LADIES & GENTLEMAN, WE HAVE ARRIVED!

We've made it to Beijing!!! We are in CHINA!!! Malia has no idea that we are now in her home country waiting to bring her home. What a journey she is about to join in on.

I thought I'd go ahead and put lots of pictures in this post since I have the chance, so here goes ...

Here's the family waiting in the Fort Wayne Airport...

And here we are waiting at O'Hare ...

... to take a ride on this huge beast! ...


It had two levels, but the upper level was for first class. And, since we couldn't afford the $15,000 - $24,000 a piece for first class tickets, we were on the lower level. Like I mentioned in the previous post, Asiana Airlines was great.

Here's the sign we saw right when we got off the plane at the Incheon Airport in Seoul, South Korea ...


And, here we are at the Beijing Airport with our CHI representative, Becky. We are HERE!!! Unbelieveable! And, a little side note about this airport, Becky told us it is in the shape of a dragon.


We're staying at the Radisson, which is nice. Here's what our room looks like minus the roll-away bed for Spencer that wasn't in the room yet (but is now) ...




And, for your viewing pleasure, here is the view of Beijing from our hotel room ...

We've already experienced China's chaotic driving system as we rode to our hotel (or should I say lack there of). We've made a mental note to stay off the streets as much as possible when we're out and about.

Apparently, there are seven other CHI families that arrived yesterday, but I haven't seen them yet. Others will arrive later tonight. We'll all meet up at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow for a long day of sightseeing. Can you believe we'll be hiking the Great Wall tomorrow? I still can't believe we're here! I can't believe our wait for Malia, after all this time, is down to two days. I'm feeling very calm, so your prayers are working. Please keep at it!

Dana, I'm thinking of you! Just wanted you to know.

ALMOST THERE!

We're sitting in the Incheon Airport in Korea waiting to board our last flight to Beijing. It's just before 9:00 am on Friday here in Korea, which is just before 8:00 pm Thursday in the US. Rick just found this free internet cafe and Cindy and I went running!!! Wish I would have known before ... I've been itching to post an update and we've been here for over three hours! Blogger was not my friend yesterday (or should I say two days ago) when I was trying to make one last update before leaving the house. We checked for internet connections at O'Hare, but it was really expensive so I passed. And, yes, Shelby, I feel like I'm on the other side of the moon with no connection! I want to be able to update this journey as often as possible.

Our flights have been good. Thumbs up to Asiana Airlines, who have really good food!!! We ate "supper" at 3:00 am on the plane! They have movies and shows and games you can watch/play at any time.

We've been seeing so many beautiful Asian babies and Rick and I just smile at each other. We're a mere two days from getting Malia!! Wow!

Thanks, everyone, for checking in and leaving comments. I PROMISE to update as much as I can!

We Leave TODAY!!!

ONE DAY!

STATUS REPORT:
Today is almost over ... which means our countdown is almost finished. It's been a crazy kind of day. Rick and I are officially done with work and Spencer only has a half day of school tomorrow before we leave. Tonight, Spencer had a band concert and I had a big family event at church for our kids club. I'm now crashed on the couch, feeling very tired, but my mind is racing ... it might be a long night.

I have several "Thank You's" that I would like to send out tonight ...

~ Colby, thank you for your sweet prayer tonight. It took a lot in me to not cry as you prayed over our meal and included our trip to Malia. You even had your Momma crying! What a godly young man you are, even in second grade! Thank you for your sweet words! (Okay, trying not to cry here...)

~ Debbie, thank you for your beautiful prayer to close the evening. I'll be counting on your (and everyone's) prayers for safety, good health, and a good adjustment to come true! And, yes, you are all on this journey with us! God has ordained it so!

~ Gay (who acted on behalf of the whole club), thank you for the onesie and shirt! How adorable!!! (Malia got a onesie with "Future Pioneer Clubs Member" on it, and a red shirt that says "Worth the Wait.")



~ Ryan, Amber, Braden and Aleia, thank you for the cozy (and mighty cute) sleeper, and hair bobbles that included lady bug barrettes! I can't wait to put them in Malia's hair!


~ To everyone that was out at Club tonight and wished our family well, thank you!!! You have no idea how your encouraging and loving words sustain me!

~ And, thank you to Tonya and Isaac, who came out to the church to surprise me with a farewell hug!!! You guys are awesome, and I so can't wait for you to experience what we are experiencing right now! And, you will someday ... you WILL!


I've had a few people asking me how I'm REALLY feeling tonight. It's so hard to describe. I've been a bundle of nervous energy ALL day! I'm not a nail-biter, but they've been in my mouth playing with my teeth a lot today, and my legs won't sit still. Out of nowhere, my heart will start palpitating in anticipation and excitement. All this, and honestly I don't think it has completely set in that we're leaving tomorrow.

I guess the biggest thing is the realization that as we embark on this journey to China tomorrow, our family will never, ever be the same. And, we already have an incredible family! Why would we want to change it? But, we do, and it will be awesome.

I haven't been overly concerned about meeting Malia. I'm prepared (I think) for her to hate us, push away, and want nothing to do with us. Honestly, who would blame her as she's placed into the arms of complete strangers? But, I also know she could just settle in with us like we've always been a family. Many of the prayers people have been lifting for us have included requests that we all have an instant connection with one another. I know God is mighty enough to handle those requests.

My biggest anxiety right now is over the traveling and the potential of getting sick. So, if you're looking for something to pray for, there you go. And, of course, keep praying for everything else you've been praying for. Also, for those of you who may not know, my Mom and Rick's Mom are going with us. Please include them in your prayers as well.

My rambling has me thinking it's time for bed. Hoping to get some pictures posted tomorrow before we head out! Tomorrow ... wow!

TWO DAYS!

STATUS REPORT:
Freaking Out!!!

Okay, this packing thing is much harder than I anticipated. I really thought we were packing light ... but it really adds up fast! Blast the dimension and weight restrictions! Who came up with those? Whoever it was obviously wasn't planning a two and a half week trip to China during varying climate changes to adopt a 10 1/2 month old!

Needless to say, we've had to include one more piece of luggage to check. We've made it a small carry-on size, so at least it's not too big and bulky. But, the extra room was needed.

We spent over 2 1/2 hours packing tonight! Not quite done, as we forgot to purchase a few small items. Sigh. But we're almost there!

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We have been blessed on our journey because of prayer! Brad and Carmen came over tonight to add to the many prayers they've already lifted for us. They just wanted to do it with us one more time before we left. Thank you, Brad and Carmen! What a blessing to have you as friends - and all through the bond of adoption. Brad, I loved the words you said right after your prayer, "You are about to experience the miracle of adoption. And it really is a miracle." Those words really uplifted me. Thank you!

And, thank you once again to everyone who is praying for us. Please continue, as we'll need them more than ever!

I'd also like to send a thank you shout out to Jim & Susie for the birthday serenade at our staff lunch today. There's nothing like whip cream all over your face while men you don't know sing in Spanish, all while I'm wearing a sombrero, to say Happy Birthday! You sneaky things, you!

