GREAT NEWS!

Ron and I just got home from a pretty long day. We both had things going on after work and then we got to meet our good friends Chris and Cheryl for dinner. They are so fantastic and I think they just may be almost as excited about Hope's arrival as we are. :)

Anyway - good news is that we had e-mail from our Social Worker at CR and she said that all of the acceptances were sent back to the CCAA today! Referrals Monday afternoon and everything returned to China in 3 working days! We're very excited! Now, we wait for TA (travel approval). I say, "no problem." Of course we'd love to travel as SOON as possible, but I can't tell you what a difference having Hope's pictures has made for me. I can be patient for a couple more months. Time will fly by. We are pretty busy people with full evenings and weekends so I'm sure we'll have no problem filling the next few weeks with preparations.

Also - we have received the complete translations for Hope's referral reports. Ron and I are still thinking about how much of Hope's story we'll be sharing with people. We feel pretty strongly at this point, that her story is her story. We'd like Hope to know her history and allow her to make some of the decisions about what information is public and what is private. So, most of that is still in the discussion phase. Of course, everyone has advice for us, and we are thankful for all the opinions, but please understand that we're still working through this process and we're figuring out the whole parenting thing as we go. Everyone has been so compassionate with our experiences so far...Thank You.

What we do know, for the curious out there...is that in January (on Ron's birthday, in fact) Hope was about 14 lbs. At that time she was almost 7 months old. She'll be 10 months old tomorrow by the way. All we can do is guess about size. I'm thinking I may be packing 3 different sizes of clothes and then leaving there what doesn't fit as a donation. I'm not sure how that will all work. I still need to study some growth charts and things.

Here is a brief summary of some of Hope's stats:
Name: Lin (surname) Ke Xuan
Birthdate: June 13, 2006
Province: Guangxi (Southern China)
Orphanage: Yu Lin SWI (Eastern Guangxi)
Foster Care Placement: November 2006 (YES! She is living with a family!)

The final bit of important information from today was the translation of Hope's Chinese name.
Lin: family name, from the orphanage name, Yu Lin social welfare institute
Ke: lovely, lovable, cute
Xuan: dignified, imposing

I'd say that we have one darling little girl and judging by how adorable and intelligent she looks in her pictures, her name fits her to a "T."

Have a good night everyone - Beth

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)

Introducing...

It is with joy filled hearts that we introduce our daughter.

Name: Lin Ke Xuan
Soon to be: Hope KeXuan Charlotte Heutmaker
Birthdate: June 13, 2006

I'll save other info for another post. For now...HERE SHE IS!!!

NEWS!

I don't want to get too excited, because after doing so last week, I was pretty let down...BUT - Some west coast agencies received referrals today for their families. I'm going to speculate a little and hope I'm not setting myself up for another disappointment. Because our agency was closed today and will be through the weekend, Monday SHOULD be our day. Everybody pray hard and have a beautiful Easter.

P.S. Don't forget about helping us out with the quilt too. Thanks everyone. :)

Beth (who is having some serious labor pains!)

100 GWQ Progress

I thought I'd post a bit about what Mom and I worked on yesterday. I have discovered that there are some people/friends/family, that may not yet know about our "100 Good Wishes Quilt" project. I'd love to fill everyone in, and ask for contributions please. Here is what I've learned:

There is a tradition in northern China to welcome new babies with a Bai Jia Bei, or "100 Good Wishes Quilt." Those who are waiting for the new arrival submit fabric and sentiment to the new parents and then all of the material is brought together to create a beautiful quilt. The baby is then said to be wrapped with all the "good wishes" and love of the people who contributed.

My cousin Laura caught wind of this tradition and offered to create a quilt for our baby. We are so excited and have started to receive fabric already. We have everything from Sponge Bob to beautiful floral patterns. Please join our efforts. Here is what you can do:

1 - Send us a piece of cotton fabric (12"- 16" square). It can be fabric you go out and buy, or it can be cut from something you already have. You can send one from your whole family, or something special from each person. It is totally up to you.

2 - Write a "wish" for the baby on a seperate piece of paper. People suggest writing a letter to the baby, advice for parents, a Bible verse, poem, memory, prayer, etc. It can be anything.

We will then take a part of the fabric and place it with your wish in a special scrapbook for the baby. Laura will piece together and quilt the remaining fabric. As our little one grows, she can read the messages in her book, look at the fabric, and know just how many people were waiting to welcome her home.

Please let us know if you have any questions or need clarification. So far, we have received about half of the 100 wishes we'd like to complete the quilt. Please consider giving us a hand with this special project. We know there are many, many people out there waiting and praying with us. Thank you for everything.

