The Road to Raeanna

We Have an Age!

2011-10-04T10:55:00.004-04:00

It's absolutely amazing how Raeanna has developed and grown over the last year! We went to the adoption clinic for our 1 year checkup last week. The doctor just looked and smiled and said, "It's amazing what love will do for you!" They measured her and weighed her, and like us, marveled at her. This doctor really thought she was 2 years old one year ago. The bone scan even said she was. Now, the doctor is convinced she is at least 4 or 4 and a half, maybe even a little older. We' ve decided to move her birthdate back 1 year, which will make her 4 and a half. At the rate she is developing physically and mentally, I believe she will be ready for kindergarten next year.

I think often of her birth mother and father on the other side of the world. I pray that they will know the Lord and be saved, so that one day, they will meet their little girl in Heaven, and know that she was loved, well-taken care of, and happy on this earth. I know this sounds absurd, but I feel certain that they abandoned her because they loved her, and it was the only way they could save her life. You see, Raeanna was a very, very sick baby girl when she was found. She had an intestinal obstruction due to her special need, and she was severely malnourished. She wasn't a newborn, so it's likely that they tried to keep her. It's my theory that she was a second child or third, and because of China's One Child Policy, she would've had no health insurance, because children born after the first one don't have the rights of citizens. In order for her to get the help she needed to live, her parents would have to abandon her so that she would be found and brought to a hospital. I can't imagine the pain they felt then when they left her, and now, not knowing where she is and if she survived. I pray they somehow know that she is safe and healthy in America with her family who loves her so very much, and that they have peace.

When I hear the song, "Amazing Grace," and the verse that says, "Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come. But grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home," I think that it describes Raeanna's life so well. The Lord was definately with her. She suffered, not only in sickness, but in living in an orphanage for so long, but He brought her through and brought us together, and now she has a home with us, and ultimately, her home will be with Him. He has plans for her. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I am so happy to be a part of the Lord's plans for her, and I feel extremely blessed to be the one He chose to be her Mommy and to get to teach her about Him. I feel very grateful for the blessing of this child, who blesses everyone she meets, and I feel grateful to her birthparents for giving her life and that beautiful smile!

Wearing Baba's (Daddy's) Shirt

1 Year, 7 Inches, and 14 Pounds Later....

2011-09-07T22:40:00.001-04:00

I thought you might like to see her now!

Our Family
July 2, 2011
Katey and Adam's Wedding Day

Raeanna was the Flower Girl and she was so excited, she ran down the aisle pulling the ring bearer, Jacob.

Raeanna and Jacob

Standing at the front during the wedding and thinking about this whole situation....

Coming back down the aisle after the ceremony.

After the Wedding

Pure Joy - That's my baby girl!
It was sooo hot!

On Vacation in Tennessee After the Wedding

Pretty Raeanna ready for church

First Dance Class in August

Up to Something!
Raeanna and her cousins, John and Jacob!

One Year Ago Today- Our Gotcha Video

2011-09-06T20:54:00.000-04:00

Raeanna and I were on the News!

2011-06-25T21:38:00.000-04:00

We went to the Adoption Family Reunion for our agency, A Helping Hand, today. The ABC affiliate from Lexington was there and interviewed us

Adoption Reunion in Versailles < << Click on the title.

www.wtvq.com

WTVQ ABC36 News, Sports, Weather, Health, contests for Lexington and central Kentucky.

Six Months Home Continued (Pictures)

2011-03-07T10:51:00.007-05:00

These first few were taken in October on our trip home to Mississippi.

Gran and Pop's House in October 2010

Raeanna with Gran and Pop

Raeanna with Granny Faye and Granddaddy Bob

Raeanna and Pop ride the lawn mower

I like wearing Granddaddy Bob's cap!

Gran and Pop with Raeanna on the porch

So happy!

Raeanna with Aunt Ruby

Visit with Ms. Sheila and Mr. Mark in Louisiana

Visit with Aunt Beverly in Alabama

The rest were taken from Thanksgiving to now. You can see how much she's grown.

Family Christmas Card Portrait taken by Mary Jo
at Gran and Pop's house in MS

Having fun with GeGe Brett

Ge Ge Cade loves me bunches!

I love my Sissy!

I love Adam, too, and his cellphone!

All My Children
Christmas at Gran and Pop's House

These are my cousins, John and Jacob! Aren't they cute?

Opening Presents at Gran and Pop's House

Checking out Pop

Brett, I just might be a doctor, too!

"Mama's Baby!"
That's what I say when anyone picks on me!

I like to pose for pictures by the post!

I love Ge Ge Cade, a whole lot, but I have to pick on him!

I love my Mama!

My Mama loves me a whole bunch!!!

My Baba and I fall asleep here a lot!

My friend, Lauren, and I traveled in China together with our families, and she lives in my town!

Playing Ring Around the Rosies with Lauren at the Chinese Restaurant

Celebrating Chinese New Year in my silk dress from China

Another silk outfit

Playing dress-up with Sissy!
I like to put on lots of jewelry!

Fun Day with Ge Ge Cade!

Happy Birthday to ME!!!!!

Mommy and Me

I hope you enjoy our pictures from the last few months!

Six Months in Our Arms

2011-03-06T22:40:00.002-05:00

I know it's been a long time since I've updated, and I apologize for that. So much has happened in the last six months. So much has happened since I last updated, that I couldn't begin to tell it all, but I'll fill you in on a few things, so that you can have an idea how life with Raeanna has been over the last few months.

Today makes six months since we first held our beautiful, little daughter in our arms. What an amazing journey it has been! She has grown a whopping 5 inches and gained 9 pounds since that day in September. She has blossomed from a child who was very much like an 18 month old baby to a child who seems to be about 3 years old. We celebrated her birthday on February 14th with her brothers, sister, and Adam's mother, even though we didn't know how many candles to put on the cake. Hopefully, the doctors will decide on a birthdate sometime in the near future, and we'll have a big party for her then.

It really has been awhile! We had a wonderful first Thanksgiving and Christmas with her! She was so excited to celebrate everything. We went to Mississippi for both holidays, and she loved spending time with all of her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. She absolutely LOVED Santa Claus! She figured out early what that man was all about! When she saw him, she went to him with open arms for him to hold her in his lap.

The first week in January, we went to Cincinnati Children's for testing. We drove everyday for a week to have tests done that week. They had to give her general anesthesia on two of the days, and they kindly let me hold her until she was asleep. Even so, she knew something was up and got really upset at the sight of the doctors and hospital bed, etc. I miraculously held it together until she was unconscious, and then proceeded to lose it. When I looked up, every nurse on the hall was wiping tears. Anyone would've had to be a cold-hearted person not to be affected by her. At the end of the week, she seemed to be more secure than ever that we were going to be there for her, and that she could count on that. For the first time since we got her, she wanted to go play in the nursery at church, and she was okay with us leaving her there to go to church. We never left before because she wasn't ready to be separated from us, but after being there everyday in the labs and surgery recovery rooms, she somehow felt more secure now that we would be back for her. I never thought such a traumatic experience would do that! She still tells me "You come too," when I take her to the nursery, but when I explain that I'm going to church and she can come with me or stay and play while I go to church, she chooses to go play.

Raeanna has become quite the active little girl. She loves to "play ball" as she says, run and play, and explore everything. She plays well with toys now and with other children, (two things she didn't do in the beginning.)
She has a great imagination. She loves her kitchen set and her dolls and her farm animals. She watched Elmo and Tinkerbell over and over again for awhile. Now it's Finding Nemo.

We got some good news and some bad news from the colorectal doctors in Cincinnati. She was one of only 3 children they had ever seen from China that didn't need a redo of the surgery done in China. We were so relieved that she didn't need to have that surgery done, because it required a 10 day stay in the hospital with no food by mouth for the whole time. Given her food issues, that was something I was really dreading. By the way, she doesn't eat nearly as much as she did, but it's still a lot for a little girl. She also doesn't have any of the urinary or female problems that children born with her condition tend to have. Very good news! The bad news was that a part of her colon had been removed in China. For children born in this country like her, they don't remove it anymore. That was the way it was done over 30 years ago here. It will require us to help her practice careful bowel management, but hopefully and prayerfully, it will be easy to control. She will have surgery in July, after Katey's wedding, to repair her abdominal scar and the hernia in it.

Katey and Adam are getting married on July 2nd. He proposed in Mississippi the day after Christmas. Raeanna has really enjoyed shopping for the wedding. She was so excited to try on "pretty dressies." She's a girly girl in so many ways, but yet she loves trucks and legos.

Raeanna tells me "Mama, Jixiao's happy!", and it absolutely melts my heart everytime she says it. She wakes up happy in the morning, with a "good morning, Mommy!" She's happy most of the time, but she screams and cries when she doesn't get her way and could probably go on for hours, but we can usually distract her with something else. This morning she did her usual giggling and sillyness and suddenly got a really serious look on her face. She looked into my eyes, and said "I love you." She tells us she loves us all the time, but this morning, it was so heartfelt and serious. Soooo sweet! She's very affectionate, freely giving hugs and kisses to her mama and baba everyday. She truly seems very happy. She has always said "mama" a million times a day, but for some reason, I have become "mommy" over the past few weeks. It has been and still is music to my ears.

Raeanna loves to sing. She sings at the top of her lungs. She sings "Happy Birthday," "Jesus Loves Me" and "ABCs." Her latest song has been Justin Bieber's "Baby, Baby." She gets the little guitar and sings "Baby" over and over again.

I know I've said it before, but we've been so blessed beyond words to have Raeanna in our family. There are so many children, just like her, who need families. I know it doesn't always go as well for adoptive families as it has for us, and it's not always easy to open your heart and your home to a child. Sometimes the adjustment period can be hard, but if you feel that you're being called to adopt, please check into it. If you have any questions about it, feel free to contact me. I would love to help you along the way.

There's so much more I could share, but I know you'd probably like to see pictures of her more, so I'll post several pictures. For some reason, my pictures won't all upload, so I'll upload on a separate post. Hopefully, it won't be so long before my next post! :)

Taken the day after Thanksgiving for her announcement by her Aunt Mary Jo

Please Help Myah and her Family Get to New York for Needed Surgery by Voting

2010-12-06T16:19:00.001-05:00

Monday, December 6, 2010
I copied/pasted this from her blog. Myah lives in Florida. She was adopted from China and has serious health issues. She's endured many surgeries. I've spoken with her Mom on the phone, and even though I've never met her in person, I know Myah is an amazing little girl, with a beautiful, fighting spirit. She needs to go to New York to have a tumor removed from her abdomen. Please help them by voting at the address listed below. You have to register, but it doesn't cost anything, and you can vote everyday. Please help them! They can win 4 free plane tickets to New York for the surgery if they get the most votes.
Thank you!
http://family.go.com/toilet-tale-contest/finalists-toilet/wait--wait--not-there--41962/

The following is taken from Rina's blog:
"VOTE PLEASE !

Ok Myah had 3 hrs emergency surgery on sunday. the tumor seemed to work itself through her stomach. She is a trooper sitting up in her bed, 2 drains in her stomach and a morphine drip..more surgery to follow...

I need the help from my bloggers...PLEASE VOTE....we have 7 days of voting left. I am in 2nd place for winning 4 tickets to NYC..exactly where Myah needs to go to see her surgeon. We need to offset expenses and this is GOD sent..but I need votes...everyday for 7 days..

Please post to your blogs and Facebook...help us get there....need help..PLEASE I NEED VOTES....
Vote for my story..its 4 round trip airline tickets to NY..how ironic thatI am a finalist for this prize since Myah needs to go see her surgeons there..
we need to win this ..and its done by votes..

Please have your friends/family and church members vote every day for 7 days...
My stories name is WAIT WAIT NOT THERE....Please help me spearhead this

http://family.go.com/toilet-tale-contest/finalists-toilet/wait--wait--not-there--41962/

Posted by Rina at 8:42 AM Friday, December 3, 2010

Update

Myah has been hospitalized due to the vascular tumor and its size.Its very close to her spleen. Trying to treat the infection before any surgery can be done...plus it doesnt help that I am at "Saint Mary's" Childrens Hospital and every doctor and their mother is off for Hanukkah.
Please Please remember to vote (see my entry below this one)..We need votes folks... "

Our Little Lady Bug

2010-11-01T14:09:00.003-04:00

Ge Ge and Mei Mei Making Faces at Each Other

Neighbors and Friends

Not Too Sure About This

Ba Ba and Raeanna Carved a Pumpkin

This is Fun After All!