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We leave in less than 48 hours. We should have Malia in less than six days! I'm so overwhelmed with various emotions I don't know whether to shout with joy or cry. I'd eat some chocolate, but I think it's packed with the kitchen sink at the bottom of the suitcase.

THREE DAYS!

STATUS REPORT:
This morning was our last day at church as a family of three. The next time we attend we'll be a family of four! We want to thank our church family for praying over us this morning. What a wonderful peace comes from knowing that, not only will many people be praying for us on our trip, they'll be praying to an awesome and powerful God who WILL hear and answer those prayers! Afterall, He's the one who began this journey in the first place!

Right now we're working on the final pieces of laundry and some cleaning. I decided I want everything that needs to be packed placed in one area before we start packing it all away. That way I can check things off our packing list as we go. I know we'll be able to get most anything we need in China if we forget something, but that doesn't mean it will be convenient to get in a timely manner.

Here is a picture of the little dress Gay & Mike got for Malia...


They also got black and white tights to go with it. Thank you, Gay & Mike! This outfit is so cute!

Thank you, also for the toy cell phone. Spencer is jealous that Malia has a cell phone and he doesn't. We told him he could carry this one around if he wanted to. He declined.

Three days! In a mere 72 hours we will be heading to the airport! Unbelievable!!! Those butterflies are doing a little jig in my tummy!

FOUR DAYS!

STATUS REPORT:
Today has been a crazy busy and fun day! After sleeping in, Rick and I went for a really nice, long walk. Then back at home I "attended" a cyber baby shower for my cyber friend, Laura, who is close to traveling to Vietnam to get her little guy, Coby - who is such a cutie-pie. Never done the cyber shower thing before, but it was really nice to be a part of it and wish them well on their journey.

Then it was off to renew my driver's license (which expires the end of this month) and Spencer's state ID card (which we like to have when we travel and his was a few years old). It cost $32.00 for both!!! The term "highway robbery" comes to mind - no pun intended. I remember, back in the day, when it only cost $3.00 to renew a license. But I digress ...

Then we were off to the courthouse to vote. Speaking of voting, let me share with you something Spencer said to me yesterday ...

Spencer: Just think, Mom, next Presidential election I'll be able to vote.

Me: Oh, yeah, well ... BARELY old enough!

Seriously, where is the time going???

After voting, we headed out to Walgreens and Walmart for a few last minute items. Back home we worked on laundry and just a tiny amount of contributing to our packing piles. Then we headed out to see our friends, Dave & Christine, who were having an open house to celebrate their new house - Woohoo!! Congratulations!!! - before heading over to my parents' house to celebrate some birthdays ... with ice cream cake!!!


I'm really tired, so I'm heading off to bed. Tomorrow is our last Sunday at church before heading to China! We should have Malia in eight days!!! I had a dream about her last night. Hoping for another one tonight ...

FIVE DAYS!

Not only are we in single digit countdown, but today we can start counting down our last few days on ONE hand!

STATUS REPORT:
Not much to report on today. About the only thing productive in the adoption world is that I called the credit card company to inform them we'll be traveling out of the country to China, with a couple stops in South Korea.

We went to Rick's sister's house tonight for supper and I got to share the birthday cake the Pioneer Clubs Leaders gave me Wednesday night at our meeting (thank you, Gay and Debbie!!!). We played the Wii - tennis and bowling - and laughed like crazy.

Tomorrow is voting day for Rick and me. (It will be wierd learning of our new President while in another country.) We'll also be doing some laundry and start our packing. The butterflies are visiting more frequently!

I want to thank all of you who are leaving comments, signing our guestbook, sending emails, and offering words of excited congratulations. It's so much more fun going through this journey with all of you by our sides!!! And, thank you Beth and Auntie (and Uncle and Tracy), for my early birthday cards! I'm guessing this will be the shortest birthday ever since we'll be going through so many time zones on that day. Does that mean I don't officially turn a full year older? Speaking of birthdays ... Happy Birthday, Dad!

SIX DAYS!

STATUS REPORT:
Less than a week to go! One more Sunday at church, one more youth group meeting, one more Pioneer Clubs meeting, three more days in the office for Rick and myself, three and a half more days of school for Spencer, six more sleeps in our own beds ... and only ten more days before we get Malia!!! Tomorrow we can start our offical single digit countdown for that most anticipated "Gotcha Day!" I'm still in disbelief that we're so close to holding our precious little girl!

Today we received our final paperwork package from our agency. When the instructions say certain papers will be one of the last things we get from CHI, and we now have them in hand ... Wow! We have all the paperwork we need to go to China. We are ready to go!! Except for the CHI buttons. Did anyone get those? Today we also mailed out the final payment to our agency for all our in-China travel and service fees. The phrase "whopper of a check" comes to mind.

Spencer got his hair cut today and then Rick and I went to parent/teacher conferences. We still have one teacher to talk with, which I'm hoping to do tomorrow since she wasn't there tonight. Other than this particular teacher's class, we seem to have all the assignments and instructions Spencer needs for the time he'll be gone.

Time is winding down, and emotions are winding up!

SEVEN DAYS!

STATUS REPORT:
I awoke this morning with butterflies ... one week from today we leave for China! That thought just about made me panic. Not really sure exactly why, but the feeling came over me briefly. I know I've said this before, but I just can't believe our waiting is about to come to an end! Our lives are about to change forever ... our family will never be the same once we embark on that journey. It's scary and exciting all at the same time.

Last night, Rick and I picked the clothing we will pack for Malia. Rick also cleaned out some kitchen cabinets and Spencer worked on Social Studies homework. This morning, Rick and I read over our final invoice from our agency, which includes all our in-China details. There's still some uncertainties about the orphanage donation fee (this fee basically reimburses the orphanage for the care and resources they've given the children). It's been $3,000 for years, but over the past several months these fees have started increasing by as much as $2,000 depending on province and orphanage. We've been told $3,000 but to have an extra $2,000 with us in China just in case it changes. Apparently the orphanage director insists the fee is $5,000 but our agency has not received any official notice of an increase. You could keep this issue in your prayers - we'd appreciate it.

I went to get my hair done today ... the last time before we leave. I thought this day would never get here, and it's here! Spencer gets his cut tomorrow. Thank you, LaKelia, for the P. Mitchell baby shampoo! What a great gift!

I talked with my sickly Mother this afternoon about travel/packing information - she's under the weather today. I love that my Mom and Rick's Mom will be able to experience this amazing journey with us.

Tonight I have a meeting for our Pioneer Clubs leaders and my last Hour of Power prayer meeting before we leave. It dawned on me today that I only have four more days in the office before we leave! We may start packing before this weekend because it's really cold where we are and really hot where we're going. So, since we won't be wearing summer-like clothing anytime soon, we could get them packed without noticing their absence in the closet.

Seven more days. One week from today. I have a feeling it will be here before we know it! Eleven days 'til Gotcha Day!!!

