Lily, here we come!

We have TA! Also known as Travel Approval! This means that there is only one thing left to do and that is to go get Lily and bring her home.

Our consulate appointment is scheduled for January 29th, which means we will meet her on January 21. 24 days from now, my sweet girl will be in my arms.

It has been a long journey for us, filled with crazy delays and scary roadblocks. At times, I thought we'd never make it. It almost seems like a miracle that we were able to push through some of the insanity that happened during our process.

While we worked our tails off raising money, chasing papers, begging- yes begging God to move mountains, Lily grew.  Look at how much she has grown in the year we've loved her from afar.

Photo from her original file Sept 2011

Update from Agency January 2012

This was taken in June 2012 by another adoptive mom.

Taken in July by another adoptive mom friend.

Official update from China in October

It saddens me to think of all we missed during her first 4 years and I wonder who, if anyone, celebrated the first time she rolled over as a baby, or the first time she crawled, talked, walked. I wonder about her birth family and wish I knew their story.

I pray that we'll be the parents she needs us to be. We will try very hard to make up for what she has missed these past four years. Please pray for the Lord to give us what we need and for us to find the correct resources to help us along the way.  We know it may be challenging at times, but we also know it will be worth it.