Our adoption website is up and running

Our myadoptionwebsite.com site is up and running!

Yayhoo!

Click here to go to it.

While in Sophia's site, you might want to also click on an update I just did for Elijah.

I think this makes it official!! :)

Countdown continues

The countdown to Ch*na continues . . .

13 days to go!

Oh my!

Such a sweet day today

Today was our adoption agency's annual picnic. We have so much still to do (to get ready for Ch*na) and went back and forth on whether we should go or not.

Oh my, are we glad we did! It was such a sweet time.

First we got to hug our favorite adoption coordinator,

the lady who puts up with my too numerous to count questions each day,

the one who patiently tells me the same thing over and over because

I just can't quite take it all in,

the lady who gives us the wonderful news each time we go to the next

step in our adoption process . . .

This is that amazing lady and her beautiful daughter

Then we got to hook up with some of our travel buddies from Philip's trip,

Cathi, Ken, Lucy, and Mary Rose.

It is always a joy spending time with them.

Here they are with their little dog, too! Mary Rose, standing

with her daddy, came home from Ch*na the same time our Philip did.

She also is from the same province as our Sophia is from (Shaanxi).

Lucy, Mary Rose, Philip, and Eli

Four treasures from the East!

Then we met, for the first time in person, a family who

is with our agency and who has a daughter from our Philip's Ch*na home.

We have hooked up online and through telephone calls, but we have never met

them in person until today.

Two mommies with their Philip Hayden treasures!

Their family and ours

Sarah, Emma Grace, Rick, Matthew, and Andrew -

what a joy to meet you today!

And Sarh just happens to make hair bows - beautiful ones!

She brought us a bunch for our litte girl! Can hardly wait to see our daughter

wearing them!

We also met a delightful family who recognized us from our blog. It
was so sweet of them to stop and chat. They had lunch with our group as well.

They live in town and will be a play date sometime soon.

And then, as if the day could even get
better, our friends (another family from Philip's

travel group) gave us a dollhouse - a really big Barbie dreamhouse!

Wow, that made it really soak in that our daughter will soon be here,

a part of her forever family, forever!

What a day! So glad we decided to go to the picnic. So glad we are part of this miracle called adoption.

WE HAVE TA!

We have TA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Travel Approval)

Details to follow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Both Hands Project Part Two

We spent another amazing day working with our team of volunteers last Saturday to help the widow.

Click on the youtube link below to watch our video.

Thank you to all of the wonderful people who have given generously of their time and/or money to help the widow and the orphan. Thank you God for allowing us to to do this Both Hands project. It has touched our hearts deeply.

ONE HAND FOR THE WIDOW.

ONE HAND FOR THE ORPHAN.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6ttGmXxNUI

Article 5 was delivered last night!

We got news today that Article 5 was delivered last night to the CCCWA in CH*na!

Whoo-hoo!

Next thing we are waiting for . . . our travel approval!

Then it will only be 2 - 3 weeks after getting travel approval that we step on a plane to travel to Ch*na to bring home our Miss Sophia Yilin.

Praying our TA comes before August 1 when the rules change that would make us have more post-placement visits, and therefore more expenses.

Praying for cheap airline tickets - around the middle and end of August, the price of a ticket seems to be pretty expensive! Yikes!

Trusting God to work out the details!

God Bless America!

We spent a wonderful couple of days this holiday weekend celebrating with some special people.

Having a cookout with our moms



Visiting with our dear friend Lisa.

Meeting a new and adorable little cousin

and her sweet parents

Big boys playing at the park - too funny!

Along with Aaron and his big sister (whose husband is riding on the bee with Ted!)

Sliding down a slide

or just standing there.

It was a beautiful weekend all around!

Happy 4th to everyone. God bless America!