EIGHT DAYS!

STATUS REPORT:
Malia's clothes are now washed. They are so tiny and so cute! I can hardly wait to see her wearing each outfit. I just hope they fit, since we don't know her exact size. Other adoptive parents advize taking a few outfits in various sizes and then buying more outfits in Gaungzhou. So, tonight after Pioneer Clubs, Rick and I will be choosing the outfits we'll take with us.

While doing laundry, I did some major cleaning in the kitchen last night. Our poor old stove has never looked better thanks to some very good de-greasing cleanser. I didn't plan to do this particular cleaning, but one thing lead to another and ... you know how that goes. Rick will hopefully get a little more cleaning done tonight while Spencer and I are at Club.

Some of Spencer's school assignments are changing, which is a little frustrating being so close to travel. We want him to be able to get as much done as possible before we go, but it seems getting plans together for him is proving a little difficult for a couple teachers. Plus, Spencer isn't having fun doing so much work each night. Please pray that he will get everything done that he needs to in a timely manner. He spent a lot of time last night doing Math and going over it with Rick. And speaking of Math, we want to extend a congratulations to his Math teacher, who was chosen Teacher of the Year! How cool is that?! Also, a thank you to the school administrators and teachers who are very supportive and encouraging of his upcoming trip!

The last two days I've felt really calm about the trip. Every once in a while I get the butterflies. But, I think I have so much to think about and get done here that I'm more focused on those things right now. I'm really afraid I'll miss or forget something. But, the excitement is still there! We could be holding Malia in twelve days!!!

WE'RE IN SINGLE DIGIT COUNTDOWN!

Today is a celebratory day for the simple fact that our countdown to travel is finally in single digits!

STATUS REPORT:
Our house is now a disaster! Especially Malia's room, which has become a catch-all for everything travel related. I have most of our liquid toiletry items in our 3oz bottles and quart-sized ziplock baggies. Baby meds are in their own baggie and formula, rice cereal and baby prunes are together ready to be packed away. Malia's clothing is still in the laundry room waiting to be washed. That was on my list of things to do yesterday, but a nap was calling my name so loudly I couldn't resist. Our bathing suits have started our clothing piles, which will be added to this weekend since we will finally be close enough to travel that we can pack away our clothes. Spencer will be swimming in homework and projects this week. He'd greatly appreciate your prayers!

We leave NEXT week!!! NEXT week!!! Wow!!! That thought hit me hard this morning. Sometimes I'm close to crying as I think about how close we are to holding our precious daughter ... our miracle gift from God Himself. Emotions overwhelm me and I'm so thankful.

10 MONTHS OLD TODAY!

Sweet Malia,

You are ten months old today! I know we haven't had the chance to meet face to face yet, but I can't believe how time is flying. When we first got your referral you were eight and a half months old, and here you are ten months already! You're growing up so fast, and I'm sad that I'm missing it.

But in twelve days I will finally - finally - be heading out on a journey that will change both of our lives forever. A journey that will allow me to experience your beautiful culture. A journey that will lead me to you. And in seventeen days I will hopefully be looking into your beautiful brown eyes telling you I love you for the first of many times.

I can't wait to hug you, kiss your cheeks, see you smile, hear you laugh, watch you sleep, get to know your likes and dislikes, experience your personality, watch you play with your big brother, see you smile at your daddy, watch you have fun with your family. I just can't wait!

But until that day that I'm finally holding you, I'm praying for you still. Happy ten month birthday, precious girl! I love you!

Love, Mommy

SIGHS OF RELIEF

Sigh #1: Our passports arrived safe and sound with visas intact. I want to send a thank you to our courier, Denise, at "There's Always Hope." She took very good care of us and our documents.

Sigh #2: When I called the bank today they told me the new money had arrived earlier today.

We are officially ready to go to China! Only twelve more days!

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Here's a picture of the mei tai. It's really cute, but the straps are way too long. I ordered the large/xlarge size since Rick said he might use it and it is way too big. I'll need to shorten the straps and give it a try.

I just have to say I cannot wait to hold Malia. I really hope she's a snuggle-bug!

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And a couple "Thank You's"...

Shelby, thanks so much for the frozen meal and gifts! We'll definitely be taking some of the links to China and the ladybug bib is just too perfect.

Debbie S., thanks for the outfit! It's so cute and I can't wait to see Malia wearing it!

I just have to say we are blessed with such great friends!

OUR PASSPORTS & VISAS ARE HEADING HOME!

We got an email from our courier tonight letting us know that our passports with visas are on their way back to us. This is such a relief and I'm so ready to check this item off the "To Do" list.

On a less happier note ... I ordered our new money from our bank several weeks ago. I was told it should be in by the end of September. Well, when I called to check on the status earlier this week (since I hadn't heard from them) I was told that it hadn't come in yet. Then the teller starts asking me when the absolute very last day would be that we could pick it up. Are they kidding??? Do they really think I want to wait to the last minute for an item we CANNOT leave without? I'll be calling them tomorrow to check on the status.

Once again onto a happier note ... we got lots of goodies in the mail today. Our mei tai carrier, no jet-lag pills and my motion sickness bracelet all arrived today. That should be the last of the items we need (except the $$$!) and can start packing soon. I would have taken a picture of the mei tai, but I'm much too tired because ...

Rick and I went to the reservoir spill-way tonight to do some "Great Wall Training." This place is so beautiful and it has an area with 100 steps. Rick went down and up nine times and I did it seven. Woooooweeee!!! It's been a long time since I've been out there, so I'm hoping I'll be able to walk tomorrow! If I can, I'll take a picture of the mei tai.

A POST OF ASSORTED TOPICS

FALL CHOIR CONCERT

Monday night was the junior high fall choir concert. Spencer had a solo/duet (they each sang by themselves and then sang together) and did a fantastic job! The choir teacher always does such a great job with the kids and their performances are so fun to watch.

LADYBUG SIGHTINGS

Ladybug Sleeper

Ladybug Costume (front)

Ladybug Costume (back)

After the choir concert we got two ladybug gifts for Malia. Aren't they the cutest things?!?! My Mom found the sleeper (that also has a little hat with green antennas), and my sister-in-law found the ladybug costume with wings and an antenna headband. I cannot wait to see Malia in these outfits!!! I just LOVE them both! Thanks Mom and Patty!

Tonya, I'm hoping these ladybug sightings count! Hoping they bring some BIG batches over the next few months!

MOPS
I've never had the opportunity to attend MOPS (Mothers of PreSchoolers) due to my work schedule when Spencer was younger, but I was honored to be asked to speak at this Tuesday's meeting and share details of our adoption journey. And, it was a comfort to me to have some friends there to encourage me. Thanks Shelby, Nicole, Winter and Amber!!! (And, thank you Christine for praying with me before the meeting!) Hopefully, I'll have the chance to attend for awhile after Malia gets home. We'll see. I also appreciated the kind words and well wishes of the other Moms there that day. Thank you all for listening!

