Waiting for Article 5 and then TA (Travel Approval).

Like all International Adoptions, we are almost through the mountain of paperwork. I don't want to discourage anyone who is considering adopting so I will say this much; you do a lot of paperwork, but it is over the span of a year or so. About a month ago we sent in our I-800 and was recently approved. Once we have this approval then the I-800s for both girls are sent to the National Visa Center to be entered into the "system". We then receive the NVC letter (or in our case an email) with a .pdf attached. We forwarded this to our agency and they send it to their representative in China who hand delivers it to the US Consulate in China. Now we wait for Article 5 for both girls. This is just one step before travel approval. I can't believe we have made it this far in the process.

The problem now is that China has a holiday and all the government offices are closed from October 1 through October 8. This will delay our Article 5 by 1 week. It usually takes two weeks to receive Article 5 so we are anticipating a three week wait.

We are still hoping to bring home both girls by the end of November but with this delay we may not make it. Anna's birthday is November 26. She turns 9 years old. We are hoping that she doesn't have to spend another birthday in China knowing she has a family waiting for her.

We ask that you keep us in your prayers. We thank all of you who continue to keep us in your prayers. We wouldn't be where we are today without the help of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Our thanks and praise to our Lord and God now and forever!

More Photos of Mia!!

We received more photos of Mia and would like to share them. The email said that her best friend, Chu Benjie, is being adopted this week by an American family. We will have to find out where she is so they can stay in contact. They also said that Mia is very happy to be coming to America soon. We sent her and Anna a care package that will be delivered by the end of the week. We are hoping to have our "10 Questions" for each girl answered. We asked if Mia already had an English name. Anna's English name is Anna so we kept it. We also know that Anna's favorite colors are pink, yellow, and blue. Her favorite foods are grapes and a Chinese fruit called lichi. I will have to look for these. I do know that the Chinese store carries them.

Mia's Best Friend, Benjie, and Mia

Update is here for Mia!

We just received the update on Mia today. What a wait it has been. They sent us two photos and also a three page report on her. She is doing well and is healthy. She likes being outdoors and doing activities like mountain climbing, playing in the park, and dancing. She gets along well with her classmates and teachers. It says she likes toy cars and rag dolls. It says that she is cute and quiet. We love the information and the pictures. What a smile!!

This Month's Secret Pal Gift!

Our Secret Pal just sent us beautiful handmade hair bows, one for each of the girls, Mia and Anna. This will be the first of a two-part gift. I can't wait to see the girls wearing the beautiful bows. It seems hair bows, ribbons, headbands, and clips are making a huge comeback. Our Secret Pal reminded us that sometimes the girls in orphanages have their hair cut very, very, short either due to lice or it is easier for the caretakers. This will help the girls feel a little more like they fit in when they get to America. This is a very thoughtful gift. Thank you so much for such a sweet gift!

LOA Today!

Our agency called today to say that we had LOA. LOA stands for "Letter of Acceptance". Which means that all our paperwork has been approved by the Chinese government. We should be traveling in November! What a feeling! This means we really have to kick in hard with the fundraising and number crunching! The only thing that could have topped this was an update on Mia!

Mia & Anna's Adoption Fundraiser! WOW!

The fundraiser was a huge success! We had the most beautiful volunteers show up for the evening. WOW! All of Claude and Ruthi Coats' daughters came all dressed up, long hair curled with head bands, brightly colored clothes that would fit right in with the 70's "flower power" child. A very good friend, Margie DuBois came early and didn't leave until she knew we were in good shape. She knows the church hall like the back of her hand. Our daughters, Jen and Julie, and grandsons, Austin (6) and Matthew (4) came early and stayed late! The little boys kept the girls busy with their "super hero" stories! Vicky was especially sweet and patient with the boys. The girls were so enthusiastic about there jobs and went right to it. Some of the other special highlights was when Morgan came in from walking down to Casey's for an ice cream cone and told Phil that he was going to be proud of her for giving someone directions on how to get here to the event. Phil later found out that Morgan had given directions to his mom and sister. Penny sat next to me at the ticket table and handed out "live auction" numbers and expertly wrote down their information. She welcomed everyone who came in and smiled so sweetly! She said she felt so important with a clipboard! Kate wanted to handle the raffle tickets and was so excited! She would get bored and get up to socialize but while she was gone someone would come up and Penny or Gracie would help them out! When Kate would come back they would tell her she had a customer. This went on for most of the night. Gracie sat quietly at the end of the ticket table. I would look over at her and she would give me her sweet little smile! Ruthi had Kim, Judy, and Addie helping her with the dessert table. They would help everyone pick out their desserts while flashing their smiles and showing their charm. They were a lot sweeter then the desserts!
Speaking of desserts, we had so many beautiful desserts from family, friends, and the community! There was a lemon meringue and coconut meringue pies, apple pies that were "heavenly", an ultimate lemon cake, key lime bundt cake, pecan pies, and all kinds of chocolate!
I think everyone got to go home with something either from the raffles, silent auction, or live auction. I had some of the younger kids pulling out names for the raffle and Kate ended up pulling out her own number. She was so excited! Those moments are what makes for a successful evening. We had so much fun!
The live auction was done by Joe Orwig. He has to be the best auctioneer in the country! He would "egg" them on and tease while the prices of things climbed! He played husbands against wives, bidders against bidders, and sisters against sisters (especially when it came to an IPod Touch).
Clean up went fast! The only hitch in the evening is when we went to lock up and had no key. We stopped by the home of a neighbor to call someone with a key and they came out to lock up. You can't think of everything!

This was sent to us today from our "Secret Pal"!

We received a special package today! Phil opened it and then gave me a call to let me know that we received something from our "Spring/Summer DTC Group". Once he got a good look at what was inside, he gave me a call and told me to stop off and pick up more Kleenexes because we were going to need them. He wouldn't tell me what was waiting for me at home, only that we received a package. The package had two handmade necklaces. And if that wasn't special enough, one necklace said "Big Sister" and the other "Little Sister" both in English and Chinese. And if you looked really closely, you could make out a map outline of China. Once I got home and saw them for myself, we were both crying and absolutely amazed at what we were looking at. We know that Mia and Anna will be our daughters, but to think about them as sisters comes to the forefront when you glimpse the necklaces. This special person was so detailed in this design. We love it and I know the girls will love it! Thank you, thank you, thank you!