TA, CA and Tickets!

This has been a crazy blessed week:-)!!!

We received our TA on Tuesday...

Our CA confirmed Wednesday...

and our tickets bought TODAY!! :-)

Gotcha day is scheduled for the 12th!!! :-)

Now comes the task of trying to pack our stuff into small carry ons since donations ate alot of our suitcase room:-)!!!

Two weeks from today, we will be heading to the airport, ready to embark on the journey of a lifetime! :-)

It's been awhile...

It's been awhile since I have participated in the Blog world. I can't wait to get caught up on all my favorite blogs :-)

It's been a hectic 5-6 weeks. Madeline should be coming home next month ( our A5 should have picked up this last Friday). I had my toddler shower ( I'll post pics later:-) and we  have her bedroom and bathroom all done! We have clothes, toys and lots of love waiting for her.:)

But, even in this time of celebration, we have suffered a devastating loss. Amanda De Lange. A woman whom touched so many lives.

She is the Founder/Director of Starfish foster home (where our daughter resides). Earlier this year she was found to have cancer. She fought, and she fought hard, but in the end the Lord wanted her home. She passed away last weekend...Saturday morning in Tennessee( she came from China to receive her treatments).

 Only just a few short months ago there was a Starfish family reunion. Since Amanda was in the States for treatment, families whom had adopted children from this Foster home came from all over to celebrate. I mentioned in a Face book comment that I wish we could have joined, but our little Star fishy wasn't home yet. Amanda  told us we should still come, that she considered us apart of this family.

We didn't go.

We never got to thank her for saving our Daughters life ( In person, we had exchanged several emails since last September).

I never got to give her that hug and to say Thank you, face to face.

I never got to meet her, in person, the woman who saved our daughter.

And that hurts.

What hurts worse is we could have financially pulled it off. It would have been tight, but it could have been done. But, we talked it over and decided that there would probably be another reunion next year...we would go to that one. We were sure Amanda would be around still...and we were wrong.

Amanda, you will always have such a big place in our Hearts. I have saved each and every email exchanged between us for Madeline in her baby book. I will be sure to raise her to know the Lord, to serve others before herself, and to love...unconditionally.

Amanda's last words to her Starfish Babies:  "To the babies of Starfish, I want you to know that I have given it my best effort, my all. My life has been to care for and love you. Wherever you go in your lives IO wish you the very best. May you always be drawn to those in need and may you never forget that at a very critical time in your life there was someone there at the door to welcome you into the house. Be the change you want to see in the world." Amanda De Lange 1961-2012



LOA!

Between facebook and a great group of ladies on our DTC Winter group, I keep forgetting to update my blog! :-)

We received LOA last week Monday, and are currently awaiting our I800 approval!!! :-)

I'll have to post some new pictures of Madeline that we received. I just can't believe it, within just 8-10 weeks we will be on that plane!

Day 77 tomorrow on our LOA

AND...STILL...WAITING.

Patience? it's gone.

Waiting and Waiting

We are still waiting on our LOA from China. The Letter of Authorization is a big step, and once received we travel in 9-12 weeks. The wait is painful only because there is no pattern to it.

Some people wait 30 days (rare..but happens)


Some people wait 120 plus days (sadly, this isn't as rare as one would hope)


And we are on day 57...Yep. Only 57.

Tick ...Tock... Tick... Tock...

Happy Easter (Be-lated:-)

Next year we can't wait to celebrate the rising of our Savior with the worlds cutest little bunny:)
**Thank you to all the volunteers at Starfish that have showered us with photos:-) **

Secret Pal and Reality

I am part of an amazing Facebook group for parents on the same time line as Lee and I. One of the Mom's proposed an idea where we all put our name in and each gets assigned a secret pal. I have one that I mail things too and I have one that surprises me!:-)

I got an adorable little security tab blankey that's already packed in her luggage to go, a congratulations card when we were DTC and most recently, an item that made me cry like a baby!

A book ( I've read about 3 times through now LOL)

and a cute toothbrush and paste. Yep, I lost it when I saw that toothbrush and toothpaste. Full on sobbing mess pulling into my garage :-)

The reality hit me...little things like this. I am going to be a Mom...I'm going to be buying things like toothbrushes, toothpaste and all the other ends and outs of mommy-hood!

I ran straight upstairs and put it in Madeline's soon to be bathroom...yes, still sobbing:)

I don't think my secret pal knew the effect it would have on me :-) Just a few short months and she will be home...and I'll be making sure she brushes her teeth before tucking her in at night:-)

And BTW: Secret Pal, I don't know if you read my blog, BUT THANK YOU :-)