TWO WEEKS FROM NOW.....
We'll be on our way to China!!! It's truly so hard to believe that this part of our journey is about to come to an end. We should have Malia in 18 days!!!

MALIA'S NEW SHOES

We had dinner with some friends tonight and look what they brought with them! Ladybug shoes for Malia! Aren't they absolutely adorable?! We cannot wait to put these on Malia's precious little feet.

Thank you Brad, Carmen, Braylen and Alea! We are so blessed to have you as friends! Thank you for sharing our joy and for helping to pray our precious Malia home!

STATUS: DELIVERED

Whew!

Just got an email from our courier that our passports and visa applications were delivered to the Chinese Consulate today. They will be picked up from the Consulate on the 16th and then returned to us the next day. At least, that's the plan!

MEETING BELLA * AN UPDATE ON OUR VISAS * LID ANNIVERSARY

Yesterday, my friend Tonya and I met up with Maryann and her daughter, Bella. Bella came home from China in August and her mommy couldn't wait to show her off - and Tonya and I were happy to give her attention! We also got to pick Maryann's brain about traveling to China while Bella played. She is such a beautiful and happy baby! Thanks again, Maryann, for traveling over to us to show us your beautiful baby girl and for sharing tips and suggestions for our upcoming trips! I'm so looking forward to the day Bella, Chloe and Malia are all playing together.

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Last night I logged on to the Fed.Ex website to track our passports and it showed they'd been delivered to our courier's home. Now, I'm hoping we filled out all the paperwork correctly and that they were delivered to the Chinese Consulate today.

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Today makes 32 months since we were logged in at the CCAA ... and our last one without Malia! Woohoo!!!

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PS: My "little" guy was sick today and stayed home from school. He slept a lot today and seems to be feeling better this evening. He actually ate some supper. We hated that he had to miss school so close to being gone two weeks, but there was no way he could go. Get better soon, Spencer!

WOOHOO!!!

What a day, what a day!

First, I had the pain-staking task of mailing out our precious passports - a mere three weeks before we are to travel! I think I made the young FedEx man that was helping me a little nervous. I had about four pages of instructions from our courier to weed through as I tried to tell him how I needed to send our documents. He said he was going to have to ask his boss. Bless his heart! So out came Mr. Boss who, I think, could sense my "slight" tension at having to send these documents out. He was very kind and very helpful. In fact he seemed to know what I needed better than I could read what I needed. As we finished up his last words were, "We'll take good care of them." How very kind of him to try and comfort me in my time of distress. I still sent up a prayer as I headed out the door.

Then, on my way back to the office Rick called my cell to let me know we'd recieved an email from our agency with (... insert drumroll ...) our confirmed Consulate Appointment date! Woohoo!!! We now have a finalized itinerary, were able to start purchasing airline tickets, and our agency is currently working on all our in-China travel arrangements!

Now, before I get into our detailed intinerary, I want to send out an apology to Kristin and Kristin ... the best routes/prices for international travel have us leaving and returning through Fort Wayne, not Indy. You can blame it on North West Airlines who make one way tickets three times more expensive than round trip. Sorry, girls!!!!

Here is our itinerary:
Wed - October 29 - Leave Fort Wayne
Thu - October 30 - Air time
Fri - October 31 - Arrive in Beijing
Sat - November 1 - Sightseeing in Beijing
Sun - November 2 - Fly to Nanchang, possibly get Malia in PM
Mon - November 3 - Get Malia or begin adoption paperwork
Tue thru Fri - Nov. 4 thru 7 - Adoption paperwork & sightseeing
Sat - November 8 - Fly to Guangzhou
Sun - November 9 - Free day (can you say Shopping!?!)
Mon - November 10 - Malia's medical exam
Tue - November 11 - Free day (Holiday for US Consulate)
Wed - November 12 - Free day
Thu - November 13 - Consulate Appointment
Fri - November 14 - Take oath at Consulate and get Malia's visa
Sat - November 15 - Return home

Three weeks from tomorrow I hope to be making our last post from the US before heading out to catch our long awaited flight to Malia. We're coming, sweet girl ... very soon!

MALIA'S FINDING AD

We received some very special pieces in the mail today. We decided to go through Brian Stuy of Research China to get Malia's finding ad. It was a little pricy, but something I already love having. Our package included one blown up picture and negative of Malia's finding ad and the actual newspaper it was found in. The translation said the paper is dated March 10, 2008, which makes her less than three months old in the picture. And yes, we can tell it's her. Her hair is almost exactly the same! She had lots of hair when she was born - just like Spencer.

I love finding those bits and pieces of Malia's past and pray that we will be able to find out more in the future. I trust that God will reveal whatever it is He wants us to know and in His almighty perfect timing.

I took some time this evening to look at all 135 pictures in the finding ad section of the newspaper - yes, 135 children! Some children stared blankly at the camera, many were sleeping infants, one precious beauty was smiling, and a few expressions of sorrow broke my heart. Two children were older and I couldn't help but wonder about their story and what brought them to the place to have their pictures in the newspaper.

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My Sweet Malia,

I am truly sad that you will not be growing up with your birth family. But I know we already love you so much - and we haven't even met in person yet - that you couldn't be more our own in our hearts and minds. I often wonder what led up to that moment when you were no longer with your birth family. The moment that led to where you are now. I wish I had information about your birth parents to share with you, but most likely we won't ever know anything. But, as you look into the mirror and see your beautiful reflection, know that you are seeing bits and pieces of two people that gave you life - two people for which I am truly grateful and will most likely never be able to thank in person.

As we come into the season of thanksgiving, I am reminded of a thought that floated into my head on Thanksgiving morning of last year - a mere few weeks before you were born. I was getting ready for the day standing in front of the mirror curling my hair, praying for you and dreaming of a future with you. I was thinking about the fact that you would probably never know your birth family and I was sad for you ... and them. But God gave me a comforting thought. If you, my precious daughter, become a follower of Jesus, and your birth parents become followers, too, you will all have the most blessed reunion in heaven some day. I pray this reunion will come true for you all some day. Amen!

I can't wait to share Thanksgiving with you, Malia. What an awesome first holiday to be able to share as a new family - Thanksgiving! I continue to be truly overwhelmed with thanksgiving as I think of the life journeys that have led us to one another.

I miss you. I love you. I am so thankful for you.
Always, Mommy

WE HAVE TRAVEL APPROVAL!

We're thankful that our Travel Approval (TA) was mailed over the weekend before China began their holiday. It arrived at our agency today. This means China has given us permission to enter their country. Thank you, China!

Now we wait for our Consulate Appointment (CA) to be scheduled at the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China. Unfortunately, the US Consulate celebrates both US and China holidays, so they won't be back in the office until October 6th!! UUGGHH! This means our agency will have to wait until then to request our appointment. After the request, it usually takes several days to receive confirmation of our appointment date.

