Here SHE is

She is 2 1/2 years old. Date of Birth is February 20th, 2008. She is from Guiyang in Guizhou province. We think she is awfully cute and can't wait to meet her. Our oldest son will travel with us. He is beyond excited. He will try any food and is very adventuresome so we can't wait for him to have this experience. It surely will make a lasting impression.

I think we have setttled on a name. Corinne suggested "Maggie". This name was never on our list but when I saw her face she just looked like a Maggie to me. Still waiting on DH to cast his final vote.

We received our Pre-approval (PA) from China on Sept 29th. Right now our agency tells us that we might travel by the first part of December. These things can be so hard to predict because China is always changing timeframes and the process.

2 1/2 years old

2 1/2 years old - photo Sept 21st

1 year old

Referral

Sunday night Sept 19th people started getting calls for referrals from the new special needs list. We did not get a call. Monday morning we did not get a call. We assumed by this p0int we had not been matched. At about 9pm Monday night our agency personal (who was in China on an official visit) called us. He said he wanted to let us know about a little girl that he thought we might be intersted in. Her file had been locked earlier but unlocked due to a families personal problems. She had a special need that we had not checked off on our list but wanted to give us the opportunity to review her file. He went on to tell us that she had a cleft lip/cleft gum line and is 2 1/2 years old living in foster care. We told him sure we would love to look at her file.
We had 72 hours to review and submit our LOI before her file would be unlocked and other potetnial parents could petition to adopt her. We spent the next 2 days praying and seeking God's will. We were not concerned about her or her special needs which just needed affirmation that she was truly the child God wanted in our family. By Wednesday morning we had recieved our answer and submitted our LOI to China. We are very lucky to be able to adopt her. I can not share photos or much identifying info until China send us our PA. A PA means pre-approval. It is their way of saying "your application looks ok you can adopt her". We are so excited as well as G, D, and C. They have each suggested names but we have yet to decide for sure. Although, I think C's suggestion of Maggie is winning.

Waiting for a Match

This adoption has been about waiting. To be totally honest I have been content to wait. Our first adoption I moved forward like a bullet train. This time we have been much slower and it has been about seeking God's direction for each and every step. We started our homestudy in November of 2008. Our paperwork was logged into China June 2009. The next step has been for us to submit our special needs checklist. This is a list that you submit stating the special needs you are willing to accept. For a long time we haven't had peace about taking this next step. That is until now.....This past Friday Sept 17th we emailed our checklist to our agency.


We are with a small agency that tends to match families within 1-3 months after submitting the checklist. Every 4-6 weeks China sends a new list of special needs children. A new list comes out tonight. Our agency emailed us today and said they will try to match us with this list. So how do you sleep the night before you might discover you new child. Let's just say this is nothing like birthing a baby the old fashion way. My prayer is that if we are given a childs file for review it will be very clear if she is ours.

Out of review

Our LID is June 22nd and we are out of the review room. The CCAA has reviewed files through July 31, 2009. We are still just sitting still and waiting for God to say it is time to submit the special needs checklist. Our last adoption we moved ahead like a freight train on a fast track. This time it has been about waiting and listening for each step.

I do think once we do move forward and are matched our process will be fast. We are a I600 family and we are out of review.

new sewing

I have been busy sewing for Corinne for the summer. I always like to get my sewing for her complete before I do much in the way of orders. Below are somethings I have created. Let me know if you are interested in anything. I have many fabric choices. I will not sew another "Easter dress". It was labor intensive and the materials are very $$$$.



Below is a fun "twirl skirt" It is double layered which means it is fun and full for a little girl to twirl around. I used grossgrain polka dot ribbon to cinch up the side. The skirt is $46.



This is a fun apron dress. It has a peasant style. I like this pattern because you can be really creative with the waistaband and apron. I added pink buttons to the sash to make it appear "buttoned on". It is easy to adorn it with embellishments. I just wish I had time to teach myself to make the little round fabric flowers people are putting on everything. Maybe I can learn that next month.

This pattern is from Children's Corner and I really like the finished product. The pattern is for a top or dress. The round neck is a bit labor intensive to make it fit "just right". I used a matching aqua micro check piping to go around the neck. I am crazy about tucks this year. I really like an old fashion summer look and tucks do just that. I also like that the back of the top uses just 3 buttons and leaves the bottom half open.

