Finally

It came! It finally came!!! We got our I-171H!!!!!! I am so beyond excited! This was the document that we have been waiting for. We are so close to being DTC (Dossier to China). WOW! This is amazing!! We're coming Chayah!!! We have waited and waited for this and now it's finally here!! We got our I-171H!!!!!!!!!!! Now that we have this document, we should have our dossier off to China within the next few weeks. After that we’ll wait approximately 3-4 months for our Letter of Acceptance (LOA) and Travel Approval (TA) from China to come get Chayah! So with our dossier off to China in June, 3-4 months is travel in September-October of this year. Wow! This is actually real, and I am so excited! Not too much longer now… we’re almost there Chayah!

Also, I wanted to share about a contest that I just won. I absolutely love The Chronicles of Narnia, the books and now the movies too. So when I heard one of the credit songs, and it reminded me of adoption, that was just awesome. I found a contest on Land of Broken Hearts and decided to enter. You were to write what the song "This is Home" by Switchfoot meant to you. Click HERE to read the lyrics of the song. I entered, not really expecting anything because there were a lot of entries. And then this morning I got an email stating that my entry had been chosen as the runner-up for the contest! My entry is about Chayah and her journey home, which this song really reminded me of. Here is my entry from the website:

Now the runner up, (winner of the Prince Caspian soundtrack) is... Anastacia! Here is her entry!:

When I first heard "This Is Home" my immediate thought was of my little sister. That may seem strange, however, my case is different than others. My little sister is six years old and lives in China. She has lived in China all of her life. We are adopting her. To me "This Is Home" truly showed me the significance of this process. For her, coming to America and starting a new life as a six year old, she will always have the memories of her time before us, her family. But coming here is a new start for her and she will become a member of this family forever. She won't go back, at least never in the same way. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian does have many similarities to this process of adoption. Caspian is the newcomer, the one who doesn't quite "fit" yet into the group. He grows into being a part of that group and at the end, Peter hands over the reigns of Narnia to him. Lucy is the faith of the story. Always holding true to Aslan and never giving up. This Is Home signifies to me the story of faith in adoption, created for a place you never knew and coming Home.

We loved Anastacia's story, it really touched on us on a profound level.

New Pictures!

Chayah getting her care package

All of the kids look very interested

The group

Our cute girl!

We received new pictures of Chayah taken in March by Adam "Di Di"'s family! We love them and are so grateful to Adam's family for taking the time to take them.

Don't forget to check out Sarah's blog.

Spring

I went outside in the backyard to take pictures of the beautiful blossoms on our trees. I just love spring when the weather begins to warm up and the flowers start coming up.

Mother's Day Surprise!

Today we were wonderfully surprised with beautiful new pictures of Miss Chayah Ru! She is just gorgeous and I can't wait to get her home!! And I just LOVE these new pictures! And what a fitting day to get them on- Mother's Day!

Everyday a little closer

And the Long Wait Continues

Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:31

Today is the two week mark of waiting for our I171H. Hopefully we will get it soon so that we can send our dossier to China before June. I am currently expecting travel anywhere from September-November, but I am really hoping for September! Chayah will have her 6th birthday on July 16th and I am not at all happy with the realization that getting her by then is just not possible. She just better be home for Christmas! Once we get our dossier off to China which will hopefully be in late May, although June is very possible as well, we will wait for our LOA (Letter of Acceptance) and following that will be our TA (Travel Approval) which means we can go bring Chayah home! If we get our dossier to China in June, that will leave 3 months until September, which would be very fast. Most likely, travel would be around October or November, approximately 4-5 months after we send our dossier to China (estimating that is in June). I am still hoping for September though! Anyone know what the latest trends in time for someone who has already received PA (Pre-Approval) and then submits their dossier waiting for LOA is?

Chayah

I took these pictures in March while we were at the Botanical Gardens. To me, flowers represent life. Chayah is Hebrew meaning life. The complete definition of Chayah is:

to live, have life, remain alive, sustain life, live prosperously, live for ever, be quickened, be alive, be restored to life or health

1. to live
   
2. to have life
   
3. to continue in life, remain alive
   
4. to sustain life, to live on or upon
   
5. to live (prosperously)
   1. to revive, be quickened
      
6. from sickness
   
7. from discouragement
   
8. from faintness
   
9. from death
   1. to preserve alive, let live
   2. to give life
   3. to quicken, revive, refresh
      
10. to restore to life
    
11. to cause to grow
    
12. to restore
    
13. to revive
    1. to preserve alive, let live
    2. to quicken, revive
       
14. to restore (to health)
    
15. to revive
    
16. to restore to life

I have also found "Chayah", only spelled without the "H" on many baby name sites. See HERE. In 2006, "Chaya" was the 785th most popular baby girl name! It was most popular in, you guessed it, 2002- the year Chayah was born, when it ranked as the 707th most popular name!

Elizabeth

Chayah's first middle name is "Elizabeth" after our other Grandma, my Mom's mom. She is very excited about Chayah and cannot wait until she is home. Elizabeth means "Promised by God".

Ruby

My dad's mother, my Grandmother, was named Ruby. Saturday we had her memorial service, remembering her life. She was a pastor, musician and a loving Grandmother. When we were going through her stuff, we found pictures of Chayah. She always prayed for Chayah and we know that she loved her even though they never had the chance to meet. This is why Chayah's second middle name will be Ruby.