And then, before our travel itinerary can be finalized, we must have our TA and CA, as well as all international flight arrangements (for all 17 families in our travel group) to our agency's staff in Beijing so they can work on our in-China travel arragements. It looks like all our definite travel plans won't be known until days before we're to head to the airport. However, we should know the definite departure and return dates once our CA is scheduled.

So, we're waiting some more ... but at least we are one step closer.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SPENCER!

Malia,

This morning at 8:49 your "gu gu" ( Chinese for big brother) turned 14! He had a fun weekend. His best friend, Tanner, stayed the night on Friday and Saturday. We had family over yesterday to help Spencer celebrate. We also talked about our upcoming trip to China to meet you and bring you home. We are all very excited! And tonight, we are going back to church to celebrate Communion.

Your big brother is so excited to finally be a big brother. He started asking us to adopt when he was in third grade. Of course, he wanted us to adopt Tanner, but still, he had adoption in his heart way back then! When we finally felt you in our hearts and told Spencer of our plans to adopt a little girl from China, he was thrilled!

Let me tell you about your gu gu ... He has such a sweet and fun spirit. He loves to joke around and has the best belly laugh of anyone I know. I think our whole family agrees with that! He is very creative and is very much an artist in many ways. He loves to draw and is very good. He's even drawn pictures of you, our sweet girl, before we knew what you looked like. He is a good singer and loves being in plays. He also likes to play the guitar and has played some songs in honor of you. Your gu gu has also been gifted with compassion. He has a very gentle heart and really dislikes injustice. He is a follower of Jesus and we pray every day that he will stand strong in his faith. We are very proud of him, and we believe that you will be, too, when you are old enough to know what that means.

There's so much more to tell you, but it's time to head to Communion. I can't wait for you to meet your gu gu soon!

Love, Mommy

CORRECTION ---- HALLELUJAH!

So I was going over travel info with my Mom yesterday and discovered that I'd misread the part about traveling with liquids. In China all liquids must be packed in the checked luggage - not the carry-on luggage. Hallelujah! You know, there are some occasions in life when you are just so glad to find out you were wrong about something.

SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS

* First, and most importantly, we received an email from our agency (CHI) today with an update on our Yifeng babies. One of the CHI staff in Beijing sent the following information to our social worker: "...the director from Yifeng orphanage called yesterday that they have done giving all the children a urine analysis and a ultrasound scan, and it turned out that they are all ok." Praise the Lord ... again!

* Okay, I'm having some serious packing issues. It has nothing to do with clothing, and everything to do with the resrtictions on liquids. In the travel preparation information we received Monday it says that China does not allow any liquids in checked luggage, they must all be in the carry-on. In the US, we are only allowed the 3 oz bottles in the quart-size baggie in our carry-on. Obviously the people making these regulations have no regard for my morning and evening routines that require lots of liquid products, not to mention I'll be needing them for two weeks! My solution: I've already made arrangements to steal space in Rick and Spencer's baggies ... sshhh, don't tell!

* It has been a very long time since we've had diapers in our home! But, I am so ready to use them! (Well, not me personally ... on Malia.)

* I've realized the need to once again start doing sit-ups and push-ups regularly to prepare for carrying around a little one. Why is it so much easier and faster to get out of shape than it is to get in shape?

* I love being in Malia's room, sitting in the rocking chair praying and dreaming about what it will be like with her in our family. I feel so blessed to be on this journey!

* It dawned on me today that the age difference between Spencer and Malia will have Spencer starting college before Malia starts Kindergarten. Hmmmmm.

* There are way too many baby formulas to choose from.

TRAVEL PREPARATIONS

Still no word yet on Travel Approval (TA) from China, but we did receive a package in the mail today from our agency with travel preparation instructions. I just have to say once again how super excited I am to finally be at this stage of our adoption journey! Most of the time it still feels so surreal. Rick and I will just look at each other, smile and say things like "I can't believe we're finally talking travel arrangements."

In our travel preparation package are instructions for getting our Visas, making international flight plans, a checklist on documents to take with us to China, money issues and information on post-adoption procedures.

This really is happening!

SERIOUSLY, WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE WORLD?

I'm sure most of you have heard news about the tainted milk that is killing babies in China. I'm still in utter disbelief at how some people are so greedy that they have such disregard for human life. It's absolutely infuriating to me. I'm grateful to know that Malia is okay ... I've checked into it and continue to thank God for His protective hand over her. It's so hard to care for a baby half a world away!!!

Here are some recent stats related to the tainted milk issue ...
~ At least 4 babies have died from drinking the tainted baby formula.
~ 104 babies are in serious condition.
~ 1,579 babies have been treated and discharged.
~ Nearly 40,000 babies have been seen in hospitals throughout China.

~ Almost 13,000 children were in the hospital just today after drinking the toxic milk powder.

Please continue to pray for the innocent babies who are suffering so badly at the hands of greedy people.

HAPPY 9 MONTH BIRTHDAY, MY SWEET DAUGHTER!

My Sweet Baby Girl,

Happy 9 month birthday! I so wish I could be with you today, to give you hugs and kisses and tell you how much I love you. I wish we could be together today to celebrate the life God has created for you. You are a princess, my darling daughter. You were created by the King of kings and He has a very special plan for your life. I am so blessed that He has chosen and entrusted me to be your Mommy to walk through that life with you.

I pray for strength and wisdom to be a good Mommy for you - to be able to answer the questions you will have some day and to love you enough through the good times and the not so good times. I also pray for strength and wisdom for you, dear Malia, to always know and stand firm in the Truth and to never be swayed by the father of lies who will try to twist your past and plant doubts for your future. May you always believe that God has allowed events to unfold in your life to mold you into the person He's created you to be and to gain precious knowledge and wisdom from the experiences you will live through. And may it all be to His glory! May you also know without doubt that He has purposed you for a very special life with a very special mission. I cannot wait to watch and see everything unfold!

In the meantime, I ask that God keep you safe, healthy and strong. I pray that He will fill in the gaps of loving and nurturing you when your nannies may not be able to provide what you need. I ask that He continue to prepare each of us for that special day when we are finally united as a family. And I pray that even now, at such a young age, you truly know your Creator, your loving Father, who somehow loves you more than I.

Love, Mommy

GOODIES FOR MALIA

We went shopping for Malia today! I've waited so long to buy girl clothes. Nothing against boy clothes, but girl clothes are so much more fun. It was truly overwhelming because there were so many cute things. And, unfortunately, it was confirmed once again today that I have very expensive taste! We're thankful for the gift cards we were given at the surprise baby shower this past April that we were finally able to use today.

Since the only information we have on Malia's height and weight was taken three months ago, we've heard it's best to buy a few things in different sizes. We focused on 6-12 months. Here's most of what we got today ...

This dress was impossible to pass up. Ladybugs are such a symbol of China adoptions.



And, Rick couldn't pass up this coat.

At Babies R Us we saw a lot of really cute clothes but figured we'd already gotten enough today. We went for Rick to find his baby carrier and decided to get some other baby supplies while we were there.

