Another shower !!

Our Athens FCC family really knows how to throw a party!! Friday night we celebrated the Chinese New Year and were showered with love and blessings for Reed. I was so busy visiting and talking with everyone that I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked. Here's a few shots from the night:
The cake spelled out Reed on all 4 sides. Everyone was so full from the CNY dinner that we didn't even cut into it so we had a piece when we got home. Thank you Lisa, it was very yummy!



We had lots of little helpers, they loved pulling the tissue paper out of the bags. Thank you Lily Mei, Noah, Claire and Molly.

Here's a few of the items Lily Mei has passed down to Reed,


...and here's my "Reed's Mommy" shirt from Monica. I love it!
Thank you all so much for the wonderful things, we can't wait to bring Reed home.

What to do?

So, what are we supposed to be doing while we wait for TA anyway??

• We're not packed.
• We don't have the cash ready because we don't have any idea how much we'll need.
• We don't have any paperwork ready, I think the agency will call us before we leave and help with this- right?
• We don't know if we are using a travel agent or booking our own flights
• We don't know how much luggage we can take, are you allowed one checked bag per person or can we take 3 between the two of us?
• We don't know who is going to watch our animals while we're gone
  

I've made 1,000 lists of what to do and what to pack, but I can't find them.

I say we focus on what we DO have:
We do have our Visas and are ready to go, I figure everything else will fall into place when the time comes- right?
We DO have a wonderful FCC family that is giving us a shower tomorrow night at our CNY dinner!!! Get ready ladies, I'm bringing my questions with me (if I can find the list)

We participate in "Pray for Me... Pray for Others" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check out their blog to add your prayer request.

Our prayer request is for our TA. I know it's coming, I just pray it gets here soon. I would love to hold Reed in my arms on his birthday (March 2nd)

My prayer request today for others are:

• The Carter Family at One Egg Short of A Dozen. Many of you already know their story. They are so faithful and obedient to God's plan; please pray for their children who have not made it home yet.
• The Carter Family (no link because her blog is private) Steve and Monica's dear son David is in the Army and I pray God comforts them and gives them a peace that their brave boy will be safe in his upcoming travels. (Love you!)
• Riggs Family (link above). This family is so inspiring and such a clear example of God's love. They are facing some very tough days and at the same time making sure they bring a smile to everyone that they are in contact with. Thank you Jesus for families such as the Riggs family.
  

Our baby shower

I work with the BEST group of people. They gave us a baby shower on Thursday of last week and we were so blessed with a car seat, stroller, booster seat, lots of clothes, bibs, cups, bowls, toys......oh my! We had a great time going through all of it when I got home that night. Thank you all so very much, Reed will love it all!

Not much longer!

As we get closer to bringing our precious son home, I can't help but think of all the emotions we have felt over the last 34 months. Easter Sunday 2006 we stood around my parents dinner table and told my family we were going to adopt. Everyone was so happy and I can remember my dad saying "it's about time" :) At this time we had been married for nearly 7 years and had been trying to start a family for 6 of those 7 years. So we applied for a home equity loan and the real fun began. After 8 months of paperwork including visits from the social worker, fingerprints, criminal background checks, statements of health from our physicians, financial statements, birth certificates, marriage certificate and adoption education (*whew*) our dossier was sent to Children's Hope International and forwarded to China. On 1/15/07 our dossier was given a log-in date. We prayed and prayed and waited and waited for the child we were going to adopt. A sweet baby from China to be our precious child forever. Well, already knew that God had placed China in our hearts for a reason and we knew there were so many little ones in orhpanages waiting for a family to come home to, but we did not know that God had specific plans for us. As our wait lengthened and our prayers continued, we began to realize God was calling us to open our hearts to special needs adoption. Since the beginning, we knew that there are special needs children available for adoption but we did not think we would be qualified or prepared to handle a child who was born with a special need because we are about to become first time parents. So, what was the natural thing for us to do? Pray.
So we prayed and prayed and our thoughts and feelings began to change. How could we pray for God to send us a child and see us through this lengthy adoption process if we were not willing to open our hearts and home to any child? How could we ask God to bring us a child on our conditions? So we changed our prayers and we prayed for God's will to be done, not ours but His. We started looking at waiting children lists and after a few mis-matches; we found our boy. We have been through so many emotions from excitement and joy when we received Pre-Approval to pure confusion and sadness when Adoption House closed their doors. Each time we have encountered another bump in the road we have relied on our prayers and wonderful friends to keep us focused on the end result. We are almost there, but not without one last bump. After Adoption House closed only months ago, our file was transferred to Heritage Adoption Services. Heritage is now closing their international adoption division.
Heritage expects our Travel Approval to be here this week and they also plan on completing the travel process for us. All I know right now is that I am completely head over heels in love with this sweet little guy that is about to change our lives forever and the small details of how we got here will be a distant memory.
Stay tuned, for our lives are about to change FOREVER.
Glory be to God!!

