The 24 hour period after gotcha day in China is called the “Harmonious Period.” During that 24 hours, a family is supposed to spend time bonding with their new child and deciding whether the child is a fit for their family. If the answer is yes (duh, we just moved mountains and flew over oceans to get this child!), the…
Nanning/ Gotcha Day
I thought I would be great at blogging while in China. I also thought I would be great at blogging once home. A certain adorable little one year old had other things in mind for me! So, I am going to try to write down the big things from our time in that lovely country before I forget them.…
Beijing Part 2
Thanks to our dear friend, the International Dateline, our day began quite early today… Like we were all awake by 3:30! The bright side to this is that we all got to talk or text with friends at home. Our hotel offers breakfast with a mixture of Western and local offerings. I was able to have a tea egg, which…
Beijing Day 1
We made it safely to Beijing at 8:00 last night! Going through customs I had a little scare when they scanned my passport. I was the last of our family to go through, and a red light flashed on the computer when the officer scanned it. She started scrutinizing my picture and my face, called her superior over, & the…
Let’s Blow This Taco Stand!!
In less than 24 hours, we’ll be boarding a plane for the first leg of our flight to get our Lily Belle! We’ll arrive in Beijing on Friday night and spend Saturday on a whirlwind tour. Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, lunch at a local restaurant, the Great Wall, a “kong fu or acrobat show” (words of our guide), and…
An Update
Last week, we received the last piece of paper we needed to complete our dossier! For those not familiar, the dossier contains every document we have gathered over the last 6 months, our homestudy, pictures of our family, and that last long awaited immigration approval. The whole big dossier has now been sent for authentication, and will be sent to…
Fears vs. Realities Thus Far
Fear: I won’t meet the requirements of my chosen country. Reality: The requirements are not so bad, and there are many ways to work within them. For example, choosing a child from the Special Needs list or a Waiting Child (usually a little older, or with a need that may be scary to some, but your family could be specially…
Grace Upon Grace
You have ordained every breath we take, in pleasure or pain, there is no mistake Gladness and grief, both are in Your hand, and sufferings brief carry out your plan And our fleeting sorrows, will yield an endless prize When some bright tomorrow, we’ll see You with our eyes, and Grace upon Grace flows down, flows down Grace upon Grace…
Introducing…
We received a wonderful phone call today! We are Pre-Approved (PA in adoption language) for our Lily Belle! She is ours, ours, OURS!!! This not only means that we can set our heart totally on this little one, it also means that we can share her picture! Introducing Lillian Isabella Keith!
Matched!!
Our family is over the moon right now! Last Friday, we received a file from our social worker of a darling little one. We had a week to show her medical file to doctors and pray hard for direction from the Lord. We made our decision on Wednesday, and on Thursday (which just so happened to be my birthday), we…