I am so ready to get Malia! These past couple days have been especially difficult after hearing yesterday's breaking news that some Chinese formula has been tainted and babies have died as a result. Others have gotten kidney stones and there's been discussion about possible kidney disease. Please keep Malia and the other babies in your prayers.

TENTATIVE TRAVEL PLANS!

I decided to check emails tonight - almost didn't - but am so glad I did! We received an email from our agency with tentative travel plans! I'm so excited and nervous ... and excited! Here's the tentative schedule:

October 30 - Leave the US (my birthday!)
October 31 - Arrive in Beijing
November 1 - Sightseeing
November 2 - Fly to Jiangxi Province
November 3 - Gotcha Day!!!
November 8 - Fly to Guangzhou
November 12 - Consulate Appointment (earliest requested date)
November 14 - Fly home

This is still all so surreal! It's been the longest, hardest, most grueling wait ever and it's almost over.

Rick bought me an early birthday present and gave it to me today. It's a watch that has the Chinese symbols for Mother and Daughter on the face. It's beautiful and precious to me. Thank you, Honey, for being excited for me to be a Mommy again ... and to have a daughter. I so love being able to share this journey with you, my best friend!

Okay, now where are those suitcases ... ?

A WEEK AGO TODAY ...

Truly, I fall more in love with her each and every day. It's hard to stop staring at her sweet face. So, I just had to include one of her pictures in this post.

I was much calmer at work today than I was a week ago. Can you believe it's been a week since our referral? I can't. This last week has flown by. I really don't like wishing life away, but I kind of hope the next six to eight weeks go by as quickly. I can't wait to hold our Maila!

The red area is Jiangxi Province ...

And the yellow arrow is the location of Yifeng SWI in Jiangxi Province ...

In this past week I joined the Yifeng SWI Yahoo Group and they have some priceless photos taken by families who have little ones from the orphanage. I've gotten permission to post some photos on our blog and I've opted to share the two below.

The first picture is of the gate as you enter the SWI grounds.

The Yifeng SWI (Social Welfare Institute) also houses elderly and special needs people. The grounds are bigger than I'd imagined and they appear to have a beautiful garden and sitting area. The photo below is of the current infant building. This would be the building Malia is living in. I was pleasantly surprised at how nice the building appears on the outside. This particular photo was taken in the winter time. There was another picture taken in the spring and had a lot of green foliage, but it was a very small picture so I opted for this one.

I would love to have the opportunity to visit Malia's orphanage. I don't believe we'll know for sure until we get to the province to get our babies. Often times it's up to the orphanage director to authorize a visit. Please join me in praying he'll be generous to our travel group!

Oh, and by the way ... today is our 31 month LID anniversary. I must admit, it's the best one so far!

PRECIOUS WORDS

We received some translated information about our precious Malia today. This information included her "finding" story (which we've decided to keep private) as well as a record of her physical development information for her first six months. It was so sweet to read those words and imagine her at every stage of her first six months of life.

One quote from this translation that I absolutely love and cherish is this:
"She is very lively. Big eyes on her lovely face and cute lips."

What precious words!

I absolutely cannot wait to go to China and finally meet my little girl. Please pray for those first days together, that they would not be so traumatic for her. It's hard to know that our "Gotcha Day" will be the day we've waited almost four years for, but will be a day that Malia is stripped of everything she's ever known. It breaks my heart for her. I must admit there are days that I feel guilty about this fact. But I must trust in God's plan for her life, and His plan for mine as well. He's chosen us to be a family and for that I cannot stop thanking Him.

"Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words."
2 Corinthians 9:15

Oooh, how could I ever stop thanking Him?!

USCIS APPROVAL

Well, I awoke in the 4:00 hour this morning with several things going through my head. (Waking in the middle of the night with swarming thoughts has been the norm since Monday - our Labor Day.) One of the things on my mind was that we'd forgotten to get the mail from the mailbox yesterday and I thought our USCIS approval letter might be in there.

This afternoon, Rick and I walked out to check and low and behold ... there was our letter. Approval! This is a relief since this paper MUST be valid upon our return to the States with Malia. Our previous approval was set to expire on October 17th, and we are definitely not going to be back with Malia before then. Plus, last week, in the midst of our joyous referral celebration, we were dealing with a letter we'd received regarding Rick's fingerprints, which must be valid to receive USCIS approval. We'd received a letter stating his prints had expired and they'd scheduled an appointement for him on September 19th to redo them. Well, we were just there on July 3rd for our fingerprint renewal and already received our letter stating both our prints are now valid through October 3, 2009. So, after making a few phone calls, we recieved a call from our local USCIS office last Thursday saying they had made an error and were reviewing our case.

You know, this is the only paper glitch we've encountered along our journey. We were a little disappointed that it came at the same time we were celebrating our referral, but we weren't overly concerned since we knew Rick's prints were valid through October 2009.

We now have USCIS approval through April 18, 2010. I'd say we'll be back with Malia by then.

THE "BROWN STORK'S" ARRIVAL

September 3, 2008: Seeing her face for the first time...
I didn't get much sleep last night. Too excited! I can only liken it to trying to fall asleep on Christmas Eve as a child ... just knowing something really special is waiting for you. I wasn't counting the hours. Just waiting for time to pass with a peace I hadn't felt in a long time.

I awoke sometime between 5:00 and 5:30 a.m. and, try as I might, couldn't fall back to sleep. I got up just before 6:30 and immediately logged onto the computer to track the UPS truck that was going to be delivering my child. The package had been scanned in at the FW facility around 5:50 a.m. - she was so close! So I took a shower and got ready for the day. Then onto the chore of getting the camera and video recorder atop the tripods and ready to grab when the truck got here.

I tried to keep busy by working on our referral announcements - scrapbook style. I sat at the dining room table and glanced out the front window every time I heard anything resembling a vehicle. Rick was keeping busy out in the garage cleaning our vehicles, but when he came inside he was all sweaty so I asked him to start doing something inside. I really didn't want his shirt all sweaty when the truck arrived and forever have sweat stains in our pictures. I know ... a little obssesive. So to keep busy, we logged back onto the computer to track the package. It had been scanned in at the MRN facility and was on the truck for delivery. Ooohh, she was almost here! I checked some emails and figured afterwards we could start doing some research on Jiangxi Province. While I was doing this, Rick went outside to close the garage door. When he came back inside, he calmly said, "Let's get ready." "Is it coming?!" I asked. It was! The "brown stork" was turning onto our road and heading towards our drive for a landing. I literally jumped up and down in anticipation.

We called for Spencer, grabbed the cameras and ran outside to quickly set them up. I'm figuring by now Mister UPS Driver might have thought something was up. While we turned on the video camera, he went to the back of the truck and emerged with the most precious looking envelope I'd ever seen.

"I bet you never thought you'd be delivering a baby today," I said to him. "Are there pictures?" he asked. "Yes, from China!" And in that handoff, Malia was delivered to us at 10:02 a.m.

