293 puzzle pieces sponsored!!! WOW!!!!

Thank you to everyone who has sponsored, one, two, five, ten, twenty or even fifty pieces! Each of you has made a HUGE difference in our life and the life of our little girl waiting for us in China.

We've got more puzzle pieces left!!!!!

Just $2 a piece. You don't have to sponsor 20, or even 10. We are grateful for every single one that is sponsored. One piece at at time and we will reach our goal of sponsoring all 1000 pieces.

So, please... if you haven't yet, please go up to the right hand corner of our blog, click the "Chip-in" button. You can use a credit card or debit card to sponsor a puzzle piece using Paypal. You do not need a Paypal account to use the chip-in button.

Read all about this unique fundraiser here for all the details and a chance to win a $200 gift card!

Thank you everyone!

October in New England

Hay Rides.

Pumpkins.

Fall Foliage.

Smiles.

Love.

183 pieces sponsored and more news!

183 puzzle pieces sponsored... 817 to go! WOW!!!!

We are SO thankful to everyone, near and far, that have sponsored a puzzle piece for Grace.

Now the challenge, we need to keep this momentum going somehow.

So, if you haven't sponsored a piece yet ($2 a piece)... please, please consider. (see this post for an explanation) Every $2 really adds up!

Or, if you haven't yet... please post our fundraiser on your facebook page or on your blog. You get an entry into the raffle for every post on FB or a blog!

Again, a HUGE thank you to everyone who has sponsored so far!

ALSO, BIG NEWS on the paperchase to Grace!!!

We received our Log-in Date (LID) today! LID is the day that our dossier is officially logged into the system in China. One more step closer to our little sweetie!

We were told that it might take 4 weeks to get logged-in, and that it could take up to 4 more weeks for China to notify our agency that it was logged-in. We were logged-in and notified in just TWO DAYS!

The next thing we are waiting for is for China to thoroughly review our dossier and then (hopefully) issue the Letter of Acceptance (LOA)... the official approval from China that we can adopt Grace.

I'm sort of feeling bad that others out there that I "talk" to in adoption-land have been waiting more than a month for their log-in date. I wish we all move together through this process.

While we've been told there is a method to this madness (whose paperwork gets processed first, second and when), it sure seems like it's just luck. And we're getting lucky.

China in January? February? or will it be March?

There are still a lot of steps that we could get stuck (for a month or more) so I'm trying not to get too excited.

Sponsor a Puzzle Piece - Sponsor Grace!

We're getting close... close to going to China! About a year faster than we anticipated. We're really NOT complaining. :)

A couple months ago, B and S spent hours putting together this 1000 piece puzzle....

It's a painting (puzzle) by a San Francisco artist. This particular puzzle is of Chinatown in SF.

As a unique and memorable fundraiser for our adoption... we are asking people to sponsor a puzzle piece (or 2... or 10.... or however many you want).

$2 a puzzle piece.

Perhaps you want to sponsor a piece for every member of your family?!

Every piece counts!

We will keep a journal with the puzzle and write down each and every name/family that sponsor's Grace. In the end, we will hang this puzzle in a prominent place in our home... as a reminder to us about all those that helped bring our daughter home. We will keep the journal for Grace, so she knows how many people loved her and helped bring her home.

After we have all 1000 pieces sponsored. We will randomly select one sponsor to win a $200 gift card to merchant of their choice (Target, Home Depot, Pottery Barn... you name it!).

So, please... go ahead and use the chip-in button on the top right of our blog to sponsor. This chip-in feature uses Paypal. However, you do not need a Paypal account.

Also, we don't know 1000 people... so we will need all our bloggy friends to help to get the word out about this fundraiser. If you post a link to our blog post on your blog or you post on facebook... we'll give you an extra entry into the raffle for the $200 gift card. Please, leave me a comment (or send me an email) if you post somewhere.

If you read here you'll understand why all this fundraising. And you'll understand how HARD it is for me to ask ANYTHING of ANYONE. But, this cutie is calling us... and we need to go get her. So, I'll stretch way beyond my comfort zone... for her....

Thank you everyone!!

Happy Birthday Grace!

On September 23rd we had a birthday celebration for our littlest...

Happy FIRST Birthday Grace!

How else do you celebrate the birthday of your Chinese daughter...

Dinner at our local Chinese food restaurant, of course!

I know General Tso's chicken probably isn't considered very authentic. In the future... perhaps I can try to get the chinese cook book out and try to make something that more closely resembles actual food that is consumed in China. But, we did the best we could. :)

Followed by singing happy birthday and cupcakes!!

We were happy to eat chinese food and cupcakes in honor of her. But, how I wish we were together to celebrate this milestone. I'm grateful that this will be the very last birthday she spends without her family. We look forward to many, many more birthday celebrations TOGETHER!

Our Daughter...

Finally....

We are SO EXCITED to introduce our precious daughter...

Grace Xiao Yun

Grace just turned one on September 23rd! We had a birthday celebration for her (birthday party blog post coming soon!) We think this picture of her was taken back in May or June.

Grace is waiting for us at the Jiaozuo City Welfare Institute, Henan Province.

We are very fortunate to have gotten our hands on a few other pictures of her that were taken a little bit later in the summer.

There are no words to express our absolute joy and love for our beautiful baby girl.

Some say she is "lucky" to have us. Actually, it's the other way around...

WE are beyond blessed to have her.

Even though we haven't yet held her in our arms... she has changed us in ways we never thought possible.

She is, most certainly, a perfect gift from God.

Some Would Gather...

Some would gather money

Along the path of life;

Some would gather roses,

And rest from worldly strife.

But I would gather children

From among the thorns of sin;

I would seek a golden curl,

And a freckled, toothless grin.

For money cannot enter

In that land of endless day;

And roses that are gathered

Soon will wilt along the way.

