So, What's next?

Good question! We have filled out the paperwork needed for our Letter of Intent (or LOI) and it is on it's way to China. We now wait to get a pre-approval (PA), then a Letter of Acceptance (LOA), and finally our travel approval (TA). All of that takes anywhere from 3 to 6 months. I really, really, really, really hope that we are on the 3 month end- NOT the 6 month end. It has only been one week since we accepted Kate's referral and it already feels like a month. I must look at her picture 1,000 times a day. Brett understands very little but he asks about her all the time. I still can't tell you too many details, but I will tell you that she is only 8 months younger than Brett! Praying hard that they are going to love eachother and enjoy having a sibling so close in age to grow up with.

We are at the beach right now and loving every minute of it. Brett LOVES the beach- really, really loves it. The first thing he asks us every morning is when are we going to the beach. He told me, "Yeah- beach- I happy". Man I love that cute little guy!

I am working on the blog list right now so it will go private in the next few days.

I can't wait until I can post Kate's picture!

Thanks for being so excited with us.

WE HAVE A DAUGHTER!!!! (and Brett has a Mei-Mei!!!!)

After over 3 years of waiting, we finally have our referral for our precious Kate.  We are still in total shock, and are beyond excited.  "How did this happen?" ,you ask,  "I thought you had several more years to wait!"  Well, we did- and then God sent us a HUGE surprise.  

Several months ago our adoption agency went to China to look for children to include in their "Hope Project".  When they returned we got an email saying that they met over 50 children who they were going to put on a list for us to look at if we were interested in adopting any of them.  They said that the orphanage they went to was the nicest orphanage they had ever been in.  That the nannies genuinely loved the children and that there was a much higher nanny to babies ratio than normal.  On Thursday, April 30th the list was up and I sat and cried as I looked at all of their faces.  We asked for additional information on three little girls but really did not expect to hear back on any of them because there were 100's of people looking at the list.  On Saturday morning, May 9th I came down stairs and Brian told me to check my email.  I said, "OK" and proceeded to fix breakfast.  He said, "No, I mean NOW!"  When I opened my email and saw that we had an email from our agency I started shaking all over.  We had been chosen to review the file of the most beautiful little girl!  She had a congenital heart disease but had a surgery in March to correct the problem.  The next few days were a blur as I contacted 5 different doctors with her medical information.  All five doctors gave us two thumbs up- we couldn't believe it.  They all said it would be highly unlikely for her to have any long term effects from her heart condition.  After a ton of prayer Brian and I had a peace that this little girl was indeed our Kate!  It is still so unbelievable.  We went from thinking we had another 3 years to wait until we got our referral, to finding out that our sweet little girl was already alive and waiting for us to come get her.  We will travel to get her in 3 to 6 months (praying for 3- not 6).  So by Thanksgiving, we will have her home!  

In order to share any pictures or information about her, we have to make our blog private.  If you would like to continue reading about our journey to Kate- and see her adorable picture- please send me an email to amybethskinner@gmail.com and put "blog invite" in the subject. The blog will go private in the next few weeks.  Also, make sure to leave messages on the blog- I will print them for her to read one day.

Thank you for continuing to encourage us as we have walked this long journey.  Only a few more steps now and she will be in our arms!!!!!!!  

Strawberries!!

Signs of the season

The weather here has been BEAUTIFUL the past few days- and we have loved being outside. Yesterday was so pretty that I pulled out the sprinkler and Brett was so excited that you would have thought we were at Disney again.  After running in and out and around the sprinkler a few dozen times and trying to get the water to hit his belly button (see picture below), Brett ran to get his bat- and a golf club to play with in the water.  What a boy- everything is more fun with a few pieces of sports equipment!  He had so much fun- and I had so much fun taking his picture.  And to top off the day we had a fun visitor after dinner- the ice cream truck!!!!  I have never seen the ice cream truck in our neighborhood before- but when I heard the music coming down the street I turned into a kid again.  Brett picked out a Dora ice cream treat and shared it with all of us- even Georgia (who he is calling Georgia Tech these days- and with no prompting from mommy either).  What a perfect ending to a beautiful Spring day!

Someone please tell me where my baby is???  He looks so old!

Trying to get the water to hit his belly button.  Excuse the diaper hanging out.  My little skinny guy has a hard time keeping his pants up these days.

Everything is more fun with my baseball bat!

Eating his Dora treat while wearing the construction hat Daddy got for him.

It's Daddy Bob's Birthday!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY BOB!!!!!

I love you so much.  Thank you for being the best grandfather ever.

Love, Brett

(Brett and Daddy Bob on his birthday the past three years)

Egg Hunt #3

Yes- I know that 3 egg hunts is a bit much (my sweet husband was such a trouper)- but I just love them.  This time we met my brother at the Rock Ranch- and man was it crowded.  Despite the crowds we still had fun- and went home with a bucket full of eggs.

You make me that happy too- sweet boy!

Watching the chickens with Uncle Rob.  Brett really could have cared less about the egg hunt- what he really wanted was to see the animals.

Having fun with Uncle Rob

And we are off.....

I told you it was crowded!!!! (and this is just he 2 and 3 year old field)

The loot

Checking out the eggs- Brett learned very quickly that there was candy inside.  We would open one and he would immediately pick up another one and say "This one". 

Staph + Croup + Spring Break= No fun!

Well- the title pretty much says it all- but this was not a Spring Break that we want to repeat.  My friend Katie, her daughter Anna Grace (8) and son Andrew (2) came to the beach with my mom, Brett and me.  We arrived on Monday afternoon to a breezy and cold beach.  Here are the kids looking longingly at the beach.

Tuesday was FREEZING (as you can tell from the clothes).  We did get to take the kids to a fun playground in Rosemary which they loved.  Little did we know that this would be our only Doctor free/Hospital free day.  

I should have a picture of the doctor's office here- since that is where we spent most of our time- but I didn't think to take one.  On Wednesday morning I called my pediatrician because a spot on Brett's stomach was looking funny.  The nurse said, "That sounds like staph- you need to get him to a doctor right away."  Sure enough, Brett had staph.  By the time we got back to the condo Andrew sounded like he was getting croup- so Katie had to take him to the hospital.  Praise the Lord that my mom went with us and her mom was already down at the beach- I think we would have fallen apart without them.  Thursday morning we did get to go down to the beach for a little while.  The kids had a blast- and my little guy loved the water.

When we came up to eat I checked on Brett's staph again and it was much worse- so we were off to the doctor again!!!  He checked us out and advised us to leave early enough the next morning to see our doctor back home.  So, we grabbed some donuts from the Donut Hole on Friday morning- drove the whole way home only stopping once, and were back at the doctor for the third day in a row.  I have never been so glad to be back home.  I don't think Katie and I got to sit down for even one meal together- crazy!  And wouldn't you know what Brett woke up with on Monday- the croup! Poor little guy!