WE HAVE TA!!!!!!!!

It's here.. it's here!!!!!

AND WE'RE GOING TO CHINA!!!

Karla at Lifeline is asking for a consulate appointment on March 16th. We should have that confirmed by Monday or Tuesday, and if all goes planned, Dad and I will leave on the 8th!! We plan on leaving via San Francisco and spending two days with my dad's brother and his family in SF. Then arriving in Guangzhou on the 10th or 11th (depending on flights) and GOTCHA DAY will be MARCH 12TH!!!!!!!!!!

We should be back by the 18th or 19th. Holy cow.. I'm absolutely floored!! I knew our TA would be here either today or on Mondau and I just had this feeling we would leave on the 8th!!!! But it's all so real now.. I have a butload of school work to get done! The good about our trip is that it will be over Spring Break.. so I won't have too much school work to catch up on!!

But wow.. we're leaving for China.. in or around twelve days from now!

Hang on Esther Joy.. we're on our way!!!

Let me close with the lyrics of a song that were going through my mind as I read our wonderful news...

"How Great is Our God" by Chris Tomlin

"How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God

Name above all names
Worthy of all praise
My heart will sing
How great is our God (x2)

How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God"

The most wonderful update of all..

"the TAs are on their way!!
lily has let me know that the TAs have been signed, printed and mailed! we are expecting them on monday or tuesday!"

That is DIRECT from our agency!! WOOO HOOOOO!! We're going to China... SOON!!! Tentatively the second or third week of March!!!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Valentine..

If there were no words
No way to speak
I would still hear you
If there were no tears
No way to feel inside
I’d still feel for you

And even if the sun refused to shine
Even if romance ran out of rhyme
You would still have my heart until the end of time
You’re all I need, my love, my valentine

All of my life
I have been waiting for
All you give to me
You’ve opened my eyes
And showed me how to love unselfishly

I’ve dreamed of this a thousand times before
But in my dreams I couldn’t love you more
I will give you my heart
Until the end of time...
You’re all I need, my love, my valentine

And even if the sun refused to shine
Even if romance ran out of rhyme
You would still have my heart until the end of time
’cause all I need is you, my valentine
You’re all I need, my love, my valentine

"Valentine" by Martine McBride

Happy Birthday my Valentine, Emma Grace YunNa!
born: February 14, 2003 in Beijing, China

Now home almost 18 months in the USA with her forever family

AHHHH!!

She will be three tomorrow!! What happened to the tiny 18 month old we met almost 18 months ago in Beijing, China who was scared to death of us and screamed for the first 1/2 hour??!!! Where has the time gone!!?? She is getting so big!

I'll add some pictures tomorrow.. She got lots of presents for her birthday!! =)

No TA yet...

Tomorrow (Valentines Day & Emma's Birthday) will be 10 weeks from our Log in Date. When we first submitted our dossier, we thought it would be 6-9 weeks from LID. But good things come to those who wait, and we know our TA will be here.. eventually!

Travel in February is now out of the question, but we knew it probably wouldn't happen this month, so it wasn't really too much of a disappointment. Our agency is expecting our TA to come sometime later this month, and then travelling tentatively in mid-March!

This way it gives us more time to prepare, because if we got our TA tomorrow and were told to leave Friday.. it literally could not happen! I have our visa applications with the pictures all attached and almost ready to go. I just need my dad to get out the passports so we can fill out the last of the questions and then send them off to the courier in D.C. Once we send them off, they should be back in about a week. But that's not all!! We still have a lot of paperwork to finish and some more to obtain from INS. But it's all coming along, and pretty soon it will be done and we'll be ready to go!!!

Always a Good Reminder

One of my favorite singers is Steven Curtis Chapman. He has adopted three daughters from China and has set up an organization called Shaohannah's Hope, which provides grants to adoptive families. I was listening to one of his songs today, and the lyrics were very comforting to me. They reminded me of how God is watching over us and Esther and how we just need to believe him that everything will come together in His perfect timing!!

Here are the Lyrics:

" Believe Me Now "

I watch you looking out across the raging water
So sure your only hope lies on the other side
You hear the enemy that's closing in around you
And I know that you don't have the strength to fight
But do you have the faith to stand and...

Believe Me now
Believe Me here
Remember all the times I've told you loud and clear
I am with you and I am for you
So believe Me now
Believe Me now

I am the One who waved my hand and split the ocean
I am the One who spoke the words and raised the dead
And I've loved you long before I set the world in motion
I know all the fears you're feeling now
But do you remember who I am?
Do you..

Believe Me now
Believe Me here
Remember all the times I've told you loud and clear
I am with you
And I am for you

So believe Me now
Believe it's true
I never have, I never will abandon you
And the God that I have always been
I will forever be
So believe Me now

I am the God who never wastes a single hurt that you endure
My words are true, and all My promises are sure
So believe Me now
Oh, believe Me now

It's extremely tiny..

but there is a small chance we MIGHT be included in the next batch of TA's. (Well, it's more my wishful thinking) Our agency's facilitator is expecting TA's for the November LID's to come after Chinese New Year (which ends on Sunday-CCAA will be back at work on Monday) but didn't say anything about ours. We are LID 12/6. Most likely we will not be included.. but I'm hopeful that maybe.. just maybe.. we'll get our TA??

After that sort of depressing e-mail yesterday, my mom and I went outlet shopping for some "retail therapy." We hit the Oshkosh outlet because my mom needed to buy some gifts for friends of ours who just had twin boys and they were having a HUGE sale!! 40%-70% off almost everything! I walked up to a sales rack and they had a little chart which told you how much the item would cost with the 70% discout. (And.. not being very good in math.. this was a lifesaver!) I found some $32.00 sweaters marked down to $9.00 a piece!!! Knowing that the children at Langfang Children's Village needed coats, I grabbed a bunch..probably 7 or 8?! They are really thick sweaters, almost like coats and will be definitely needed for the younger children. I then started walking around to find some more marked down items, and they had a bunch of those really thick fleece sleepers on sale for $7 a piece!! I grabbed a bunch of those and found some pants and shirts for $3!! We walked out of the store with 3 shopping bags full of stuff for the kids in China. I must have gotten 10 of those little sleepers, 2 shirts, 1 pair of pants, 2 or 3 sets of pajama's (found some that are glow-in-the-dark!) and about 7 ot 8 sweaters, all for about $100.


My mom and I then left the store and happened to walk past Carters, which was having another HUGE sale. I said.. "Uh oh Mom.. Carter's is having a huge sale!!" Walked in and found a bunch more of those sleepers for $7!! I found thick booties for the babies for $5 a piece and then more pants and shirts (for little boys) at $5 a peice. Walked out of the store with another 2 bags of stuff.

I cannot believe how much stuff we got for the kids at Langfang! I layed it out on the floor last night and was in awe! I really had to stop myself in the store though, because I probably would have gotten more!! The winter clothes will really come in handy for the babies and toddlers, since it gets REALLY cold in Beijing.


I still haven't exactley talked my dad into going to Langfang when we're in China and visiting for a day. He knows I want to, and it would be right around my birthday. I guess with all the stuff we bought we will just have to!! I'll try to post some pictures later!