Three Word Thursday

Thirteen days left!

(Seems like thirteen is my new lucky number.) I have never been so excited to see the end of the school year! The last few weeks are always the worst... packing, final grades, awards nights, and the "itch." I don't know who has Summer-itis more... me or my fifth graders! I'm really looking forward to having some time off to enjoy the girls and just being "mom" for a little while. Of course... they'll have a story to tell in the Fall after we bring home our little Peanut. (I sure hope it's before August!)

Prayers for Earthquake Victims

We've sat in both fear and pain after news on the earthquake in China. We've fielded calls from friends and family asking if Peanut was anywhere near the devastation. His orphanage is about 700 miles from the epicenter, so we're pretty confident that he is out of harm's way from this earthquake. When I talked to my mom this morning, her words were... "You need to get over there and get him!" I wish it were that easy.

I just pray for the thousands that are still missing and the thousands that have been lost as a result of this catastrophe. I've read blogs from adoptive families that are actually in the province and can't imagine the horror that they've experienced. I pray that they safely make it home with their families. And, please keep the waiting families whose sons and daughters are in the midst of all of this. How difficult the uncertainty must be for them...

Still waiting for our Letter Seeking Confirmation... day 27!!! We're ready when they are Peanut!!!

Happy Mother's Day

What a beautiful day it was! We did something that we haven't done in a LONG time... pack up a lunch and head to the beach! You would think that living on the ocean, we would go to the beach all of the time...wrong. It's been at least a year!!!

It was so nice... the water was crystal clear and absolutely flat. Just the way I like it! The girls had a great time playing in the water and collecting seashells (and sand) to bring home with them. Like my darling husband says... if only they'd made beaches with concrete instead of sand. Now, don't get me wrong... he loves the beach; he just hates getting wet and then getting sand stuck to him.



This Mother's Day I am so thankful for "Peanut's" mom. How much she loved her son to make such a hard decision. I am sure that she thinks of him every day... and I think of her every day. What a strong woman she is. The hardest thing a mother could face is to let her child go. I know that feeling all too well. In a dark hallway in the middle of the night on September 21, 2006... I made the most difficult decision I will probably ever have to make. It was that night that my husband and I signed a DNR order for our Katy. We knew that we only wanted what was best for her and spending her life attached to machines was selfish on our parts. We left the decision to our little girl if she wanted to stay on earth or fly home to heaven. We put our total faith in God that He would take care of her.... and He has.

Being a mom is such a blessing. You have been hand picked by God to be the parent of His children. I am so blessed to have been chosen to be Maddie's Mom, Lyvie's Mom, Katy's Mom and Peanut's Mom! What an honor it is to be trusted with these beautiful children who will grow up to be beautiful adults... both inside and out.

Ni hao...

Tonight was our third Mandarin Chinese class. Our family has been blessed with an intelligent, vibrant young woman that was willing to take on four students ranging in age from 5 to 39 years old! This is her second year as an exchange student in the US and we are SO glad that we have met her!!! She truly has shown that you can teach old dogs like my husband and I new tricks. Lyvie is showing us all up with the speed that she is catching on. She left a message for me on my board at school... written in Chinese characters! And, she does her math in Chinese!!!

Ying will be going back to China for the summer. Her family lives in Guangzhou... so, we hope that we'll be able to meet up with her before we return home with our little Peanut. :-) And, it will be SO nice to be able to speak some words of comfort to our little boy.

Through each step of our journey, we are reminded that God's hand is in all of it. This world is not nearly as large as we think it is! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Now, bring on our LSC!!!

World Travelers in the Making

When we began gathering our papers and documenting every aspect of our lives, it took us nearly three months to get our passports. We didn't get the girls' passports done at the time and thought we had years to do it.

Well... God had other plans and we found ourselves rushing to get their passports when we received our PA. So, I took a day off of work (awww...shucks...) and met Dad at the courthouse with the girls on April 22nd. We were told to expect their passports within 6 weeks... they came today! Not even two weeks!!!

I hope all of the "short waits" that we're experiencing are a sign. We'd love to be home in time to watch the Olympics in the comfort of our own living room!

Lucky Number "13"

The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.

Psalm 126:3

Thirteen months ago we submitted our first dossier documents to our agency for authentication.

Thirteen months ago, we thought that we were years away from adopting our fourth child (a fourth daughter) from China.

Thirteen months ago, our little "peanut” was born near XuZhou City.

This year will mark our thirteenth anniversary and we look forward to celebrating it at HOME with ALL of our children.

God works in amazing and awesome ways!

Hip, Hip Hooray! We got our PA!!!

Wow...we didn't expect to get our PA so quickly. We just sent in our LOI (letter of intent) on April 5th (China time.) Our family is one step closer to bringing home our beautiful baby boy and we just can't contain our excitement.

Here's what the official PA looks like...

通 知

华尔收养组织：

你们递交的T.A.C. 和 R.H.C. 收养江苏

（省、市、自治区）徐州市社会福利院儿童褚福楠的申请已收到，经过

对该家庭为该儿童制定的医疗康复及抚育计划的审核，中国收养中心同

意将其申请文件转入收养特殊需要儿童的程序处理，特此告知。

中国收养中心

2008年04月16日

My poor husband... every time I walk into a store, I gravitate right towards the baby aisle. I don't necessarily have to buy anything (though I now have a suitcase of little boys' clothes... they are SO CUTE!) I just have to get a good whiff of the baby lotion. It's been such a long time since we've had that smell in our house. I wish they made candles with that scent! Hmmm... I might be on to something!!!