New Pictures-Our Sweet Girl with a Great Big Smile!

This afternoon we received new pictures of Kristi Zi Han that were taken just this week. We had arranged a cake and an updated photo album with our pictures to be delivered to her this week through "Ladybugs N Love" a wonderful service that we found on the internet (created by an adoptive mother of 3 girls from China). Here is the most priceless photo of all - the first one with a great big smile on her beautiful face! It's not her birthday (that's September 23) - we just wanted to send her a treat!

Update

No news to report - We thought we were going to be in China on the 13th or maybe the 27th (still some hope there) but there's been some delays - the consulate appointments are booked through the month of June, our US clearance is sitting on the supervisor's desk :o and there's rumors going around no travel July 15 - September 20 due to the Olympics for adoption. :( I know God has a plan and it will be awesome but it's been alittle frustrating. We did find a service, Ladybugs N Love, that will arrange for a little cake and a new photo album with some pictures of us to be sent to Kristi which makes us feel so much better. I know she's 2 1/2 years old but someday she'll look back and see how we were thinking of her. Other than that, life is good and we can't complain, we have survived all the storms and rain well compared to all the poor folks in Iowa. It's just terrible. Keira is doing great and we are enjoying our time with her knowing her life will change quite a bit soon with a little sister on board. We've been doing lots of role plays and she really gets into it! She has written Kristi a few letters including one advising her to stop writing on the desk in Mommy's office. My favorite, however, is the one she did on her magnadoodle that says "Keira is waiting Mom too".

WE GOT OUR TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION TODAY!

At approximately 4:04 p.m. today my phone rang and it was Karin from Hand in Hand calling with our travel authorization! We are so excited but need to wait to get the US clearance before we can request a consulate appointment and book our travel. We hope that clearance will come soon! We'll keep you posted. I'm too excited to sleep!

New Picture of Kristi-May 2008

Here's the latest photo of our precious girl! We are getting closer to bringing you home, dear Kristi Zi Han. Update: We got re-fingerprinted last week and all our criminal checks in place for every state/country we have ever lived and all looks good. Just waiting for travel authorzation and consulate appointment now but no idea when it will come. It was so wonderful of one of the traveling families to take pictures for all of us still waiting.

Thank you and Continued Prayers for China

Thank you all for your inquiries regarding Kristi Zi Han and her safety. There are currently families from my Nanjing Kids Yahoo Group in Nanjing right now (they received their children on Sunday, Mother's Day-how perfect) and it appears that they are all safe. I will report more as I hear any updates. I imagine they felt it though. I am on a trip and I called Mom and she said the quake's center was about an inch and half :) from Nanjing on the globe and then Roger and he said about 12 hours away which was some relief but then I see all the devastation and it's so sad. The world becomes so much smaller and the people not so anonymous when someone you love is so close. Thanks so much for thinking of us.

Letter of Acceptance Delivered at Last!

We finally got the original on Monday evening-THANK YOU GOD! It's back to China and now we wait some more. We'll have to have a lot of things fall nicely into place in order to make it to China now before the Olympics (re-fingerprinting, new I-800 processing) but we're still hoping and praying - join us please! Thank you so much. After a few days of freaking out I was reminded so graciously from above with a little quote that I happened to read - "Don't miss the magic of the day by focusing on what's to come." (unknown) So we did just that - enjoying all the magic and wonder of living with a beautiful, lively, ever questioning ("why do plants grow?", "how do our bodies get to heaven?") precious 4 year old!

LOA - WHERE DID YOU GO?!

Our LOA is MIA! Just a temporary bump in the road but Mommy is starting to lose her mind! The original is somewhere between here and Arizona and we just want to sign it and bring our Kristi home!