GIVE ME A "T"! GIVE ME AN "A"!!

THAT'S RIGHT--- WE GOT TA!!! I ACTUALLY FOUND OUT YESTERDAY THAT WE HAD RECEIVED OUR TRAVEL APPROVAL, BUT THERE HAS BEEN AN ISSUE WITH THE WAY MY NAME IS TYPED ON SOME DOCUMENT. IT APPEARS THAT MY MAIDEN NAME IS ON MY PASSPORT AND SOCIAL SECURITY CARD, BUT IT IS NOT ON A DOCUMENT THAT CHINA HAS.....SO CURRENTLY WE ARE WAITING YET AGAIN! WE ARE WAITING FOR IMMIGRATION TO REALIZE THAT I AM STILL ME, AND THAT I NEED TO BE ON A PLANE SOON!!!

AS SOON AS THIS ISSUE IS CLEARED UP, WE HOPE TO RECEIVE A CONFIRMED CONSULATE APPOINTMENT FOR MARCH 28. IF WE DO RECEIVE THAT DATE, WE WILL LIKELY LEAVE ON MARCH 15. SO, AT THE MOMENT...AGAIN WAITING...

BUT THAT'S OK, CAUSE WE GOT TA!!! AND SOON WE WILL HAVE PLANE TICKETS TOO!

Blessings-

Meredith

Samuel

Still waiting on our travel approval. I am expecting it any day. I check my email every 30 seconds. It's ridiculous!!! I am so ready to go get Sam!!!

So, while I wait, God led me to this verse:

1 Samuel 1:27 "I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him"

I am waiting...and praying....and preparing..both my heart and our home for Sam to become a part of our family. Although, he already is. He is already our son in our hearts. I can't explain it, but I already think of us as a family of 6. It's strange. It's wonderful. It's a journey. I love it and am thankful that God has led us here. I know he will continue to prepare our hearts for Sam. And, I know that he will prepare Sam's heart for us. We are not a perfect family....but we are Sam's family.

Not too much longer now Sam...

Blessings-

Meredith

That's right!!!!! Got to work this morning, checked my email, and YES!!!!! 16...can you believe it ??? SIXTEEN NEW PICTURES OF THAT SWEET BOY!!! YAY! MADE MY WEEK!

SERIOUSLY, WHERE IS THAT TRAVEL APPROVAL???????????

Below are the questions we asked with the answers we received...

Attached are pictures of Yang Tu Chao and Below is yang tu chao`s pictures and information:

1. Who are his best friends? Yang Fu Lu ( 阳芙露) is tu chao`s best friend.But Yang Fu Lu was moved to the foster family in Dec , now he likes to play with Yang Tu Xing (阳图星).

2. What is his favorite thing to play?He likes to climb the stairs in the therapy center .

3. Does he smile or laugh much?When he was young ,he likes to smile a lot ,but now he smile when he is good mood or happy

4. Is he a calm baby? He is an introrse baby.

5. Does he talk much?He does not talk much ,when he is happy ,he says dad ,mom or other kind of sound .

6. Is he walking yet?He can walk if adult holds his hand .

Blessings-

Meredith

THE LUCKIEST MOM...

I am the luckiest mom. Riley Catherine Curtis turned 8 today. She is such a blessing to me and our entire family. She is simply the most caring, sweetest little girl, and I am thankful that God has allowed me to be her mom for the last 8 years. She's a little bit sassy and a little bit shy. She's a little bit her daddy and little bit me. She's a girl who is in love with Jesus. She is beautiful both inside and out, and I love this child with all my heart.

Blessings-

Meredith

TWO YEARS AGO TODAY...

We were in China. Meeting our precious daughter Lily. So glad we took the leap of faith. She is a blessing beyond measure. What a difference 2 years makes!!

HAPPY GOTCHA DAY LILY!!

Blessings-

Meredith

IT'S UPDATE TIME!!!!

His hat has ears!.......AWWWWW...

AAAHHH!!! Where are my feet??

Seriously??? I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! TOO MUCH CUTENESS!!!!!

Some of my favorite days are when I open my inbox to pictures of SAM!! Today was one of those days. He is cuter every time we see him! Still waiting to see that sweet face sMiLiNg!!!!

We also had some questions answered- they are below! He has gained some weight, which is good, and although he is almost 15 months old, he is still the size of a nine month old....but he is VERY close to being in 12 month clothes! And....He has SIX TEETH!

Enjoy that sweet little face- we'll be there soon, Sam!!

1. Is he walking alone yet? If so, when did he start?He is not walking alone yet. He can walk by holding onto someone’s hands.

2. What words does he say?He can say Ba Ba and Ma Ma or just burbling.

3. What foods does he eat?Formula mixed with rice cereal. He drinks it from bottle.

4. Does he go to sleep easily and quickly?Yes, he goes to sleep quickly. He likes to suck his thumb before going to sleep.

5. Does he prefer to play with other children or alone?He sometimes likes to play alone, sometimes likes to play with other children.

6. What is special about him?He would go climb upstairs at the therapy center and he likes to climb up about 20cm high.

7. What is his favorite thing to eat?Cracker.

8. Has he been sick at all?He sometimes catches a cold.

His updated measurements:Height: 71cm; Weight: 9kg; Head: 42.5cm; Chest:43cm; Teeth: 4/2; Foot: 11cm.

Blessings-

Meredith

WE GOT IT! (AND THEN SENT IT RIGHT BACK!)

TODAY WAS NOTHING SHORT OF CRAZY! JOHN AND I AWOKE THIS MORNING at 4:16am to NO POWER! Yes, that's right! A dead tree had fallen on our power lines, and clearly we were gonna have no lights for a while! Now, it takes a lot of work for me to look presentable. So, it was NOT GONNA HAPPEN for me to go to work without makeup on!

After we called the power company- they arrived at 5:30am to inform us they would need to bring back several "crews" to deal with the problem, time was running short for us to get ready for school and work. My parents sweetly said I could come over and get ready so as not to miss a day of work during FINALS week! Anyway,.....fast-forward to later.....Karla, our social worker told us yesterday that she was overnighting our LOA and we should receive it today. I knew we wouldn't be home to sign for it, so my mom said we could have it sent to her house and she would sign for it. That worked well, and after school we picked it up, headed to meet John at the Fed Ex office, sign the paperwork and overnight it back to Karla so she will have it in her hands by 11:30am tomorrow. Hopefully, she will be able to get it sent back to China tomorrow! In case you don't know what LOA (Letter of Acceptance) is, crash course in adoption lingo:

LOA is the official document from China that we show to the US (USCIS) that we have to have in order for them to issue our 800 paperwork (which will ultimately give Sam citizenship and allow him back in the US on a visa). It is the final document we receive from China before we are issued Travel Approval (TA). It has to be signed quickly with the box checked that we do intend to adopt this child, and returned to them asap! Once they receive it back...along with some other documents, they will begin the process for approval to travel. We would expect to travel within 2-3 months from this point. We are EXCITED! Gotta really work on getting ready to become a family of 6 now!!

Mom with our LOA!

JACKSON AND RILEY

ME SIGNING

JOHN SIGNING

THERE IT IS!

Blessings-

Meredith