Counting the days until we bring you home...

Lilypie Waiting to Adopt tickers

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY Jing Jing...

Today YOU will turn 2 years old and oh how I long to be there with you…to hold you for the first time, to look into your eyes, to hear you squeal. To see you eat cake and pinch it between your fingers oh I just can’t wait to know you and for you to know us…YOUR FAMILY!
We celebrated YOU on Saturday…we went to PFChangs and had Chinese and sang happy birthday to you. We met another family who had just come home with their 10 year old daughter Isabelle from Guangzhou…she was beautiful and said I spoke Mandarin well…I have been practicing just for you.

Your sister ate with chopsticks all by herself and I did too…Daddy tried a little too. We can’t wait for our first trip to eat Chinese together as a family…so many first to experience with YOU. It is starting to sink in that soon we will be on our way to you…there was a time when we thought we might not ever be a family and we waited what seemed to be an eternity for Ellie Lu and so many things changed during that time that we really thought there was no way for us to ever return to China to adopt again and add to our family.

Your Daddy just kept asking do you think it is possible that we might could go back…I didn’t have the heart to tell him no so one day I inquired and that started our journey to you…but really I think it started several years ago right before you were born….while we were waiting for Ellie Lu we were selected by a birth mother to adopt her baby boy…it was the middle of November 2007…it was crazy how in the world could we adopt a baby boy and then turn right around and travel to China…we didn’t question anything we just accepted what was before us and had faith…well it didn’t work out…the birth mother changed her mind and we didn’t adopt that baby boy….little did we know that you were born just a few days after that big disappointment in our life and that one day our lives would be brought together.

On the day you were born I traveled with friends to go shopping and my heart was broken for I didn’t know if we would ever be a family, but I had faith and I kept hoping and praying that one day soon we would receive news and we would travel to China and we would become a family….little did I know what a blessing was taking place you were being born and for reasons that I may never know your birth mother chose to put you in a very special place so that you could be found and taken care of and on that very day the journey began.

Just when we thought there was no way for us to be matched with another daughter our phone rang and we were presented with your information…how could it be…how could we be so lucky to be chosen to be your parents…we are so thankful that God’s plan for us was bigger than we could have imagined and that he prepared us and allowed us to hope and dream even when it seemed there was no way our dreams could come true….well on May 26th our dream came true…we were matched with you and we have so much to look forward to and so much to experience with you …hang tight little one your foster family will take care of you until we are given permission to travel to bring you home…until then we just count the days and continue to dream of all that is possible….with FAITH!



Once YOU are home we will celebrate YOU with friends and family and let them know of your very special journey to YOUR family.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

LID...

What happens now…well we were officially logged in with the CCAA on October 20th, 2009 so it has now been 22 days since we were logged in and the “counter” began officially counting.

Here is how things normally work…anywhere between day 60 and 90 we could get what is called LOA this gets the ball rolling as far as travel goes, see what the acronyms mean here

So since we were logged in October 20, 2009 day 60 would be December 19th…so I suppose we could wish for LOA for Christmas…then on the upper end day 90 would be…February 17th which would be a belated Valentine’s gift.

Once the LOA is signed and returned it is usually 80 – 90 more days until you actually are united with your child in China…it used to be closer to 60 prior to the Hague process…so it is really important that we get our LOA…once we have it we will have a much better idea on when we could travel for example…if we got LOA on December 19th then travel would likely be around March 19th…but if LOA does not come until February 17th then we would not likely travel until mid May….we can’t wait to meet our little “peanut” so hopefully everything will move along quickly.

Now of course anything could come up to delay all of thisso continue to pray for our little one she turns 2 on November 17th and although she is in foster care….we want her to be with her forever family as soon as possible.