Sunday, October 28, 2007

We have been so blessed by God with such wonderful friends. Below is a picture of the blanket and diaper bag a dear friend of mine embroidered. I'm sure the picture does not do it justice, it is absolutely gorgeous.



If you would like information on her business you can contact her by email, Embroidered Keepsakes by Shannon Dunn, sdunn14@hotmail.com.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Little More About Faith

幸 Xing 褔 Fu 祥 Xiang
These are the Chinese characters which make up Faith's given Chinese name. They mean good fortune, promising success.

Faith's growth report at 16 months of age states that she can crawl fast, walk with two hands held, and hold her own bottle. She can also wave bye-bye and clap her hands. From reading her report and talking with some OT friends it sounds like Faith is at a 9-12 month old development range. Based on her measurements at 16 months she is the size of a 6-9 month old in the USA. Granted, Asian females tend to be smaller is statue then US females. Of course, the information we receive is not always accurate so she could be farther behind or more ahead than we think. There are so many unknowns it has been hard to prepare for her coming.

It looks like her daily routine is similar to ours so hopefully after adjusting to the time difference she will fit right in.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

We continue to wait for LOA. After we receive this approval all that is left is our travel approval. In the meantime, we have been working on Faith's ladybug room. Darren made ladybugs for her room. Here is a slideshow of what we have done so far.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

THANK YOU

I just wanted to write a note of thanks to everyone who has sent messages of prayer and good wishes. Our family has been blessed by each and every person who has sent us a message. We will continue to keep your families in our prayers as you continue on your journey. God is Good and Faithful.

Friday, October 12, 2007

GOD is FAITHFUL even when we doubt

We mailed our dossier to China in February 2006. At that time, the estimated wait to be matched with a child was between six and nine months. One day in March 2006 I was standing in the kitchen, I think I was fixing lunch. I got cold chills and God said, “Your daughter was born today”. Well, I thought that was really cool and starting counting the days of how old she would be when we got our referral. As the wait got longer and longer I began to think that day in March was just wishful thinking. If she was born on that day she would be two or older before we finally got her and we had specifically requested a child younger than nine months of age. OK, skip forward to September 2007. We had decided several months ago that we felt God leading us to apply for a child with a special medical need. We had already applied for two children but were not matched with them. Of course we were very discouraged because we really felt we were following God’s lead. A new list of waiting children was released on September 11, 2007. I immediately scanned the list and found two children that fit into our age range and the type of medical need we were approved for. I printed their information out to review it with Darren but I still wasn’t content. I kept going back and looking at the picture of “Angela”. She was much older than what were had originally said we would adopt, but she kept tugging at my heart. I had to print her papers out. We did apply for three girls, including “Angela”. I couldn’t sleep at night without dreaming about her. Finally, on October 4, 2007 we got THE CALL from our adoption agency. We had been matched with “Angela”. I just fell to my knees and cried like a baby. At the time I did not make the connection back to that day in March 2006. A few days later we were on our way home from church and suddenly it all clicked. “Angela” was born on March 20, 2006. She was the little girl God told me was born in China that day in March 2006. WOW!!! I am humbled beyond words. We have given her the name Faith Xing Fu Xiang Maas.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Today we turned in our LOI to the adoption agency and it will be mailed to the CCAA in China on Friday. Next, we wait for our LOA from China. OK, the LOI is the Letter of Intent to Adopt which is basically us asking the Chinese Government permission to adopt Faith. Then they in return will send us the LOA, Letter of Acceptance saying YES you may adopt Faith. So, how long does that take. On average it is taking from 30-90 days, however, it has taken anywhere from 15-140 days. Of course we are praying for sooner than later. After we receive the LOA we can start planning to travel while we wait for our TA, travel approval from China. Wouldn't it be great if we could get her home for Christmas??


Here are a few more swatches for Faith's quilt,
so keep them coming.






Of course Mommy and Granny cannot stop shopping
so here are the latest additions.






Please, Please fly home soon!!!!

Thursday, October 4, 2007

About Faith Xing Fu Xiang



As of July 9th 2007 her physical states that she has a cleft lip repaired and a cleft palate unrepaired. Faith was also diagnosed with rickets at this physical. She was 28 inches long and weighted 16 pounds. She is a tiny little girl.


The report describes her as stubborn, she will fit right in with the family. Here is a quote, "If adults pat her on purpose, she showed like being hurt or sad, even turn her head and ignore." It says she likes outdoors and playing with dolls. I think she and Miranda will have great fun playing dolls.

REFERRAL DAY

On September 11th at 3:40 p.m. our agency posted a new Waiting Child list. Darren & I had already agreed to apply for all the children that had the SN were we approved for. There were three girls on the list that met our pre-approved SN. We did apply for all three girls but God placed one particular little girl on my heart, Xing Fu Xiang, an 18 month old girl with a CL/CP.

Guess What??? Today at 3:15 p.m. I received a call from Dana at AHH(our adoption agency). Dana said "Rebecca, this is Dana with AHH I called to say congratulations." That was all she had to say I broke down sobbing and could not stop. After I recovered she told me that Xing Fu Xiang had been referred to us.

I was expecting Darren home around 4:00 so I printed out a picture of Xing Fu Xiang and got the video camera ready. When Darren got home I had him and the kids sit down on the couch and told them that mommy had a surprise. I told them about the phone call I received and showed them the picture. Darren was speechless and after it soaked in Miranda starting jumping up and down. Needless to say I have been on the phone or sending emails since I found out. I have a feeling I will be up all night.