Friday, June 13, 2008

It's A Girl!



"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!"
2 Corinthians 9:15

It is with great joy and excitement that I announce the referral of our newest little sister/daughter,
Katherine MeiLing
.
She was born on March 6, 2007 (15 months) and is from the Jiangxi province.
We are absolutely in love and are already very anxious to get her. We are hoping to travel this fall!

On Tuesday night, I had this gut feeling that our referral was coming soon. Wednesday afternoon, my mom informed me that a new shared list came out. Although we weren't expecting anything, the thought of having a baby in this batch did cross my mind. (This same thing happened when we received AnnaClaire's referral in 2006.) Fast forward to Thursday. Mom, AnnaClaire, and I left around 11 to do a few errands. We were doing some father's day shopping in Hallmark when Mom's phone rang (at 11:57!). She pulled it out and right before she opened it, I noticed a 703 area code. This was it. I tried listening and had to contain myself from jumping up and down, while AnnaClaire was getting into things, Mom was in complete disbelief and trying to find out more... I called Dad and soon Mom was on with the coordinator, I was on with Dad. Of all days, we had no phone or internet at home (we had a huge storm on Wednesday night) so we could not even run home to get the email. We finally decided to drive down to Dad's office to see the pictures and info. I was going CRAZY. (This whole week has been crazy. Getting home from New Jersey, broken water heater, Drew came home from China, and now a referral!) I don't know how people wait days to see pictures. 45 minutes was too much for me! Now, this was a SHARED referral and anyone could be looking at it. Sooooooooo. We had to act very quickly. We took a step of faith and locked the file. We felt like she was our Katherine from just hearing about her. None of us had seen her pictures yet. Mom, AC, and I ran out of Hallmark and drove quickly to Dad's office (about 30 minutes away.) The whole way there, Dad (who had already taken a sneak peek!) tried explaining her to us. He said that she was ADORABLE with chubby cheeks and "a haircut that looks like a weed eater went through it." He then ended with, "She's ours." Right when we got to Dad's office, we ran up and her pictures were waiting on his screen. She is beautiful and I am so in love. We all sat there admiring her while we called the boys and told them all about her. Anyway, we only had 48 hours with her file. In that time, we had to bring the file to the ped and have her look over it and we had to write our entire LOI. We stopped for a quick lunch at Chipotle and ran by the ped on the way home. She wasn't in, but thankfully we are friends with both her and her sweet nurse. We were able to give the nurse Kate's file to then pass onto the ped. Oh it helps to have connections! (Thankfully they were in town, as our ped was not in town when we got AnnaClaire's referral, so we had to go with another doctor and it was 2 weeks before we could get an appt and send our LOI!) We went back home and emailed the ped to let her know that the nurse had the file and blah blah blah. I had a summer league swim meet that night, while Mom and Dad went on and wrote the whole LOI so that everything would be ready for when we heard back from the ped. I got home a little after 10 and she had just emailed back saying Kate's file looked great and to go on with the adoption! We submitted all our paperwork to our agency this and they sent it to the CCAA!! We actually just got the confirmation that our EA (electronic acceptance, which I guess is the same as LOI) just a few minutes ago! So now the waits for PA, LOA, and TA begin. We are hoping to travel in September or October of this year! I don't know how I'm going to wait. I think she is the cutest thing ever and I just want to wrap my arms around her! We are coming sweet girl, just as soon as we can!

GOD IS SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also~ after receiving her referral, we are not sure if we will call her Katie or Kate. What do you think? (Oh and she and AnnaClaire are 16 months apart!)

Lastly, our agency told us to use caution in posting our referral. You might have noticed that I left out a few details about our sweet girl, that is why. Once we get LOA, I will be able to post those things. I did want to ask that you do not share her pictures until we get LOA. Thanks so much!

I'm a big sister again!! :)

36 comments:

Jenn said...

Emily,
We are so excited for yal. We enjoyed following your journey to AC and can't wait to see Kate united with her family. We'll have to plan a Riverbanks Zoo visit together once yal get her home.

<><
Jenn
Abby Grace's mom

Jenn said...

Oh my!!! Is she not absolutely beautiful!! Sweet and precious baby! Congrats to you and hope you are celebrating big time this weekend!!

Blessings to you and to your family,

Jenn Gager

AWAA family :o)

Lexie said...

Ohhh!! She is just ADORABLE!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

I think she looks more like a Kate....:0)

Jeanette said...

Well, you all know how we feel about your beautiful new blessing but I wanted to post our congratulations here on your blog! She's about the sweetest girl I've ever seen (along with AC of course!) and we will be praying that the coming months go by quickly and smoothly! Can't wait to meet Kate...or Katie :) God is so good!

jeanette said...

so excited to see her pic up! :)

M's 玠玠 said...

Again, Congratulations! I am so excited for you guys. We will be praying for you, your family and the sweet Katherine MeiLing! Oh she is gorgeous. She is such a cutie!
Have a great weekend! :)
Love,
Keara

Lauren said...

Aww!! She is absolutely beautiful! I am so glad that you finally have seen your Kate!!

Jie Jie to Sarah Lu and Chayah Ru said...

So excited to see it posted! :) Oh and she is just gorgeous!!!! I am so in love with her! Congratulations, again! Kate and Chayah will be coming home around the same time! God is SO good!!! We will definitely need to get our bow buddies together once Kate and Chayah come home!!!! =D
~Staci

Brandi said...

I've been visiting your site for quite awhile, but (unfortunately) don't post much. We're also waiting to adopt...LID 11-14-06

I just wanted to take the time to say Kate (or Katie) is absolutely beautiful! Congratulations, and wishing you a speedy LOA & TA!