Cade's 16th Birthday and Our One Month Forever Family Day Anniversary

2010-10-10T23:25:00.003-04:00

October 6th was Cade's Sweet Sixteen birthday. It was also the one month anniversary of when we got Raeanna in Shanghai. Wow! What a month!
Raeanna is such a joy. It's so awesome to see how God prepared her heart for us, and us for her. We've been "Mama" and " Baba" to her since the moment she first saw us, and she calls for us anytime she gets out of view. She has a pleasant little personality most of the time. She wants her whole family together, surrounding her, and when we're scattered in the house, she does a little "come here" motion with her fingers to us to get us where she wants us. Is she bossy? YES! Is she demanding? YES! Does she mettle and plunder and make messes? YESSS! Is she sweet, adorable, loving, lovable and just plain precious? YESSSSSS! She's only been with us a month, and it seems like she's always been a part of our family. She requires constant supervision, because she is like a 2 year old and no where near a 4 year old. She holds her little arms straight out when she wants to be picked up. Who can resist that? Certainly not any of us. I'm tired, and my back hurts from lifting and carrying her. After all, I'm old enough to be her grandmother. But, I wouldn't change a thing. I would do it over in a heartbeat; without hesitation. She is a very loved little girl.

I got a phone call from the nurse at the University of Kentucky International Adoption doctor with the results of the tests. I will receive the report sometime this week. The nurse said that the renal ultrasound was normal, her spine was normal, and her bloodwork was all normal. The bonescan of the growth plates indicated she is a little over 2 years, instead of 4.5 years old. I'll know more when I get the report.
We're going to a pediatric dentist tomorrow, and they're supposed to to do a dental age assessment.

Brett came home from Mississippi College last weekend for Fall Break. At first, Raeanna wasn't too friendly, but then she got attached to him. By Sunday, I knew she was going to have a really hard time when he left. I took him to the airport on Tuesday. She was asleep when we got there, so she wasn't quite sure what to think, but as we walked back to the car, she started calling for him. She calls him "du du" for ge ge.
She said it over and over again like a broken-record. When we started driving out of the parking garage, it got faster and louder. I don't know if she thought I was leaving him behind or what. As we entered the highway, she went to pieces! She screamed and cried all the way to Cade's school, which was about 30 minutes away. She finally calmed down when Cade got in the car, but she still had the turned down mouth for a while. She skyped with Brett that night, and I think that really helped. She wouldn't stop leaning over and kissing his face on the computer screen. Really sweet! She got upset the next day when we left Cade at school, but she's been okay with that since.

Raeanna still wants a lot on her plate, but she doesn't eat much of it. She just wants to know it's there, in case she wants it. She'd much rather it be on her plate than anyone elses.

We got the disposable cameras developed that I had sent to the orphanage. The children living in her group were all age 2 and under. She was very loving toward the children. In several pictures, she was hugging or had her arm around another child. There is one little girl in particular that I can't get off my heart. She's in the pictures with Raeanna from December to July, and she always looks so sad. She looks like she may be Russian and maybe Chinese mixed, but it's hard to tell. She and Raeanna were obviously friends, and they were always hugging. She may be in the process of being adopted, but I want to find out, and if she's not, I want to help find her a family. I would love to be able to keep in touch with whoever adopts her for Raeanna and for her. I would adopt her myself if I thought it was the right thing to do, but I really feel like it would be better for someone else to adopt her, so I can focus on Raeanna and solving her health issues.

Some of the pictures I tried to post last time didn't upload, so I'll post them.

Boy, do I love my duh duh!

And Boy, do I love my other duh duh, Cade!

Looking out the China Hotel window at Guangzhou

Brett, trying to fasten the carseat!

Ready to leave the China Hotel and go to the airport to go home at 5:30am.

Sisters!

Waiting to go to the airport in the hotel lobby

Peacefully asleep in the lounge chair at home

Fish Soup in Guangzhou at a Cantonese/Portuguese Restaurant
Everyone sits at a big round table with a lazy susan. One guy in our group ordered many dishes for everyone, and this was one of them.

FIrst Two Weeks Home

2010-10-04T00:05:00.000-04:00

It's been a wonderful, blessed, amazing, and exhausting two weeks! After we recovered from the virus, we still had jet lag to get over, but it finally subsided. Raeanna got so tired of staying in the house that she led me to the car and to her carseat. She realized that riding in it was the only way she'd get to go somewhere, so she decided the carseat wasn't so bad after all! She LOVES "Shopping!" She puts stuff in our cart that we pass along the way. We really have to watch her with that.

Raeanna has seemed so at home since the night we walked in the door. Bedtime is still a little difficult, but getting better all the time. It took over a week to get her in bed before midnight, but I think that was because of the time change. We take food to bed with us. She doesn't always eat it, but it helps her somehow to know it's there. She still doesn't like the lights to be turned out, but a cellphone light seems to satisfy her until she falls out asleep. I don't even try to take her shoes off anymore. It makes her mad and wakes her up too easily, so she sleeps with her shoes on every night. She only takes naps in the car or sometimes on the couch when she falls asleep playing or when I'm rocking her, but she wakes up if I try to move her.

We took her to our church last Sunday and today. She made it through the music part of the service before we had to go to the cry room. The cry room was great! It's a sound proof room and window on the 2nd floor that overlooks the congregation. She stood on a chair with her hands on the glass and watched everyone. Today, we made it through the whole service without going out, but she wouldn't let me hold her because she seemed afraid I would take her out.

Raeanna gets excited when we pick up Cade from school. When she sees him, she starts saying,"Ge ge" and pointing. It's so sweet to see the two of them gazing and smiling at each other in the back seat.

She loves her bath now that we are home! She hated it in China. She doesn't want to get out now.

She loves pretty clothes. She stands in front of the mirror and admires herself in new clothes. So precious! She's playing with toys more and more, but she still won't watch a tv show or play with toys for very long.

Raeanna still has some issues with food. She has gotten better, but she still wants everything on her plate. She also wants what is on everyone else's plate on hers, but she doesn't eat nearly as much of it as she did. She has gained 5 pounds since September 6th. That's quite a bit when you are 22 pounds to begin with. She loves several southern dishes, such as Red Beans and Rice and grits. We took her to a football game Friday night, and she was totally uninterested in everything to do with the game. What she watched nonstop was all the people eating. She would stare at them. The doctor told us to let her eat whatever she wants, and only slow her down if she begins to eat more than 2 grown men. She said these food issues usually subside in about 6 months.

I took her to the pediatrician last week. Dr. Robson held her close, and he was so sweet with her. He was very taken by her. She was not too scared, but she got mad when they pricked her finger, looked in her ears, and took off her shoes.

I took her to the International Adoption doctor in Lexington at the University of Kentucky. When she looked around and saw that she was in a hospital, she got very upset. The doctor ran several tests. It was a very long day. Our appointment was at 10:30 and we left at 4:00. They drew 10 vials of blood, took xrays, and did a renal ultrasound. The doctor said the same thing we've been convinced of since we got her. She said that there's no way she is four years old. She thinks she is closer to two years old and that her records were made up. She xrayed the growth plates, and she's sending us to a pediatric dentist for a dental age assessment. She said that we'd xray those plates again in a year and make a decision as to what age she is at that time. She assessed her at 24 to 26 months, but said that she may be 3 at most because of being institutionalized in an orphanage.

People from our church have been very kind, bringing us meals to help us while we recovered from the trip and being sick and adjusted to having a little one again. One family that came had a 19 month old little girl, and she was actually taller and stronger than Raeanna. However, Raeanna is getting stronger everyday. She has begun to climb stairs that were impossible for her just a few days ago.

Right now, she is upstairs with Brett and Cade. They were watching a Nick Jr. show, with singing and dancing. They walked up to the balcony, and she was dancing and singing a song with Cade about something being "Yummy in her tummy." I sooo wish I had the video camera on when they did that!

Raeanna doesn't want Mama ever too far away. In fact, she starts calling me if I step in another room. She wants all of us with her all the time, but because I'm the one who's the main caretaker, she never wants me out of her sight. Katey and Adam took her for a wagon ride a couple of days ago. She was so torn because she wanted me to go with her. I told her she could go with them or she could stay with me in the house. She went, but she looked at me with the most sad look over her shoulder. She got okay soon, but she kept calling for me. I'm not going to leave her with anyone for quite a while, but since it was her sister, and she was taking her out to do something she was really wanting to do, I felt like it would be good for her to see I would be here when she got back.

She loves to hug my leg when I'm cooking, and begs to be picked up. Even though she is little, she gets very heavy, but I try to hold her whenever I can. When she sleeps, she puts her head on my side and holds it there with force until she falls asleep. I guess she's hoping to keep me from going anywhere by doing that. She's very cuddly, but very independent. She likes to help me empty the dishwasher. She hands me dishes and points to where they go. If she can reach, she puts them away.

Raeanna is learning English pretty well. She repeats words we say, and she seems to understand most everything we say. For instance, the nurse told her to go stand by the door so she could take her picture. She walked straight over to the door. It even shocked the nurse that she understood her. We're teaching her to count. She really listens when the little girls who are our neighbors talk to her, and she repeats what they say. She seems fascinated with little girls who are older than her.

We're enjoying every minute with her. I think she is quite secure in the fact that she is loved by her family. She seems to love her Mama, Baba, ge ge's, and jie jie. She calls Adam ge ge, too.

We're very grateful for the prayers from everyone. God has been so amazing throughout this entire journey! He orchestrated everything so perfectly, by leading us to her a little over a year ago. He made clear the path He wanted, and He worked out every detail. Raeanna was so prepared for us and us for her. There wasn't really an adjustment period. She was waiting for us to get there. It's been absolutely amazing how things have worked out! We'll continue to need your prayers and God's power as we face at least one surgery with her in the near future, and as she overcomes issues related to being in an orphanage.

Our Last Days in Guangzhou and the Trip Home!

2010-09-25T22:45:00.001-04:00

I know this is a long time in coming. It's going to be a long one!

We've had a hard week. We got home last Friday night on September 17th, but we got sick Saturday night.

I'll start where I left off before.

I was going to the Pearl Market with the women on Thursday morning in Guangzhou. That didn't happen. Bob woke up sick during the night on Wednesday night. It was pretty bad, so I decided to stay with him in the room for most of the day Thursday. He certainly wasn't able to watch Raeanna. He was going to have to go outside and walk with her to keep her from crying when I left, and he was too sick for that. We stayed in the room most of the day, but Cade and I decided we needed to go get some things at the store, and Bob said he was going too, so we took a cab to Carrefour. It's a store, similar to Walmart, but on several floors. It has escalators with an incline and you take the shopping cart up and down on it. We enjoyed it. Because it was just us this time, we weren't in a rush. We looked at the strange meat just hanging all over the meat department. There was chicken hanging with no refrigeration and then some really strange looking meats. There were different types of rice in bins, and you bought it by the kilo. We bought a few Chinese dvds for Raeanna. After the store, we went to a Kentucky Fried Chicken. The french fries are good. The chicken sandwich has dark meat, instead of the white meat and it looks pink, so I couldn't eat it. Bob wouldn't eat anything.

We rode the subway back to the hotel. That was interesting. I don't know what we would've done on this trip without Cade. Bob and Cade carried the stroller together down so many sets of stairs in China. I was standing and holding on to the pole in the subway car when I noticed this young girl staring at my wedding rings with her face just a few inches from them. She was looking over the details carefully. She leaned forward, and said "That Chinese baby?" I told her yes, and she asked me lots of questions about adoption and how I found out about Raeanna. I complimented her on her English speaking ability, and she told me that English was easy to learn. It was nice to talk to her. Most of the people, mostly older women, would come up to Raeanna and lean down and look her over. We don't know exactly what it was about, but wondered if they were trying to figure out if something was wrong with her. They seemed to admire her. Not long after we got back to the hotel, Susan, our wonderful guide, came back with Raeanna's visa and paperwork to travel to the USA. Yippee!!! She invited us to go with the group to eat at a Cantonese/Portuguese restaurant in a neighboring hotel, so we went. It was Cantonese style with the huge lazy susan in the middle. They ordered for the group, and we had some interesting food on the table. One of the dishes they ordered was fish soup. It had the whole fish in it. It's mouth was open, and it was looking at us. Raeanna threw a fit for it. I tried to give her some, but it was full of little fine fish bones, so she couldn't have it. We had a nice time visiting with the other families, and then we stopped at a little mall on the walk back to the hotel. After that, we went back to the room to pack up to go home!!! I wondered if she thought that hotel room was our home. It had to be confusing for her.

