What's in a Name?

Well, we are still waiting for news on our final decree. I feel like a woman in her last trimester of pregnancy. The further along you get, the harder it is to wait. It is looking more and more like it will be September when we travel. I suppose that is just as well. My neighbor tells me that August is typhoon season in Taiwan and that it is unbearably hot. I think I would live with it, however, if I could bring my daughter home a little sooner.

We did get to SKYPE her again last night. Now that we are down to the end, we are able to discuss more concerns of hers about moving to a whole new country, with a whole new school, whole new friends, whole new family-lots of new. Poor little thing. I can't imagine how scary that must be. I hear she is acting up a bit more at the orphanage, but perhaps that is due to all the changes she is awaiting. They say she is excited to come to the USA, and she does seem to be happy to come when we see her on SKYPE. She is glad to be home schooled for a while until she feels more comfortable with English. She is very glad to have the bottom bunk of her and Christy's bunk beds; however, there is one change she is not so glad about.

When Jing-Qi came to us last summer for her two week stay, she came off the plane telling us her American name was "Tina". I never used this name while she stayed with us, because my yougest daughter is named "Christina". Seeing as "Tina" is short for "Christina", we had never planned on using this name for her. Not yesterday, but the SKYPE session a month before, she had brought up again that her American name was "Tina". My heart sunk. I know how important a name is, and this is probably one thing she thinks she has control over; however, I just can't reconcile myself to name her the same name as Christina. Sam had fallen in love with the name "Monique"; however, she didn't seem at all fond of this when we spoke to her last night. She still wants "Tina". To my great relief, Sam seems willing to look at alternatives to "Monique" and understood how important this issue must be to Jing-Qi. I asked her if she would like to stick with the name "Jing-Qi". After all, this is how I always think of her, but she really wants an American name. I think we will keep "Jing-Qi" as a middle name. What a dilemma! Sam and I are trying to come up with names that are as close to "Tina" as possible, while not being the same name. We came across "Trina" last night on a baby name website, which is short for "Katrina". "Katrina" is another form of "Cathy", which is my mother's name and also my middle name. This seems perfect. I hope she will embrace it. Afterall, I can't imagine a name being any closer to "Tina" than "Trina".

Please pray that God will give us wisdom on this very delicate issue, that we will choose the right name for her, and that Jing-Qi will love her new American name. Also, please pray for Jing-Qi as all these changes are coming up- that she will adapt well to her new home, that she will part well with those left behind in Taiwan, and that she will know how much we and our Lord loves her. Thanks for listening!

Somebody Stop Me!

I know I'm not supposed to hear any news on the final adoption decree until probably mid-July; however, I keep finding myself expectantly checking my email every 5 minutes. At first, I wasn't even aware of what I was doing. Then, I had to ask myself, "What do I keep checking my email for?" Of course, there was only one answer-more news on Jing-Qi. I'm in a constant state of expectation and excitement as we get close to the end of our process, where we'll finally be reunited with our precious girl, yet this waiting is feeling more and more torturous. Well, at least people will receive an extra-speedy response when they email me. I'll be sure to post any news as soon as I hear. : )

Great News!...Court Date Went Smoothly!

We just received word that our court date last week went smoothly. Now we just wait for the final decree, which should take about 1-2 months. Then, we travel 6 weeks from there. I am excited to be getting so close to bringing our precious girl home!

We also got to SKYPE her again last Sunday night. She looked happy and well and more actively participated in this video call than past ones. She even showed me a Mother's Day card she had made for me. It was beautiful! I think I am more impatient than ever now. : ) She also has had a lot of questions about where she will go to school when she comes and has requested the bottom bunk. I think heights make her nervous. Christina will be thrilled that she gets the top. It will be so nice to have our family complete. Right now, it feels like a part of us is missing.

Please keep praying that our process goes smoothly. Sam has been working a new job the last few months, and we've had to update our homestudy. Please pray that this will go quickly and efficiently with the USCIS and that it won't delay our process. Thanks for listening!

We Received Our First Court Date!

Sam and I just got word that our first court date has been scheduled for June 8th! I'm so excited and relieved! I had heard through some of my yahoo groups that sometimes the judge sends out the file for investigation before scheduling the court date, which can take up to six months! It seems this wasn't the case for us. Praise God! I would do it, but it would be tough to wait another six months to bring our little girl home. Please keep praying for us. While this is good news, I recently heard that the judge can also send out the case for investigation after the first court date. I'm hoping this won't happen and that the Lord will bring her home to us sooner rather than later.

Our last SKYPE session with her was great. She seemed in very good spirits and it absolutely warmed my heart to see her smile again. We had a garage sale to raise money for our adoption expenses the weekend after and did pretty well. We have to get our homestudy updated, since Sam has a new job now, but I'm told this will not delay the court process. Apparently, we only need it for AIT when we pick her up. Things are moving along! Thanks for all your prayers!

Has the Lord Called You to Help an Orphan This Summer?

Introducing the California Taiwan Summer Tour...
The summer tour in which my husband and I met the little girl we are currently adopting is coming back this summer with new kids who are in need of their forever families and are currently available for adoption. This is a great opportunity for them to experience American family life and may just lead them to their forever families. If you live in Southern California and are interested in hosting a child or sibling group for about 2 1/2 weeks this summer, please see the link below for more information. Also, even if you are in a different state, but are currently looking to adopt, please visit the link below for information on these great kids that are in need of their forever families. There is a financial need as well to fly all of these kids out for the summer. If you would like to help, but are not called to adopt or host at this time, chipping in for the financial costs would be a great blessing to these kids. Please prayerfully consider helping these beautiful children this summer. Your help could be all they need to lead them to the love of a family of their very own.

For more information on the kids or how you can help click below.
http://californiataiwantour.blogspot.com/

Please pray for these kiddos!!!

Together Again Via SKYPE...

I love this program! Last year, it comforted greatly this anxious mama as her (then 12 year old) daughter was swept away by her grandparents for a Mediterranean cruise for two whole weeks. I don't know what I would have done if I couldn't SKYPE her regularly during her excursion to make sure she was happy and OK. Well, it has come to the rescue again.

We were able to see Jing-Qi again for the first time since last summer on Tuesday during our first SKYPE session. She looked healthy and happy to see us. They let us spend about 45 minutes with her, which was wonderful, although somewhat challenging to think up enough fun things to do to keep her occupied. For some reason, we couldn't hear their side of the conversation, but they could hear ours. They would type back responses until they found a headset for Jing-Qi to talk into. Then, we could finally hear her sweet little voice. It was great! Thank you to whoever thought this program up! I think we get to have another session with her maybe in a month. What a comfort!

Please pray that we will hear something on our court date soon and that everything will go smoothly with our process. We are planning to have a fundraising garage sale next month with a bunch of donated furniture, clothes, and things. I will post about it later as we get closer.

Video Clips of My Sweetie!

Sorry it has been a while since I last posted. We just found out that our dossier has been translated and has been taken to the courts, but we are stilling waiting for our court date. While we are waiting, Chung Yi has sent us a couple short video clips of Jing-Qi. They have told her the news, which I am so relieved about. I was concerned she would think we had forgotten about her. She seemed happy in her videos. I cannot post them due to child safety concerns and our adoption process not being finished yet, but I will tell you what she said. She said, "Emily, Christina, I want to come to US" and "Daddy, Mommy, I love you." My heart melted. I can't wait until she comes home. Please continue to pray for our adoption process and for its provision. We are so grateful for all your prayers.