..
8. What comforts her when she is afraid or sad?- Definately good to know!!!
9. How well does she get along with the other children?- This will be helpful in preparing the boys for her
10. What is her favorite toy?
11. Has her palate been repaired and if so, how has she recovered since the surgery?- Her last report said she had a lip/palate repair done in August but it also said she would need a surgery later for her palate so we are unsure if they were referring to the initial surgery or a second repair that is usually needed
12. Is she saying any words?- If the palate has been repaired, we want to know if she has begun learning to develop words.
13. How many teeth does she have?- She had 4 as of the information we received in October
14. How is she doing developmentally? Is she walking?
15. What is her personality like? Is she a happy baby?
16. Does she like to be held?
17. Does she like sleeping with blankets?
18. Does she have a favorite object that she takes with her everywhere?
19. Does she use a pacifier?
20. Does she wear diapers and is she using the potty at all?
All of the questions we believe will help us in preparing to get her and in establishing routines after we get her. We just can't wait!!!!
Maybe we will get this sometime this week!!! I'm sitting on the edge of my seat just waiting!!!! For now, I'm keeping on praying.... Lord, Bring us our Daughter:))

The Ladybug Letter has arrived

Well, I was going to post today and talk about our wait! But, low and behold, I received an email from Jessa at Great Wall informing me that our Ladybug Letter had arrived!!! This is the letter informing us of our log in date with the CCAA! This means that we have officially been accepted by the CCAA as an adoptive family. Now, we just have to wait for the LSC (letter stating confirmation) to arrive. We are hoping to receive it within the next 5-6 weeks although it could take up to 10 weeks. We will see!!! So far we have been tracking along pretty well so we are just going to hold tight! God is good so we will leave it to Him and His time table!!! Once we get the LSC, we will then apply to immigration and the Consulate to obtain final approval. Then we will just wait for travel. We should travel within 3 months of Receiving the LSC so we will have a good guess of travel time once we get that! This has been a great day and we are so excited! I can't believe how close we are to getting our baby girl! I also requested an update today. I'll write more later on the questions I asked them to get answered. But, my biggest desire was definitely to receive more PHOTOS! I can't wait to see how much she has grown....