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

SAM'S FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY!!

So excited! Today we received 10 pictures from Sam's first birthday party! He is cuter every time I see him! Don't know exactly when they had his party- His birthday was October 17. It looks like a fun time was had, though! They had a little cake for him with some fruit on top- maybe even a tomato??!! And, lots of MUFFINS! Every good party has a big bag of muffins, right?? It is tradition in China to smear icing on the birthday kid's head, so our Sambo got some icing along with that big old tomato- or whatever it is! Enjoy the pics!

Blessings-

Meredith

Sam's First Birthday

Happy First Birthday to our Sweet Sam!! We love you so much already- you are a blessing to so many and you are already such a sweet part of our family! God is so amazing in the way that he has already imprinted you on our hearts! We are sad not to be with you today, but we are thankful that you are loved and cared for and that you are getting to spend your first birthday with those who have loved you and whom you love!! We pray that you somehow know you are special and loved and that God has a plan just for your life! A plan that nobody else could live out. A plan that is just for you! We love you, baby Sam!!

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY!

Blessings-

Meredith

Sam's Orphanage

Wanted to share a few pictures of Sam's orphanage...We did find out that he is on the side that is completely run by the government. That is both good and bad. The good part is that the sickest babies are typically moved over to the ICC (International China Concern) side, so it means he is likely not considered one of the sickest babies, and never has been! The negative is that the government-run side is not funded as well, so he does not have access to many of the things that are available on the ICC side. BUT, we know God has him right where he is supposed to be, and we know he will be taken care of because our God is a mighty one who doesn't make mistakes!!

Sam's orphanage appears to be much smaller than Lily's was. It is definitely not as updated, but the "up" side is that it appears to be clean and safe, and they have bouncy seats and a bathtub!! We love squeaky-clean babies!

Blessings-

Meredith

Finally.....He has a name!!

Introducing.......

SAMUEL TODD TUCHAO CURTIS

We plan to call him Sam. We wanted him to have a Biblical name as well as a family name. Todd is my maiden name, and we also wanted to keep his Chinese given name as we did for Lily.

We recently sent this care package to Sam that we hope will arrive in time for his first birthday on October 17. Riley chose the super-soft blue blanket, and Jackson chose the stuffed monkey to send. We also included a photo album with our pictures, a couple of small toys, some cookies for the kids to share, 2 disposable cameras that we hope they will use, and some candy for the nannies. We included 3 outfits as well- size 9 months, and we are interested to see how big they are on him! We think he is somewhere between 6-9 months in size, but hopefully they will dress him in one and send us a picture so we can know for sure! Can't wait for an update on our sweet Sam!

Blessings-

Meredith

Bryce

My heart is breaking for this precious little boy who still waits for his family to find him.


He is with our agency and is available to a family who is logged in. He is a little over 18 months old, and is listed as having a very minor special need. He is in a wonderful orphanage! If you even think you might be interested in him, or know someone who might be, please message me! I would love to share more information with you- this is a precious little boy, and if we could bring two home, I would grab him up in a minute. He is just waiting for God to show him to his family!

Blessings-

Meredith

UPDATE!

When you have a child who lives halfway around the world, whom you have never met, what you most wish for on a daily basis are pictures- living proof that sweet child is doing well.......and today we received some! Seven to be exact, along with a video that we can't open, and an update! We are so excited to share them with you! We think he is even more beautiful in these pics than before!

Look at that sweet baby checking himself out in the mirror!!

MY FAVORITE ONE!!!

Below is translation of the update:

What is Tu Chao's personality like?
He is quiet.

Is he healthy usually?
He’s low resistance. He is easy to get a cold. But he’s been doing well recently.

Is he crawling or walking, and if so, when did he start?
He can crawl forward a short distance.

What is his favorite thing to do or play with?
Look into the mirror. (Well, of course it is! If I was that precious, that's what I would do too!)

Does he have a cribmate or best friend he plays with?
Yang Fu Lu who is in the same class with him. Also get therapy with him.

Does he have a favorite nanny- and if so what is her name?
His rehabilitation Wang Chun Mei.

How does he like to go to sleep? Do you pat him, lay him down, etc?
He likes to suck his finger before goes to sleep. (Awww...)

His updated measurements:
Height: 67cm; Weight: 7kg; Head: 44cm; Chest: 43cm; Foot: 11cm; Teeth: upper 2, lower 3.


Awww.....Put me on that plane today!