Our flight left Guangzhou at 6:00am Friday morning. The bellboys arrived to our room at 5:30am to take our luggage, and we met the guide in the hotel lobby. She brought little breakfast boxes for us from the hotel, since we left before they started serving. The bus took us to the airport. Raeanna didn't get happy until daylight broke, but she was fine after that. She started breaking into the breakfast boxes. By the time we got our luggage checked in and on through security, she had eaten 2 boiled eggs, 2 bananas, and several sweet rolls.

Bob and Cade were sitting behind Raeanna and me on the first flight, and she didn't like that at all! She screamed when I put the seat belt on her and again when we took off. She settled down after that, but couldn't wait to get to "Baba." He held her, and they let him use a baby lap seat belt for the landing on this flight. That helped very much. She didn''t get upset when we landed while she was in his lap.

When we got to Beijing, it was raining, and the plane didn't pull up to a gate. We got off in the parking lot, and onto a shuttle bus. We went to International Transfers, but our stroller didn't make it. Bob went to go get the stroller. Thankfully, he gave us our passports and boarding passes before he did, and took his with him. He couldn't get back to us. We sat there for about an hour. I finally went up to the desk to ask where he would've gone. I could just see him held up by security somewhere or something. She told me that he couldn't come back there from baggage claim, which is where he had to go to get it. I panicked at this point, since we had no cell phones or any way to communicate. She told me how to go to the gate and that we would probably meet up with him there. So, Cade and Raeanna and I made our way through security officers, lugging all the backpacks and an unconfined little girl, who wanted to go her own way. Then I heard Bob yell my name. I was really glad to hear that! He had been begging security to let him get to us, and they wouldn't budge. He had gotten them to finally call the international transfer desk, but we had already left. He was relieved to see us, too! He said he found the stroller in the Lost and Found. They asked him what we were wearing and when he tried to explain to them that Raeanna had on pink, they didn't know what pink was. So frustrating and scary to be separated at a foreign airport like that!! We rode a train to the right place and went through security. Security is very tight Beijing! They scanned us and scanned Raeanna. When they finished with her, she went back through the detector, and I had to go through to get her. By this time, I had my purse back, so I set everything off. Fortunately for me, they laughed. In our airports, you can buy water after you're on the other side of security, but not there. They took my expensive water bottles right at the gate of the plane. They searched our carryons AGAIN! Oh well, at least we knew we were safe! Raeanna was asleep before takeoff this time, and slept all but about 30 minutes of the 12 hour flight. During that 30 minutes, she was sick and throwing up, so we were very thankful that she slept. She had a little fever, too. Cade's seat was down the aisle from us. She didn't like that. She motioned for him to come when she woke up and saw that he wasn't with us. Sooo cute! She's well aware that we're a unit, and we belong together!

We got to Chicago, and Raeanna became an American citizen! We went through immigration and customs with hundreds of others. We were sent through special lines, so it didn't take as long as it could've taken. We had to take our luggage through to go to Louisville. One of the airport officers showing everyone where to put their luggage leaned over to look at her, then looked up at me, and said "Guard her with your life." Kind of scared me a bit!

After all of that, we found our gate and changed clothes and freshened up as best we could. We found a restaurant. It was probably the best cheeseburger in the world, and we could have ice in our drink!!!! I love America!!!! Everyone in the restaurant had a good time talking to Raeanna, and then we were off again. Only one short 45 minute plane trip and we would be back in Louisville! They wouldn't let us have a baby lap belt on this plane or on the one from Beijing because she's over 2. It didn't matter how small she is. Once again, she fell asleep before take off and slept through it. She woke up when they started talking right before landing and screamed until we came to a stop.

Brett flew in from Jackson, MS, so he was at the airport waiting for us, along with Katey and Kathi Henri. It was soooo good to see them! Raeanna smiled for them, and she knew they were ge ge(big brother) and jie jie(big sister). She HATED the carseat and cried all the way home. Once we got there, she was so happy! She walked in, looked around, and then it was as though she realized, "Hey!, This is my home!" She started happily feeding everyone her Cheerios, and I was too tired to realize what I was letting happen. BIG MISTAKE! I'm quite certain that is how Katey, Brett, and I ingested the virus. We all got sick at the same hour about 14 hours later.

Since this post is already so long, I'll post again in the next couple of days about our first week at home. I want to document it for her, as well as let you all know how things are going, so I promise, I will post about it.

We are home from China!

2010-09-20T23:13:00.000-04:00

I know it seems like we've fallen off the face of the earth, but we've been really sick since we got home. As my dear friend Beverly called it, it's like Montezuma's Revenge or would it be Mao Zedong's Revenge? I'll give a more detailed update tomorrow of the last few days in China and of Raeanna's homecoming.

The Oath at the American Consulate

2010-09-15T10:43:00.000-04:00

Today, we took an oath at the American Consulate that basically said that everything we've done to reach this point was true, and that the information on our child was true, etc. etc. The room was filled with American families adopting children of all ages. There was a boy who was being adopted that had just turned 14 this week. When a child in China turns 14, he or she is no longer eligble for adoption, so he got a forever family just in time. Praise the Lord for that! I think they said there were 45 families taking the oath today. Our consulate appointment was yesterday, but all we did was stay in the room in case the guide needed any information. She went to it, and she took care of everything.

Yesterday, we went to a museum called Chen Lineage Hall. The weather turned really bad suddenly, so we didn't get to stay long, but it was very interesting to see the alley ways leading to it, and the art they were creating in the museum.

We went to McDonald's a couple of nights ago, and Bob and I both ordered chicken mcnuggets, and we got Raeanna a happy meal. She decided, as she usually does, that she wanted all three meals. She ate about 9 nuggets plus french fries. Bob and I snuck a few, or she would've eaten more. She doesn't finish everything in front of her, but she wants ALL the food placed in front of her.

We went out to Shamian Island tonight. Raeanna was so tired already. When she gets tired, she does a little pitiful moan. We walked around the White Swan hotel. The lobby is beautiful there. We shopped at Jordan's, which is a little store owned by a Christian Chinese man who sells souvernirs and such. We then went to eat supper at the Thai Restaurant, the Cow and Bridge, which we had eaten lunch at on Monday. It was the first time I went to a public restroom since I've been here, and yes, they had a squatty potty, and no, I decided not to go in there. I did take a picture, though. When Raeanna was ready to go, I took her out of the high chair. She walked over to Bob and motioned for him to get up and go and snapped an order to him in Chinese. She motioned a couple of times for him to get and go. I don't know what she said exactly, but she made it clear what she wanted him to do!

We got a taxi to go back to our hotel tonight, and I suppose it's Raeanna's first time in a car at night. She started screaming her little head off. Everytime the driver would stop at a light, she would stop crying. As soon as he took off, so did she. I don't know what's going through her little head, but I really don't think she's going to like the carseat at all! They don't have seatbelts here, and especially not car seats. She wants us to hold her on the bus, so she's really not going to like a car in the US.

We are finished with everything now. We just have to wait here for Raeanna's visa. Our guide will pick it up tomorrow, and we'll get it tomorrow evening. Then, we are free to come home! We are so ready!!!!

I'm going to the pearl market in the morning with the women in our group. We'll see how Baba does changing a diaper. :)

We're leaving very early in the morning on Friday. We sleep tonight and tomorrow night, and then we are on our way home!!!!

Here are a few pictures from the last few days:

Praising God!

2010-09-13T11:25:00.000-04:00

We went to a church service on Sunday at the Shamian Island Christ Church. I can't even put into words how awesome it was to see Chinese people praising our Lord and Savior. It was a Chinese/English service. We sang a Chinese praise song, and then an English one, and back and forth. One Chinese man had his hands raised and tears streaming during the music. It was such a heartwarming experience. We are 7000 miles away from home, yet we sang the same songs we sing in our church.

YOU ARE MY ALL AND ALL
You are my strength when I am weak

You are the treasure that I seek
You are my all in all
Seeking You as a precious jewel
Lord, to give up I'd be a fool
You are my all in all

You know the rest of the song.

The other English song we sang was:

Knowing You, Jesus

All I once held dear built my life upon

All this world reveres, and wars to own
All I once thought gain I have counted loss
Spent and worthless now, compared to this

Knowing you, Jesus knowing you
There is no greater thing
You're my all you're the best
You're my joy, my righteousness
And I love you ,Lord.

Other than getting our daughter, that was one of the most memorable things we've experienced so far.

We would like to thank all who prayed for Raeanna's TB test results. We found out today that they were negative. The guide thought she might be having a positive reaction due to the fact that she has had a TB vaccination, so she would have antibodies to it. We are praising God that it was negative.

Raeanna is so precious to us. She's amazingly sweet and sassy, as Cade says, all at the same time. She still wants her food and all of ours too in her plate. She is doing a little better with the food issue. I really don't know how she eats so much. She's such a tiny little girl, but she can out eat all of us. I tried to post a video we took today of her eating noodles with chopsticks, but my VPN keeps on disconnecting. I'll try again in the morning. The Chinese people in the restaurant thought she was so hilarious.

Our Consulate appointment is tomorrow. In just a few more days, we can head home!

Hello from Guangzhou!

2010-09-11T07:56:00.001-04:00

We arrived in Guangzhou last night. We didn't get to do a lot in Shanghai; partially due to the fact that our hotel wasn't located conveniently to the nice shopping and museum areas, but also because it was too hard on Raeanna. She did well when we were out, but when she gets really sleepy, she melts down. She still seems afraid to go to sleep. We did some interesting things, such as go up to the 88th floor of the Jin Mal Tower, where you could see most of Shanghai. I've never been to a city that large. It's overwhelming. We went to a silk factory, and that was interesting. We bought Raeanna several of the traditional Chinese silk dresses for now and later. We tried to go shopping in Nanjing Road, but she was really tired, so we rode the subway back to the hotel. Yesterday morning, Raeanna and I stayed at the hotel, while Cade and Bob went to ride the Maglev train. It was the first time that any of us left without her to go somewhere, and she got a little sad. She and I got ready to go to breakfast. I made a critical mistake in not bringing her stroller. The breakfast is a buffet style, and usually, Bob sits with her while I fix her food. She goes nuts for any food, but I get it to her and feed her. This time, I had to hold her to keep her from pulling food down, and she could actually see how much food there was on the counters. She went ballistic! She wanted it all! She pitched and screamed and grabbed, while I tried to fix her plate with all the Chinese people either staring or laughing at her or trying to talk to her. When we sat down, she was still screaming and pointing back at the buffet. I asked the waiter to tell her that we were leaving if she didn't stop. He did, and she settled down, but insisted on feeding herself. She's really a clean eater, especially considering how fast she eats and the state she is in when she's eating. The waiter said, "She is independent girl. Let her feed herself." I did, and she ate for a while. We went back to the room and skyped for a while with family. We packed up and headed to the airport in a bus. She HATES busses, especially bumpy ones, so she cried all the way to the airport. Once we got there, she was her happy, sweet little self again. She was laughing and issuing orders to "BABA." She loves to say Baba, and tell him to do things or give him candy. She tells Cade "bu-ya!" all the time. I'm pretty sure it means no and she says it just to pick on him. She's quite hilarious!

She's gotten a lot stronger already. We started letting her walk more and more, and she's sooooooo cute when she walks around! She's also filled out a little bit, it seems. I still can't keep pants or skirts on her without lapping them over and pinning them. The clothes I brought for her fit okay at the top, but fall off of the bottom. I brought mostly 24 months size and some 18 months size.

She was fine when we got on the airplane, but she got really upset on take-off. I gave her skittles and that made her happy after we were in the air. Before we left for the airport, and after her big breakfast, she discovered a rather large container of Chinese noodles that I was throwing away so I wouldn't have to pack it. She demanded to eat it. She ate half of it, and it was a family size, so there was no way she could be hungry on that flight. When the stewardess brought these little boxes with lunches with sandwiches, she started screaming and reaching, so Bob only got 2 for all 3 of us, because he had her in his arms. When we got them open, she grabbed both sandwiches and ate them both really fast. She was so afraid we would take them away from her. She tried to eat everything else in the box, too, but we managed to hide some of it. Then, it was time to land. Oh my! It was a rough landing, but it scared her very much! We got her settled down, and she laughed all the way through the terminal, until we got on the bus to go to the hotel. She screamed the whole way to the hotel. I think it was made worse by the darkness. We have no idea what she is thinking, but it seems to us, and the guide thought so too, that even though she was only 13 months when she was abandoned, it was on a train car, and it could explain why busses and rough planes frighten her so much. The guide says that she clearly remembers a traumatic experience herself from when she was a year old.

