Another visit from Sandy!

Sandy came over this week and showed me how to make Chinese noodles. The meal was so delicious and nutritious! We all loved it and Cody kept giving us his bowl and saying more=) She used just a little olive oil to stir fry noodles, chicken and fresh vegetables. So fresh and so good. She also brought a rice cooker that I can borrow. I have used it already and love it! Sandy's daughter, Pam, also came over. She works for LGH as a pharmacist. It was great to meet her.

July Update

So we received our LOA and a update on Mei on the same day. Mei continues to progress in speech. She doesn't seem fond of getting her picture taken at all! In the first picture on the report she has such a sour face. Rob and I both said we are sure to see a lot of that face in China! They also say she is a little afraid of strangers. I continue to pray that her foster Mother will bring her to us in China and that Mei will have a little time to warm up to us. Either way it is going to be tough on this little one. A picture of her foster brother was sent which is so awesome. She will miss this little guy and it will help to have a picture. He is 2 years old so Cody will be her new Di di (little brother). His Love Without Boundaries name is Drew and he is such a cute little guy. We think his file has been sent to the CCAA for adoption so of course I have already started my search to find out if he has been matched with a family. Would be great to be able to keep in touch with them.

LOA IS HERE!!!

Our agency received our Letter of Acceptance today! We are leaving soon to go sign it and overnight it back to China!!! Now we wait up to 1 month for Travel Approval and then off to China a couple weeks after that!!! Thank you all for you support and prayers. Looks like Mei will be home for her birthday for sure. Praise God.

Visit from Sandy

We had a wonderful visit from Sandy, a lady from the Chinese Church at Calvary. Sandy is from Taiwan and speaks fluent Mandarin and loves to cook. She showed me how to make steamed egg, a dish Mei eats often most likely. Cole and Julia had a little trouble with the texture but Cody inhaled it by the bowl full=) We also recorded some words and phrases in Chinese on our computer. The kids are so good at repeating the words but Mom needs practice=) I will take a trip to a Chinese grocery store with Sandy next week and then we will come home and prepare a meal together. We are hoping that familiar foods will be a comfort to Mei when everything else in her world is changing. Sandy will also come over when we bring Mei home to talk with her in Chinese and translate for us. What a blessing! We are so thankful for Sandy and her willingness to share her time and talents with us. This wait is so hard but God is so good.

Gratitude Journal

Quote: Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denials into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. - Melody Battine

We are grateful for:

1. Answered prayer:

We have been praying about all of the reports saying how shy and timid Mei is. In the most recent report they say that she is becoming much more engaging. This is wonderful to hear.

2. Palate repair

It crossed my mind as we are becoming discouraged with this wait that we need to be so thankful that Love Without Boundaries and Dr. Ness' medical team closed Mei's palate in April (on Rob's birthday). If this had not occurred the wait to bring Mei home would be even more difficult. To know that she has jumped this medical hurdle that allows her speech to improve etc. is such a blessing.

Word from Beijing

We got word from Beijing this morning. There are no problems with our paperwork and it is not lost or anything. The person in China who is doing our case is just slow. How unlucky. She said she will make it a priority and get it out in the next couple weeks. I was hoping tomorrow. Fortunately, our next approval (TA) goes through a different office in China.. Although it is frustrating to wait so much longer than needed we were happy to hear that there are no problems.

Still Waiting

We are sadly still waiting for our LOA (Letter of Approval). We are now seeing parents who received referrals after us receiving their LOAs. This is very hard. Samuel Fang, the President of our agency, is headed to China tomorrow and will inquire about our LOA. Our social worker says not to worry and that each case is just processed differently. After LOA we wait for another approval called a TA (Travel Approval) so the waiting game will continue. Please pray for Mei Mei's health, happiness, and progress with her speech and interaction with her foster family. Pray for us as our hearts ache to bring our little one home. We change our focus a bit and pray that we can bring her home before her 3rd birthday on Oct. 1st. We don't want to miss any more birthdays.