New Update

Our agency gave us an update today about Audrey so we can estimate a little better about clothes to bring, etc. So here is what it said:

- height 76cm
- weight 8.4kg
- foot 13cm
- She likes milk, juice. She drinks with a bottle and can drink with a straw. 
- She takes a nap between 11:30 and 12:30. She gets up at 7:00am and goes to bed at 7:00pm.
- She likes toys. She likes blocks. She likes colorful toys that can make sound. 
- She can walk. We call her “juanjuan”. She is a smart child. She can only say “mama,baba”. But she can understand simple directions and words from the caretakers. When she is unhappy, just hold her and talk to her gently, she will cheer up. 


Olivia said "This seems pretty easy....we can handle this!"

Another Step Complete...

I woke up this morning (my birthday!) at 5 am to an e-mail from the National Visa Center with the info we needed to move forward with Audrey's Immigrant Visa. What a great present! I went thru the application process online, then our agency forwarded everything to their representative in China and now he will deliver this important stack of papers (hopefully tomorrow) to the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China. It takes 10 business days for review, then he goes back for "Article 5" pickup, and this is our LAST step before we wait for travel approval from China! We are getting close! We still estimate that we should be able to leave right around Thanksgiving if all goes well.

In His Hands

Friday night I had the privilege of attending the "In His Hands" orphan outreach banquet. "In His Hands" (www.inhishandsorphans.org) is the organization that sent the missions team to Audrey's orphanage in July. At the banquet I was able to meet several of the people that have met and held Audrey! Here's a picture of their team.

It was so cool to hear what they had to say about her, her personality, the environment she's in, and the nannies that care for her. I found out that before we had even been matched with Audrey, this group had been loving her and had been praying for her and for her forever family! I also got some more pictures, this is one of my favorites -- look at those chubby cheeks and that curly hair!

and here's the room she plays in, and a better picture of the room where she sleeps....

These walls are the only thing she has known for two years. She has no idea how her world is about to change..........

I-800 Approval!!!!

Just got word that our I-800 was approved today. This is the U.S. Immigration approval for us to adopt Audrey. Another big step behind us. So, China approval is done, U.S. approval is done, Aaron & I got our China visas issued in our passports, now onto the steps for getting Audrey's Visa application. Progress is being made............

Happy Birthday!

Audrey turned 2 today!

We arranged to have our agency give her a birthday party and looks like they threw quite a party, complete with KFC, cake and snacks! We were so excited to wake up with these pictures and video in my inbox! So this is what was happening in China while we slept last night..........

On another note, here is an update on our status -- A week ago we sent our China approval for Audrey, along with lots of other papers specifically about her, to the U.S. Department of Immigration. This is called the I-800 application, and it generally takes about 2 weeks to get this approval from the U.S. government, then we can move on to the steps to obtain her Immigrant Visa. So, things are moving along, we just have to be patient!

LOA Issued!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our LOA (Letter of Acceptance) from China was FINALLY issued today!  This is China's official approval for us to adopt Audrey, and it was needed before we could proceed with any other paperwork for getting her.  We have been waiting 2 months for this, with some stumbling blocks along the way.  Sooooo, needless to say, we are VERY excited and relieved to be getting this today.  It has been a long and bit stressful wait!  Now the rest of the process can start rolling.  Due to this initial delay, it will probably be late-November to mid-December now before we can travel.  Thanks to everyone who has been praying for us and please continue to pray for a smooth and quick process for the remainder of the paperwork!

Care Package

We found out we could send a care package to Audrey! We e-mailed some pictures of our family to our agency, and they took care of getting a cake & snacks for her to have a "party" with her friends & nannies, a stuffed panda, and a photo album with our pictures. A few days later here is what we got! So cool to see her holding our pictures! The email also said she is doing great, she is smart, happy, quiet, & easygoing!