Joan said...

Wow! Great News! She is so adorable! Congratz!

Ohilda said...

God is indeed good!! Kate is beautiful and I can't wait to see her with her new family. She is definitely one blessed little girl, as i know all of you are.

Congratulations on your new addition.

Blessings,

Ohilda

Wife of the Pres. said...

Hi Emily, She is just beautiful! I love those chubby cheeks. We might see you all in China!!! Can't wait! We are hoping for September travel or sooner! Waiting on LOA with you, just 32 days down for us.

Oh and not that my opinion counts, but she does look like a Kate to me! But I love Katie as well!

CONGRATULATIONS!
Leslie, Susannah's Mommy
AWAA SN, LID 12/14/07, LOI 5/12/08
youbelong.net/theirwins

The Greens said...

She is darling! I am so excited for you!! Please tell your mom congrats and that I love her-- we e-mailed back and forth through Elli's and AC's adoptions. I love your blog and think you are such a wonderful family! And, I have to say that I LOVE "Kate!"

Christianne
www.elizabethmei.com
www.goingbackforgraci.com

Anonymous said...

WOW!!!! God is good. I am sitting here crying tears of joy for you. She is beautiful. Congratulations. I hope to talk to you soon.

Meg

Anonymous said...

I checked out your old blog to see what you were doing on March 7, 2007 and I also looked up Kate's birth verse. Here it is:

Proverbs 3:6 NIV
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Congrats!!!

Keri said...

I wanted to leave a comment for Kate or Katie!
You are a blessed little girl who is going to bless a family with your sweet smile. They have been anxiously awaiting for you for months now and they couldn't be happier. You are truly loved and adored!
Love,
Your Chatty Auntie Keri

Keri said...

"Ahh, She's so cute. I love her."

Claire

(Your Chatty Sister)

Shannon said...

She is so sweet, congratulations! Been checking in to see when you all would get referal. Welcome back to the world of more waiting! ;-)

Austyn said...

Oh Emily it is austyn cograts she is so precious I think AC will be so proud to be a big sister to that cutie !

Melanie said...

Oh Emily!!!
I'm so excited for you!!
She's beautiful!! I'm sure AC and Kate will have lots of fun together!
I hope time passes by so fast for you! Congratulations to you all! I wonder what AC said when she saw the picture! :)

Jana said...

I am so thrilled for you Emily!!! I can't wait to follow another one of your journeys to China. Your little sister is a CUTIE and I can't wait to see her and AC together!! I praying you get a speedy PA, LOA and TA and that you get to travel even earlier than anticipated. I remember all too well that longing feeling. She'll be in your arms soon!!

Landon said...

A big congratulations to all of you. She is beautiful! I know you cannot wait to go and get her.

Amy said...

She's adorable. I keep coming back to take a look at her!! Congratulations!!

Meerkat said...

Congratulations! She is gorgeous!!!
Are you making a quilt for her? Please mail me your adress so I can send you a piece of fabric!
Love from Germany
Dagmar

Ariel said...

Emily!! She's adorable!! I can't wait to see her with AnnaClaire! Prayers are coming your way for her speedy way home!

Holly said...

Oh Emily she is absolutely gorgeous!! I know you all must be so excited!! I can't wait to continue following Kate's journey! Congrats!!

Robin said...

WooHoo.. so glad to see the picture posted. And, I'm sure you already read my email about our "MeiLing" connection. :0)

Many blessings to all of you!

Anonymous said...

Couldn't be happier for you! Hooray!! What a cutie she is . . . can't wait to follow you to China and back!!

Jennifer, mommy to Adrienne

Austyn said...

congrats i know you cant wait to c her and dress her cute like anna claire she is precious i bet you are so ready to be a big sis to yet another doll baby!

Shelley said...

Hey Emily,
CONGRAGTULATIONS!!!!! She is adorable...we are so excited for you and your family!!!
As far as Kate vs Katie...you will know for sure as soon as you have her in your arm. I vote for Katie..as it works much better with "Katie-bug" than does "Kate-bug"...but I digress!!
Anyway, hoping and praying for speedy travels to Jiangxi. Both of ours are Jiangxi Empresses. Just so you know, Jiangxi Empresses are definately a breed apart!!
Please give your Mom a hug from us and tell her congrats!!
In HIS Mighty Grip
Shelley Swindler
Mom to Aly and Lili
www.wildnoodles.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Congrats!!!

She is absolutely adorable. Enjoy this time with AnnaClaire and I cannot wait to see Kate or Katie's Pictures when you guys finally meet her :)

Melissa Bachman

Anonymous said...

IOMG OMG
Congrats i think she is the cutest I am on a cruise and this is a great suprise
Brittany

CNA said...

She is so adorable!!!!! I am absolutly in love with her!! :D Congratulaions!!! God is soooo good!!!

Cait

mamademia said...

Emily,
Congratulations to you and your family. Your 2nd little sister is precious! We (my husband and I)share the same gotcha day as Anna Claire's. We got our daughter, Mia that same morning and the afternoon, we were in the CCAA finalizing our paperwork as we witnessed you guys receive Anna Claire. Actually, my husband was video taping a little of it and I told him to stop that it was 'rude' ;-). We also ran into you guys at the park in Hunan University. Our journey is in my adoption website (journey to Mia Isabel) and our blog.. http://miasjourneycontinues.blogspot.com/ We'll pray that you get Kate (Katie) sooner than expected.
God bless you guys, Sheila (Mia Isabel's Mom)

Jodee said...

Congratulations! She is just adorable!

Annie said...

She is so cute Emily! I'm sure you are beyond excited right now. I pray that the rest of your wait speeds by. September will be here before you know it.