WE GOT OUR LOA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will update with more information later- just wanted you all to know!  We could travel in as early as 6 weeks- so there is still a chance we will have her before her birthday!!!!!!!

A little peek at our girl

I hesitated to post this because the quality is so bad (I held my camera up and taped the t.v. while the video was playing)- but I just had to show y'all our sweet girl.  Oh how I can't wait to hold her!

Still no LOA

We are now on day 67 of our wait- and I am about to go crazy!!!!  Where in the world is our LOA? We have waited WAY longer for this than I expected us to.  I know that God's timing is perfect- and I have to remind myself that 100 times a day- but this wait is harder than anything else I have ever waited for in my life.  I LOVE our video of our sweet girl, but I think seeing her makes the wait even harder.  To see someone else pick her up, touch her cheek, and make her smile- oh how I want to be able to do those things.  Please continue to pray for our LOA to arrive, and for me to be patient and trust in God's timing.

100 Good Wishes Quilt

 We are starting a very special project to keep us busy and help us prepare for the arrival of Kate and we’d love your help and participation. To welcome and celebrate a new life, there is a tradition in the northern part of China to make a Bai Jia Bei, or 100 Good Wishes Quilt. It is a custom to invite 100 people to contribute a single square patch of cloth. These 100 patches are sewn together into a quilt that contains “good wishes” from all the families and friends who contribute a piece of fabric. The quilt is then passed down from generation to generation.

How can I contribute to your quilt?
                                                                    What you will need to do is send us three things: a 10X10 inch piece of cloth, a written wish with a small piece of your chosen cloth attached to it, and a picture of your family.

Specific fabric details                                                                                              One 10x10 inch square of 100% cotton washable fabric. It can be new or a “used and meaningful” fabric.  If you buy a new fabric, you will need to get ¼ yard of fabric cut- that will give you plenty for a 10x10 inch square plus extra to put on your card.

Specific wish details                                                                                                This is the fun part. Send us a card as small as 4″x6″ or as large as 8″x10″ with a good wish for Kate and a scrap of your fabric (glued to the paper). Your wish can be simple or elaborate, handwritten or typed. It can be something you wrote or a favorite poem, prayer, or bible verse. I’d like for you to be as simple or as creative as you’d like! You can write your wish on a simple index card, or make it more of a scrapbook type card. Please remember to sign your wish. Also remember to send a picture of you or your family with your card. These written wishes and pictures will be placed in a 12×12 album so that your wishes will always be remembered.

Where do I send my fabric?                                                                                      You can mail your fabric, card, and family picture to me at:

Amybeth Skinner

10 The Terrace

Newnan, GA  30263

 

We would love to have this done by the time Kate gets home, so if you would like to participate, please mail this by August 1st.  If you have any questions you can email me at amybethskinner@gmail.com

Thank you!!!!!!

Priceless

We got the best gift we could ever receive yesterday- a video of our Kate!  She is even cuter than I remembered from the short 30 second clip we saw before we accepted her referral.  I am so in love!  I must be honest and tell you that I have already watched it 15 times.  Oh to be able to see my girl.  I have no doubt that I will watch this every day until we leave for China.  I wish I could upload it on here so I could show it to you- but I will just have to tell you about it.  She is dressed in several layers (which is common in China).  She has on a red shirt for part of the video and a white shirt for part of it- both times she has on forrest green fleece overalls.  The first few minutes she is standing in her crib (with two other babies- one of which is crying the whole time).  They keep trying to give her a rattle and she does not want it so she keeps pushing it away.  At one point the Nanny reaches to pull her up and Kate gets a huge smile across her face.  She has the cutest smile.  She kinda scrunches up her face and her right eye gets smaller than her left eye- it is adorable.  Then they switch to a lady holding her.  She smiles again with the lady.  The last scene just makes me laugh.  There are two women and they have a tiny microphone.  I think they are trying to get her to say "Hello Mama", but when they put the microphone up to her face she opens her mouth and tries to eat it.  Of course the two ladies think it is the cutest thing and start to laugh, which in turn makes Kate laugh too.  It makes me smile just thinking about it.  Ok- now that I have told you all about it I am going to have to go watch it again.

Oh- and I got a message from our contact person at our agency yesterday saying that she had made arrangement to get someone else to process our paperwork if our LOA came in while she was gone!!!!  What an answer to prayer!  Yesterday was a good day- a very, very, very good day!

(I posted some 4th of July picture if you scroll down a bit)

No LOA

I was so hopeful that our LOA would come by today, but no such luck.  I did find out that they didn't move our paperwork from the Non-special needs room to the special-needs room until July 2nd!  That means that it took them 45 days to get our paperwork where it needed to be!  The "mom" in me wants to scream.  I would have flown over there and transfered our paperwork myself if I had know it was going to take that long!!!!  So now we will be waiting at least two more weeks- oh this wait just stinks!

Please continue to pray.  I would still really love to be there for her birthday- although at this point that would be almost impossible.

On a happier note, I thought I would tell you a little bit more about our girl.  Her referral paperwork came with a survey that the nannies fill out on each child.  They said that Kate is extroverted, active, and pretty.  She is talkative, fond of singing, gets along well with others, and has a ready smile.  She is not timid, shy, or quiet.  Her favorite activity is being held by the caregivers and her favorite toys are bright toys that make sounds.  

Sounds like she is going to get along quite well with her big brother!

Please pray..... HARD!

I just found out that our contact person from our adoption agency is leaving on Wednesday to go to China for 2 weeks.  If our Letter of Acceptance comes while she is away it will just sit on her desk until she returns.  This paper has to be signed and returned to China before they will grant us Travel Approval.  Please pray that our Letter of Acceptance comes tomorrow!  The average wait is 48 days from when you send in your Letter of Intent.  We are on day 52!  I know that God's timing is perfect and I don't need to fret- but I just want Kate NOW! 

 Please pray with us that it will come tomorrow (Friday) or Monday.

Thank you!  I will let you know if we get it.

Happy 4th of July

We had a fun and laid-back Forth of July this year.  Brian was still recovering from being sick, so we hung out around home and went to the fireworks in my parents neighborhood.  We love the forth- but to be honest- it was SO NICE to take it easy this year.  So thankful to live in this country, and so thankful that next year there will be another precious child in all these photos!

Brett was not so sure about the fireworks.  He did not cry, but he sat very still and clung on to me or Brian the whole night.  (plus the fact that they did not start until 10pm!!!)

This picture has a story behind it.  We never take pictures of just the two of us- we always have Brett with us- but Brian asked my mom to take one of just the two of us.  Without us saying a word, Brett gets behind my mom and starts jumping up and down and acting crazy trying to get us to smile. (because that is what we do to him)  It was so funny!  

Getting ready for the fireworks

Love this one- the first fireworks just went off- you can see the "panic" in Brett's face.

I scream-you scream- we all scream.....

for the ice cream man!!!!

Oh the joy of the ice cream man.  As soon as Brett hears the music he comes running to us with huge eyes and licks his finger (imitating him eating a popsicle).  How do you say no to that?  It is the best $2 we spend all day watching how excited he gets.  

Telling the Ice cream man to "STOP!"

I am not sure who is more excited- Brett or my dad

Yes- the one he chose came with two- and yes- I let him eat both!

Pure bliss!

As I am typing this the ice cream man is driving by- crazy huh!  And what is even crazier is he is playing "We wish you a Merry Christmas"  Hmmmm?