We're staying at the China Hotel(Marriott) in Guangzhou. It's a very nice hotel
.
The guide talked to Raeanna at breakfast, and told her that Mama and Baba would always make sure she has enough to eat, and she seemed to settle down and slow down. I knew we would most likely have food issues, but I never dreamed it could be this severe.

Today, we had the medical exam on Shamian Island. Raeanna got 4 shots, plus the tb skin test. She has a little fever this afternoon, even after giving her Motrin. She had gained 1kg, which is about 2lbs, since I got the update in June. She looks healthy, but just very tiny. Shamian Island is beautiful, and Guangzhou doesn't seem nearly as overwhelming as Shanghai. It's a big city, but not as big as Shanghai. All of the adoptive families come here to finalize their adoptions because the American Consulate is here, so the people here cater to adoptive families.

I'm trying to get a video to upload, but it takes me forever just to upload pictures, so if I don't now, I'll put some up when I get home.

I had to leave her with Cade and Bob today to go take care of some paperwork. She stood at the door and cried the entire 30 minutes I was gone, and she loves them dearly. It's going to be sad when she realizes Daddy has to go to work, and Cade must go to school.

Tomorrow, we go to a church service on Shamian Island.

Leaving Shanghai Today

2010-09-09T19:19:00.004-04:00

When we first got to the hotel with Raeanna

PJs and collection on 3rd day

On a boat on the Huangpu(sp) River

Cade on the boat with the Chinese flag behind him

Feeding Baba on the boat

Raeanna and Cade when we first got to the hotel

She loves those sunglasses, even at night

I'm sorry it takes me so long to update. The internet doesn't always cooperate, and with the exhaustion from the extreme heat and humidity and the time change, and the bedtime troubles, it hasn't been easy.

Raeanna is doing very well, except for bedtime or naptime. She is happy and silly, laughing most of the time. She's very content riding in her stroller, except for once when she was really sleepy. Of course, that happened when we were in the People's Square. It wasn't a good place for her to start crying inconsolably, so we headed back to the hotel on the subway. We never made it to Nanjing Road or Underground Children's Market shopping. I was hoping to get her some shoes, since we only have the one pair we found at Carrefour.(She loves them and wants to wear them ALL the time.) She loves to play with food and water. She collects water bottles and food, and she likes to go from one of us, to the next, and give us whatever she is eating, especially Daddy. Sometimes she teases Cade and won't give him the food, but she ALWAYS puts it in Daddy's mouth ,and laughs. When Mama tells her no, she hands over whatever or stops, but she laughs at the boys and doesn't take them seriously for some reason. She's really a trooper most of the time, because the heat and humidity is terrible, and she happily goes wherever we go. Sleepytime is the only time she's not happy, and it's a sad, mournful cry. She twists her hair on top of her head, and nothing will console her, until she falls asleep. I even tried to give her the bottle, since they say she has two a day, but she didn't want it.

She says "woa" a lot, which means mine, to Cade. He showed her a picture we took at the Jin Mal Tower of all us, and she pointed everyone out, and said, "Mama, Baba, GeGe, and Jixiao." GeGe means "big brother." Cade was telling her this morning, "Wo ai ni, Jixiao," which means I love you. She giggled at said, "Boo ya," which means no, but then she started telling him "wo ai ni," when he said it.

Raeanna loves pretty hair bands and clothes. She wears a hair band all the time. I bought a set of three, and she alternates them. She wants to go to bed with one on her head. She puts it on her head like a tiara, and then admires herself in the mirror. When I first dress her in the morning, she goes to the mirror and smiles. It's so cute.

The Chinese people really admire her. Many speak English, and they comment about her to me, but many of them say things, and I have no clue what they're saying, but it seems positive. Our guide, Ada, says that people tell her that Raeanna is very pretty, in Chinese, of course. We think she is beautiful!

Raeanna is definately feeling more secure. She still has a few moments, but she can be quite demanding and bossy to Cade. It's cute, but we'll have to address it when we get home.

We went to a silk factory, and we bought her a few of the little silk, traditional Chinese dresses, in sizes for now and when she's a little older.

As my sister-in-law said, she seems very much like a smart 18 month old, in size and behavior.

As I said before, we feel very blessed.
Thank you all for the comments. I plan to print all of this for her for later.

She is officially ours!

2010-09-07T11:17:00.002-04:00

It's been a whirlwind since we got here, with jet lag and activites, but it's beginning to get a little easier. The VPN I have to use to get on blogger wasn't working for a while and it's blocked without it, but I was able to get it to work tonight.

Raeanna has been laughing and happy tonight. There were about 12 other families getting their children at the orphanage at the same time, and it was a little chaotic. The last two children brought out were ours and the baby of another couple traveling with us. They weren't crying at all. They handed Raeanna to me and she said, "Hi Mama," and the woman told her to give me a kiss, and she kissed me on the cheek. I gave her toys, but she latched on to a bottle of Strawberry flavored Gerber graduate puffs and a sippy cup of lemonade. She had no interest in the toys, until I gave her a little pink plastic toy cell phone. She loves to eat and will do so until she's sick if we let her. She didn't really cry until nighttime came. Bedtime was really hard. I don't know if she was scared or grieving, but she didn't want me to put her down and she didn't want the lights out at all.

Today, we went to the Civil Affairs office and the adoption became official. We took an oath, promising never to mistreat or abandon her and to treat her as our own child. It was in front of the Chinese flag. It was a nice ceremony, and they took a picture of us together. When we went to get on the bus to go there, she started shaking her head no really fast and screaming. She didn't want to get on the bus. We don't know if she thought we were taking her back or if she was afraid of the bus. She cried loudly for a while, until we gave her another bottle of the gerber puffs. She ate half of it before we got there.

She loves her little umbrella stroller. We bought it at Carrefour, which is kind of like Walmart. It's on several levels, and the shopping cart rides on the escalator with you. It doesn't have steps; just an incline.
People there would stare at us and nudge the person they were with to look at us. It felt strange.

The only food she has turned down so far has been yogurt and pepsi. She LOVES everything else edible.

They gave us a can of powdered formula and told us she takes two bottles a day. The bottle seemed to upset her stomach last night, so I didn't give it to her today, and she has been fine without it. I'm surprised they give a bottle to a 4.5 year old, and I'm surprised her teeth aren't rotten because of it! I would let her have it if she seemed to want it, but she loves the sippy cup, so we went today without the formula.
I just layed her in the bed, and she is now sound asleep. That's the first time she's gone to sleep without tears or needing me to hold her. I think she's beginning to feel secure with us. We feel so blessed!

Finally!

Baba, Ge Ge, and Raeanna Claire Jixiao B

Our First Family Picture, but we're missing Katey and Brett. We'll get one soon with all of us!

Ge Ge Cade and Raeanna playing in the hotel room on Forever Family Day.

Baba and Mama promising to never mistreat or abandon Raeanna. This is where she was declared our child.

We're in China!

2010-09-05T15:55:00.002-04:00

We got here yesterday. We were so exhausted! I didn't go to sleep on Friday night because we had to leave for the airport at 3:30am, and I had so much to do that I couldn't sleep anyway. We slept on and off on the plane. It's 3:30am here now, and you'd think I could sleep, but no. It's supposed to be 3:30pm. We leave to get Raeanna in 5 hours, so I'm a little excited about that too.

The internet is very expensive here. Last night, we couldn't get anything to work, but I finally figured out this VPN thing this morning. I tried to call to let family know we made it, but it wouldn't work. I hope you got my email. We're staying on the North Bund, which isn't convenient to tourist areas or shopping, but with the World Expo, the prices are really steep. It's a nice hotel, and many speak English, but not so good, so it's really hard to figure things out.

I'll update as soon as I can tonight. We didn't get to go buy a stroller or anything, just water yesterday, so we'll be doing all of that this afternoon. Stay tuned....

Travel Itinerary!

2010-09-02T22:02:00.000-04:00

I can't believe in a little over 30 hours we'll be on our way to China! In just 3 days, we'll be holding Raeanna in our arms! Thank you so much for the prayers. I've seen God's power displayed throughout this entire process from the beginning, and it feels so amazing to know He is orchestrating it all. Please continue to pray for us as we travel. Our whole family will be flying in one direction or another over the next 2 weeks. Katey is flying tonight to California. She'll be back here on Monday, September 6th. Brett will be flying to meet us at the airport on the 17th and going back to Mississippi College on Sunday. Also, please pray with us for Raeanna, as her world is about to completely change.

Travel Itinerary
04 September (Sat) 6:00am Leave Louisville
05 Sep (Sun) 1:55pm Arrive by UA835. Arrive in Shanghai
06 Sep (Mon) Forever Family Day or Gotcha Day
08 Sep (Wed) 9:30am Visit Tian Zi Fang and a silk factory.
09 Sep (Thu) 9:30am Visit Shanghai provincial museum and a jade shop;
10 Sep (Fri) Fly to Guangzhou (15:30pm-17:40pm).
11 Sep (Sat) Medical Checkup for US Consulate
12 Sep (Sun) Bus to Shamian Island for Sunday sermon;
13 Sep (Mon) City tour.
14 Sep (Tue) 10:30am Consulate Appointment
15 Sep (Wed) 2:30pm Bus to US consulate to take the oath
16 Sep (Thu) Pick up Raeanna's Visa package
17 Sep (Fri) Fly back to Beijing by 8:00am-11:00am)
Leave Beijing at 4:10pm
Arrive in Chicago at 4:15pm, where Raeanna becomes a US citizen.
Leave Chicago at 7:40, arrive in Louisville at 9:53pm on Friday, September 17!
Brett will be flying in from Mississippi College about an hour before we arrive, so he'll be waiting at the airport. Katey will be there too!

Cade's Visa came today!

2010-08-31T14:46:00.000-04:00

Cade's Visa came today, so once I get the new money to take, we'll be all set for Saturday!
Thank you, Lord!

Testing Email Posting and Our CA Appointment

2010-08-31T08:54:00.002-04:00

First, I apologize for leaving everyone hanging. I've been in panic mode since I found out last Thursday that we will be leaving on Saturday, September 4th. So much to do!!!
Our Consulate appointment is September 14th. Several people wrote to their congressman and got the US Consulate in Guangzhou to open up more September appointments, so that people could travel in September, rather than when the Chinese holidays begin at the end of September through November. We'll be flying straight to Shanghai. We'll leave Louisville at 6:00am September 4th, go through Chicago, and arrive in Shanghai at 1:55pm on Sunday,September 5th. Our "gotcha" day or "forever family" day will be Monday, September 6th! I'm working on a way to update the blog everyday with posts and pictures, since blogs are blocked in China.

Please pray for Raeanna. Even though it's an orphanage, it's all she knows. She is being prepared for us, but we're still strangers to her, who look and talk differently. I can only imagine how frightening it must be to be handed to people you've never met that are so different from the people you know.

I'm trying to send this post through email to see if it works, so bear with me. I'm going to try to update later in the week, also.

Thanks so much for the prayers.

TRAVEL APPROVAL!!!!!!!!!

2010-08-25T21:34:00.000-04:00

Praise the Lord!!!!We got the call today! It happened!!!! Mama and Daddy are coming to get you, little baby girl!!!!!
The travel guy is wanting us to go with a group leaving September 2nd! Wow!! He will be letting me know in the morning if he can get the Consulate Appointment for those dates or not. We also have to get Cade's visa back in time, which the guy doing that was not very promising. Please pray that if it's God's will for us to go then, that everything will go smoothly, and we'll get the visa for Cade.
I'll update tomorrow, when I have more details! Praise the Lord from whom all blessings flow!!!!