After handing over the envelope, he really seemed to want to leave right away, but I told him he couldn't until we got a picture. I think at first he thought I was kidding. "We have to get your picture, you're the brown stork!" I explained. So we gathered in front of the "brown stork" and captured our delivery moment.

As he left, the three of us filed inside and set up the video recorder in the living room to capture the moment we first saw Malia's face. Of course, the DVD was full, so we had to fumble around putting a new one in (which meant I only got my first words to Mr. UPS Driver on the other disc before it quit!)

We all sat down on the couch, took deep breaths and pulled out a transluscent file folder that contained photos of the most precious little girl in the whole wide world ... our daughter (and sister)! We could immediately see that she had lots of hair. After that I first noticed her eyebrows ... I absolutely love those eyebrows. Rick first noticed her eyes. She was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

We took some time and flipped through the folder that contained copies of precious Chinese/American documents and three photos of our dear, precious Malia. One attached to our offical referral document from CHI and two other loose photos.

Then it was off to the dining room table to fill out documents. There were four papers we needed to fill out, sign and overnight back to our agency. So, we got to work to get that part out of the way. We wanted to go show off our Malia!

(Nice job with the photos, Spencer!)

After we were done filling out the forms, Rick and I each called our Moms. We would have talked with our Dads, but they were both out golfing! Helloooo!!

My parents had planned to head over to our house later in the day, but my Mom wanted Malia's pictures scanned and emailed to her at work ASAP. So, we headed to Rick's Mom's house to get the job done. It was so fun getting to see the excitement on Cindy's face when she first saw Malia (I got it on camera). We then headed back to her office to scan and email. I called my Mom to let her know they were on the way and was so touched to hear her reaction, even if it was across a phone line. At least we got to share the moment that way!

Shortly afterwards, Rick's Dad got home and saw Malia's pictures. And after that, Rick's sister, Amanda, arrived and saw our precious daughter. I got both their reactions on camera, too.

We printed out some temporary photos for people to take with them, especially Spencer since we needed to get him back to school. I hadn't heard yet if my Dad had seen Malia, so I gave him a call on his cell. He was still at the golf course, that little rascal. But, he was only 10 minutes away. So I made him stay put so we could drive by the school, drop Spencer off and then head over to introduce him to his first granddaughter. Yep, got his reaction on camera, too.

After that, we headed into town to send out the forms to our agency and then make copies of Malia's photos. While we were in town, we couldn't help but stop by the realty agency that Gay works for and show off Malia to the woman who has done so much for us and has practially lived through this adoption journey with us.

On our way home, I called Tonya so she could come over and see Malia's pictures. She beat us to our house! A little while later, my friend Christine stopped by to see Malia. I must admit I didn't grow tired of showing her off.

Then my parents arrived with my nephew, big K. I finally got a picture of my Mom looking at Malia's pictures. After talking adoption for awhile, we headed out to our favorite Chinese restaurant for supper. While we were there, we got to show off Malia's photos to the family that owns the restaurant. They are from China and the parents speak little English. One of their daughters, Anna, translated bits and pieces of some of the documents we had.

The day was fabulous! It seemed to fly by, yet it also seemed like a really long day. There weren't as many tears today. Just more excitement and joy. Malia's face was no longer a mystery.

(Our first family photo ... well, kind of.)

"THE CALL"

Here's our story about "The Call."

Tuesday, September 2, 2008, Referral Day
I was anxious to hear about the cutoff date after reading on RQ the day before that February 9th might be inlcuded in this referral batch. Rick gets to his office much earlier than I do, so I'd asked him to check RQ and then my emails to see if there were any updates or if we'd heard from CHI, our agency. I was expecting to hear from CHI first thing via email saying that referrals had arrived in their office. But we didn't. It was agony. RQ had updated her site giving the 9th rumor an R5, which is as close to fact as you can get without hearing from the main source itself. I was feeling so excited I could burst.

When I got to the office, I told Jim (our Pastor and friend) that I'd be on the internet a lot looking for any news I could find. After about 35 minutes, I couldn't stand it any longer and emailed Rebecca, our Social Worker, to see if their was any news. When she didn't respond quickly, I got flustered. Yes, in my excitement and anticipation I didn't think about the time zone difference - ha! Their offices weren't even open yet. But by the time she did respond, two other countries had confirmed the 9th as the cutoff. However, her email said the internal box for the CCAA had not changed and they were checking into whether or not referrals had been mailed and what the cutoff might be. What?!? This was so hard to read.

Around 11:30 am, Jim needed to pass a phone tree for prayer requests, which means we have to log off the internet (yep, we still have dial-up at the church). My response ... "You're killing me!" So I left a little after noon and headed home to log onto the internet there. I'd read a comment on our blog from another blogger friend, Laura, that we probably wouldn't hear anything from CHI until we got "The Call." Good grief! Then another email saying we'd probably just get "The Call." Good grief again! And then it slowly began to sink in...today was the day. Today could very possibly be the day we'd finally get that long awaited phone call introducing us to our daughter. So, before heading back to the office, I rummaged through some papers to pull out "The Call" sheet to record our precious first tidbits about Malia ... still guarding my heart just in case.

So back to the office I went, after taking an extra long lunch at home to surf for news. When I get back to the office the phone tree was still going and there were two messages on the machine. The first at 1:38 pm - a hang up. The second at 1:50 pm - I'd just missed it - and it was from Rebecca from CHI!! Good grief once again ... I'd missed my first "The Call" moment! I just knew it! I called Rick on his cell phone and had to leave a message, "Call me back as soon as you can." And after taking a few deep breaths and sending up a little prayer, I called Rebecca back at 2:10 pm and ... had to leave a message! Good grief, where was everyone?!

So I begin to pace between my office and Susie's office to check on the phone tree status. It had to be done before I could log back onto the internet. I sit, I pace, I take deep breaths ... Finally, at 2:21 pm, the phone rings and I receive the phone call that I'd waited over three years for. "I called to tell you congratulations. You have a daughter." My response was a teary one, "Praise God! Thank you." For seven minutes, Rebecca told me pieces of info about Malia. I had to have her repeat several things. I still ended up mis-hearing the last name and orphanage. I thought the last name was Chuang (instead of Zhuang)and the orphanage SWI of Wiseng County (instead of Yifeng). Imagine my disappointment in myself when I saw her paperwork and realized my mistake. Bad momma!

After I hung up with Rebecca, I called Rick and ... had to leave another message! So I continued to call his cell phone, hang up, call back, hang up, call back, hang up. I figured even if he was in a meeting he'd realize something important was up. I finally decided to leave a message, "Call me back right away." Then, after several more attempts, I left another message, "Okay, I'm going to stop calling you, but you have to call me back so I can introduce you to your daughter." And then I waited ... 15 MINUTES!!! I couldn't take it any longer so I called him back again and this time he answered. "Where have you been?" I asked with frustration. His response? "I accidently left my phone in the car after lunch and I'm just now getting it. I'm sorry." Again I say, good grief! And finally at 2:47 pm, Rick heard the first details about his daughter.

