We Have Travel Approval!!

China called and they want us to come and get our daughter! YAYAYAYAY!!! We hope to leave about Dec. 10 or Dec. 17. If we leave Dec. 10 then we will be home in time for Christmas which would be wonderful! Hopefully, by the end of the week we will know for sure.

Excuse me while I go pack for INNER MONGOLIA!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Girls

This weekend family came! And with that family my niece Reagan was here! My daughter Nicole is never more herself than when Reagan is around. They sing, dance, play, talk, giggle, and act goofy the whole time they are together. I love it when they are here! I wish we lived closer to them so they could spend a lot more time together, but I guess it makes their rare visits all the more special. We are thankful for family!

A friend of mine told me that often in China they will shave their babies/toddlers hair believing that it will grow in thicker. Huh. So maybe the orphanage is doing it because they want her hair to be thick and luxurious? I'll buy that . . . may not agree with it or start shaving my own head, but at least they might be doing it for her best interest.

I have bought her a couple of hats. Very girly ones so that she will feel like the princess that she is!

I

can

not

wait

to

get

my

hands

on

her!

WAIT! There's More!

Look at all those teeth! OK, I want her now! I want her here now! I know God is listening and his timing is perfect, but just thought I'd say it in case He wasn't sure what I was thinking :)!

Glory Be!

This morning we received THIS updated picture! It is priceless, but not enough. It just makes me want to get her even more. She needs us! Looks like I need to get some headbands with bows attached since her little head is still shaved. She's also going to need some cozy hats! The temperature in Baotou is in the 30's during the day and the teens at night and it will only get colder. I think we will be spending quite a bit of time in our hotel room staying cozy!

Enjoy your day!

Listen to THIS

^{1 Corinthians 12}

⁷Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ⁸To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, ⁹to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,and to still another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

(emphasis mine)

So, when you hear a friend say that they have the gift of prophecy you kind of take it with a grain of salt. You sort of say to yourself, 'OK, I know this person, she's not crazy, but does she really know what she's talking about? I'll make note of what she is saying, but won't put everything I have into it.' But you definitely make note of what they are telling you.

I have a friend and she told me just that. That she thinks she has the gift of prophecy. I'm like, cool. She said that she thinks we will be getting a call on the 23rd of September. I'm thinking, 'Huh. Interesting.' She said that she keeps seeing Avery on the 23rd of September. She said that it has happened to her before, that she 'knew' something was going to happen before it happened. She told me this a few times. I remembered it.

My hubbie was going to be out of town. One of the dates he was to be gone was September 23rd. I held off telling him what my friend said for a while. I didn't want him to think I was losing it and following some weird psycho. But as it came closer to time for him to be gone, and the person told me, yet again, that we should expect a call on September 23rd, I felt it was time to let him in on what this person had been saying to me. I said, "I'm fixin to tell you something and I want you to just listen to me, sort of just hear me, know that I am not crazy, but I'm just putting this out there because I want you to be aware of it, too. . . A friend of mine at Bible study said that we should be expecting a call about Avery on September 23rd. I just wanted you to be aware of it in case you have to come home suddenly or just so you know." He said, "Huh, wow. OK, I'll keep that in mind."

September 23rd came and the phone rang at about 1:30, I think. It was our agency. She asked if we would consider a baby girl with a heart defect. We had not checked that when we did our special needs checklist because I had heard a horror story about this family. They had gotten to China and their daughter was in horrible shape and they had to fight to get her out of the country because her heart was so bad. I wanted to protect us from a situation like that. Denise explained that this particular child had a repaired ventricular septal defect. I said that since it had been repaired then we would definitely consider this child. She said that she would probably call us back in a few days. Huh. Well, that was the big phone call we were expecting. My friend was sort of right. I called the husband to tell him what had happened. That was the end of that.

At about 3pm our agency called again. They said that they think they have found a match for us. Would I like to see the file? YES! Do I want a picture with the file? ABSOLUTELY!!! How can I look at a file of a child and not see their face? I had to go get two kids from school while they were sending me the file. Drive fast.

I called Lyndal and told him what was going on. We agreed that when I got back home I would call him and we would both open the file at the same time. We did. She's ours. She's perfect.

The date we got THE CALL was SEPTEMBER 23, 2009. Just like God prophesied through my friend. HE is AWESOME.

Avery's Care Package!

There are a few sites that will send your child a care package. You can download pictures for them to print off and put in a photo album with labels on them, and you can buy different things like books, a blanket, candy and nuts for the foster family, disposable cameras, and have a letter translated. We ordered one last week and got the picture of what we sent today! She did a great job!

We also received an update on Avery today! She weighs 18.7 lbs and is 22.8 inches long (which is in the 50-75% on the Chinese growth charts, and Nicole was about that size when she was 1, too). Her feet are 12 cm long which is about 5 1/2 inches or a size 5 shoe (she must have her daddy's long toes). Between meals she likes to eat cookies and she likes yellow cake (just like her momma!) She is walking and has 11 teeth. Again, she is perfect!

Hopefully we will get updated pictures this week.

Today Was WONDERFUL! (despite the head butting goat pictures)

Today was an adventure. We trekked to OKC to welcome some friends in from China with their children. They had been in China for over 2 weeks and flew in just today! Their whole family was together for the first time and it was all good. I wish I could post pictures of the family, but I gotta protect them. Just trust me that it was so good to see them home after such a very long journey. After the airport we went to visit family. We saw my Grandma and Kenneth for a while. Carlie finally opened up a little bit and showed her sassy side to them! The older kids spent most of the time outside climbing the tree. Then it was off to my Dad and Leslie's house to play with the goats and shoot guns (just Conner)! They got some new Boer goats - Cowboy and Boulder. Cowboy is the one playing with Conner, Boulder would have very little to do with us. Cowboy is so cute! I wanted to take him home and he could be our new 'dog.' But Dad said that they were going to eat him! I protested, but am not sure if I will win or not :(. I hope they get a male and a female next time so they can have baby goats - Dad said they might. Wouldn't that be cute? Little baby goats? Then Conner did some skeet shooting. He's an excellent shot! It was a great day, and we are pooped.

We hope to get an update on Miss Avery this week!

We Are at %100!

Well, I thought at least one of us would be clear. Apparently, I was wrong (ain't the first time). He's four and he needs glasses pretty bad. Not once in his beautiful four years has he ever complained or seemed to have difficulty seeing, but a trip to the ophthalmologist changed that. He's wearing them fairly good today, at least they are on his face even though they are hanging down on his nose most of the time.

He's just too cute.

And a Great Big BOO to YOU Too!

So, we had a Zombie Lawyer, a Purple Cat, Darth Vader, and a Strawberry Fairy this year. We trick-or-treated around our neighborhood enjoying the bee-a-U-t-ful weather! The kids a had blast and the adults looked forward to an extra hour of sleep that night. All was great.

Anyone up for Inner Mongolia for Christmas?

Snapshot Sunday

This snapshot is priceless. PRICELESS! It is the very first known picture of our daughter when she was about a month old. It's kind of fuzzy. I hope we get a clearer print of it sometime, but it is part of her history. That perfect round head. Those beautiful Asian eyes. That little bitty nose. That cupid's bow of a mouth. Priceless. Treasured. I could stare at her all day. I can't wait to hold her, smell her, and play with her.Those first few moments, I hope they go in slow motion.

This is my "Snapshot Sunday" even though I didn't take this snapshot.