Praying for TA and CA

2010-08-21T23:00:00.000-04:00

Just a quick update here!
We're really hoping to get our Travel Approval on Monday! Most of them are coming at 2 weeks from Article 5. The most time I've seen in the past month or so has been 3 weeks. Please pray with us that once we get TA, we can get our Consulate Appointment, or CA, in Guangzhou on Sept 20th or 21st. Then we could leave for China on September 9th. CAs are filling up fast. Many people are sending letters to Senators and Representatives, asking them to work on getting the Consulate to open up more CA appointments. We really want to go in September. October gets much more expensive because of holidays, not to mention, our child has waited long enough for her Mama and Daddy!

Cade is going with us! We're so excited about that!

Please pray with us!

While We Wait!

2010-08-16T13:47:00.000-04:00

School has started back for Cade. He started classes last Wednesday. He has a tough schedule. He's taking Adv. English, Physics, Adv. Chemistry, AP World History, French, and Algebra II. Brett left yesterday to go back to Mississippi. We spent Saturday night in Nashville, and he left from there. He was going to a leadership conference or retreat or something like that near Petal, MS, and then on to Mississippi College to begin his junior year. He'll move in the dorm on Sunday. Katey is at home a day or two here and there, between meetings and parties for the grad students. Her classes start next week.

We've been debating about taking Cade to China with us. He would miss 12 days of class time. Considering his schedule, that's a lot of important instruction time. On the other hand, he'll learn so much about China and his little sister's birth country, not to mention, it'll be a trip of a lifetime for him. So, I'm going to talk to the school. If they'll excuse the trip and count it as educational, he'll go. If not, I guess he won't. I worry that something could come up unexpectedly to keep the grandparents from being able to come, since it's not much notice, so it'll relieve that worry, plus we would like to have him with us. I wish all 3 of them could go, but Katey and Brett cannot miss their classes. I know Brett would love to go, if he could.

There's so much to get done. I'm not finished with Raeanna's room. I want to do a will, since we'll be traveling overseas. There are many odds and ends that I need to take care of before we leave.

Please pray that the orphanage is preparing Raeanna for the changes that are about to take place. As far as orphanages go, it's about the best one in China from all accounts. They do seem to prepare the children well for their new families. The children's needs appear to be met. However, it's still an orphanage, and there is no way that each child can get the nurturing and affection that children need to flourish. Please pray that we can make up for the lack of love she has experienced in her early years, and teach her about the love of Christ.
I'm sure there will be grief, because she has lived at the orphanage since she was a little over a year old, so it's all she knows. In her paperwork, it says she is closest to her caregiver, which has probably changed a few times. Grief and disappointment can't be new feelings for her. It is my prayer that God prepares her for us and us for her, and that He gives us the wisdom we need to show her love and make her feel secure in her new forever family. Pray that she attaches to us and us to her, and that she has a smooth transition into our family.

ARTICLE 5!!! Officially Waiting for Travel Approval!!!!

2010-08-09T21:02:00.000-04:00

The good people at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou sent me an email saying that our Article 5 was picked up by our facilitator!!! Hopefully, he sent it straight to the people who issue TA. Now, we are officially waiting for the Chinese government to issue travel approval so we can go get Raeanna and bring her home!!! It won't be much longer now!!! TAs have been coming to people in about 2 weeks lately, so I hope ours does too! Less than that would be even better! Then, our agency will make our appointment with the consulate in Guangzhou, and the trip will be scheduled around that appointment.

I better get busy! I'm trying to get my house ready. It's kind of like nesting! haha Most of the things we'll need to take for travel have been bought. Her car seat is ready. We have our visas ready for travel in our passports. I'm working on her room. We won't know how many gifts we have to buy for the directors and officials until a week or so before travel, when the agency tells us. There are still many things left to do, but who cares?! I'd leave tomorrow if I could!

Yet Another Delay!!!

2010-08-06T12:46:00.001-04:00

I want some good news to post!!!!!
Our Article 5 was supposed to be picked up August 5th. It was not. I don't know why. I emailed the Consulate in Guangzhou to confirm that it was picked up, and they wrote me back in just a few minutes to say that they were sorry, but it was not picked up by our facilitator and that no one called or emailed them the reason why. They said to please contact my agency. I had already done that, but had not gotten a response. I emailed the agency again, and got a response this morning, saying it would be picked up Monday, but there was no explanation. I don't understand why things aren't done when they are supposed to be done, because 2 days can cost weeks in traveling. All of this has lost us 2 weeks, which pushes us later traveling by an amount of time that only God knows. Not only does it take us that much longer to get our daughter, but the closer we get to the Chinese holidays in October, the higher the hotels cost, like 3 times as much.

I'm really happy for those people who have moved faster. I think it's wonderful that their children are getting to be with their forever families sooner. I will admit, however, that it frustrates me that people whose LIDs were over a month after mine, got their LOAs on the same day as me, and now they are either in China or leaving within a week. I know this to be the case with several families because there were so many who got their LOAs on 6/7/10 like us. Of course, there are also those families who are running into snags of all kinds, like us, or worse. It upsets me most for the children.

I mailed Raeanna another little care package yesterday. She's probably given up on us ever coming, so I wanted her to know we haven't forgotten her. This one had another photo book of our family with pictures of her included. It also had a couple of small toys, and some fruit snacks, animal crackers, and fruit candies for the children and the caretakers.

If they do indeed pick up our Article 5 on Monday, we will hopefully get TA within 2-3 weeks. It'll take another couple of weeks to arrange flights, consulate appointment, and in-country travel and hotels. Of course, I'm going to have everything ready on my side of it to leave that day! Many people have gotten TAs within 2 weeks. Maybe the last step will be our fast one! Please pray for a speedy TA! Please pray for Bob also, as he's getting nervous about being gone from his company that long and on short notice.

Delays :(

2010-07-21T12:30:00.000-04:00

On this adoption journey, there are so many micro-steps that must be completed for everything to keep moving forward. One little glitch can delay things by weeks or even longer. We've hit one of those little glitches. Our documentation was supposed to be delivered in China to the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou on July 12th and be picked up on July 26th to submit to the Chinese officials for travel approval. Something kept nagging at me that I had better check on it, so I finally did. I didn't want to be a pest. I wish now I had listened to that little voice and emailed them sooner. They emailed me back to say it wasn't there and that I needed to check with my agency for a receipt. Our agency guy checked on it. Of course, given the fact that China is exactly 12 hours ahead of us, it takes time. It turned out that he had forgotten to email our NVC letter to the agency rep in China and so the China rep was waiting for that still. We lost 10 days! : ( . At least, he was honest about it, and apologized. I forgive him, but I'm still sad. I'm glad I checked on it before it didn't show up on the 26th, but I wish I had not worried about not trusting them and checked on it first thing. What's done is done. It is what it is. God is in control of when we'll go. I know this, so I will not fret! I will be checking to make sure it's delivered on Thursday. I still think we'll go in September.

Raeanna's Toddler Day Bed

2010-07-20T23:19:00.000-04:00

We put the little toddler day bed in the bay window in our bedroom. She has a room upstairs that we haven't finished yet, but I don't want her sleeping up there yet anyway. She sleeps in a crib at the orphanage, so we felt like a toddler day bed would be a good transition. Of course, if she wants to climb in the big bed between us, that'll be fine, too! :) She definately doesn't need to climb up and down stairs yet. That is her little Asian baby doll sitting on her bed.

An Orphan's Prayer - Author Unknown

2010-07-20T12:53:00.002-04:00

I am waiting...somewhere far, far away....on the other side of this world.

I may not know who you are or what you look like.

But somehow, deep in my heart, I know you will come and find me.

It's a long journey, and it takes a lot of time.

I wish I could make it easier.

But I know that the ones who come for me will not count the cost.

They will only see the joy of finding me.

For now, I abide in the fields of the fatherless.

Day by day wondering, "Why was I born here and not somewhere else?"

Asking, "Why couldn't my life have been different?"

It is so lonely....

Even though I am surrounded by hundreds of other children,

I know that something is missing.

I know in my heart I need a place to call home.

My arms long to be wrapped in a father's embrace...

I long to be saved by a mother's love.

Gazing out the orphanage window, I offer a prayer of hope,

"Oh God please help them come quickly."

Even as I lay in the darkness each night somehow I feel assured.

That no matter how lost I appear, I am not alone.

Holy hands guard my steps, sacred fingers wipe my tears....

Touching my lonely heart.

The One who made me,

The God who knew me before I was born,

Hears me every time I call.

He whispers his promises in my ear.

I listen with hope to His voice.

But what I worry about most is that no one wants to look for me.

The fields are vast, and there are so many scattered all over the earth.

I wonder how one little child, so lost, can be found.

Yet He calms my heart and assures me that He will find you.

That He will make sure you hear His voice clearly,

He has promised me that He will make a way through the fields.

That he will personally cut a path, and lead you right to my

orphanage door.

My prayer is.........

When He speaks, please don't forget to listen.

When He calls, don't be too afraid to go.

For I am waiting....somewhere far, far away.

NVC Letter!!

2010-07-08T16:18:00.000-04:00

Another small step forward!!! We got the NVC letter by email today! It wasn't yesterday, as I had hoped. If I could've gotten it yesterday, it would've been delivered on Thursday in China, which was last night our time, but now it'll have to wait until Monday. Oh well. The travel guy at the agency said Travel Approval could be expected 7 weeks from Monday. On China Adopt Talk, it hasn't taken anyone over 6 weeks, and there shouldn't be anymore holidays between now and then, so I'm hoping and praying we'll get article 5 in the two weeks it is supposed to take and have TA within 2 week after that! Please pray with me!!

For an update on the family, Brett has gone to Mississippi College for the 2nd summer term to take Organic Chemistry 2, since he was in London and couldn't take it in the spring. He's staying with a friend, Brandon Holloway, and his family. Cade has decided not to play football after all. It has freed up much time for us. He just got back from a mission trip to New York City, and he had such a great time, that he can't stop talking about it. Katey is staying here with us, while Adam is here. He drives her to the university everyday from here, and that's working out well.

It's very HOT here this week, and that comes from a southern Mississippi girl, who's very accustomed to high heat! I think I'm ready for the fall. By then, I'll have my little baby girl home, and it'll be cooler!!!

Cabled!

2010-07-07T12:37:00.001-04:00

I called the National Visa Center this morning, and they told me that we were cabled yesterday, July 6th. This means they sent our information to the American Consulate in Guangzhou. They also said that our letter had been sent out to us, and we should be getting an email copy of it shortly. I don't know what "shortly" means to them, but I really hope it is today. If it gets to me today, that means I can immediately forward it to my agency, who will then email it to their contact in China, who can hopefully take it all to the consulate tomorrow. This will be our application for Article 5, and this can only be delivered on Mondays and Thursdays. If it gets delivered tomorrow, there is the potential for us to get TA much sooner, possibly in time to leave with an earlier group. Right now, our estimated travel dates are beginning Oct. 7th. However, if everything goes through in the same timetable I am seeing for others, the latest would be September. It's amazing how a one day delay can make you travel a whole month later, but I have studied these charts and calendars, and it can happen that way. The article 5 takes 2 weeks. In fact, it cannot be picked up before 2 weeks. If we can get it there by this Thursday, which is tonight our time in China, that would mean our article 5 would be ready on July 22nd. Once that is picked up and taken to the Chinese adoption officials, we will be waiting for travel approval.

We also are applying for our Chinese visas, and getting everything ready to pack. I want to be ready if things move on the fasttrack to travel by the end of August. However, if it doesn't work out that way, I am confident that we will go no later than September to bring home our little girl!

I hope I'm not boring you too much with all the little details, but I think it's important to share each step, so that other adoptive parents will have a guide to follow. Reading the blogs of others has helped me so much through this entire process.

In the meantime, I'm working on Raeanna's bedroom. I'll try to post pictures when I finish it.

One Step Closer! I-800 Approval

2010-07-02T10:17:00.000-04:00

Last week, I went to a "pre-travel" meeting at our adoption agency. We discussed the process to get our visas to travel to China. We went over the trip and various aspects of paperwork and things to take and do while there. It was interesting and fun to plan. The travel person at the agency gave us a tentative travel date of Oct. 7th, which was better than the November timeframe he had given us a few weeks ago, but I still believe we will travel no later than September. We received our USCIS I800 approval yesterday. It was dated 06/28/10. Hopefully, our letter from the National Visa Center will come in just a few days. These are steps allowing Raeanna to travel here. Once the NVC letter gets here, I'll email that to the agency, and they'll email it to China, where a person that works for them there, will take it to the American Consulate in Guangzhou. It will be there for 2 weeks, and then we'll be issued Article 5. After we have Article 5, we wait for our Travel Approval, and we'll be on our way as soon as everything can be arranged.