Here are some photos from yesterday. Mom and I got a head start on sorting the fabric pieces and began the memory book.

Notice the adorable ladybugs (good luck in the adoption community) on the fabric from Grandma & Grandpa Perry.

I'm not exactly happy about these next photos since I didn't really plan in being in any pictures yesterday, but Grandpa insited. :) Here we are - working hard. (P.S. - any other 916'ers recognize the basket?)



Here is how some of the pages have turned out so far:

A Little Bit about Ron

1. What is your occupation? Master Electrician IBEW Local #110
2. What color are your socks right now? White with gray feet (made that way)
3. What are you listening to right now? left alone with my thoughts (pretty quiet)
4. What was the last thing that you ate? had Chinese food for dinner
5. Can you drive a stick shift? OH YEAH!!
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Blue
7. Who is the last person you spoke to on the phone? Brian Hooty
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yes for sure
9. How old are you today? 34
10. Favorite drink? Brandy Slush
11. What is your favorite sport to watch? Geocaching
12. Have you ever dyed your hair? NO
13. Pets? Ella
14. Favorite food? Prime Rib w/shrooms
15. What was the last movie you watched? Big Bird Goes to China
16. What do you do to vent anger? Go to my man cave, then I yell when no one is around, then I go to my music therapist.
17. What was your favorite toy as a child? Lego's
18. Fall or Spring? FALL for sure
19. Hugs or Kisses? HUGS!!!
20. Cherries or Blueberries? Cherries (Rainier are the Best)
21. Do you want your friends to give this a try? It might be fun
22. Living arrangements? Home with Beth, Ella, & ready for Baby Hoot
23. When was the last time you cried? Monday morning on my way to work listening to Your My Little Girl by Go Fish.
24. What is on the floor of your closet? a shirt that fell off the hanger
25. What did you do last night? Found Our 200th Geo cache
26. Favorite smells? Beth, with her perfume on
27. What inspires you? The gift of Grace and knowing that nothing I can do will make God love me less.
28. What are you afraid of? Letting my family down.
29. Favorite dog breed? It's more about the personality than the breed.  I've seen a lot of mutts with hearts of gold.
30. Number or keys on your key ring? five
31. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
32. In how many states have you lived? 2
33. Favorite Holiday? Christmas
34. Ever driven a motorcycle or heavy machinery? Yes/Yes
35. Ever left the country? YES - Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Soviet Union, Planing on adding one more soon.
36. Favorite kind of music? Contemporary Christian

Fun from Laura

My cousin sent this to us this afternoon - light and happy way to pass some time. Please copy and send me an e-mail if you answer the questions, or to the bloggers out there, post a comment and LMK that I should check your blog to see some answers. Sometimes I think these are fun ways to learn a little trivia about each other.

1. What is your occupation? Sign Language Interpreter
2. What color are your socks right now? No socks today - home and barefoot
3. What are you listening to right now? Trading Spaces on TV
4. What was the last think that you ate? Salad, Cheese & Crackers for lunch
5. Can you drive a stick shift? No problem
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Same answer as the lovely Laura...yellow, of course
7. Who is the last person you spoke to on the phone? Ron
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? I love her very much.
9. How old are you today? 32
10. Favorite drink? Amaretto Sour
11. What is your favorite sport to watch? Football all the way
12. Have you ever dyed your hair? Just highlights
13. Pets? little Ella ;)
14. Favorite food? Lately - homemade pizzas
15. What was the last movie you watched? Wedding Date (It was OK.)
16. What do you do to vent anger? For a short while, steam can usually be seen coming from my ears, then I tend to cry.
17. What was your favorite toy as a child? not sure - I think I read a lot (Mom or Dad...maybe you can help with this one)
18. Fall or Spring? FALL for sure
19. Hugs or Kisses? HUGS!!!
20. Cherries or Blueberries? No thank you...what about strawberries?
21. Do you want your friends to give this a try? Sure
22. Living arrangements? Home with Ron, Ella, & ready for Baby Hoot
23. When was the last time you cried? Yesterday when rumors didn't pan out
24. What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes, and a hat apparently (I just checked)
25. What did you do last night? Went geocaching and found #200
26. Favorite smells? Babies after baths
27. What inspires you? Our family
28. What are you afraid of? Our adoption plans falling apart - I'm a fretter.
29. Favorite dog breed? It is hard to find a dog I don't love. ;)
30. Number or keys on your key ring? Just my car key
31. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
32. In how many states have you lived? 2
33. Favorite Holiday? Christmas
34. Ever driven a motorcycle or heavy machinery? Nothing too exciting
35. Ever left the country? YES - Canada, Mexico, and SOON to China
36. Favorite kind of music? Contemporary Christian