Changes & Three Little Letters

Yesterday was music to my ears. Well, it wasn't actually music...more like hammers and saws. But I loved it anyway. It was the sound of the workers coming to fix up Madeline's room and replace the rest of the windows in the house. While Caleb was excited to have them here, at times he became nervous and scared of the noise. He insisted on having the door closed to whatever room he was in or else be on the other side of the house. Believe it or not, he managed to take a nap with all that racket. It was an abreviated nap, but a little nap is WAY BETTER than no nap at all. So I was a happy camper.

Since we temporarily moved the stuff in Madeline's room out into the dining room, it looks like the house had a hurricane blow through late in the season. With stuff all over the dining room, my little sewing spot has been invaded. So it will probably be a few weeks before I can get back to making things. ***sigh***

Well, the hammers and saws are not the only thing to make me smile yesterday. I was informed by our first agency that our much anticipated transfer letter has finally been signed off on. I have been eagerly waiting this piece of paper (and news) since we accepted Madeline's referral back in October. This transfer has taken much longer than I had hoped, but still, I am happy to finally see this day.

Now that our dossier transfer letter is signed off on, our new agency will send it off along with our LOI documents (that were done back in the first week of November.) So very soon, I will get the word that we are officially waiting for PA (pre-approval.) In the meantime, I am figuring out what kind of care/cake package to send Madeline. So that when official word comes, we are ready to bust a move!

Meanwhile, my friends, Lisa & Russell, are "patiently" waiting for TA so they can travel to China to bring home their second daughter. I am hoping they hear very soon and can finally start to make their travel arrangements. It will be bummer not to be in China again with them. But I hope their travelmates have a computer so they don't appear to fall off the end of the earth while they're away. I hope I have great news to share again very soon....















......well, that time to share is NOW!!!! LOI baby!!! LOI!!!! I know. I know. Most people get nuts over LOA. But today, these three little letters are the sweetest ones ever! I called our new agency today to get an update, since I was told by our old agency that they signed off on our transfer letter. Well, wouldn't you know...when I called to speak with our China coordinator, she told me she had our file on her desk and was getting ready to click *submit* on the online system. I had to tell myself to breath because I couldn't believe I was finally hearing that! She told me she was submitting our LOI documents along with our transfer letter....and now we wait for PA! WOO HOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last night, I started looking at care package options again in anticipation of the transfer. And I started to feel a little impatient. (I've been dying to send Madeline a care package since we accepted her referral at the end of October.) Well, now that we are officially waiting for PA, I am hoping the news comes before the end of the year. In fact, it would make a nice Christmas present.....being able to send my little girl something would just make me so happy. Getting updated measurements would be nice too so I know what to shop for and what size clothes to make. But just the opportunity to finally start bathing my girl in love is all I want for Christmas.

What a Holiday!

We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving. We spent Thanksgiving Day with our friends, Lisa & Shail. We enjoyed fried turkey and all the fixin's, plus Thai tea, thanks to Lily....yummy! Caleb had so much fun having "picnics" with Maggie. We had an awesome time, too. Lisa & Shail, you rock!

The day after Thanksgiving, my sister Deb, brother-in-law Andy, and niece Leah came over. I have been doing some retail therapy for Madeline. And since Leah is about the same age/size we think Madeline will be when we bring her home, I thought it would be fun to have Leah try on some of Madeline's clothes. Much to Deb's surprise, Leah was very cooperative. Because of inconsistencies across brands/sizes, Leah had to try EVERYTHING on. And she did great! She even tried on the first dress I made Madeline. And I have to tell you, she looked absolutely adorable in it. I can't wait to see my girl all dolled up and looking girlie.

Saturday was another great day as the Florida Gators beat the Florida State Seminoles in football, 37-10. It was Tim Tebow's last game at home as a senior. I will really miss that guy wearing orange and blue. Not only has he been a great quarterback, winning the Heisman Trophy as a sophmore and two National Championships (so far), he is such a godly man. I have so much respect for him, both on and off the field. I'm kinda looking forward to the SEC Championship game on Saturday...but not really. I'm not so sure we can pull off a victory against Alabama. So we'll see.

Still no news on our paperwork for Madeline....but hopefully we'll hear something by the end of the week. On a positive note, the Kukunest bedding I ordered for her room arrived today. And I have to say that it is as cute as it looks online!  Unfortunately, the Lantern Festival only comes in toddler and twin. So it will only go on her toddler bed.  I ended up purchasing the Little Friends bedding for her big girl bed.  I think they're really cute together.   We're having some minor work done to her room, most of which probably won't start until January. But her new window should be installed next week, along with our much needed shed out back. It's starting to feel real. Yay.

So Very Thankful

Where do I begin? The Lord's blessings have been poured out on our family since we chose to follow His call to adoption. It's hard to believe that Caleb has been home with us for two years already. Our lives are so much richer because he's our son. We are so thankful God hand-picked him for us.

Although I was hoping we would have PA or confirmation of our dossier transfer by this time, I am still so thankful that we have seen Madeline's face. We know who she is. And for now, this small glimpse into her world fills that part in our hearts that longs to bring her home. We still can't wait to send her a care package and get updated information. But for now, we are grateful for what information and photos we have and hope we can soon share her precious face with all of you here. It's hard for me to blog about something and not share a photo. So enjoy my precious Thanksgiving blessings below.