Since we have I800, I think we might get our TA no later than mid-August. If things go on the faster side, we could have it by the end of July, which means we could go in August. Wouldn't that be awesome?! The travel guy doesn't think that will happen, but I'm praying it does! According to the charts on China Adopt Talk's forum, many people are getting their TAs in just that timeframe. Please pray with me that we do, too!
We are soooo anxious to get our little one home!!!!

Blog Families Traveling to China

2010-06-28T14:17:00.002-04:00

I'm so excited for 3 of the blog families that I've been following! All three got their children yesterday! Two were both from Raeanna's orphanage, and two are with our adoption agency. It seems that the children in the Shanghai orphanage, who were just a little older than Raeanna, were both well prepared for their new families. They recognized them from the photo books they had sent, and called them "Mama" and "Baba." They seemed very happy and connected to their new families. I hope and pray they are preparing Raeanna for us as well!
What a blessing for both parents and children!

What we're waiting for now.... I800 Approval

2010-06-18T16:07:00.001-04:00

Just to let you know where we are in the process, we overnighted our I800 to USCIS on Thursday, June 10th. We got a receipt notice on Wednesday, June 16th, saying it had been forwarded to NBC for processing. The I800 is the "Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative." At the same time, we filed an I864W. The purpose of this form is to show that our daughter is exempt from filing another form that shows she will be financially able to support herself, because she is under 18 and will be under our support. Once we get the I800 approval, a letter will be sent to the NVC(not sure what that stands for), and we'll wait a few days for a cable. Once we're "cabled," we get another letter. I think Article 5 comes right after that, and then Travel Approval.

We're anxious to hold our daughter. Please continue to pray that these steps get done quickly.

UPDATE: We got the receipt notice in the mail yesterday from USCIS, and it was dated June 11th, so we're hoping they actually forwarded it to NBC then. If not, it was the day we received the text and email on June 16th.

We have an update!!!

2010-06-11T12:24:00.002-04:00

Look at that beautiful smile!!!! She has grown 1.5 inches, but she still weighs 22 pounds. Her head, chest, and feet have grown. They said she is doing well in her preschool and that her personality is gentle and obedient and that she is a joy to be with. With the exception of no weight gain, the update was very encouraging.

We got some discouraging news yesterday from the travel guy at the agency. He said it might be November before we can travel. He thinks TA will come in September, but he said we can't travel in October due to Chinese holidays, so he thinks it will be November. I'm planning on going no later than September, and I believe that it will happen, so we shall see.

Our LOA!!!

2010-06-07T17:27:00.000-04:00

We got our LOA today! The agency called a little after 4:00 pm. I had given up hope for today, and then the phone rang!! This is a happy day!! Praise the Lord!!! Now we begin waiting on Travel Approval (TA). The agency said it could take as long as 3.5 months(SEPT) to travel, which is a very long estimate compared to what I've seen. We're hoping and praying that we go much sooner than that, so please pray with us!

Still Waiting!

2010-05-26T11:04:00.002-04:00

This wait is excruciatng!!! I know our LOA will arrive soon, but it should've already been here.
Meanwhile, Bob and I got our second round yesterday of the Hepatitis A and B combo vaccines. We can't get the third one until 6 months have passed, but the nurse said we'd have immunity with two.

We put Raeanna's little toddler bed together. It's a day bed style, so the rails go most of the way around it. She sleeps in a crib still, so the toddler day bed is closest to that without being a crib.

We also got her carseat. I wanted one with a really soft, cushy seat, since she is so thin, and we will be traveling in the car for long trips quite often.

Once we get this elusive LOA, then we will be waiting for TA(Travel Approval). Customarily, that takes 3-5 weeks, but lately, it has been taking a little longer for many people, so chances of early summer travel have greatly diminished.

My children are scattered today. Katey is in California, visiting with her boyfriend and his family. Brett is driving to Mississippi today, to spend some time with his Poplarville friends that he played in Jones Unleashed with, and to attend the wedding of a friend in Clinton this weekend. Cade is taking his final exams, and his last day of 9th grade is June 1st, next Tuesday. And of course, Raeanna waits for us in Shanghai. Please pray for me. The adoption has me very emotional. I realize how very blessed I am to be the mother of my children. I'm very thankful for the awesome people that each of them are, and I'm thankful they're able to go these places and that their lives are so full. I truly am. I wouldn't change it because I know that they are salt and light wherever they go, but I can't help but miss them when they're gone, and it's painful. I know it's what we work towards when raising them, and yes, I am very grateful to God for each of them and how Katey and Brett have turned out. I hope and pray for nothing less with Cade and Raeanna. I just pray that He'll equip me to handle letting them go when the time comes and my job raising them is finished.

Please pray that we can go get our little daughter very soon.

Waiting on LOA

2010-05-07T11:16:00.000-04:00

Sorry that I haven't posted in a while, but we're in the long waiting period for LOA. On Ch*na Adopt Talk, people seem to be getting this Letter of Acceptance more quickly than in the past, but the wait time varies greatly from person to person. It seems to be dependent on which province the child lives in. Also, I think it depends on which person's stack your paperwork ends up in. Hopefully, we're in the fast stack! Our LID was on April 13, and the counting begins there, so I guess that makes us on day 24. A few get it this early, but the other extreme is over 80 days. Sh*nghai seems to average 55 - 60ish days. Please continue to pray for a speedy LOA. Once we get it, we'll sign it and send it back quickly. It means we accept the placement of our daughter in our home. From that point, we'll go through a series of short paperwork steps to travel to get her.

In the meantime, we are preparing for her arrival. We ordered a toddler daybed. She is accustomed to sleeping in a crib, but we didn't want to set up the crib for a 4 year old. The daybed is the same size as a crib, and it has rails almost all the way around, so it'll feel like a crib, but is low enough to climb in and out of safely. It'll fit perfectly in the bay window in our bedroom, so she won't be alone upstairs. As soon as Bob gets it put together, I'm going to take picures of it to put in another little photo album of the family and house for her.

I wish so badly that we could bring Raeanna home right now, while Katey(and Adam) and Brett are home, because it won't be that often that they're all here at the same time. I know God's timing is perfect, and I'll be patient. However, I'm praying His timing is very soon!

LID

2010-04-19T16:10:00.000-04:00

We got our LID date today. We were officially logged-in in Ch*na on April 13, 2010. That means we've been waiting for our LOA officially now for 6 days. It took a few days longer than anticipated. Hopefully, LOA will come quickly and make up the difference! Please keep on praying!

God is always faithful to provide what we need when we need it.

2010-04-15T11:55:00.002-04:00

We still don't have our LID (Log-in date). We're probably logged in already, but our agency hasn't received the date. I'll let you know when I get it.

As you know, the real estate market pretty much stinks right now. Our home in Mississippi has been for sale since last May. No one even looked at it for the longest time. Then, a few started looking, and almost everyone of them said they were interested in buying it, but no one ever made an offer until recently. One couple tried to buy it at a ridiculously low figure. Although it was a burden holding it, I really wasn't ready to sell it. It was quite an emotional experience as we tried to negotiate with them. I knew we needed to sell it, especially with the adoption pending, so I prayed that God would bring the right buyer and equip me to handle it emotionally. You see, I really loved living there. I designed this house. My dad built it in 1997. My children were 3, 7, and 12 when we moved in, so they basically "grew up" in this house. We were no more than 30 minutes or so from both sets of grandparents. It was a small town, and if we went anywhere in an hour's radius from the town, we always saw people we knew. Yes, everyone knew everyone's business, which could get a little annoying at times, but it was part of the charm of living there. People knew me when I was just a little girl, or they always knew someone in my family. We had 4.5 acres, which was just enough to feel like you were in a quiet, secluded place. It was an answer to many prayers that we even had the opportunity to move back to my home county in Mississippi. Fast forward to 2009. The time came when we had to make the move to Kentucky because of my husband's job. This move has been really hard on us, but I can see God's hand at work in so many ways. If we had not moved to Kentucky, I don't know if we would be adopting Raeanna. He put so many things into place here to make that possible. Although the move has been really hard on Cade, he is adjusting, and God has given him many friends and a great church with wonderful leaders to help him through being the new kid in town. I've been blessed, too, with wonderful new friends at my church who pray together for each other's children. This really is a great place to live. I still miss Mississippi. I miss seeing my parents, but I usually talk to them several times a day. I miss my friends there and my church. I'll always be a Mississippi girl, no matter where I roam, but God has given me peace, and I feel like this is where I'm supposed to be right now. About a month ago, we suddenly had 4 or 5 families, all at once, interested in our house. We sold it, and today it closes. Perfect timing. I'm ready, and I know it's for the best. It's a huge burden lifted. I will always be grateful to God for the time we lived there, and for allowing me to raise my children there for almost 13 years. He is always faithful to provide what we need with perfect timing.

DTC!!!

2010-03-30T17:02:00.002-04:00

DTC!!! Dossier to Ch*na!!! My agency is sending out our dossier to Ch*na today! FINALLY! All the paperwork we have gathered and had notarized and authenticated is going to be on its way to Ch*na no later than in the morning, but most likely this afternoon! Now, we will wait for an LID or log-in date, which should be no later than April 7th or so, however, we probably won't find out about it for a few weeks. After LID, we will be officially waiting for LOA, which is Letter of Acceptance. In the meantime, we will take the required 10 hours of adoption classes online. Also, we'll be getting things ready for Raeanna to come home and gathering what we'll need when we travel for her.

We're so excited to be that much closer to bringing Raeanna home! Brett will be back home soon, too! He's landing in Jackson, MS on April 12th. I can't wait to have all of us under one roof, even if it's only for a brief time! I know there will always be at least one or maybe more of my children going here or there, but there will be times when we can all be together, and I will always cherish those times.

UPDATE: I just got an email from the agency, saying that it would not go out until Thursday because of the Ch*na facilitator or something, so I guess we won't be officially DTC until April 1st.

Authentications

2010-03-25T19:03:00.000-04:00

I had hoped that we would have a dossier on its way to Ch*na this week. However, the agency said our documents are still with the courier in Washington DC. He called the courier, and he/she said they should be back to us by Monday, so God willing, our dossier will still go out in March. Please continue to keep this process in your prayers.

I-800A Approval!

2010-03-16T14:42:00.000-04:00

We got our I-800A approval from USCIS in the mail yesterday! The approval date was 3/11/10, which is the day after the fingerprinting appointment. So many people have said that it takes awhile to get it, so we are excited that it came so quickly. I will be driving to Frankfort to get the state authentications, and then to Lexington to take all dossier papers to the agency. The agency will then overnight everything to a courier, who will take it all to Hillary Clinton's office for authentications and then to the Ch*nese consulate for more authentications. Then, the courier will overnight it back to the agency, who will then send our dossier to Ch*na. That will be a happy day!! One big step closer!

Bring Me Hope

2010-03-03T16:14:00.001-05:00

Some people ask "Why Ch*na?" I found this video that explains why. It is a great depiction of what the Lord laid on my heart many years ago. I have wanted for the past 15 years or more to adopt an abandoned child from Ch*na. I wanted God to use me and my family to bless that child. However, in reality, Raeanna has already been a blessing to our lives, even though we haven't met her yet. She has taught me more and more to be patient and not worry and let God lead. She has allowed me to see evidence of His hand at work in a huge way. She is already a blessing to our family in many more ways. I can only imagine what a blessing she will be when she gets here. We have fallen in love with a little girl on the other side of the world. I can't wait to see where God is taking us on this road!

Photos of Raeanna's Birthday Party

2010-02-25T11:08:00.005-05:00

The orphanage sent me pictures today of Raeanna's birthday party. We ordered a cake and a few other things for her through a service called Ladybugs and Love From Above.

A Picture of Raeanna and her friend, Grace!

2010-02-22T15:23:00.000-05:00

I received an email yesterday from someone who just got back from an adoption trip to Ch*na. She had sent a disposable camera in a care package to her daughter, and it was with her things when she got her. She got the film developed, and lo and behold, there was a picture of our daughters together!!! Her daughter is in the pink jacket, and Raeanna, of course, is in the playpen dressed in her blue jacket. I also received pictures from our agency this morning of her hand. It looks pretty good. It will probably need a little more done to it, but there could be some swelling still.

Happy Birthday, Raeanna!

