We got new pictures!!

Yesterday we got new pictures of Rhett from a sweet woman and her husband who are in China now picking up their son from the same orphanage that he is in!! I was so thrilled to get them and just started crying tears of joy when I saw his sweet face! I SO wish I could post them for you all to see! But we have to wait until we get our RA to do so. Sad!! As thrilled as we were to see pictures of our sweet boy taken just hours ago it did confirm to us that we MUST be in prayer for our boy in very specific ways. We must pray that his little body will receive nutrition and begin to GROW! He is very, very small. And his body needs good food and nutrients so he can start to flourish. I'm praying that everything that goes in his mouth would DOUBLE as far as nutrition goes. We must also be praying for his brain development. That's all I can really say about that but know that he needs those prayers! And also pray that we can get him home soon so that we can get him the help that he needs! And some lovin' from his family!!! Would you pray these things with us? It is obvious that our boy is loved so much. He is well cared for and this orphanage is doing the very best they can. But the fact is this...he needs to come home! Our agency fully expects that it will take 5-6 months before we get our RA. I'm praying for sooner. I just am! We're already 1 month and 1 week into the wait. But after seeing these pictures I'm even more convinced that we need to get him home. I'm praying for the unheard of!!

God loves him more than we do and is taking care of all of the details. Isn't that awesome?!?!

Psalm 146

Praise the Lord!
Let all that I am praise the Lord. I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.
Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there. When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them. But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God. He made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He keeps every promise forever. He gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry. The Lord frees the prisoners. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down. The Lord loves the godly. The Lord protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked.
The Lord will reign forever. He will be your God, O Jerusalem, throughout the generations.
Praise the Lord!

Log In Date!!!

We just got word that our dossier was logged in on 7/20/09! So the CRAZY wait begins for our RA and TA. I've seen lots swirling around out there about the uncertainty of when these things arrive. But I'm refusing to allow that stuff to alter my hope and peace in the One who started us on this road. He already knows when and how this will work out. So I rest in that!! Our agency says 3-5 months average from LID to RA. So I won't even look for it until Oct. But I sure won't be upset if we got an early surprise!! So let the count up begin!!

I can't wait to go get our baby boy!!!

Update!

Last week I contacted Ladybugs N Love which is a company who sends care packages, makes orphanage phone calls, etc for us waiting parents. Since I can't send a care package yet because we have not received official approval from China(that would be our RA-Referral approval)I decided to see if they would make an orphanage phone call for me. I was able to ask 10 questions and they would also ask for updated measurements and pictures. Of course, there is no guarantee that they could get anything for us. But they would try. Last night we recieved the most AMAZING email from them!! They got answers to all 10 of our questions, updated measurements, and 3 updated pictures!!! I ran outside to get Brian so we could open the email together but he was in the middle of something so it was another hour before he came in. I SO wish I could show his picture now. He looks absolutely amazing!!! Happy, healthy(underweight but healthy as can be it seems), and loved. And the most exciting part is that I found out that he is in the Half the Sky program at his orphanage!! What a blessing!! It was well worth the $40 it cost to do that!! I'm just praying that our RA comes quickly so we can go and get him!! These updates are good but makes it so hard too! Just trusting the Lord on his perfect timing!!!

DTC!!

Just wanted to do a post on this special day! You all already know that we are DTC today but I couldn't let the day go by without acknowledging it again!! I'm sure it won't get there until Monday morning but its on its way! Yaa hoo!!

Wow, that was fast!!

I just got a call from Lauren at AWAA. She said she received our dossier this morning and everything looks good! We will be DTC on Thursday, July 2!!! I'm so excited that I think I might just cry again!!! Praying safe travels of all the dossiers going on Thursday and for FAST LIDs!!!

Success!!!

Well....after a VERY long day...I was able to get our I-797C authenticated!!! I got up at 4:15 this morning and left for the airport at 5:15. I then flew to Houston and was in my rental car by 8:15!! I arrived at the Chinese Consulate by 8:45 with help from the trusty GPS system I rented with the car. Praise God for that because little did I know it would come in MIGHTY handy later in the day. I stood in line until 9am when the doors opened. I think I was the 10th one in line. I turned in my papers to them and was told to come back at 2:30pm. It was only 9:15 when I left so I had some time to kill!! I decided to drive over to the Galleria and do some shopping. That place was too ritzy for my blood so I left and found a Barnes and Noble where I bought a book (The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom) and a nail place so I could get a pedicure and nails. It was so lovely. I was being so leisurely!! I ate a little lunch and talked to my sister on the phone where she informed me that when she did this same thing they told her to come back at 2:30 but she went early and they had it ready for her. Great idea, I thought! I'll mosey on over there after I eat and pick it up, go make copies, mail my dossier to AWAA, and make my way over to the airport and catch an early flight back. Ha. I got back to the Consulate at 2pm and walked in to a room full of people waiting for same day service. I walked up to the window and they told me to sit down and that it wasn't ready yet. "2:30!!", they said. So I sat down amongst all of these people and I asked the grumpy looking man how we were supposed to know when to approach the window. "I've been sitting here longer than you! You get up when I say you get up", he barked. Yowchy, dude. Anyhoo....2:30 rolls around. Nothing. 3:00...nothing. Mind you I still need to find a FED EX, make copies, turn in my rental car by 5pm, and catch a shuttle to the airport for my 6pm flight...in Houston traffic. 3:30...out of a room FULL of people waiting for their documents ONE lone piece of paper gets brought out. And it mine! I was humbled and joyful all at the same time! I jumped up and down, grabbed my paper and sped out the door to my car. The next little bit was CRAZY!!! I had printed off directions to a Fed ex before I left this morning. When I got there it was closed down!!! Praise God I had my cell phone and the GPS system. I got Sara on the phone and she helped me locate a Fed ex but it was sort of far from where I needed to be. I arrived there at 4:10 and had my dossier in the mail to AWAA by 4:15!! The poor lady who took it from me didn't know what to do with my tears and snot. I was very emotional about the whole thing. But it was short lived because I had to race back to the airport to turn in my car and catch a shuttle! I arrived at the car place at 5pm sharp and was through security by 5:20. I was so early that I was able to fly standby on a 5:30 flight. Wow! I'll say this...none of this could have been done with out the Lord. Occasionally through out the day He would show me the "sign" he likes to show me. When I would see it I would take a deep breath, tell Him I trusted him and this process, and continue on. He is so good to me that way!! Anyway, thank you for praying for me today! I got so many sweet messages that gave me such encouragement!! Once AWAA receives our dossier tomorrow I will get a call and they will let me know if everything looks good enough to send to China on Thursday. I'll let you know once I hear! Thank you, friends!!!

Our dossier...it may not look like much but IT IS!!! 4 months, 2 weeks, and 3 days worth of work. Which, by the way, is a miracle! Last time it took me 10 months!!


Before it left today for AWAA....be safe little box. Be safe.

Traveling to Houston

Ok, guys! I leave at 5 am to head to the airport for Houston. Will you say a little prayer real quick? That His will is done and that His name is glorified no matter what happens tomorrow!!! Also pray for me as I'm not real used to traveling by myself and finding my way around a city I'm unfamiliar with. It should be interesting and I hope to post once home tomorrow night. Thanks! Hopefully we'll be DTC this week!! Stay tuned....