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....