TA's Are Coming In!

Travel Approvals (TA's) are coming in to agencies. That means we will probably find out today or tomorrow when we will get to see our little girl! I can't wait!

Thank You...

...to all who have served, who serve today, and will serve tomorrow; and especially those who laid their lives down that we might live in freedom today...thank you.

"Greater love has no one than this,
that one lay down his life for his friends."
~John 15:13~

America
by Rev. Samuel F. Smith

My country, 'tis of Thee,
Sweet Land of Liberty
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims' pride,
From every mountain side
Let Freedom ring.


My native country, thee,
Land of the noble free,
Thy name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills,
My heart with rapture thrills
Like that above.


Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees
Sweet Freedom's song;
Let mortal tongues awake;
Let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence break,
The sound prolong.


Our fathers' God to Thee,
Author of Liberty,
To thee we sing,
Long may our land be bright
With Freedom's holy light,
Protect us by thy might
Great God, our King.

Travel Info

We got an email from our agency yesterday with our tentative travel dates. At this point we are leaving on June 28th and returning between July 11th and 13th. They also said there is a 50% chance that could change to one week earlier or one week later. We vote for one week earler! This current date would have us in China for the 4th of July and my mom's birthday-July 9th. What a great birthday present for her! Otherwise, things are moving right along. We are getting our paperwork completed and ready to send off next week. We're keeping pretty busy getting things done before she comes home. We are continuously praying for God to prepare our hearts for her...to be the parents He wants us to be. We also pray for God to prepare her heart for us and to make the transition as easy as possible for her. He has answered so many prayers for us already and we are so thankful for all He has done and all He is continuing to do. We are so appreciative of all who are praying for us and our little girl and we'll continue to keep you updated as we get more information.

To Our Lily...

THE ADOPTION CREED

Not flesh of my flesh
Not bone of my bone
But still miraculously my own.

Never forget
For a single minute
You didn't grow under my heart...but in it.

Happy Mother's Day!

My Mother taught me LOGIC - "If you fall off that swing and break
your neck, you can't go to the store with me."
My Mother taught me MEDICINE - "If you don't stop crossing your eyes,
they're going to freeze that way."
My Mother taught me ESP - "Put your sweater on; don't you think that I
know when you're cold?"
My Mother taught me TO MEET A CHALLENGE - "What were you thinking?
Answer me when I talk to you... Don't talk back to me!"
My Mother taught me HUMOR - "When that lawn mower cuts off your toes,
don't come running to me."
MY Mother taught me PATIENCE - "Sure, you can do that. As soon as
you're 21 and leave the house!"
My Mother taught me DIPLOMACY - "I don't want to hear who started it,
It takes two to fight."
My Mother taught me SHARING - " Play nicely with that or I'll just
take it away from both of you."
My Mother taught me ETIQUETTE - "Use your fork! If I see that hand
on the table again I'll Slap it!"
But most of all, My Mother taught me LOVE - " You know that whatever you do or whatever happens, I'll stand behind you because I Love you." Unknown

I wish you a joyful Mother's Day...to all of the moms and all of the waiting moms. Enjoy your day!

When Love Takes You In

Written by Steven Curtis Chapman

I know you've heard the stories
But they all sound too good to be true
You've heard about a place called home
But there doesn't seem to be one for you
So one more night you cry yourself to sleep
And drift off to a distant dream

Where love takes you in and everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in

And somewhere while you're sleeping
Someone else is dreaming too
Counting down the days until
They hold you close and say I love you
And like the rain that falls into the sea
In a moment what has been is lost in what will be

When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart

And this love will never let you go
There is nothing that could ever
Cause this love to lose its hold

When love takes you in everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in it takes you in for good
When love takes you in

More Pictures!

These are the pictures we got in the FedEx package today. They look like they were all taken at the same time as she is wearing the same thing in each picture. I can't stop staring at her! We also got the translation of her name from some very kind friends:

Yu=Jade
Lian=lotus or water lily (I LOVE that part of her name actually means Lily!)
Wang=King

Is it June yet???

Introducing...Lily Grace

Here she is...the most beautiful baby I've ever seen. I still can't believe she is here. This is our daughter. Our daughter. Is it real? Am I dreaming? I keep pinching myself to make sure I'm awake. She is ours. God has blessed us far beyond what we could ever dream or imagine. Our cup runneth over.

IT'S A GIRL!!!!

"For this child I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him." 1 Samuel, 1:27

It is with incredible joy that Robert and I announce the referral of our daughter, Lily Grace! I got the call at work this morning and have been spinning ever since. It's been such a long process, it began to feel like it wasn't real. I'm still in a state of shock and can't believe she is finally here. Here is the information we have so far:

Birthdate: 8/15/06, so she is 8 1/2 months old.
Chinese name: Yu Lian Wang-we will get the translation soon.

She is in the Jiangxi Province at the Yujiang Social Welfare Institute. The most recent measurements were taken on 11/30/06. At that time her height was 22.44 inches and her weight was 11.24 pounds.

We will get our FedEx package tomorrow with her picture and will be sure to post it as soon as possible, so stay tuned! In the meantime, here is a link to read up on where she is waiting for us: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/jiangxi/