IT'S TIME!

WE GOT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! our TA arrived last night!!! We are so excited and just thrilled to have this final step completed. We are waiting for our CA (Consulate Appointment) to be made. Our agency is trying to get the appointment for Feb. 2 or Feb. 3. If either one of these dates are available, then we will be leaving on Thursday, Jan. 21st and return Feb. 5th!!! Yes, you read that right!! It is only 9 days from now! If those dates are both full, then we will try for Feb. 9th or 10th and then will leave on Jan. 28th and returning Feb. 12th.

We are happy with either scenario. Soon we will be meeting our son for the first time!

Right now, we are quickly finishing the painting of his bedroom door. I have one last load of baby clothes to wash! I LOVE walking into his room...when I open the door all I smell is DREFT! Sydney and Jadon both had sensitive skin and mild eczema so we were unable to use Dreft or any sweet, baby-smelling lotions!

We will keep you updated on what our official travel dates will be. Thank you for your prayers! Please pray that the weather will start warming up in Beijing. We really want to be able to do the Beijing tour when we arrive, but the weather is quite unbearable right now. Last week the Beijing airport was closed due to snow! Please pray for Jackson. Everything that he has EVER known is going to be gone, but he will have the one thing he has NEVER known...a FOREVER FAMILY!!

GLOBAL WARMING AT IT'S BEST IN FL!!

Well, when most children sleep in on Saturday mornings, our children have been bright-eyed and bushy-tailed since 6am! The weather forecast of possible sleet and snow was even a little more exciting than Christmas! Hope you enjoyed the pictures!!

"Is It Time?"

A child sat on Jesus' lap in the the splendor of heaven. The child asked, "Is it time?" Jesus parted the clouds, looked and said, "No, not yet child." The child asked, "When will it be time?" Jesus replied, "When lessons are learned, hardships endured, and loneliness lived, then it will be time." Time passed. The child asked, "Is it time?" Jesus parted the clouds and looked and said, "No, not yet child" The child asked, "When will it be time?" Jesus replied, "When maturity is reached, self-worth affirmed and spirits strengthened, then it will be time." Time passed. The child asked, "Is it time?" Jesus parted the clouds, looked and said, "Their love is strong and their hearts are open. Yes, now it is time -"Your family is ready." ~Author Unknown

busy bees!

Kurt and Jadon worked hard today to put together Jackson's closet. It is now fully installed and my sweet husband even hung some of the jungle animals on the wall!

Tomorrow will be day 11 in our wait for TA. We are expecting to receive it in the next couple of weeks. Once we have TA we should be traveling approximately 2 weeks after that.

We had a wonderful Christmas. The kids enjoyed opening a few Christmas packages for Jackson. We're looking forward to all that God has planned for our family in 2010!

Unless we receive our TA, I probably will not post until after the new year. We pray that God will bless your family abundantly in 2010! We pray that God will show you where you fit into His plan for the orphan!

Stacy

Updates on our little Kuan Kuan

We also received an update on Jackson. With all of his L-A-Y-E-R-S of clothing he now weighs approximately 24 lbs and is 32 inches tall. Tomorrow he will be 28 months old.

Article 5

And so you ask "what does that mean?" Well...we are in the final stage of waiting! Our Article 5 was issued and picked up on 12/17 to be delivered to the CCAA. Once the CCAA receives our Article 5 they will issue our Travel Approval. This can take anywhere from 3-4 weeks, according to our agency. We will probably travel 2 weeks after we receive TA!

One Step Closer

Today I called USCIS to check on the status of our I800 application. The I800 is the approval to classify Jackson as an immediate relative. We received our I800 approval on Friday, 12/4. It was then sent on 12/5 to NVC, National Visa Center. From here it is cabled to the US Consulate in Guanzhou, China. This meets up with our LOA, and some other papers, gets stapled together and signed and becomes our Article 5. A worker from WACAP then picks up our Article 5 and delivers it to the CCAA. From here we wait approximately 4 weeks to receive our TA (Travel Approval).

Kurt and I celebrated our 10th anniversary on 12/4!! What a wonderful anniversary gift for us both!