Have You Ever Seen a Sweeter Smile?

This weekend, we received a new picture of Sophie. It looks like it's a couple of months old, but we are so thrilled to have more pictures of her, since we have missed so much of her first 14 months of life already. I hear that when we go to China we will receive a cd with pictures of her from the time she was a newborn until we get her. That will be priceless. So many people never get these pictures. We are blessed that she is in foster care sponsored by Love Without Boundaries because they understand how much it means to families to have these pictures and make sure that pictures of the children are taken while in their care.

Many people have asked what happens next. The next step is receiving our Letter of Acceptance, or LOA, from China. This tells us that she is ours. We then have to sign the LOA and send it back to China. Then we wait for travel approval, or TA. When we receive our TA, our agency can then make our appointments with the US Consulate, which will determine when we travel.

I have asked around about how long it has been taking to receive LOA. I have heard that some people received theirs within 11 days, while others have taken up to 75 days. We've been waiting for 12 days, so we can only hope and pray that we are on the lower end of that spectrum.

There Is Someone We Would Like for You to Meet....

After what seems like an eternity, we would like to
introduce you to our daughter, Mary Sophia Rigby.

Sophie is 13 months old and in foster care in Shantou City, Guangdong Province, China. Her birthday is August 23, 2008. Her chinese name is Li Ji Xing (pronounced Lee Jee Shing). They tell us that Li comes from book of family names. Ji means auspicious and happy. Xing means happiness. They hope that she would be auspicious and happy, grow happily and have a happy and perfect life. When she was in the orphanage, the caretakers called her Xingxing (pronounce Shing Shing).

Following is what they tell us about Sophie:
Li Ji Xing is physically strong and healthy and she seldom gets sick. She is lively and outgoing personalities. She always smiles when she meets with other people and she is a lovely child. She can now pull herself up to a standing position. She can crawl quickly. She is very lively. She loves to play with her foster brother. She touches his body with small toys or grabs his clothes and babble to him loudly. She loves colorful toys. She especially like to shake the bells. She giggles when she hears the sound of the bell. Li Ji Xing is very attached to her foster mother. Whenever she sees her foster mother, she reaches out her hands, wanting to be held. If she sees the foster mother is holding the foster brother, she will yell because she is jealous. Li Ji Xing loves outdoor activities. Every afternoon after nap she demands to go outside to play. "

Sounds like she has quite the personality, huh? We are so looking forward to bringing her home and hope to travel in January or February. Thank you to all of you who have prayed for us and with us during these last 3 years. Our prayers have truly been answered.

Please continue to pray for us and for Sophie, that she will attach and bond quickly and that we will be in tune to her needs and provide the security and trust that she needs.

The next step in this process now is for us to receive our Letter of Acceptance (LOA). I hope it comes as quickly as our preapproval did!

First Annual Rigby Family Vacation

Sounds like the Griswold family vacation, doesn't it? LOL!

On September 18, we made a weekend trip to Destin with two of Bo's sons, Tim and Lee, and their families. We stayed in a great condo at Baytowne Wharf, where they have their own little town. I mean you can literally park your car and never get in it again until you are ready to leave. They have restaurants, great shopping, a general store, shuttle service to the beach, and great activities for the kids. I would, however, recommend staying longer than a weekend. Because checkout is at 10am, you really only have one day to do anything.

The weather for the weekend was quite rainy, but we did manage to make it to the pool for a swim. We were the only ones in the pool, so it was great! We had a really good time and hope to make it an annual family trip, with Michael, Jessica, and Merrill included, of course!

Enjoy a few pics from the weekend!