AUGUST 22ND, WE GET THE CALL, YIPEEE!!!!!!

On Wednesday, on the anniversary date of our referral for Jade Lin, we got the call from our social worker that our letter of acceptance arrived! We were accepted to adopt Meizi Meilin!!! I was at work when the call came in and all I heard was "This is the call you have been waiting for" when I burst out in tears. My friends and co-workers were crying, cheering and clapping for me with hugs from all, even my office manager. I have only known them for three months and they were so sweet and happy for us. They brought me flowers the next day.
All the fear, worry and anxiety were lifted from my shoulders when I got the call and the relief flowed from me with my tears. I was over joyed too but mostly relieved. I was expecting the worst after not hearing anything for 120 days. My fear was that we were going to be denied to adopt Meizi Meilin and I don't know how I would have handled that. Thank God, it didn't turn out that way and we will be traveling in 6-8 weeks. We have to wait for our travel approval now, which will take four weeks, then we travel 2-4 weeks after that, which puts us in China on my birthday again;-) We could be holding Meizi Meilin for the 1st time on October 28th, my birthday;-) could God be planning this more perfectly?;-)

Now we prepare for our journey. We have to pack and prepare the kids for our journey. Hopefully, we will be taking our 14 year old son, Kelly and Jade Lin. I really am excited for them to see the "Great Wall, Tiananmen Square and take the Hutong Tour, which takes us through the old part of Beijing in a bike-drawn carriage. It was so much fun and I would love for the kids to follow the same journey we made when we brought Jade Lin home.

There is one other family at our agency that received their letter of acceptance the same day we did and I can't wait to e-mail them and meet them. It will be so much fun to have another family to travel with. We could even travel with group 92 from our agency. They are waiting for referrals and could receive them any day. Either way, alone, with another family or with a large group, we will be thrilled to be traveling to China and bringing Meizi Meilin home. It can't come soon enough for me!! Our daughter is 11 months older then the photo we have of her and I know she will have changed so much but a mother knows her child, no matter what age they are. Even though Jade Lin was 6 months older then her photo, I would know her little heart shaped mouth, any where;-)

Now Please! hurry, hurry, hurry TA (travel approval)!! Meizi Meilin is waiting!

110th day and STILL WAITING!

I haven't posted for so long and so much has happened.
My friend left on Thursday to bring her little, three year old son home from China.
It is the 110th day since we sent in our letter of intent to adopt Meizi Meilin from China, who was 16 months at the time and is now 20 months old. Our social worker sent us an up-date on our dossier and letter and told us that we made it past the first review and are into the 2nd review now. I found out from another parent who works with waiting children's families that our dossier is in the matching room with the Waiting Child director in China and if he approves our dossier and match of Gao Shao Qiao (Meizi Meilin)then we should receive our Letter Of Acceptance to adopt her in a week or two.
That would add a month to travel approval which would bring us into September and then we would travel 2-4 weeks after our travel approval, which would bring us into October before we would leave for China to bring Meizi Meilin home. The wait has been indescribable and seeing parent's with the same Log in Date as us, getting their LOA and Travel approval, weeks before us is unbelievably hard!

The girl's new window went in yesterday and Scott has been staining the trim to finish the window today. We will have the shades and valance hung back up and I'm painting the shelf with the pocket-rod that goes over their window today. I'm positive all this nesting will bring on our Letter Of Acceptance this week or next. I just have to believe that and have faith that it is going to happen or I don't know how I will deal with news to the contrary.

We have to school shop for the kids supplies and a new outfit or two, back packs and shoes and we don't want to spend a cent until we are finished paying for the adoption, except for our airfare and hotel lodgings in China. Hopefully we will know soon what we will have left to pay and what kind of airfare we are looking at so we will know whether we can take Jade Lin and Kelly. Then theres the decision on what to do with Jesse. Who will he stay with or who will stay with him when he is in school? So much is still up in the air which leaves me with so much anxiety. I just have to believe it will all work out or I wouldn't be able to get up in the morning and function and go to work.
Please pray that all works out the way God has intended and we hear good news soon!