So Blessed

On Wednesday, our co-workers had a shower for us. Everyone was so sweet, and we received so many nice things. Sophie received clothes (she's going to be one dressed up little girl), toys, books, and all of the many things that little girls, and Mommies and Daddies, need! The cake and decorations were beautiful, and the food was delicious!

We are so blessed to have so many friends who care about us and have been so good to us throughout this process. We are so grateful to each and every one of you who has given us a shower, brought food for a shower, given us gifts, and prayed for us as we waited to bring our daughter home. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Enjoy the pictures!

Beautiful and delicious cake!

There was so much food!

Look at all of the gifts! I'm digging that jogging stroller!

How sweet

Bo, me, and my mom

Lots of great gifts!

LOA Day!

Today we received our LOA from Fedex! In stead of waiting on the package to be delivered to our home, I called Fedex and tracked down the truck carrying it and met them in town. I have been patient for over 3 years, so today was a well-deserved day of impatience!

This is our Fedex delivery person, Kathy, who delivered our LOA today!

After receiving the package from her, I headed to the mill so that Bo and I could sign the LOA, makes copies of it, and get it back to Fedex for delivery to our agency in California.

This what the actual LOA looks like. It basically tells us that we have been matched with our daughter and that they need confirmation from us that we want to move ahead with adoption. It only took a split second to check that box!

Bo signing in the place for the Adoptive Father's Signature.


Me signing in the place for the Adoptive Mother's Signature.


All is done! You couldn't wipe that grin off of our faces!

Now the wait for our travel invitation(TA) begins. Do you see a pattern here? Hurry up. Wait. Hurry up. Wait. This has been the story of our lives the past 4 years! Anyway, China will receive our LOA on Monday, and the countdown begins for TA. I hear the norm is 3 weeks from LOA to TA, but there have been some instances where TA was received in 2 weeks. We are hoping and praying for the latter, but with Chinese New Year just around the corner, we are more than likely looking at the end of February for TA. We are so thankful that things are moving along now. We have lots to do between now and travel!

L - O - A!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just received a message from our agency that our LOA arrived today!!!!

 

We will receive it via Fedex tomorrow.  We must sign it and send it back via Fedex overnight so that it can be in China by Monday.  We are praying that we receive our travel invitation before China closes for Chinese New Year.

 

Hang on Sophie, your Ma Ma and Ba Ba are coming to get you!

 

Another Great Shower!

On Sunday, January 17, some friends from church had us a great shower! It was a wet, dreary day, but so many people came out to celebrate Sophie. It was so sweet of everyone. Sophie received so many beautiful things, all of which we really needed! Thanks again to Beth, Rachel, Lynn, and Paula for having the shower for us. It was so sweet of you!

LOA Should Be Here Next Week!

The agency rep called me today to tell me that she expects to have our LOA next week!  Yea!!!! 

 

I asked her how long it was taking to get the travel invitation once our LOA goes back to China.  She said the least amount of time that she's seen is 2 weeks, and the norm is 3 weeks.  She says she expects us to travel after Chinese New Year, which is February 14.  Everything in China closes down for a week during Chinese New Year, so the CCAA will be closed from Feb. 13 - 20.  If our travel invitation comes before they close for New Year, then we should travel the end of Feb. or early March.

 

 

 

LOA Update

There is no new news, but I wanted to explain the process in a little more detail.

We've been waiting for 69 days for our Letter of Acceptance(LOA) to come. We know we are in the Matching Room, where our file and Sophie's file are put together and the LOA is written. Our agency says they expect it "any day now". From what I have seen on other's blogs, it appears that the magic number of days that are passing before receiving LOA is 75. If that holds true for us, which we hope it surely does, we should receive our LOA sometime next week. Day 75 for us is next Tuesday, January 19th. Once we receive the LOA, we sign it and send it to the US Consulate in China, who then forwards it on to the China Adoption people, or CCAA. We can then apply for our visas. The next step then is for the CCAA to issue our travel invitation, or TA. Once we receive TA, our agency can make our appointment with the US Consulate in China, and then we can begin booking flights.

I know you aren't supposed to wish your life away, but I really wish tomorrow, or today for that matter, were January 19th!

Happy Thursday!

We have a new picture of Sophie! I share it with mixed emotions; happiness to see her sweet face and to see that she is doing well and growing, but sadness that we are missing all of this time with her. Praying our LOA and TA come very soon!