Front of the top

Back of the top

Like I said I love sweet old fashion summer dresses. This is "The tuck dress". Hence all the tucks in the front. It calls for 14 tucks in the front and 14 in the back. So the back and the front match. If you have never sewn take my word that it is alot of tucks. The collar is trimmed in a sweet white crotch trim. Unfortunatly my camera "washed out" the fabric. It is much prettier stronger pink in person. This dress is not for sale.

I love this fabric. It is a white seersucker accented in pink/greens/ and red. The straps are made from a raspberry gingham and the ruffle trim is also made from the same raspberry gingham. This dress is $52 size 3/4

This dress looks really cute on. The round neck and hem is made of a white pique and is trimmed in an aqua piping. A Michael Miller fabric is used for the dress. It is a combo of white, aqua, and coral. It sells for $56

I made this set earlier in the spring while it was still cool. The fabric is a cute polka dot mushroom print. I trimmed the pant in a red and white gingham ribbon above the ruffle.

This was "C" EAster dress this year. It is the first Heirloom quality dress I have sewn for her. I saw the dress on a model and had to make it. There was no pattern so it just had to be "created". It is made from the softest 100% pima batiste cotton - Bearissama. The yoke is pieced together with lace/embroidered trim/entradaux. I enjoyed making it for Corinne but I wouldn't make to sell. Too much time and $$$ went into it.

I made these 3 sibling outfits for another adoptive family. There last sweet boy came from Ethiopia.

This is one of mynew favorite patterns by Modkid. It is a fun top and skirt set. The top is a halter with a 2 layer skirt. I used an eyelet fabric for the underskirt of the top. The skirt is made from 2 fabrics and the hem has tucks at the bottom. The top also has horizontal tucks. This style sells for $70

summer

Everyone is finishing up with school! D and C finished preschool today. G has 2 more weeks of monday/friday classes and we have 2 more weeks of homeschooling. I can not wait for summer. I feel like the kids "freedom". We can spend time doing whatever we want. Remember when you were a kid and how wonderful the word "summer" was and then as you approached college graduation "summer" would never hold the same meaning.

With 3 kids and homeschooling "summer" now has a sweet ring. I told G today he would spend the summer with me teaching him to cook. He is interested in anything and everything. I told him he can pick out a cake/pie/dessert each week and then let our "judges" rate the recipe. He loves ice tea so we plan to make "sun tea" and tea with a machine and do a "taste test" to see which way is really better. When apples were in season we did an apple taste test with about 12 varities to see what is best - he still remembers. He is a joy to make memories with.

I have an older neighbor who is always telling me that these years with my kids are the best years. I believe her. They are easy/happy kids,(most of the time). They haven't entered the hard years of trying to figure out how to fit in or are they liked. In their world "why would you not like them". With my neighbor I can see such the contrast in our lives. I long for peace and quiet but for the most part peace and quiet is all she has. Our lives are busy with coming going but hers is much simplier. Yesterday I was cutting the grass and my 2 boys were chasing behind my lawn mower laughing and pretending the mower was a monster. I loved that moment. It was a total boys being boys yet still children. I am thankful for my neighbor and the reminder that she gives me to be thankful for these tiring but joyful years.

We live in a wealthy community so there are many stay at home moms. One thing that kills me is when I hear moms complaining about summer coming. They say they don't know what they will do with their kids all day and are so glad when school starts back up. When I hear these comments I always hope their kids don't hear their parent say these things. I mean really, think about how excited kids are about summer and then to know that your parents just wish you were back in school. Sorry for this diversion but it is a soapbox of mine.

Dress Donation to Love Without Boundaries Auction

I donated a dress to Love Without Boundaries Born in my heart Ebay auction. All proceeds from the auction go to help pay for Love without Boundaries medical program to help orphans in China. Below is a photo of the dress. It is a size 3t. Click here to visit auction. Auction ends next Tuesday. I also had a reader ask me which Childrens Bible I referenced in my post Scoliosis. The book is called "The Jesus Storybook Bible" by Sally Lloyd Jones. It is really excellent and each story points the child back to cross and Jesus sacrifice.