FINALLY!!!

WE FINALLY HAVE CONFIRMED AIRPLANE RESERVATIONS, PASSPORTS WITH CORRECT NAMES, AND VISAS TO MATCH! YIPPEE!!

WE WILL BE FLYING OUT OF ATLANTA NEXT FRIDAY MORNING (MARCH 23rd), AND OUR GOTCHA DAY WILL MOST LIKELY BE MARCH 26 (MARCH 25 IN THE US). WE SHOULD RETURN ON APRIL 6- GOOD FRIDAY!

WE ARE SUPER EXCITED AND STILL HAVE MUCH TO DO TO GET READY TO GO!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THE PRAYERS THAT YOU HAVE PRAYED ON OUR BEHALF THESE PAST FEW WEEKS. GOD HEARD THEM!!

A FEW PRAYER REQUESTS FOR NOW:

- SAFE TRAVEL FOR US
- RILEY AND LILY WILL BE STAYING WITH MY PARENTS, SO PRAY FOR THE GIRLS AS WELL AS MY MOM AND DAD.
- FOR SAM AS EVERYTHING HE KNOWS IN HIS LITTLE LIFE IS ABOUT TO BE TURNED UPSIDE DOWN
-THAT SAM IS IN GOOD HEALTH AND THAT GOD PREPARES HIS HEART TO ACCEPT US
-FOR JACKSON- HE HAS NEVER FLOWN BEFORE, AND HE IS A LITTLE NERVOUS ABOUT IT


I HAVE A MILLION MORE, BUT I WILL LEAVE IT AT THAT FOR NOW.

COMING SOON: TRAVEL DETAILS

THANKS FOR WALKING THIS JOURNEY WITH US!

Blessings-

Meredith

THINGS ARE LOOKING UP...

Well, I hate to get my hopes up too much, but it looks like we may be getting on the airplane as early as next week! I received my passport (correct this time) last week and immediately sent it to get a new visa. Currently, my passport is at the consulate in Chicago working on that one! Today, Karla- our wonderful social worker- was able to finally confirm a consulate appointment in Guangzhou for us. We are currently slated to leave on March 23, Gotcha Day will probably be on March 26, and hopefully we will arrive home around April 6 (April 7 is Easter Sunday).
We have some flights held right now, but we are still looking around to make sure they are the best (code for cheapest) that we can find.
So, nothing is written in stone yet, but this week has been much better than the last two....and it's only Monday!

Blessings-

Meredith

FRUSTRATION

Sums up the last few days pretty well. After we received our TA on Monday, our Social Worker received an email that there was a problem with my name matching on some documents. If you know me, you know that I go by my given middle name, and for some reason, that is what is on my passport, social security card, and driver's license. It is not, however, my legal name, and it is not on all of our immigration documents or our Chinese documents. I have never been to court to "legally" drop my first name. Long story short, this has been a HUGE issue for us, and has kept us from being able to confirm our consulate appointment. We have been going back and forth with our social worker and she has been working hard on our behalf both with offices here and in China to come up with the quickest solution. (The solution that the US government recommended would take 2-3 more months, minimally, to fix!) This has been very very frustrating. I have cried and cried. I can't lie. It's really been hard. To be so very close- the very last step in a 5 million step process, and then to have something like this happen is really tough. Today, however, we are working toward a solution. I was able to apply for a new passport with my entire legal name on it (the way they should have done it the first time), and if it all goes through, I should have it in my hands on Tuesday. The next problem is that issuing the new passport invalidated my old one....which already had my Chinese visa in it for this trip. So, not really sure what I will have to do about that or how long it might take. Just taking it one step at a time over here...and praying that I actually have the new passport on Tuesday...
I know lots of people have been praying that our paperwork snag will be cleared up quickly, and I so appreciate it. I know in my head that God's perfect timing is in all of this, but it is hard for my heart to grasp it right now. I have no idea when we will travel. But clearly it will be in His time, not mine.

Blessings-

Meredith

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