2010-02-14T08:41:00.000-05:00

Happy Fourth Birthday to our sweet little Raeanna! We wish she were here with us and we could celebrate her birthday together. We hope she enjoys her cake and her presents. We look forward to celebrating next year with our little girl!

I-800A & Raeanna's Birthday Care Package

2010-02-13T18:14:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, we received a letter in the mail from our government! It says they received our application on February 4, 2010, and it is in process. Our notice date is February 8, 2010. Now, we are waiting for our fingerprinting appointment.

Tomorrow is the beginning of the Ch*nese New Year celebration, which is a very important holiday for the Ch*nese. It is also the date that Raeanna's birthday was estimated to be. We sent her a care package through a service called LadyBugs and Love from Above. The package we ordered included a birthday cake for her. Every picture I've seen of the cakes sent through care packages have been beautiful! Her orphanage won't send pictures until the adoptive parents pick up the child, except for the update pictures sent to the adoption agency, so we'll have to wait to see it. Angela, with LadyBugs & Love from Above, is in Ch*na, and she arranged it all. She bought candies and nuts for the others at the orphanage, and a panda bear and a little doll for Raeanna. We also sent a letter. The orphanage assured Angela that they would order the cake for her, and we're hoping they let Raeanna have some of it. She will be having her birthday, Ch*nese New Year, and Valentine's Day, all rolled into one! Next year, however, will be like a first birthday celebration for her, because she will be with her family!

Cade and Our Snow Man

2010-02-09T15:05:00.000-05:00

Finally!! I-800a Mailed

2010-02-02T15:29:00.000-05:00

Our agency mailed our I-800a today! I don't know why it took so long. The homestudy had to be notarized to go with it. Maybe it had something to do with that. We have all of our documents ready for our dossier to be authenticated, except for the I800a. We are praying that our fingerprinting appointment will come soon, but not fall on a day when Bob is traveling on business and not during a time when Katey is in class. I don't know what we'll have to do if he is out of town when they assign our appointment. I'll be so happy when we get our dossier to Ch*na! The documents have been notarized. Now, we take them to the counties where the notaries are registered to get the notaries authenticated. Then they go to the state to get the county clerks' seals authenticated. After the state, they go to Hillary Clinton's office to get the Secretary of States' seals authenticated. After Hillary's office, they go to the Ch*nese Consulate to get authenticated. Crazy, huh?!
The agency advocate got our birth certificates, our marriage certificate, and our police checks state- authenticated for us, since they had to go to 3 different states. We will send the documents altogether with a courier that the agency uses to get them done quickly in Washington.

Kisses In the Wind

2010-01-29T22:43:00.003-05:00

I hold you in my heart and touch you in my dreams.
You are here each day with me, at least that's how it seems.
I know you wonder where we are... what's taking us so long.
But remember child, I love you so and God will keep you strong.
Now go outside and feel the breeze and let it touch your skin...
Because tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.
May God hold you in His hand until I can be with you.
I promise you, my darling, I'm doing all that I can do.
Very soon, you'll have a family for real, not just pretend.
But for tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.
May God wrap you in His arms and hold you very tight.
And let the angels bring the kisses that I send to you each night.
--- Unknown

Homestudy Complete!

2010-01-28T22:32:00.000-05:00

The social worker left a message today, saying that she finished the homestudy, and she mailed it to the agency. She said I should get my copy midweek next week. I'm not sure why it'll take that long, since she lives 10 miles away. She had finished it last week, but the agency had to review it for corrections, so I suppose this is the corrected and notarized version. I'm hoping the agency receives it tomorrow, and turns around and overnights it tomorrow, with the I-800a application that I sent them last week. We need to get this ball rolling faster! However, there may be something else they must do once they get it. Please pray that these next few steps move quickly!

Here's a picture of Brett with the others from Mississippi College at Stonehenge.

Homestudy and I-800a

2010-01-22T09:58:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I mailed our I-800a application, the enormous fee, and copies of birth certificates and our marriage certificate to our agency. They'll review it, along with the homestudy, and overnight it all to USCIS.
The homestudy is complete. They are just reviewing it to make sure everything is covered and correct. I'm anxious! I'm trying to be patient, but I can't speed up everyone else, so I just have to wait. Hopefully, the homestudy will be reviewed and notarized, and it'll get mailed very soon. Then, we wait on fingerprinting appointments and approval. That could be 4-6 weeks.

On another note, Brett is having a great time in London! We've seen lots of pictures. We've talked to him on the phone once and on skype. His classes look like they're really fun! They follow the professors around on the streets of London and look at everything while they tell them all about it all. I'm sure they're not all like that, but what an experience!

Finding Ad

2010-01-16T10:58:00.002-05:00

In Ch*na, a finding ad is placed in the newspaper when an abandoned child is found before they can be adopted. It's my understanding that the ad runs in the newspaper for a month to see if anyone comes forward who has information about the child and the parents. The photo is usually the first one taken after the child is found, and the ad says where the child was found. Research-Ch*na.org has a list of provinces and municipalities for which they have newspapers with finding ads, and adoptive parents can order the ad for their child on that website. They will let you know if they have it by email before you send any money. We just received our daughter's ad. It's the earliest picture we've seen of her and the translation of the article says that she was found in a train car. From what other adoptive parents tell me, this picture and newspaper will be very important to her when she's older. I'm so happy that I was able to get it.
Brett is now in London and having a great time! I miss him, but I'm so excited for him to have this opportunity to study abroad!

Surgery Update!

2010-01-08T17:33:00.001-05:00

We got a surgery update today! They said the surgery went well, and they will send us a picture next week to show us. They sent me the surgery report, but it is in Ch*nese. They also said that she weighs 22 pounds still, which concerns me. She is 84.5 cm tall and her foot is 13 cm. That is extremely tiny for a child who will be 4 in February.

Snow Days

2010-01-08T11:37:00.001-05:00

Having moved here from South Mississippi, we are not accustomed to snow. My boys had a great time playing in it.

Moving Right Along!

2010-01-04T22:55:00.000-05:00

     Today, I got the vet letter saying that Katey's little dog won't pose a threat to a child. After that, Katey and I went to the doctor because she is required to have a physical, too. I hate putting her through that, but because she's here on weekends and her driver's license has our address, we have to get all the clearances and paperwork done for her, too. It was too late to change her address to her apartment address.
Anyway, for some reason, two of my children do not have good veins for drawing blood. It's always an ordeal! They stuck her hand 3 times today and did not succeed in getting a drop. We are going back tomorrow. Brett is also getting checked out by the doctor, since he is leaving for London in a week. They told her to drink lots of water, and they're going to try running her hand under warm water. They absolutely cannot find good ones in her arms. Hopefully, they will succeed tomorrow without digging and sticking more than once.
     We have everything together for the homestudy to be completed now, except the reference letters and the Mississippi clearances and the physical form for Katey. Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina, Iowa, and Kentucky have all sent their clearances.  Once we get this physical done for Katey and those things arrive, hopefully, we'll be able to file for USCIS approval! When that arrives, we can send our dossier to China! I'm anxious to get everything done!! I need to build a timeline of everything so that others can reference it. I'll work on that in a day or two.
    Brett has several friends from college coming to visit for a few days. I'll be praying for their safety driving up here with this weather.

New Year and Lack of Surgery Update

2010-01-01T13:02:00.000-05:00

I wish for everyone a very, blessed New Year and new decade!
I was thinking about the last decade last night and how fast it passed on by. Katey was a teenager when 2000 came in and now she is 24 and working on her Phd in Math. Brett and Cade have grown into teenagers and young men during the decade. Brett is 19 and majoring in Premed/Biology and about to head off to London for a semester. Cade is 15 and in high school at our new town. Although sometimes I miss them being little, I love who all three of them have become, and I look forward to seeing what the new decade will hold for each of them. I think they will be awesome role models for their little sister, Raeanna. She will be a very loved little girl!
I haven't updated this week because we haven' heard anything else from Ch*na.
We got the email, saying they had received the package and that our daughter was " in the hospital awaiting operation." I emailed them back and thanked them and told them that we are anxiously awaiting an update, but NOTHING! We haven't heard anything at all from them! I thought that since they were so nice to let us know she was getting the operation and that they had gotten the package, surely they would let us know how she is after the operation! It's possible they will only send that information with the official update to the agency.
In the meantime, I'm busily trying to complete my paperwork and gather the rest. Hopefully, we'll get all the forms back and the reference letters this week, so our homestudy can be finished and we can apply for our I-800A!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T15:57:00.000-05:00

     We're in Mississippi for Christmas! It's wonderful to see familiy and friends!
We got an email today, saying that Raeanna had received her care package! I can't believe she got it in time for Christmas! The post office said it would get there December 28th, but it arrived on the 24th. Great timing!
    Yesterday, our agency called to tell us that the orphanage wants to do surgery on Raeanna's hand. They needed to know if we wanted them to proceed. We decided to give the go ahead, and in the email we received to let us know she had gotten the package this morning, they said she was in the hospital awaiting the surgery. Wow! They move fast when they decide to do something. It'll probably be sometime this evening when we're celebrating Christmas Eve and it's Christmas morning there. I'm glad she'll have her gifts for afterwards. Please pray for her.
   I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and make many blessed memories as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Orientation by Phone

2009-12-22T16:11:00.000-05:00

This morning I had an orientation with our caseworker by phone. She went over everything that we need for the dossier and how we go about getting the proper forms and authentications. It's interesting and overwhelming. In Kentucky, the county clerk has to verify that the notary public is authorized to notarize. Then, the Secretary of the state of Kentucky has to verify that the county clerk is legitimate. Then, Hillary Clinton's office has to verify that the KY Secretary of State is legitimate and the Ch*nese Consulate has to verify it all. This has to be done for many documents, so you can why it takes a while. We're moving ahead as quickly as we can. The caseworker estimated that it would probably be between July and September before we could travel to get our little girl. I was really hoping we'd make it by May, but once all of this is done, then there is a wait for different stages in Ch*na to be completed. It's beginning to come together, though, and my agency is wonderful. We're going to get there as soon as we can.

Our First Care Package to Raeanna!

2009-12-19T13:48:00.000-05:00

We were finally able to send Raeanna her first care package. We were waiting on the photo book. It took 2 weeks longer than it was supposed to take to get here, so it delayed us. The US Post Office said it would be there by December 28th. I wanted it there by Christmas, but I didn't want to send it without the pictures. It has the photo book, backpack, a My Little Pony toy, a little doll, a card with a picture of us and my voice recorded on it, 2 cameras for them to take pictures of her, a blanket, a little blanket bear, cookies, candy for her and the nannies, crayons & coloring books, and animal crackers for the other children. I hope they take pictures of her getting it.

We also had our 2 homestudy visit today.

Today, all 5 of us were interviewed by the social worker. Now, we're off to the mall to experience all of the hustle and bustle.

1st Homestudy Visit

2009-12-13T23:02:00.001-05:00

Our first visit from our homestudy social worker went well. We showed her the house and gave her the information she needed about the room that will be Raeanna's bedroom. We signed a few forms and went over the other forms we'll need. Bob and I both have to write an autobiography and email it to her by Thursday. I always gave my World History students an assignment on the first day of school. They were supposed to write an autobiography, and write about their influences, and where they hoped the future would take them. The table has turned! It's my turn now! It's hard to write about yourself!

The night before the homestudy, I was finishing the dishes and I looked down to see suds pouring at my feet on the floor. I screamed for Bob to come help me, and we cleaned up the floor and emptied the cabinet under the sink to clean it. Then, we realized water was pouring from the other side and had reached the carpet.The drain pipe was loose. At 11:00, the night before the homestudy, we had to pull up the carpet and cut out the padding. We dried the carpet with fans overnight. Bob ran to the store to get padding the next morning, and we had it all fixed by the time the social worker arrived at 11:00am the next day. Phew!! She never even knew it happened; not that it would've really mattered anyway. I guess we just had to have a little extra excitement!

I'll be gathering lots of paperwork, after I get the autobiography done. We will need child abuse clearances from every state we've lived in since the age of 18. Katey will also need them, since she's here often. We'll need reference letters and proof of just about everything. We'll get some of it done while we're in Mississippi over the holidays, such as bank letters and proof of accounts. I will also be mailing a care package to Raeanna, as soon as the photo book I ordered gets here. I'll post later with a picture of what's in the package.
Please keep us in your prayers.

