It's sinking in...

I'M A MOM!!! OK - so maybe it hasn't completely become real to me yet, but I'm loving this feeling now, whatever it is. Ron and I can't stop smiling and looking at Hope's picture. I'm after her toes all the time. I just wanna kiss 'em! ;) Thanks so much to everyone who has called, checked in with us, sent messages, surprised us with gifts and balloons, etc. We couldn't be more proud of our little girl. We just feel so blessed. With all of the emotions we've experienced over the course of this journey, it was so hard for me to imagine that some of the heartache would ever fade. BUT, believe me, when we saw Hope's picture for the first time, it all became clear. Hope is our daughter, our little girl. And, for her to join our family, we had to take every single step we took...baby steps and all. So, though I will never forget all of the facets of our journey thus far, I am so grateful for God's plan in our lives. I won't ever forget that it took 1 year, 5 months, and 2 weeks of waiting with our paperwork in China to see Hope's picture. I'll always know the memories of doctor appointments, negative pregnancy tests, the long paperchase to complete our dossier, the trips to the USCIS office for fingerprint appointments, the tears and heartache of the wait that just kept growing and growing...but (and now I can say BUT...), it all brought us to this point, when we can say we are the proud parents of a beautiful little girl.

I have a couple more things before I sign off and go back to bed (the cold I've had for a week, finally took over during the night).

1 ~ I'd like to request prayers for one family in our group who did not receive a referral on Monday. We started with 10 families in our group. One family found their little girl on a waiting child list and have already completed their adoption of little Ella. One other family made the decision a couple months ago to discontinue their adoption plans. So, on Monday, our agency should have received 8 referrals for the remaining families in our group. Instead, only 7 arrived. At this point, all I know is that Crossroads is checking into the situation and there are no answers as of yet. So please pray for the Cox family as this all gets sorted out.

2 ~ Many have asked, "What happens now? When will you travel?" My best answer to the travel part is that we still don't know. I'm getting good at saying that. :) We are waiting for the translations to come through for all the referral documents (hopefully today). After the families in our group have all reviewed those translations, the agency needs to have our acceptance letters and they get sent back to China. YES! We all love our babies and they are just perfect for our families. :) Then, China sends us travel approval (TA). With that in hand, our liaison in China can schedule our consulate appointments (CA). Those appointments will determine when we have to be in China. So, my best guess right now is late May/early June (maybe by Hope's 1st birthday). I'll keep track of everything here as I learn more.

Thanks again to all of you, the special people in our lives, for your love and support. We're almost there!

Beth (who needs a new box of kleenex and her pillow)