Kaylyn's graduated from highschool! She goes off to college this fall to major in athletic training. Wise choice given all the personal experience she's had with sports injury (ahem... 2 MRI's, multiple x-rays, crutches, splints, braces, wraps, ices baths, rollers, etc. , etc.) We'll be missing her!

recent family pictures

Abbie just had her 3rd birthday which she anticipated and enjoyed immensely!


Anna and Abbie pose in the pool for Mommy

where are we now?

If you're wondering where we currently are in the adoption process... we are waiting. (That happens a lot in adoption.) Our I-800A form has been received by U.S. immigration and we are waiting for word from them. It didn't take this long last time but the U.S. has joined the Hague Convention and has thus changed forms and procedures as of April 30, 2008. We're among the first month's filers in the new system so everyone is learning the ropes. We're hoping they will give us our fingerprint appointment, but they may request more information if they feel we did not adequately meet the new filing requirements. After fingerprints, we can have our dossier sealed, translated and sent off to China at which point the countdown to Hai begins! At this point, the earliest we could travel is probably Thanksgiving. We hold to dates lightly though as we've found time estimates change often in international adoption.

Some of the particulars

Hai is located in mountainous Nanping City, Fujian Province, China. He was born in April of 2006 having a bilateral cleft lip and palate. His lip was surgically repaired while his palate will be repaired when he comes home with us to the States. He is said to be active, easy to smile, plays with toys, quick in reaction, extroverted and energetic. His favorite activity is going outside to play.

Update pictures

A secret desire in my heart was that Haohai and his nannies would find out that we were trying to adopt him before his 2nd birthday the first week of April. How excited we were to find out that another family from our agency traveled to Hai's institution around that time and not only told them, but took pictures of him for us! How amazing is that!

The beginning

Mike and I had felt the urge to continue adding to our family even as we made the flight home with Abbie in October of 2006. Boy were we tired though! So we let the idea lie for a while. We would take the idea out every so often and pray about it, discuss it, consider directions to go in and then since the "call" was not strong yet, we would put it away again. During the new year of 2008, my nights began to be haunted by some encounters we had in China. Encounters involving children who did not yet have a forever family. One such encounter was most haunting to me - eye contact with a desperate woman outside a restaurant who pushed her baby into Mike's arms while begging us to take her. We could not take the baby legally and she could not give her to us that way legally so we turned and walked away broken hearted for her and for her baby. I began to pray for her and the others but the dreams would not relent. So we asked God "what do you want us to do?" Immediately small pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place leading again toward adoption and we began to research various options. Mike and I decided to contact our old adoption agency as part of this "research" and asked to see their waiting child list just to see what kind of children were "out there". As picture after picture of waiting children popped on my screen, I felt I was just again gathering information until Hai's picture popped up. I stared! His picture seemed to jump off the page! With shaking hands, I downloaded his information and began to read becoming more excited by the minute. We knew we had to go after Hai... and so we did. We thought, "If this isn't right, the doors will close and the process will stop." Every door opened and the process continues to this day. This journey is in God's hands, with His timing and His results in the end. We've stepped out on this journey knowing that in life nothing is guaranteed, but also knowing that God is good and will be with us no matter what. As such, we hold our hearts in our hands seeking the face and warmth of a little boy we will name Wyatt (little warrior).

Haohai in June 2007