But, oh, the laughing children,

As I cross the sunset sea,

And the gates swing wide to heaven -

I can take them in with me.

-Author Unknown

(Carl Larsson)

DTC!!

DTC TODAY!

For all of you following that aren't living and breathing the China adoption process.

That means...

DOSSIER TO CHINA!

Remember this... (our dossier)....

Our adoption agency FINALLY mailed our dossier to China today! It's been sitting at our adoption agency for over a month, but because we received our referral (!) we had to make a few changes to it. Then China decided that they were going to go on holiday and the China Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA) has been (and will be) closed for FIVE days. So, our adoption agency held onto it for a few extra days so the dossier could be hand-delivered by agency representatives in China as soon as the CCAA reopens Friday.

Now we wait. Again.

Yeah... what he said...

Below is an exert from a blog post by http://berzenji.blogspot.com/

I'm not blogging about this to judge others. Adoption isn't for everyone. I know that.

I just thought is was a good post about what drives me a wee bit crazy...

That people think WE are crazy.

You'll see what I mean...

"I see families go out and spend thousands of dollars on a new car... when they already have two fine cars.

I see families go out and spend more money on their home theaters than we spent on our first home!

I see families add extensions on to their homes, adding bedrooms for children they will never have.

I see families do all sorts of "crazy things" which for some reason seem culturally acceptable. In fact these things are deemed normal!

But adopting a child?

Well... that's just... CRAZY!

When did it become crazy to help a child?

When did it become crazy to open up your family to someone who is lost, and alone in this world without someone to love them?

When did WE become the crazies who decide to welcome a child into our lives instead of buying that new motor boat? big screen TV and sound system? BMW? etc..."

Yeah... what he said.

LOI!

Our Letter of Intent (LOI) was just sent to China for our BEAUTIFUL little girl that we're still not allowed to share details about on the blog.

OH.... I just can't wait to be able to post her picture and show you all! :)

Aching heart

Today, my heart is aching for a mother I have, and will never, meet. The mother that carried our Grace in her womb for 9 months. The mother that suffered the pains of child birth and was likely the first to hold her as she took her first few breaths on earth. The mother that held her, comforted her and loved her for two days… and then made a decision I cannot bare to even think about.

We don’t and we will never know the reasons for the decisions Grace’s biological mother had to make. When Grace is older and she asks “Why?” I will have no answer to give her. This pains me more than you can even possibly imagine.

Today, I have been in deep prayer for Grace and her biological mother. I pray that on the day Grace is placed in our arms that somewhere deep in her mother’s soul there is a sense of peace. Peace that comes not from understanding or knowledge but peace that only God can provide.

And, from one mother to another, from the very depths of my soul, I thank her.

Dear Loyal Blog Followers...

Please be patient.

I may not write anything about the adoption for a little bit because a particular foreign country asks that we don't until things are official.

That's all I'll say.

Oh, just one more thing...

I'm in love. Again.

Don't forget Hip Mom!

If you haven't gone and bought yourself or someone else a beautiful necklace from Hip Mom Jewelry yet...Now is the time! Our fundraiser ends on September 30th.

Beautiful hand-crafted necklaces... there is something for everyone!

Hip Mom Jewelry - Adoption Fundraiser

Don't forget to use our family code - MIGNAUG10 when you place your order. Hip Mom is donating 30% of the retail value to us for our adoption.

Read more about this fundraiser here!

Thank you everyone for your support!

Almost Monday

I never thought I would look forward to Monday's and the start of a new work week.

But I do.

Because referrals don't come on the weekends.

My heart feels especially empty today.

Every time I see the three kids playing, every time we drive somewhere in the car, every time we sit down for dinner, every time I make a lunch, give a bath, read a book... it becomes MORE AND MORE utterly apparent that our family is not yet complete.

In His time. I know.

But, is it Monday yet?

Labor Day Weekend

Some say the end of summer. I say the beginning of fall.

We spent Labor Day weekend in Vermont. If you've never been to Vermont...

Go!

Uncle D and Aunt N live on a dirt road in a small Vermont town, population approximately 1,500. From the pouring of the foundation to the nails on the roof... they have built their beautiful home with their own hands. It started as a weekend retreat many years ago and now, in their retirement, they live there year-round.

It's a joke to say they are retired. They have acres of land to maintain. They have multiple gardens to harvest (50+ tomato plants!) and wood to chop.

They have a stream that runs through their property, they have a pond, and they have a pine grove perfect for campfires and hammocks.

AHH....

It is our Labor Day retreat. And it is gloriously beautiful.

All weekend, Uncle D had a fire going in their stone fireplace in the living room. Perfect to come in and warm up your chilled body from the fall like temperatures.

All weekend... and I mean ALL weekend. Four boys fished (B plus his three cousins).

One little girl sat in a paddle boat and watched four boys fish. There were only a few screams when fish landed in her lap.

And one little boy followed the big boys around from fishing hole to fishing hole.

There were tromps through streams, meadows and beaver ponds.

There were hay rides up and down hills on dirt roads.

There were cider donuts eaten. Maple syrup tasted. Marshmallows roasted.

And spring water sipped right from the spring.

K cried when we got home, "I miss Vermont already".

I do too, Sweetie. I do too.

195

CCAI matched 35 children with their families in the month of August.

195 since April.

195 precious children have families.

One. hundred. and. ninety. five.

That just makes my heart leap for joy.

Blink of an eye

How does a little baby girl...

in just a blink of an eye, grow into this...

How does a Momma not get a little teary when this happens...

But, when her baby girl comes off the bus from her first day of Kindergarten looking like this...

You just know that the time has come for her Momma to let go of her grip just a little and let her angel test out her tiny wings.

As long as Momma can grab back on three hours later.