Miao's Cottage-

Ladies, you have got to check out Miao's Cottage.
There is so much CUTENESS going on here and April is, well; a true blessing.
She has helped me so much during all this craziness. This lady is amazing!!

Check it out!

We got our update!!

I was so excited to find this information in my email when I got home tonight, sounds like he's a lot like his mama (#11) and a little like his dad (#6).

LOL, just kidding!!

1. New update: height:84cm, Weight:11kg, Head circumference: 46cm, Chest circumference: 50cm, Foot length:14cm, Tooth:up 4, bottom 6; 2. We guessed his birthday. When he was found, no souvenir or birthnote was found. 3. The orphanage staff Li Xuan named him. Because he is male and handsome, so we named him Handsome. He has no nickname. 4. He has lived in the orphanage. He has two meals with steamed rice, and four meals with formula. 7:00am formula, 9:00am formula, 11:00am steamed rice, 14:00pm formula, 17:00pm steamed rice, 20:00pm formula. He also eat some mashed fruit or cracker between the meals. 5. He likes all kinds of toys. He likes playing with other children . 6. He is not potty trained. He doesn't wear diaper. The nanny calls him to go potty in certain time. 7. He drinks 120ml formula. 8. He is afraid of animals. When he is angry, the nanny brings him outside or give him some snacks. Then he stops crying. 9.He likes dark objects. He likes sweet foods. 10. He is very healthy now. He has no scar on his body. We didn't find that he is allergic to any food. 11. He is outgoing, but he is stubborn and strong-willed. 12. We could make a finding ad. for you when you come to adopt him.

So, where is Reed?

FedEx guy and thoughts of a giveaway

I've just got to show this picture..........our friendly FedEx guy that delivered our LOA.
Tim said he was really nice and wanted to be the first to congratulate us !!

Oh, since orphanage fees just increased by a hefty amount, we're thinking about having a giveaway and I need to know what everyone thinks. I have a really cool Flip video 60 minute digital camcorder and accessories that we will be giving to one lucky winner (if I can get enough participants). Leave your comments if you're interested -every $20 would get an entry to win.

Happy New Year

This is what it's all about, folks!! I received the following email from my sister today that says it all. Faith in our amazing God, Love for our awesome family and friends and Hope for the future...... May 2009 bring all of these things to you and your family!!


I don't even know where to begin. What an amazing way to start the new year. Hope, Faith, and Love says it all. Hope for a wonderful future with your incredible new son. Faith in GOD, in each other, in your child, doctors, ....so many things. Love, the incredible love that you will now get to show your son. A family. I am so happy for you both. I know this is your dream and I am so glad that you didn't give up on Reed. He is coming home soon, where he belongs. Patience. I know you have had to have never ending patience with each other and the whole adoption process, and knowing it was all in GOD's hands. This is where it is now going to be in your hands. It is scary but it is such a wonderful, and rewarding experience. THere will be tough times ahead but I know you are ready and together you and Tim will endure anything. This is your time. For some reason God choose you to be Reed's parents and I know you will be the best parents he could ever have. I love you sis. Denice

(picture from our dining room looking into the hall)