Hello May!!!

We have had a rough April in our house, lots of illness, Kevin traveling a lot and just some personal health issues (everyone is fine, just not public info). I'm glad to see April go, I'm ready to see what May has to offer! I'm hoping the silly saying is true, "April showers bring May flowers." The closer it gets to the end of our journey, the harder it is to wait, but I guess that goes for a lot of things. Unfortunately, when life at home is tough anxiety creeps in and I wonder how I am going to handle two toddlers when I can barely manage the one I have. As sweet as Macey is, she is a handful, and I know Xander will need some special attention that I am not even aware of. I'm ready to just be excited with anticipation of bringing our son home!

I fully believe that illness, anxiety and fear are Satan's way of attacking me, and my only defense is Christ. I am confident that the one that is in me is greater than the one that is in the world (I John 4:4) so I press on. I just had no idea what a roller coaster this adoption process would become.

If you are wondering how to pray, please continue to pray for a speedy process. There are still a few places that could hold us up, so pray that we don't have any delays. Specifically that our Travel Approval (TA) would come very soon, Monday would be great! :) One of our most earnest prayers has been that the Lord will be preparing Xander, in a way only He can. The transition has the potential to be VERY tough on him. We also ask that you pray for the preparations that we need to make at home, some of that is just making room for one more child, and some of that is getting Macey ready to be a big sister. Our little firecracker is about to get her world turned upside down!

So, like I said, I couldn't be more happy to see the end of April. Yes, it is one more month that I didn't get to spend with Xander, but (playing Pollyanna) it is one month closer to when I finally get to hold him!!!

Pre-travel meeting

Yesterday I "attended" a 3 hour pre-travel meeting...via conference call. Oh my, what an experience. Thank goodness there was a way to mute the phone, no one heard Macey's little fits when I couldn't tend to her immediate needs! :)

We learned what will happen between now and our trip, but most importantly we learned what will happen on our trip. They gave us great suggestions of what to pack, what kind of experiences to expect and a LONG list of expenses. No doubt this will be a trip of a lifetime.

It looks like we will be going in early June. That is only an estimate, so it could be earlier (yay!) but it could also be later (boo!). As soon as I know for sure, you will know. They are guessing our TA will arrive in mid-May, but I'd like to think it will come earlier than that, so by the end of April would be acceptable!

One of these days I need to get started on Xander's room. Things will get fast a furious at the end and I don't want to be caught doing things at the last minute. Hopefully, in the next week or two I will post some pictures of progress!

Final update

I am happy to share our final updates on Xander. I can hardly believe the next time I see it will be in person! HOORRAY!

We also got measurements, so I can buy clothes that should fit him. I laughed out loud once I converted his measurements from centimeters and kilograms. He is 30 in. tall and weighs 23 lbs., weight is typically done fully clothed, and we've talked about the clothes before. I laughed because at Macey's 18 month appointment she was 30 in. tall and 20 lbs. I TRULY have twins. Macey is a runt, and we expected Xander to be small as well, but for them to be the same just cracked me up. It will be very easy for me to decide if clothes will fit him, I have a little model!

Enjoy the photos!

Again with the girl toys. Macey was so excited about Minnie Mouse in this picture, I don't thinks she noticed Xander.

I am going to answer the question you must be asking yourself, yes, it is possible that he keeps getting cuter!!!

No road trip

Well, it all worked out. I didn't have to drive 5 hours for Kevin to sign a few papers. There were no forms that required a notary, and our "due by" date was extended until next Wednesday. Apparently, there were a few other families who could not get everything returned by Friday. I am glad we weren't the only reason for the hold up, and I'm glad I didn't have to take on the highway between here and Odessa!

We got it!

YAY!!!! Our LOA is in the hands of our agency, and it will be in our hands tomorrow as soon as Fed Ex gets here. Praise the Lord! We are so excited, as this feels like a HUGE step in the right direction.

Please know that I am not complaining about receiving this, but Murphy's Law is in full affect here. Kevin leaves Tuesday morning for Odessa for the rest of the week. He hasn't been in Odessa for an entire week in quite some time. You might be wondering why this matters, let me explain. Our LOA requires signatures from both parents before it can be returned to China. Not only does it require two signatures (we had already figured we could over night it a few times and get the proper signatures) but some of the forms require a notary, and notaries require both parties to be present to sign. Our agency would like our paperwork by Friday...hm, interesting. If I just waited for Kevin to come home we would not be able to have our paperwork signed, notarized and sent until Monday, not a very quick turnaround. So, now we have to decide if I want to brave the state of Texas and drive to Odessa (5 hours away) so we can sign this paperwork and get it to our agency by Friday. My first instinct is "Heck yes!" but then the reality of my 18 month old on a 5 hour car ride sets in...yikes!

Back to the good news! We should be in China in about 6-8 weeks. IN CHINA! Really? It's so great to feel like there is an end in sight. We will be traveling with 3 other families from our agency, so it will be nice to have some instant friends and great to meet all the newest family members. Please continue to pray for a speedy TA, although typically this one is pretty predictable. Once we get our TA then we will be given a travel date and the date that we will FINALLY get to hold our little man!

17 months

Tomorrow Xander will be 17 months old. All along I had hoped that he would be home by the time he was 18 months old, and I realize that anything is possible, but it seems very unlikely.

I'm tired of feeling sad that our LOA didn't come in March, and that we may not meet Xander until he is older than 18 months, so I'm done. On to bigger and better thoughts! Naturally, we will be praying that our LOA comes ASAP, like next week. However, we will also be praying that our TA (travel approval) also comes in the month of April. This is not only possible, if we get our LOA soon, it is probable. So, get back on your knees friends, and pray for our LOA and TA in April!

I asked our agency if it was possible to get new updates on Xander at this time, and they suggested we wait. Once we receive our LOA we will ask for current measurements and updates, then we may finally know what size clothes to buy this little guy! I have a feeling some of the things I purchased months ago may be too small...oh well, I'll just go buy more. :)

Thanks for the prayers, and for being patient with our lack of news.