Grace's Room

Here is sweet Grace's room... I absolutely LOVE it. Hopefully she likes pink :) Considering almost every picture we have, she is wearing pink... she has to, right? It is so cozy but not nearly as small as we were thinking it would be with a bed in it. We are still waiting on her book shelf to come in and of course, her nightstand is a bit bare right now...

AND, thank you for all of your comments today! They really meant a lot! Enjoy the pictures!

I came on to Blogger...

to post pictures of the beautiful room we just finished up decorating for sweet Grace...

and the closet that is now full of cute clothes that were just delivered for the beautiful girl who we sent an email for exactly 6 months ago, saying, "I know you're going to think we are crazy... but is there any way that you would allow us to adopt "Norah," too?"

I had a comment waiting to be moderated...

And we still see nothing in the terms of Grace as you've posted on the others. No room updates, no website,no clothing bought, no toys bought, no nothing like the others.

I really hope she's treated like a member of the family and not just like a charity case once she arrives.

If I remember right, you said your family was struggling to find room for her, and based on what's been posted, one can only go in what was the nursery for the girls.

Now, remind me. Years ago, you posted the room was very tiny, and just barely big enough for a nursery. Yet, you're giving a toddler your brothers old bedroom, and moving a young pre-teen girl into a shoebox of a room.

Wow.

So Anonymous, thanks for ruining my excitment. I feel no need to justify my family to someone who can't even leave their name... but I will tell you that was just rude ESPECIALLY when you obviously know absolutely nothing about my family or our reasoning.

Poppy Dips!

We love our Poppy Dip dresses! I think we may have two of the cutest models EVER, too :)

Our hopes were up for a moment!

Today, we were on our way to meet Sara Beth, her brothers, and mommy, and Sarah Mei and her mommy when Mom's cell phone rang.

We couldn't remember our agency's exact area code, but we knew for sure that the first 2 digits were the same...

Now... you must know that there was rumoured to be a "flood" of TAs coming in early this week. And even though our article 5 for Grace was only 11 days ago, our article 5 for Charlie was 2 months ago... so we were hoping to be expediated... and hoping for TA... and I was still praying for that May miracle...

So when Mom's phone rang, my heart skipped a beat. She looked at her phone and looked at me as if to say, "this might be it."

She answered and the other end said, "Pam?"

The way mom answered, it sounded like it just might be our agency calling.

I thought that maybe, just maybe, this was the call we have been waiting 10 months, 3 weeks, and a day for...

It was not.

Sigh. Don't people know not to call when we are anxiously waiting on our travel approval? ;)

I am so tired of waiting! I know God's plans are *SO* much better than mine... but it's still so hard to answer the continuous questions of "when are you going to China?" "why don't you know when you are travelling?" "why can't you just go now?"

Graduation/School's Out!

Sorry it has been so long since I last posted... It's been a busy week! Friday was my last exam... so school is out :) Also on Friday night was our school's gradution. One of my best friends graduated... we've known eachother since I was 2! The above picture is at her graduation party...

I think we were 6 and 7 in this one :)

So crazy to see her in a cap and gown...
I was a junior marshal for the ceremony and AnnaClaire had a blast helping me show families where to sit :) It was a little difficult because I broke my toe on Thursday... but we had fun!
Here's me and some of my good friends at the reception afterwards...

So it has been a very busy few days... and now I just get to enjoy a nice summer :) I'm going to the beach with some friends on Wednesday... what better way to start it off?!

And completely off topic... but check this site to see how to get a cool toy and help a family bring their sweet waiting daughter home from China!

Princess Night!

Tonight was princess night at Chick*fila! Even the cow got all dressed up for the "ball!"
The girlies were so excited to see their favorite hostess!
And they even got to walk down the red carpet!
The girls got their toes done...
AnnaClaire proudly showed off her toe nails!
And there was a makeup station, too.
AnnaClaire loved looking in the mirror to see her beautiful makeup!
Kate loved getting all done up, too!She was especially excited because Snow White did her make up!
So beautiful with her eye shadow, lip stick, and blush!
And Kate, too... such a princess!
There was even ice cream with sprinkles! AnnaClaire chose purple...
and Kate, of course, picked pink!

Article 5!

We are fairly certain that our Article 5 was picked up today... which means that we are ONE step away from meeting

this sweet girl...
and this sweet boy!

It has been over 10 months since we first saw Charlie...

It has been almost 6 months since we first saw Grace...

It has been almost 4 months since we received Charlie's LOA...

It has been almost 2 months since we received Grace's LOA...

And FINALLY, we are ONE step away from finally going to China!

Oh I just hope that we have the fastest TAs EVER...

Bunk Beds!

We set up the girls' bunk beds over the weekend... they ADORE them! We have waited so long to do it because the girls are both AWESOME sleepers and we didn't want to ruin a good thing too early... but they have amazed us with how well they are doing together! Kate is SO excited to finally be able to sleep in a big girl bed and AnnaClaire is loving sharing a room!

Someone had questioned why Grace "isn't as important" and why we haven't posted any pictures with anything we've done for her... Well, now that Kate is out of her crib, we will be assembing Grace's bed (the daybed that was in AC's room) into Kate's old room for Grace... so that is why I have never posted pictures of her room. As soon as it's done, I will. Also, we asked for updated measurements and are still waiting for those before we buy her any clothes, which is why I've never posted clothes pictures... we don't have any! I'm sorry that you even considered that Grace "isn't as important" or that she is just a "good deed." These things are absolutely not true. I just run out of things to say after endless waiting. I think most people know how EXCITED and ANXIOUS I am to meet sweet Grace and Charlie... my heart aches for the day...

So anyway, enjoy the bunk bed pictures. The girls are so excited about their new arrangement... hopefully the joy doesn't wear off ;)

Happy Mother's Day~

We love you, Mom! Happy Mother's Day!

Be still my heart

I don't even know why I'm posting this right now... other than the fact that this is my favorite picture in the world. And I realized I have never shared it on my blog since going to China last summer.

I have been working on this post for a good 40 minutes. I keep writing something and erasing it. I just can't seem to find the right words.

But I think this completely candid picture speaks more than my words ever could.

So I will leave it at that.

Sweet Girls

I absolutely love this dress... especially the bottom :) Katie Cakes striking a pose in her "America" dress! (In the words of AC... "we are 'mericans and we live in Norf Carowina!")
Her purse has all her treasures... her Bible, her "credit card," her bookmark, and some jewels.


Thank you all for your sweet, sweet comments on my prom post! It really was a fun night... getting ready, taking pictures, and of course the dance itself. Dinner was at prom, and it was delicious. Oh and for those of you wondering... the guy I went with was totally a friend, but we had a lot of fun together. :)

Okay.. just had to post these pictures of the girls after Church on Sunday. Oh my goodness I just love these two so much. And yes, I am aware that they simply just don't come much cuter than these sweeties (okay, maybe I am a bit biased)

Prom~

Our jr/sr prom was yesterday. It was SO much fun! Anyway, just wanted to share some of my favorite pictures from the night... mainly for my sweet Grandma :) Oh and yes... the girlies wanted to dress up in their "prom dresses," too!