Homestudy!

2009-12-09T09:17:00.003-05:00

We have our first homestudy visit this Saturday! Can you guess what I've been doing? Cleaning the house! They say it doesn't matter much, but of course, I'll feel better if it is nice, neat, and clean. I got a cd from our agency of all of the paperwork requirements. There are requirements specifically for the dossier and others, with some overlapping for the homestudy. I printed mounds of papers to fill out. I'm going to be very, very busy over the next couple of weeks! I also need to get our Christmas cards done and shop. I'll manage somehow. I always do! The faster I get everything done, the sooner we go to Ch*na! Hopefully, the government offices will work fast, too!

PREAPPROVAL!!!

2009-11-30T20:19:00.004-05:00

We got our pre-approval from the Ch*nese to adopt our little girl! I'm so excited! THANK YOU GOD!!!
I was waiting until we got preapproval to share this blog. We were approved on Thanksgiving Day, but since the agency was closed for Thanksgiving, we found out today. Now we must move fast! We have until February 26, 2010 to get our dossier to Ch*na. Our homestudy is next and a lot of paperwork will go with that. I would love it if we could go to Ch*na before the World Exposition starts.

A Really Good Day!

2009-11-18T21:10:00.001-05:00

Today, I received my passport in the mail. Then, I spoke with a person that works with the agency, and she sent me a couple of videos and pictures of her that I had not seen!! I was so excited about that! Then, I got a call saying my medical reports were ready. I went to get them, and they were good! The only thing she put on there was that the routine blood test was abnormal, but of course it would be if someone has diabetes, so I really hope that won't be a problem, since she didn't explain why it was abnormal. She did fill out the medical conditions page about my diabetes, so surely that will be enough. She said I was treated with medication and compliant in my care, which is good, so hopefully they'll accept it. I wrestled with my scanner for a couple of hours and finally was able to send the paperwork to the agency. So now, we wait for preapproval!!!!

Go Cade!

2009-11-17T15:08:00.003-05:00

I'm so proud of you, Cade!
After a lot of prayer from many people, Cade is adjusting more and more to the new school, and he's making his mark here. He's really involved in church. He's teaching a 3rd grade boys group this Wednesday night.
He is on the academic team at school, which is a quiz bowl team. They do quick recall quiz bowl style competitions and they compete with academic subject area tests also. His team won 2nd place at the regional competition this past Saturday . He participated on the quick recall, and he took 2 tests. He won 3rd Place for Social Studies and 5th Place for Language Arts. He was the only Freshman from his school to place! He came home with 3 medals. Goooooooooo Cade! Thank you, Lord!

Merry Christmas by Third Day - Beware, it'll make you cry.

2009-11-15T19:20:00.005-05:00

I found this song today online. This Christmas will be hard knowing that she is so far away, but next year will be different, and she'll be with us at Christmas time.
Merry Christmas
There's a little girl trembling on a cold December morn
Crying for Mama's arms
At an orphanage just outside a little Ch*na town
Where the forgotten are

But half a world away I hang the stockings by the fire
And dream about the day when I can finally call you mine
It's Christmas time again but you're not home
Your family is here and yet you're somewhere else alone
And so tonight I pray that God will come and hold you in his arms
And tell you from my heart I wish you Merry Christmas

As I hang the tinsel on the tree and watch the twinkling lights
I'm warmed by the fire's glow
Outside the children tumble in a wonderland of white,
Make angels in the snow

But half a world away you try your best to fight the tears
And hope that heaven's angels come to carry you here
It's Christmas time again but you're not home
Your family is here and yet you're somewhere else alone
And so tonight I pray that God will come and hold you in his arms
And tell you from my heart I wish you Merry Christmas

Christmas is a time to celebrate the Holy Child
And we celebrate His perfect gift of love
He came to earth to give His Life
And prepare a place for us
So we could have a home with Him above

It's Christmas time again and now you're home
Your family is here so you will never be alone
So tonight before you go to sleep, I'll hold you in my arms
And I'll tell you from my heart, and I'll tell you from my heart
I wish you Merry Christmas

Physicals

2009-11-15T18:36:00.000-05:00

I had my physical yesterday. Bob has his tomorrow. It's so frustrating! Moving, grieving because of the move, being sick with awful allergies from the first week we've been here(along with the ear and sinus infections because of it) and just plain ole stress tend to make a diabetic person's average blood sugar rise! When you've been diabetic as long as I have, you know the triggers! Then, to top it all off, the doctor doesn't know you and doesn't know the patterns that your blood sugar follows and no amount of paperwork from the previous doctor is going to convey that to them because they don't read it! I really miss my doctor in Mississippi about now. Of course, hearing, sight, heart, and everything else is pretty good. I guess I will just have to wait and see how she fills out the form.

Faithful

2009-11-11T18:01:00.002-05:00

I had my physical today. I'm praying for the nurse practitioner that did it and the doctor; that they don't word anything in such a way that it could be perceived as more serious than it is by the Ch*nese. Bob has his physical on Friday.

November 8th was Orphan Sunday

2009-11-09T08:37:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was Orphan Sunday. Many churches across the country addressed the plight of orphans. I read this on someone else's blog and I thought that it was worth sharing.
"Once a man was walking along a beach. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. Off in the distance he could see a person going back and forth between the surf's edge and and the beach. Back and forth this person went. As the man approached he could see that there were hundreds of starfish stranded on the sand as the result of the natural action of the tide.
The man was stuck by the the apparent futility of the task. There were far too many starfish. Many of them were sure to perish. As he approached the person continued the task of picking up starfish one by one and throwing them into the surf.
As he came up to the person he said, "You must be crazy. There are thousands of miles of beach covered with starfish. You can't possibly make a difference." The person looked at the man. He then stooped down and picked up one more starfish and threw it back into the ocean. He turned back to the man and said, "It sure made a difference to that one!"

As our pastor said yesterday, not everyone is called to adopt, but we all can make a difference somehow. As Christians, we should all pray that God will show us how He wants each one of us to make a difference.

MEDICAL FRUSTRATIONS

2009-11-03T17:13:00.001-05:00

This so frustrating!! However, I am going to be calm and patient because I know God is in control. "Ch*na did not say yes nor did they say no." That's what our agency director told us. They want more medical information, so Bob and I both must have a physical. I am told that they don't usually say no when they request more info, but it all depends on what mood they are in when they get the info. It takes a long time to get an appointment to a doctor when you haven't lived somewhere for very long. The first time I called the doctor's office, I got someone who told me the earliest I could get is January with the doctor and the nurse practitioner would be on the 17th. She was going to call me back to let me know if they could notarize the forms for us or not, but of course, she didn't. I called back just before closing time and got another person who was much more helpful. She was going to find out for me about the notarization in the morning, but she scheduled our appointments for the 11th and 13th; a little bit earlier. I know it's going to all be fine, but it is so frustrating to wait for this and that to happen! It'll so be worth it when we get to Ch*na and can hold our little girl and let her know that she will never be without a family who loves her again.

The Meaning of the Name "Raeanna"

2009-10-29T19:38:00.000-04:00

Someone asked on Wiki Answers what Raeanna meant? The following is the answer given. I like it.
"Rae means 'grace', though some will tell you it is a shortened form of either Rachael (meaning ewe, female sheep) or Raymond (meaning protector, wise protector, protecting hands, warrior etc.). Rae itself is Scottish, whereas Rachael is of course Hebrew and Raymond is German or Old Teutonic. It MIGHT have had something to do with living by a stream, a source of water, while living on dry fertile land, (like a blessing or an observation of good fortune).

Anna also means 'grace', and is claimed to be from many languages, but probably started off Hebrew.

So basically the meaning of the name Rae Anna is grace. The only thing to keep in mind is that Hebrew is a much 'deeper' language than English. The words have a lot more authority or depth of meaning. In Hebrew there are two types of grace. One word for grace in Hebrew is "rachamim". It also means "mercy". Another word for "grace" in Hebrew is "chein". It also means "beauty" or "favor".

So this name is about beauty, favor, mercy, grace and possibly about being a wise protector or someone who helps others.

It's a very good name.

Names tend to impact who people become, because it's being spoken over them all the time, and they pick up those traits. These would be very good traits."

Translation

2009-10-29T19:20:00.000-04:00

Today, I got an email from the agency saying they had translated the documents for the preapproval, and they have sent them. He said it could be within the week that we hear something!
Brett got a scholarship today! I'm so amazed at God's blessings! He will receive $500.00 towards his London semester.
Katey and Bob went to see Sara Watkins in concert tonight, so Cade and I are the only ones home. We've been talking about names and everyone likes something different. We've called her Rhea Anna for months, but for today, it's going to be Raeanna. I'm afraid everyone will pronounce it wrong with the Rhea, although I like the way it looks better.
I will share this blog with everyone when we have preapproval.

Placement Pending

2009-10-26T21:43:00.002-04:00

Today, the agency called and said that they needed pictures of Bob and me together and individually. They also needed us to fill out some information and a nurture and care plan. He was going to try to get it to Ch*na tonight, but it took me a while to gather the pictures, so I don't know if I got it to him in time or not. He said it could take 2 days to 2 weeks for them to decide if we can adopt her or not. The agency did put "placement pending" by her picture, though! That was nice to see!

Application to Ch*na for Preapproval

2009-10-25T21:29:00.001-04:00

The agency called on Thursday while I was at the hospital for Aunt Dell's heart surgery to let me know that after talking to the Ch*nese officials, they would most likely approve us for our little girl. He was going to submit the preapproval. He told me to get my passport updated. It was good news, even though I thought he had already submitted the preapproval.
Aunt Dell's surgery went well. Mama's cataract surgery and Antoinette's knee surgery went well also, and all 3 are improving daily.

God's Voice

2009-10-21T21:03:00.001-04:00

         Several things happened last week that took my breath away. I had been praying for a long time that if God wanted us to do this, He would show us, and many things happened that seem to lead in that direction. Last week we had gotten word that we would only be allowed to adopt a hard to place child. We had been looking at a little girl who seemed to have so many problems, and I just wasn't sure if we could handle them. I prayed fervently that the Lord would make it clear to me that we are supposed to try to adopt her. That day and the next, a series of events happened that made it really clear.
           I called a local pediatrician who had done Cade's school physical. The nurse told me to email the file and he would look at it and call that night. Oldham County is a conservative county with great people. You would think most are Christians, but the truth is, most are not.  The doctor called me that night and told me that he saw no reason in her files that we should not adopt her. He didn't know that I am a Christian, but as if God were talking through him, he started telling me how she wouldn't be on my heart if God had not put her there. I can't remember all he said, but he used scripture and spoke about God's will, and it was just plain amazing to me.
         I went to look on yahoo groups for some information on her special needs, and a group popped up when I searched. I couldn't join it because it required that you already have a child with the need to join, but it said you could email the moderator. To my amazement, when I clicked on her name, the name of my small hometown in Mississippi came up. Now, what are the chances,  in the whole world wide web, that this would happen?! I emailed her and she gave me her phone number to call. We talked and she told me about her daughter's situation and how it was the worst case scenario, but it was manageable. Then she gave me the name of her doctor and told me that he is the premier doctor for children with this problem. Where is he located? 75 miles from my home!!! People travel from everywhere to see him. She also told me to email him, and he would get right back to me. I sent him the files, and he called me from his car phone in 10 minutes. He was so reassuring and eased most of my concerns. Once again, I was amazed.
         I called my husband.. He said to call the agency and tell them we want to adopt her. I called. He wasn't very encouraging. He said that he had tried to tell Ch*na her needs were serious, but they only see her as a pretty little girl. He said they may not consider her needs serious enough, but he would try. That was Thursday. It's been a week now, and we still haven't heard. I will call tomorrow I think. We continue to pray that if it is God's will, it will happen.

Up to the Ch*nese Officials

2009-10-16T11:46:00.001-04:00

We were told by our agency Monday of this past week that they had contacted the Ch*nese officials about our application, and the Ch*nese will only allow us to adopt a hard to place child. Although Bob's skin cancer was not melanoma, the Ch*nese have a problem with it. That's okay, because we had already found a special little girl with special needs. The problem is, although her special needs are significant, Ch*na may not see it that way. We are waiting to hear if they will approve us for her or not. I'm trying not to get my hopes up because I figure that if it is God's will for us to get her, we will, but I can't stop thinking about her, and I'm so hoping this works out. If anyone reads this, please pray with us.