Travel Approval!!!!!!!!!!!

Woohoo!  I am beyond excited!  We get to meet our daughter for the first time in a little over 2 weeks!  I know the next two weeks are going to be crazy, but a good kind of crazy.  I am full of so many emotions right now.  Just knowing that I will get to meet our little Hayley so soon...wow...my eyes are filled with tears just thinking about it.  The other part of me is a little sad to say goodbye to my boys for 2 1/2 weeks, and miss their first day of school.  I am so thankful to have such an amazing family here that I know will take care of them, like I would!

Thank you to all of our family and friends that have been so supportive of our adoption.  There is so many of you that are now a part of bringing this little girl home through prayer and financial support.  We are so thankful for that.  God has blown me away over the last year.  We knew that he was calling us to adopt, but did not see any humanly possible way that could happen.  He has blessed us over and over in ways that no one could ever explain.  Someday soon, I plan to put the whole story here! 

Please check in while we are in China, as I plan to post pictures and video of our adventure!  At this point, we are scheduled to leave on August 16th, and that will be confirmed early this week coming. 

Here we come Hayley Grace!!!!

Trying to be patient!

We are getting closer!  We should have a travel date in the next 2-3 weeks, and then leave approximately two weeks later.  I am so ready!  I must check my phone and email a hunderd times a day.  It looks like Nate and I will most likely miss school starting.  That was definitely a struggle for me because Cameron is starting Kindergarten.  I am not too excited about missing that milestone for him, but I know God's timing is perfect.  We will set up skype, so I can at least talk to them that morning.  On the other hand, if we leave any later, we may miss his birthday.  He was not thrilled about that option, so if they give us the option, we will choose to miss the first day of school. 

Hayley's room is all ready!  It is so girly!!!  Something that I am really not used to with this house full of boys.  I have definitely been out-numbered here for a while!  So I am ready to have another girl in this house! 

For those of you that have been praying for our family, thank you!  Please continue to pray for a quick TA(Travel Approval), and that God would prepare Hayley's heart for the difficult transition that she is about to face.  Poor thing is going to go through so much in such a short period of time.  Pray that she adjusts and bonds to us quickly. 

Next time you hear from me, I plan to announce our travel date! Thank you to those that have been followng along.  We plan to blog from China, and hopefully post pictures and videos, as well.   Hope to have a reason to be back on here really soon! 

Here is another picture for you...:)

Update!!!

Today we received an update on our little Hayley Grace!  They say she is doing well, and her speech has improved a little since our last update in April.  You have no idea how badly I want to get on a plane and bring my baby home! 

LOA!!!

Yesterday, we received our LOA(Letter Of Acceptance) from China!  This is the paper we have been waiting for.  It basically says that they have officially been approved as Hayley's parents!  We needed this paper in order to get our Travel Approval.  There is a few steps of paper work in between now and then, but I will not bore you with all of that! :-)  At this point, my agency feels we will travel before the end of August. 

Our case worker agreed to request another update for us, so I am hopeful that by the end of next week, we will have new pictures!  I finally see an end in sight, and am beyond anxious to meet my daughter!  Even if she does scream at me!  :-)

God has been so good, and provided everything we have needed throughout this process.  As some of you may know, adoption is expensive.  Through fundraisers and some very generous souls, we have raised about $18,000, so far.   At this point, the remainder of the money that we need to raise, is for our travel expenses.  I have just been in awe!  We have the money exactly when we need it, and sometimes down to the penny!  There is no doubt that God wants Hayley Grace here!

My Boys

The boys wanted to have a picture of Hayley for their rooms...:-)

A Letter from your Mommy

It’s been a while.  Things have been crazy and hectic, so I have not been able to update as often as I would have liked.  So here we go…  It has already been a month.  Like I said, things have been busy, so that does make the time go so much faster.  Although there is never a minute that she is not on my mind.  What I would not give to leave tomorrow and bring her home!!! 

At this point, our agency feels we will be traveling by the end of the summer. We will probably be leaving in July or August.  Sometimes July feels right around the corner, and other times it feels like a lifetime away.  We will be in China for approximately 2 weeks, and Aidan and Cameron will be staying here with their grandparents.  This was a difficult decision, but we feel this is best.  The trip can be very exhausting and emotional.  There are several steps of paper work that we need to wait on before we get our TA (travel approval).  I will not bore you all with every little step, but for those of you that have been though this process or are currently going through it, we are now waiting of our LOA (Letter of Approval) from China.  

This past week, I was very excited to receive an email with new pictures of our Hayley!  That definitely made my week. :-)  The boys ask almost every day when we are going to go get their sister.  They are so excited to meet her.  It is really sweet to watch them.  They are so interested in anything Chinese that they see.  I think it makes them feel some connection to her.  They are very proud big brothers already!  

There was two reason that I decided to start this blog.  The first was to keep everyone up-to-date with all that is going on throughout this process.  The second is to have all of this documented for Hayley, as her story that she can tell someday.  Then hardest part of the waiting is that I can't hug her right now, or pick her up when she falls down and gets hurt.  I can't hold her when she is sick, or rock her to sleep.  So here is a letter to Hayley from her Mommy, telling her how much I love her.  This is so someday she can look back at this, and know what I was thinking.

My Sweet Hayley Grace,

There is not a minute that goes by that I am not thinking about you.  I wish that I could pick you up, and love you!  You are a beautiful little girl, who is already lighting up the faces of your family here that loves you.  We love looking at your pictures.  My favorite is the one where you are smiling and clapping.  You look so happy!

We are working on your room, so it will be all ready for you when you come home.  Your big brothers are soooo excited to meet you.  They ask almost everyday when you will be able to come home.  They love you and are so proud of you already. 

I cannot wait to know more about you...what makes you smile, what makes you laugh, what you like to eat, what you like to do.  I know that when you come home, it may not be easy for any of us at first.  Everything will be new and a little scary, but know this....We love you, we are your family, and we will never leave you. 

I can't wait till the day I get to hold you for the first time...I am longing for that day.   I am praying that day comes quickly, and you can be home with us forever. 

I love you!
Mommy