An Update and New Photos!

Well, no travel news but we did receive an update on little Josie and some new pictures yesterday. She is as precious as ever and is getting so big! Her foster mother says she is doing great. I have to admit it is bitter sweet to see them knowing that she is getting older without us. I know that God is holding her until we can bring her home. Please continue to pray for all of us. We truly do appreciate it!

Documents Sent to China!

We just received an email from Holt that all of our documents have been sent to China. What this means is that we are done with the paperwork on our end and now we wait for our Article 5 and then TRAVEL APPROVAL! The timing of these last two steps varies (just like everything else) so we're still hoping to travel in May but it could be June. I've had to let this go since there is nothing I can do about it.

Jackson asked me the other day "are we ever going to get Josie?". I'm sure it feels like an eternity in their young little lives since it definitely feels like that for me! I can't wait to meet her, I can't wait for the boys to meet her, I can't wait to see Ben with her, etc, etc. All this waiting will be worth it when she's home with us!

Please continue to pray for all of us as we wait to bring Josie home.

"Cabled" and a New Puppy!

Hey everyone,

First of all I just found out we were "cabled" on March 8. This is adoption lingo but it basically means we jumped another hurdle! We're hoping for travel in early May so please continue to pray that we keep progressing in a timely manner.

Hopefully our photo album and letters are on their way to Josie. I'm so excited for her to get them and for her to see the pictures of her room!

The other big news is that we have a new puppy! He is so precious and is a 13 week old Golden Retriever. There is still some controversy surrounding the name since the boys can't agree. So far, it's been Lucky, Rookie, Champ, etc, etc. I'll let you know when it's official. In the meantime, we're working on potty training so feel free to let me know if you have any great tips!

Thanks again for all the support and prayers. We hope to bring Josie home very soon!!

Introducing Josie's Room!

It was so fun to actually buy some pink and go "girly"! Now, anyone that knows me, knows that I am not a "girly girl" and much prefer sports to frill but I have to admit.......it was fun to shop for girl things!! We are not done with the ceiling yet but I wanted to take some pictures to send to her so she can see her new room. I hope she likes it!

Please continue to pray for Josie and our entire family. This is getting more real every day and I want to make sure we are doing everything possible to prepare for her. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think of our first girl room!!

I800 Approval!

We received an email yesterday that our I800 was approved. This is another hurdle we've jumped and are getting closer to bringing little Josie home! I am also waiting for the Fed Ex guys today. He's scheduled to bring our VISAs so we can travel to China.

We are still working on Josie's room and have decided to put wainscoting on the ceiling so it's not quite done yet. When it's all finished I'll post some pictures.

Yesterday I also picked up some letters that we wrote to Josie. I asked the local Chinese restaurant if someone could translate them for me and they were glad to. They did it very quickly! Now, I just need to get her room completed so we can take some pictures of it to send to her along with the letters.

Things are moving along! Please, please continue to pray for Josie.

TRENT TURNS 9!

Okay, well his birthday was actually yesterday but we're still celebrating! I can't believe how fast he's growing up. He's still the sweet, talkative boy he's always been. He was so excited to find out he's getting a dog for his birthday. We haven't found the right one yet and may wait until we return from China but we'll see. We love you Trent!!!

Nothing new to report on the adoption front. We're currently waiting for our I800 approval and hope to have that next week. After that we have to wait for a couple more steps before everything is sent to China. Then, we wait for China to issue our Travel Approval. Please pray that we are able to travel before the boys get out of school. Their last day is May 27.

Our agency called and they received our LOA!!!

That's right! After 109 days of waiting, we finally received that long awaited phone call.....our LOA arrived at our agency today!! They will be sending it out to us tomorrow and we should receive it on Wednesday. I don't know exactly what the next steps are but I do know this...we are one GIANT step closer to bringing our little Josie home!!!

I am still holding out hope that we could travel in April but it is looking more like May. I know God's timing will be perfect but I also know He tells us to ask and we shall receive so here goes.........please, please, please bring us a speedy TA (travel approval) so we can kiss our precious daughter for the very first time soon - SOON!!! We appreciate all your continued prayers as we prepare to meet Josie and bring her home.