some pics of our girl

Now that we are "officially official" ;o) we can share more pics of our girl.  Michael and I will be using the blog to TRY ;o) and post daily pics of Chu Chu.  We know our friends and family back home will want to see her as she grows and changes.

We don't like to put a lot of info on facebook.  So if there are any friends or family that want to see her please just direct them to this blog site.  Also we will just continue to call her by her Chinese name on the blog for privacy reasons.

Michael and I are already in love with her!  She is the most beautiful girl we have ever seen.  And we are so happy that we are getting closer and closer to bringing her home!

Even though God may not be calling you to adopt, please remember there are many ways to support the orphans of the world.  Michael and I encourage our friends and family to look for ways to support those who are not fortunate enough to have a family.  First and foremost you can pray for all the orphans of the world.  You can also donate money or material goods, sponsor a child or volunteer in your hometown or even take a trip abroad and volunteer at an orphanage. 

Our girl is very blessed to be in home where they take excellent care of her.  Not all orphans are in facilities as nice as hers.  We prayed that the child God had for us would be in a nice place where she was receiving lots of love and being well taken care of.  And God answered that prayer.  We are forever grateful to Him!  Studies show that children who are loved and taken care of in good orphanages and foster homes will have an easier time attaching to their forever family.  Children who have been neglected have a much harder time and sometimes never fully attach.


Here is our gorgeous girl!  You'll be home soon baby girl!

I think we are going to have to buy our baby girl a bigger wagon ;o)

our girl loves to eat!  but she does not like tomatoes or bananas!

Yay, Yay, Yay!!!! for our LOA!

Praises to God!  We received notice from our adoption agency that they receieved the soft copy of our LOA (Letter of Approval).  That is the document we have been waiting to move on to the next step of the adoption process. 

There is still more paperwork to be done.  The adoption process is never ending paperwork.  But according to the timeline, we should hopefully have our little Chu Chu in our arms around the beginning of March! 

We cannot wait.  Michael and I both missed her dearly at Christmas.  It was hard for us knowing she was out there and but not with us.  But we praise God she is at a very good home and they take really good care of her.  They even celebrate Christmas and teach them the real meaning of Christmas, which is of course the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  So we are truly thankful for that.

If you looking on ways to make charitable contributions, Alenah's home is always looking for sponsors for the children that are waiting to be adopted.  They also have a page on Facebook.

Most of the kids pictured on the Facebook page I have met in person when I have gone to visit Chu Chu.  It is heartbreaking because they all want forever families.  Please keep them in your prayers.  You never know,  maybe Michael and I will one day be able to adopt another child who was with Chu Chu at Alenah's home!  We are keeping an open mind and an open heart to how God wants to grow our family.

We want to thank everyone for your faithful prayers.  It has helped us get through this long process.  Please continue to pray that the rest of our paperwork gets processed quickly and correctly and that there are no hiccups.  Also pray for Chu Chu and her transition into our family.  It is not an easy process.  There is a grieving process that children go through because she will miss her friends and caretakers that she has know for the past 5 months.  Prior to Alenah's house she was at a different home in Shanghai for over a year.  So by the time she comes home with us she will have been in 3 different homes in under a year.  That is a lot for a little one to go through.  Also continue to pray for her health.  It will also be a long road getting her to specialists and making sure we do all we can to make sure her heart is in the best condition possible.  And that is no easy task here in China. 

Thanks again and we will continue to keep updates about the process here on our blog.