1 Year plus 5 months....

Today our little girl turns 17 months, which means it's been a little over 4 months since we received her referral. This is a glimpse of my desk at home where I try my best to get some work done despite the worry that goes on in my head. All we have is just a few little photos of her, and nothing else regarding her well being, or current daily schedule...so we can only wonder how she is & pray she continue to stay safe & healthy until we can pick her up. 

We are almost at the last stage of paperwork, waiting for our Article 5 to be picked up in China, which we were told will take place on Oct. 10, 2012. Then Travel Approval can happen in as little as a few days to several weeks, the average being about 10 days or so after Article 5. So even though travel could still be possible for the end of October, it is more likely to expect it will happen in  November for sure....( at least hopefully ).

Her room is a bit too messy for me to post photos online right now, but here's just a little glimpse of one little corner. We've turned her crib into a day bed but I really still need to finish making her bedding in the next week or so. 

We also received a gently used playpen from family, that we plan on putting in our bedroom for the first few months that we're home. We'll see how it works out until she feels comfortable sleeping in her room. Although, we might end up putting the rail back on the crib if she's not ready for the toddler day bed....but we'll just have to see once she's home. 

So in the meantime, I've been sorting out some outfits, some made by me, others bought or given as gifts. They're all so cute, & I'm hoping they will fit her. According to the most current measurements we received, she should be able to wear a size 12-18 months, so that's the size I will bring. 

As far as shoes, her feet are about 5" right now, & I've been told that she could be in a 4 but I will be bringing a few pairs in a size 5. 

Thanks again for following along & for all of the well wishes we continue to receive. 

I will try to post photos of all the little dollies I have been making ( with the help of wonderful volunteers ) in hopes of bringing them to China with us to give away to the children at Madi's orphanage. 

Blessings from our PreTravel to China Celebration!

A few months after our paperwork was originally Logged in with China, we joined a Marriage Enrichment Retreat over at our Parish ( in 2007 ). Soon after that we became part of the ministry helping with retreats twice per year in which ever area we were asked. 

We can not begin to express just how many blessings that being a part of this ministry has brought into our lives. It has not only helped to enrich our marriage in many ways, but it has also brought us closer to so many incredible couples that we now not only consider as close friends, but family. 

A few weeks ago, this amazing family of friends hosted a beautiful celebration for us, just look at these  

 incredible creations that our dear friend Nes made for us. 

Special Blessings were left for Madi & our friend Ryan Beck took photos of all the couples so we can put them in Madi's special book to read one day. 

We had perfect weather, ate chinese food, enjoyed hilarious games, and shared a special video of our story. The evening was beautiful and memorable!

We give all this credit to our daughter of whom we have yet to meet in person. It is because of her that we began searching for more spirituality in our lives. It was very early on that we were were lead to this amazing group of people, who have by their example, loving ways, and support, have helped us keep our patience and grow in our faith. 

We are so Thankful to all of them who were so generous with their time preparing for the event. 

And a very notable blessing worthy of mentioning is the fact that their very generous gifts amounted enough for us to purchase our airline & hotel accommodations while in China!

We can not wait to travel & bring our daughter home! 

Here's a photo slide show of the our beautiful celebration. 

Madi at 16 months old...

After contacting Ann from Red Thread last Friday, she was not only able to send a care package to Madi's orphanage, but she was able to get us updated photos & updated measurements. 

We are so thankful to her!

Our daughter has grown and changed quite a bit...our little "XingYao". And even though we were sad to see that the orphanage had shaved her head....we still think she looks adorable, and love her even more. 

Here's one of our favorite pics from the 8 photos we received, the rest we will treasure them for her to have in her special book. 

We were both pretty surprised to see how much she's changed.....and at first we didn't recognize her immediately, with her tanned skin, and newly shaved little head, but we know it's her from her beautiful eyes! 

I love all that baby fat on her still. She's obviously very well fed, lol! & after talking to our agency, they said that most likely she's been outside quite a bit during the summer so she's gotten pretty toasty. & she also reminded us that there is no air conditioning at her orphanage even thought it's been melting hot in her region, and that it's very common for the orphanage to shave their heads to prevent lice from spreading. 

Overall, this is really one of the only photos we received in which we can get a good glimpse of her little face. In the rest of the photos, she was either squinting from the sun, or frowning from what appeared like she had been crying, or with a large balloon-like toy that blocked her face, wearing a very wrinkled little dress and plastic little clogs. 

None of the photos showed her smiling, which was a little heartbreaking to see. But it is apparent she is living in a poor orphanage, and may not have the attention that any little child deserves. 

But right now we are grateful for the things that we can see from the photos, which is mainly that she appears to be healthy, and appears to have good balance when she is standing on her feet ( we are assuming she is walking ). She also does not show any signs of having any scratches or blisters from scabies which we've heard are quite common. 

I wanted to share this pic of me when I was around 9-10 months old. My mom thought it was cute that they had sent us a photo in a similar chair pose. 

So it's most likely that we will not be receiving any more updates or photos before we travel, which means the next time we will see her it will be in person! We can not wait to see her break a smile & show her how much we love her. And we will make sure to take LOTS of photos so we can capture that moment.

Adoption Process Update: We have hit a small bump in the road while waiting for approval on our I800 application with USCIS, but we are confident our agency will help us resolve it quickly within a day or so, & hoping we will still be able to receive our approval this week & then move on to wait for our Article 5.