Patrick and Caleb, my Thanksgiving treasures

Good news

We have spent the better part of the last three weeks trying to sort out the transfer of our dossier from our old agency to our new agency....and today, we got some good news! Our new agency's China coordinator is actually in China right now and has received the "green light" to have our dossier transfered from our old agency to our new one!!! Even though this news has been anticipated, it is exciting to hear it nonetheless. Once she arrives back in the States, she will send our old agency the information they need for the transfer to take place. Our old agency has been extremely helpful during this process, as they have done this before. They want to ensure all "I's" are dotted and "T's" are crossed so that the transfer is successful and goes off without a hitch. We are thankful for how thorough they are being, as too much has been invested to lose over a simple oversight.

On another note, we are still waiting for Pre-approval (PA). This is a preliminary approval China gives families who request to be matched to a particular waiting child. As soon as we get PA, we will be sending Madeline a care package, just like we did with Caleb. I am getting really antsy about this. But I'm trying to sit tight and be patient.

And after three years of collecting dust, my sewing machine has been put back to work! I bought some adorable dress patterns to make Madeline some cute summer dresses. I've already made the cutest little skirt with a flounce. And it just warms my heart to imagine her wearing it. ***sigh*** I'll have to post some photos once I finsih them. Until next time...

Exciting times

These last few weeks have been filled with lots of excitment. I know I'm a little late, but I still wanted to post about some Halloween fun. Caleb wanted to dress up as a fireman this year. He loved wearing his costume, even though it was so terribly hot! Our little local library put together a nice party for the children. They had games and snacks. Caleb had so much fun bowling and playing bean bag toss. He really worked up a sweat! Baba took him to the mall on Halloween, but he just wasn't interested in getting candy.

As usual, we waited until the last minute to get our pumpkins. Last Friday we walked over to the church across the street and let Caleb pick out two pumpkins: one for him and one for Madeline!

That's right...one for Madeline!!!!!!!!!

Last Friday, we accepted our precious daughter's referral. We still have some kinks to work out because she is not listed with our agency. That is the reason we have been so cautious about announcing our acceptance. But we are hopeful during this next week that we will have everything taken care and we can proceed quickly with her adoption. Otherwise, we will have to re-do all of our paperwork. We certainly hope it doesn't come to that, but we're willing if we have to.

So.....about Madeline....we can't post her photo yet until we have preliminary approval from China to proceed with her adoption. But I can tell you a little bit about her. She's almost 20 months old and waiting for us in Jingmen City, Hubei. She was born missing her left arm below her elbow and is just as cute as can be. We hope to travel late spring/early summer to bring her home. We are so blessed to be adopting her. Caleb is as excited as can be. He's already talking about all the things he's going to show her, like how to buckle her seatbelt and put on her bike helmet. It's just precious.

I can't wait until I can post her pictures, but for now I will share with you some from last week.

My little fireman

Caleb enjoying hot cocoa with Baba

Pondering in the pumkin patch

Caleb with his and Madeline's pumpkin

My Little Man

Well, I thought I would finally upload these photos to share because my precious son is growing up son fast. Earlier this summer, Caleb had some fun with Daddy at the beach. The two of them headed over there with Uncle Ham and Spencer to do some surf fishing. Caleb was mostly interested in watching the crabs moving about. But believe it or not, he was the only one who caught a fish...a baby tiger shark. He was pretty excited about, but I think mommy and daddy were even more so. Daddy called me at home and told me I had to rush over there to capture the memory of Caleb catching his first fish. I was more than happy to to drop everything on a moments notice and see my son's precious, smiling face.

{A fisher man...just like Little Bear}


Also, earlier this summer Caleb had the opportunity to attend a special party with Mommy and Daddy for Daddy's job. He needed to get dressed up, which is something he TOTALLY LOVES to do. When we go out to dinner as a family, he frequently asks us if he can wear his jacket and tie. Unfortunately, we have to tell him that he doesn't really need to wear them to all dinners. Well, as long as he can wear a button down shirt, he's all smiles. Seeing him all dressed up and looking so grown up makes me miss those first three years of his precious life that he spent apart from us. He's growing up too fast. ***sigh***



Just last night, he was out shopping with Daddy while I was getting some things done around the house. When they got home, I could hear him making his way toward me in the computer room. Then I heard him tell me to close my eyes because he had a surprise for me. Well, I opened my eyes, and what do you think I saw? My precious 4 year old son holding a huge bouquet of flowers! He said, "These are for you mommy!" And I just melted. Patrick followed into the room and told me the flowers were all Caleb's idea, and then I was beside myself. He is just so thoughtful and loving, it's hard to believe he lived in an orphanage for 3 years. I know marriage is a long way off, but boy, I can't help but think of how blessed his wife will one day be. I love you, Little Man.

A Long Time Coming

Well, I have been meaning to put together this photo montage for quite some time. And I'm excited to say, that it is finally done! It's been almost two years since we brought Caleb home from China...but it's better late than never. I've included some photos that highlight our trip, as well as a tiny piece of video from our Gotcha Day. I had some issues with the music and Youtube, so I've had to re-work it. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy. Thanks for watching.