After a few more phone calls to my Mom, Tonya and the school to inform them of Spencer's absence the next day, I headed home so I could tell Spencer in person as soon as possible. I was pulling into the drive when he called my cell phone (an after school ritual). "Hey, where are you?" "I'm pulling in the drive. Let me get inside and I'll tell you about your sister." "You got a call?!?!" He was so excited. I'd told him first thing this morning that I'd call the school to leave a message for him and let him know what I found out about the cutoff. Little did we all know that we'd get "The Call" instead!

This day was an utterly emotional day. From anxiousness and anticipation to utter joy and elation to feelings so overwhelming there are no words for them. Tears came without warning and thoughts of my precious 8 month old Malia swarmed in my head. Still no face, but even more real to me than when I'd awakened this morning. We had a name! A birthdate! A location of where she was right this moment!

As we united as a family on this evening there was such a peaceful joy. We were content to wait overnight for the "brown stork's" arrival with Malia's picture. Our referral was here. Finally.

(I record all this for future reference of these precious moments ... yet another step of this precious journey to our daughter.)

Introducing Malia Jo Lu

"I prayed for this child,
and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."
~ 1 Samuel 1:27 ~

SHE'S HERE!!!

After an agonizing day of no news from our agency, we received "The Call" today at 2:21 p.m. from our Social Worker, Rebecca, introducing us to our daughter! I CANNOT BELIEVE IT'S FINALLY OUR TURN TO TYPE THOSE WORDS! Can I just say that I was so unprepared emotionally to receive "The Call" today. I was expecting to hear confirmation about the cutoff date today, but not hear about our referral! I'm so overwhelmed with emotion that I find myself bursting into a full-out cry without warning. It's an inexplicable feeling!

Okay, on to the good stuff...

NAME: Zhuang Lu Shuo (first name Lu, last name Zhuang)

DOB: December 17, 2007

RESIDENCE: Social Welfare Institute of Yifeng County (orphanage)

PROVINCE: Jiangxi

Her medical and daily living reports aren't translated yet so we don't know her height and weight or her temperament. Our agency has scanned all the paperwork to the Beijing office to be translated. We'll get the info later this week.

Our agency received a few pictures of her and will be overnighting them to us. WE'LL SEE HER PRECIOUS FACE TOMORROW!!! (Okay, crying again!) Rick, Spencer and I will be on a stake out for the UPS truck until its arrival! We'll post her picture as soon as we get the chance.

Just an FYI: Some time ago we had a little competition to see who could correctly guess the province Malia would be from and guess what? Her Daddy knew! Yep, Rick picked Jiangxi Province!

GOING ABSOLUTELY CRAZY!!!

Okay, I've been on RQ and this is what she says on the blog this morning:

R5 - February 9
September 2nd, 2008
We now have a half a dozen agencies saying February 9th.
The next question is when they will arrive. I’m working on that one and will let you know when I get something a bit more substantial. As of now it appears that there is a good chance they are on their way, which logically means they could start arriving today or tomorrow. But that’s logic, not really rumor.

For those of you who do not know her rating system it ranges from R1 to R5. R1 rumors are basically for when one source is stating information. An R5 is as close to truth as you can get without hearing it from the main source yourself. Okay ...

Then I go into the February 2006 Forum and find out a Swedish AND Canadian agency have confirmed February 9th as the cutoff.

BUT STILL NO WORD FROM OUR AGENCY!!!!!

I bit the bullet and emailed our Social Worker. I'm trying so hard to be patient, but seriously ... how in the world can they not know yet????? And why in the world have they not shared it with me?????

Awaiting a reply from my email ...

UPDATE:
Well, our Social Worker emailed back saying the internal box hasn't changed. They are trying to find out if referrals have been mailed and what the cutoff might be. How can this be???? Why are so many other people saying the 9th has been confirmed and our agency is saying the box hasn't changed????? Going CRAZY!!!!!

WE MIGHT BE IN LABOR!!!

This could very well turn out to be the most incredible Labor Day EVER!!!! RQ has posted that three European agencies (2 Norwegian and 1 Spanish) are saying the cutoff is ... FEBRUARY 9th! Of course, our agency - along with all other American agencies - are closed today for the holiday so we can't get information from them to see if "the box" has been updated. Here's how things have transpired ...

I logged onto RQ early this morning to see if there happened to be any updates. Today is a holiday for the US, but there have been times in the past when information has come out on our holidays since the rest of the world is not celebrating them. Nothing new this morning, so I proceeded to do some scrapbooking (trying to get somewhat caught up before traveling to China).

Then, a little after 3:00 pm I decided to log back on to RQ to see if there was anything new and this is what I found:

Feb 9th?

September 1st, 2008

Three European Agencies are saying that the CCAA says the cut off is the 9th.

One of the agencies has it worded so that it might be that the CCAA box says the 9th, but I’m not absolutely sure of the way it is worded. If the box has been updated then that means referrals should be arriving in Europe today though, because the box is normally updated the day they arrive or the day after they arrive.

I’m giving this (Feb 9) a very high R3 right now until I get a little more information. I need to verify a few things before I make it an R4 and with the American agencies closed today that’s going to be a bit difficult.

To remind yourself of the projections for this month go here.

And for the American’s out there, I hope you have an enjoyable Labor Day. Our portobello mushrooms are marinating and I can’t wait until dinner.

And so I proceeded to start crying! I was in utter shock to read these words. February 9th? The cutoff? I have to say that I was so convinced that our referral would not come until October (and it still might if these rumors turn out to not be true). Of course, right before I started crying I gasped and said, "oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh," which got Rick's attention. He asked what I was reading, but I couldn't speak except to say, "Read this."

So Rick read RQ's post and got teary and all we could do was hug and Rick said, "I love you" and I of course said, "I love you" back. I don't really know how to explain what I felt. Shock. Unbelief. Relief. When we released from our hug Rick said, "We have to practice our packing!"

Then we called Spencer in to read the post and he got so excited. I couldn't believe the words that were coming out of my mouth ... "If this is true, we could get our referral this week." And barely getting the words out I started to cry again. Spencer has since spent some time playing his guitar stating he wants to write a bunch of songs to help his little sister fall asleep. What an AWESOME big brother!!!!! He says he's nervous about becoming a big brother after all this time, but we just know he'll be great at it.

Then Rick called his Mom, while I called mine. They are, after all, rather affected by this news since they will be traveling with us to China.

As I type this I've gone into a slight "protect my heart" mode. I'll reserve the real celebrating for the actual moment the cutoff date is confirmed. Can this really be our month? Could we really see Malia's face this week? Okay, I'm starting to tear up again ...

UPDATE:

We received an email from a Yahoo Group that a US agency has confirmed that February 9th is the cutoff. No word yet from our agency.

Holland is saying February 9th, too! Good grief ... who made Labor Day a holiday??????? Everyone is finding out but my agency!