TA's Trickling In

Someone on RQ announced that they received their TA today. I'm hoping that more will be in after the holiday. We probably won't hear anything until the week of the 7th. And then it's anybody's guess as to when we will travel. It could be days...it could be weeks. We are getting very excited though!!!!

Merry Christmas ( a day late)

Hope you all had a great Christmas ......here are a few pictures from our fun-filled day.


Here are the kids opening stockings at the early hour of 6:30a.m. They had been up since 5:30.


Here are the cousins....seven in all. Eight when Mei gets here.:)


And here are all the cousins opening presents. I just have 2 words....Mass confusion!!! They all had so much fun. I hope to post pictures soon of the first annual puzzle championship. That was strictly for the grown-ups...well almost grown up.

First Day of Christmas Break

Making Christams Pretzels



Ummmmm.....Boredom????

Toothless Charlie

Charlie's tooth lost out to a Cheeto this afternoon. I guess the Tooth Fairy is back in business tonight!!!

The Big Brothers and Sister

I'm telling ya...raising kids is tough. There are some days I wonder if I'm getting through to them at all. But then I look at this adorable picture, and they are all smiling and laughing, and I know they are so worth it. Every headache, every late night, every whine and cry. And I feel so incredible blessed to be able to add one more to the mix. I'm just very full tonight. Full of amazement at how good God has been to me and my family. He has perfectly and thoughtfully chosen every member of our family. He knew from the beginning that I needed to have Nathan, Charlie, and Madi before even speaking to our hearts about Mei. And when I think about how hard this wait has been, I know it pales in comparison to what Mei's birthmother must have gone through or still could be going through. She felt she had to abandon her daughter for reasons I can not even fathom. And knowing my undying love for my children, I can't imagine the emptiness she must feel. We have prayed from the beginning for Mei's birthmother and will continue to do so. We've asked the Lord to seal in her heart that assurance that her child is loved. Because....Oh my we have fallen hard for her.

Doctor visit

We took all of our translated medical information to the pediatrician today. He says everything looks great!!! She should weigh between 15 and 18 lbs by the time we get her. And that's about where we thought she might be. I'm thinking a little on the lower side of things though. She really is a "squirt" when it comes to length.

He also prescribed some medicine for her while we are there. We will get those filled right before we travel.

So a good report. It's what we were hoping for.

So What Do We Do Now

Well, we already sent off Acceptance Letter. That was a "no brainer". Once everyone in my travel group sends their's in, then we wait for our TA(Travel Appoval). This can take anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks. Once we have that we wait a few days more for our CA(Consulate Appointment) and travel dates. Then it's time to start looking at plane tickets. So we are thinking that travel will happen in mid January. But it could also be as late as February.

We are having some more of her medical stuff translated( immunization records). And we have an appointment with our pediatrician on Wednesday so he can look things over and give us some anitbiotics for our trip.

I'm getting together a care package to send at the end of this week. We will enclose a photo album, an outfit, a disposable camera, and some candy. And Nana has some gifts she wants to add too. We've heard that this orphange is excellent at using the cammeras and returning them on Gotcha Day. And those photos will be priceless.

I am also wanting to send off for our Visas next week. This entails paying for a currior. The one we are using is near D.C. So next Monday we will be mailing our stuff to them.

So as you can see we are keeping busy for the next couple of weeks. Please remember to pray for Mei and her health through these cold months. I want her to be a healthy, happy baby when we go get her. We are so overwhelmed with emotion at times. We just want to hold her and love on her. I am actually amazed at how in love with her I already am. It's like the Lord sealed her in my heart the minute I saw her. She's my child. And it truly feels no different than my love for my three sweeties here with me now. I'm just amazed.....

Love At First Sight

Video of us opening the email with Mei's picture.

Introducing Mei Elyse Talley!!!!

We think she's adorable and are already in love with her. I just love those cute, kissable lips.

Update*** We received some more info on Mei.
As of September 25, 2007(6 months old)

Birthday March 18, 2007
Weight 13 lbs.
Height 24 inches
She has a round face and a sweet mouth
Nice temperament, seldom cries, likes to play with adults
Sleeps through the night
Her favorite toys are a little bell and a balloon

Referral!!!! Yes it has actually happened!!!

We received the looooooong awaited call today at 3:15 pm.

We have a daughter!!!! Her Chinese name is Seng Yun Man. She is going to be 9 months old on Saturday. Her DOB is 3-08-07. She is in Jianxi Province at Seng Xin SWI. We will have her picture by tomorrow!!!!

I am beside myself!!!!! God is so incredibly good and wonderful!!!!

UPDATE** In the craziness of the phone call I misspelled her name and the SWI. Her name is Feng Yun Man and he SWI is Feng Xi. :)

New Do

Too much gray to keep up with. I chopped it off. I hate getting older. Enough said.

Rumor News!!!!!

The only thing out there right now is that referrals were mailed. Now the big question is WHEN will they get here. My guess is they will arrive here by Thursday!!!! I'll post more when I hear more!!! Whew!!!I'm flying high tonight!!!!

10 a.m. China time

Well it's 10 a.m. in China and no news here for the day. There was a report of agencies receiving packages, but it turned out to be TA's(travel approvals). So here's to hoping tomorrow morning brings "good tidings of great joy". And that would be that packages are in the mail. :)

Digging a Hole to China

So I figure if China won't send me my baby, I'll just get the kids to dig a hole to China. Do you think they'll find Mei?

Christmas Parade

It's that wonderful time of year and one of our family traditions is to go to the local Christmas Parade. This year we went with our good friends the Peavey's and my folks. We had so much fun!!! I love small town parades and our's is very sweet. It's not often you can find Jesus in a public light. But I was very proud that there were a few floats that understood the real meaning of Christmas.

We are in the final days of our wait for Mei Elyse. We should be able to see her face this week for the first time. I will definitely let you all know when the big day is here.