Update!

We got a nice surprise today from our agency....we got an update on our sweet Shawn! The picture wasn't new, but we got some new information on him.  

Medical/Development:

His current health is good.

He can walk, climb up the stairs (Uh-oh)

He can  say mama. (Whoop, whoop!)

He is not potty trained. (Ugh!)

He is a bit allergic to protein and now he only can drink Dumex formula and his skin was very sensitive (Where the heck can I find Dumex formula???)

Personality:

They call him Liu Xin Yu or Xiao Yu. (Brian looked up the meaning of Xiao Yu....he was a real Chinese prince.  We knew our boy is a prince!)

He is gentle and likes smiling. (Awwww....)

  

General:

His sleeping and diet schedule:                 

Sleeping time: 7:30pm-5:30or 6:30am, (5:30???)

Nap time: 11:00am-1:00pm

Eating time: 6:30am formula, 8:00am steamed eggs, 10:30am lunch, 1:00pm formula, 4:30pm dinner, 7:00pm formula

He eats formula and steamed eggs. (Eggs? But he's allergic to protein?)

He is cared in Shang Hai Baby Home. (Shanghai Baby Home, which we LOVE!)

We cannot get to this prince soon enough!  Come on March 8th! That's the day we will officially be waiting on Travel Approval.

(If interested in an mini iPad bundle, see the below post.)

:)

Adoption Raffle!

We cannot believe, that after almost four months of waiting and paperwork, we are making preparations for Ch*na. When we started this process, for the second time, we prepared ourselves for a long wait. However, we got the shock of our life when we got a call from our agency only one day after our paperwork was Fed Ex'd to Ch*na. We have always said our Bella was a miracle, and now we can say our Shawn is a miracle too.

To help us prepare for the journey, we have decided to host a raffle! Any monies we raise through this raffle will go direct to the orphanage to cover the "orphanage donation" all adoptive parents must pay. This helps them to care for the children who will be left behind.  

• What are we raffling??? An iPad mini and accessories!!!

 

This mini iPad is 16GB and connects to the internet over wi-fi networks. It retails for $329.00.

• We are also including an iPad mini Smart Cover in green.

 

This Smart Cover automatically wakes and sleeps the iPad mini. It retails for $39.00.

• AND....we are also including a $100.00 iTunes gift card.

How can you win??? Purchase a ticket for $5, 2 for $10, 3 for $15, 4 for $20 OR purchase 6 tickets for $25. Look at the top right of our blog for the "donate" button.  Click and donate with a credit or debit card.  You do not need a paypal account to use the "donate" feature.  (If you are local to us and would rather give us your donation in person, we will be happy to work with you.)

ALSO....Post something about our raffle on your facebook page (with a link to THIS post) and we will give you an extra entry.  Just leave a comment here with the link to your FB page or send me a personal message on facebook.  OR...Post something about our raffle on your blog (with a link to THIS post) and we will give you an extra entry too.  Leave a comment here with the link to your blog post. 

This mini iPad bundle retails for $468.00!!!

Soon after donating I will e-mail your receipt number(s). 

This raffle will be open until March 9th at 6:00CST.  We will use a random number generator to choose the winner.  The winner will be posted on my facebook page, Brian's facebook page and this blog. 

In advance, we would like to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! May you be richly blessed. 

 

We witness a miracle every time a child enters into life.  But those who make their way across time and miles, growng within the hearts of those who wait to love them, are carried on the wings of destiny and placed among us by God's very own hands.

~Kristi Larson

Getting Closer

We have now made big steps to Ch*na! On Feb 20th, Shawn (or Shawnsky as his big sister calls him) was approved for a visa! I received the approval via e-mail and immediately forwarded it to our agency. Our agency forwarded it to their rep in Bej*ng and he/she dropped it off (along with some of the paperwork we had previously completed) to the US Embassy on Feb 21st. On March 7th, the rep will pick it up and overnight it to the C3WA. We will begin the "official" wait for travel approval (TA) at this point. How long will this wait be? I wish we knew. Some families have received their TA's in 7 days; some in 21 days. For my sanity, and the sanity of those who will be around me during this wait, let's hope for sooner rather than later.



Daddy giving Big Sister a lesson on little brothers. :)

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Another Step

Another step closer to Shawn! We found out on February 13th his immigration paperwork was approved! He is now able to enter the US as our son. :) The next step is getting his visa. We are hoping the visa paperwork will be approved this week. Once it's approved, there's a two week processing time, and then we will just be waiting on Ch*na to issue our travel approval! We are getting close!



We are now on step #10

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Waiting Again

This week hasn't been filled with paperwork, its been filled with waiting. Our agency Fed Ex'd our immigration application (the I800 application) to USCIS on Jan. 28th. We got a receipt this past Monday stating it had been received on Jan. 29th and to expect approval soon. I had very, very high hopes of receiving our approval this week, but it didn't happen. I'm hoping for next Monday; Wednesday at the latest. I want to be waiting (there's that word again I'm growing to hate) on travel approval within a month. As of now, we are on step #9....


Shawn is now 15 months old and we know we won't be able to travel to China before he is 16 months old, but we are hoping and praying to have him in our arms by 17 months. God speed to our sweet boy. I'm ready to pack this in a suitcase to China...


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