Count....

I forgot to let you all know that today is day 108 in the waiting process for our LOA.  Patience Lord, patience please. 
~Robin     

We received a video of Maddison - oh what a cutie!

Do you remember that special family, the Bolens, who took pictures of Maddison during their trip last month?  Well........we received a video of their visit to the orphanage this week in the mail.   YEA!!!!!!  It is full of wonderful images that warm the heart.  We are so thankful to Jennifer and Kevin for their time and effort.  It is wonderful!!!!

The video consists of a couple of sections.  They are as follows:  the outside of the orphanage, a couple of rooms inside, Maddison and her roommates, the orphanage director, a few office staff, a  few nannies, and the Bolens.  Unfortunately, it is to big to load the whole video on the blog, but Dave figured out how to do a few little clips.  

Jennifer got to hold her.  Praise the Lord she got to hold our baby.  We got to see her facial expressions and watch her walk.  Maddison was like a weeble........"weebles wobble but they don't fall down."  She just teetered around and was as cute as a button.  She was very quiet and interested  in everyone and everything.  

All the children looked well taken care of.  We saw gentle touches and kind faces in the workers and staff.  They seemed very proud that some of their children were being adopted.  Up until this spring, the Hebi City Social Welfare Institute has had less than a dozen children adopted out to our knowledge.  We know of 5 (and that includes Maddison) that have or will be joining their forever families during this spring and summer.  Isn't the Lord good.  That means 5 less orphans in Hebi, China.  

Maddison did not like the flash on the camera and would make awful faces after the pictures were taken.  Dave thinks she already can give that teacher look that I have so wonderfully perfected over the years.

She was quiet and very mobile.  She seemed to accept and enjoy the love that Jennifer gave to her.  She was not crying and never made a noise.  The orphanage director carried her around in his arms for a little while and she acted very comfortable being carried.  Like she was used to that kind of attention.  She was very interested in Kevin, Jennifer, and one of their boys.  He tried to hold her, but she did not want anything to do with that.  That is a good thing.  MaddieJi, stay away from those boys.  Dave, just out of the blue, told me the other day she was never going to date!  Pitty the boy who wants to date his little girl!!!

~Robin

Woohoo! We Got Updated Pictures!!!!

This afternoon we received an update on Maddison from our adoption agency.  It included updated measurements and a few additional pictures.  Looks like they shaved her head again!  Robin was so hoping that they would let her hair grow....  Oh, well, the bows will have to wait.

Our personal favorite!!!

Here are her updated measurements (5/14/12):

• Weight - 22 lbs
• Height - 32.3 inches
• Chest -  20.5 inches
• Head Circumference - 18.1 inches
• 13 teeth
• Health Status - Good

Other notes from Update:

• She can walk
• She is learning to go up and down stairs
• Still needs diaper (shucks!)
• She smiles a lot
• She drools a lot - family had better take a bib for her
• She is eating bread, biscuits (cookies), and drinking water
• She is quiet (takes after Dave, not Robin)
• They call her Jia Jia (Jia translates as beautiful and yes we totally agree.)

 We are still waiting on LOA (day 102!).  Getting this update sure helps the wait!

Day 100

Well, today we have been waiting 100 days for our  LOA.  We did receive an e-mail today from our adoption agency, but it was just to inform us that China has raised the price of some of their post adoption translation fees.  No longer can they translate the reports, but a company contracted by the Chinese government has to do it.

Maddison is 18 months old today.

Today is the 15th of May and that means Maddison is 18 months old.  Oh how we wish we could be with her today!!!!!! 

The wait for our LOA is at 99 days today.  I keep telling myself patience is a virtue.  Don't we have lots of that by now?    Please keep praying for Maddison and this set of paperwork specifically.

Thank you

 

~Robin 

Anxiously Awaiting LOA !!!

Still no news :(.  We are on day 97 of our wait for LOA.  For those who have been following along, I thought I'd update the remaining steps left before we leave for China.  Once we get our LOA, it will still be between 10 and 12 weeks before we travel.  So here's the list..... (I'll update list as we go to count down the items remaining!!)

• Receive LOA
• Send I-800 application to USCIS (asking US immigration for permission to adopt the child we were specifically matched with)  
• USCIS forwards our approval to the National Visa Center (NVC) to petition visa
• The NVC forwards the approved visa petition to the US Consulate in Guangzhou China 
• The Consulate reviews the visa application (the DS-230), makes sure it meets the qualifications for an immigrant visa, and then signs off that everything is in order for the adoption to be completed.
• The approval is forwarded to the CCCWA, which issues our Travel Approval!

Continue to pray that we will get our LOA this coming week!  Had to leave you with one picture... :) !

 -Dave

What number are we on today?

Just an update on the number waiting game............today is day 91.  Have a blessed Sunday and please keep praying for our paperwork.  Thank you!!!!!!!

Here is the latest verse,  "Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."  Joshua 1:9.  I think I needed the words strong, courageous, terrified, and discouraged.  I have changed the wherever you go to wherever you are too. Thanks for your words Lord!  
~Robin

Good News

We received updated pictures of Maddison from our new friends the Bolens.  They were in China getting their daughter Naomi a few weeks back.  Here is a picture of their family in China.

As part of their travels, the Bolen family had to travel to Hebi to get Naomi's passport.  Apparently, this is a new requirement that the Chinese government enacted in April of this year.  Robin had been in contact with Jennifer and she hoped they would be able to get into the orphanage.  If the Bolens did get in, they were going to request the opportunity to visit and take pictures of Maddison.  God would have to open the doors if this was to happen!  Needless to say, God worked miracles and the requests were granted!  Praise the Lord!  He did move mountains!!!!!  Here are some of the pictures that they were so kind to take.  We are so thankful to the Bolens for their time and interest in Maddison and for these pictures. 

Maddison with the Orphanage Director - How about that Smile!

Jennifer shared with us that Maddison has a sweet disposition and is precious.  (For those of you that don't know .....  Robin's little dog, that came home with her from Kenya, was named Kipenzi..   In Swahili, precious is the word kipenzi.  We had to put Kipenzi to sleep in February and it was VERY difficult.    Robin believes Kipenzi was a gift from God and we believe Maddison is our next gift from Him too.)  Jennifer's words have brought such comfort and peace to us both.  She mentioned that Maddison was in the palm of God's hands and again if you really know Robin, especially through this whole process, you would know that those words bring the "peace that passes all understanding."  Thank you Lord, for allowing this peace. 

She has a little truck in her hands.

 Jennifer with Maddison

Maddison in Her Crib - She appears a little apprehensive.
  Notice she is next to a window.  Robin prays she can see the birds and God's beautiful world.

What'd you say "Willis" - Maddison with one of the Bolen Boys

Another picture with one the boys.

Maddison and Naomi

The Bolens were also so kind to send some pictures of the orphanage.  It appears that the orphanage is pretty nice.  We have another picture of the orphanage a few years back and it appears they have built a new orphanage.  It looks so much nicer!  Jennifer thought that it was a little sterile, but the director and nannies really loved and took very good care of the children.  Here's some pictures of the exterior and interior of the orphanage.

The Nannies in the Orphanage with Maddison's Playmates

Pretty Nice Play Equipment

We just want to thank the Bolens for taking the time to take some pictures of our little girl.  It was so kind that they took them and sent them to us.  They were also able to take some video of Maddison while they were there.  The Bolens just got home and will be sending us this video once their life settles down and they recover from the jet lag!  Praise the Lord for selfless new friends.