Happy Birthday to Our Little Trina Jing-Qi!

Even though we could not be with our little Trina for her birthday this year as expected, we made the most of it with a love-filled birthday SKYPE party. Grandma and Grandpa came as well as my sister's family-all of whom she had met the summer we hosted her. She seemed to remember everyone and was happy to see them. My wonderful neighbors wrote "Happy Birthday" in Chinese for her on our birthday poster. We had Disney princess cupcakes and sang happy birthday to her before she pretended to blow out her candle. She was even able to open the gifts we had shipped to her while on SKYPE. The shoes were too big, but hopefully we can fix that in a month when she comes home. I can't wait to be reunited with my little one. I feel like I am missing too much time with her. Her favorite color has changed since she came out, and I didn't even know-it was pink, but now it is orange. I can't wait to learn all about her when she comes. She apparently likes to run, too. I'm so excited that we will be able to spend our first Christmas together getting to know one another. Happy Birthday, Trina! Wo men ai ni!

I've got mascara in my eye, and I couldn't be happier!!!

OK. Now that I have cried for the last ten minutes straight, I think I have composed myself enough to spread the news and the news is GREAT.

WE HAVE OUR FINAL ADOPTION DECREE!!!
"GOTCHA DAY" IS SET FOR 11/21!!!
PRAISE GOD!!! HE IS SO FAITHFUL!!!

This is the first morning I didn't check my email when I first woke up. I had finally come to a place where I had accepted that there wasn't going to be news for a while. Then, I got to work and checked my mail, and there it was! I couldn't hold it back anymore. The tears and weeping just came. I'm so grateful and happy that we will be reunited with our Trina Jing-Qi soon.

Our AIT appointment is set for 11/23-the day before Thanksgiving. Our adoption coordinator is checking with AIT to see if they will have our paperwork done in time for us to return home that evening to be home in time for Thanksgiving. Either way, we are sure to be extra thankful this Thanksgiving to have our little girl finally in our arms. Please pray that everything will go smoothly with our AIT appointment and the rest of our trip. We are so thankful for all of you who have been praying for us.

Yea!

Practice! Practice! Practice!

Normally, this is what I would tell my kids when they are having a hard time mastering some skill."Don't worry. Keep practicing and you will master that skill in no time." I am discovering that, while this may be true of most things, this is not true when it comes to learning to wait patiently. When I first started the wait for our final decree, I was quite proud of myself for waiting so patiently with a peace that surpasses all understanding and a smile at the future; however, as I "Practice! Practice! Practice!" this waiting thing, I find a very disturbing picture of myself emerging. The person in this picture seems to have a wrinkle intruding on the space between her brows scattering the peace that I would like to think normally resides there. Also, this person seems to be tapping her foot impatiently at the future instead of smiling at it. Yes, I have to admit it. "Practice! Practice! Practice!" does not always work, especially in this case. I seem to be worse at waiting now than I was at the beginning. I'm sure when the wait is all over, I will look back and say that this experience has made me a better "waiter"-yeah, right!

Anyways... I have asked for some more details from our adoption coordinator as to why the wait is taking SO LONG. She says the courts don't show that there are any problems with any biological relatives stepping forward. Also, the new law in Taiwan stating that a child must be available for adoption to local Taiwan families first before being adopted internationally does not affect us since our case is already in process. OK. This is all good news, so what is taking so long?! Apparently, the social worker that is working on our case over there is just taking a REALLY LONG time to get her reports back to the court. As far as we know, everything else is proceeding as normal. To all of you that have been praying for us, a huge THANK YOU! It means so much to us. Please pray for the social worker as well. ; )