The Big Debut!

On Sunday, Jadyn made her big debut at church. It was quite the event. As you can tell, she loves to hang upside down. This is her Daddy's fault. Everytime he gets her, he hangs her upside down. Thus, the reason for the hanging upside down picture. So, what we have discovered is that it doesn't matter if you are in front of 1000 people, when you want to hang upside down, you go for it. It also doesn't matter if you have a dress on. :)

She is quite the entertainer and keeps us laughing, tired, but laughing. She is spending a little more time in her walker (Praise God!) and a little less time on my lap. We are still struggling with eating as she don't want to eat from a spoon. Thank you Lord for fish sticks and pasta pick-ups. She loves pancakes or a boiled egg (only the white part) for breakfast and will eat all the fish sticks (yuck!) in the freezer. She is such a hoot.

We had a relatively quiet weekend, still working on nap time, but she is sleeping great at night. She normally goes to bed around 8:30 - 9:00 pm and sleeps 10-12 hours. I can't ask for much more than that. She seems to have made the switch from China time to Tennessee time. Yay! Well, got to go, my walker time has just run out and someone is pulling on my left arm, so typing is becoming more diffucult. Enjoy the pics.

Amy and J

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my 42nd birthday and boy, am I feeling my age, plus about 20 years. Let me tell you about the sense of humor of the God I serve.

When I was born, my Mom was 42 years old. As long as I could remember, she always said "you were not an accident, you were a blessing". Get real Mom, who has a baby at 42 and means to. I always laughed at her for being so "old" when she had her last baby, especially since the rest of her children were 14, 16, and 18.

Well, I guess the laughs on me. I am 42, a new Mother of a 13 months old and my boys are 14 and 20. Now who's laughing. I am, because it's one of the most joyous times of my life. Yes, I am exhausted. I'm not as young as I use to be you know. Either that or I'm just too old to remember how hard it is to have a 1 year old. Maybe that's the senility setting in. :) What a joy my family is. The boys are great with Jadyn and she adores them. And likewise, they adore her.

Yes, today I feel 42. Maybe tomorrow I'll feel 32, but I doubt it. My back hurts, maybe because my heart is SO full. God has blessed this family with a precious little girl that was created just for us.

She Gets an A+

Jadyn's first night home - where she belongs...

Today, Jadyn had her first visit to the Dr. We went to see Pete this morning for her check up. She actually did very well, even though it cut into her nap time. She was well behaved, for the most part, and did all of her "tricks" for the nurses. Of course when Pete came in, she acted mute.

She is really quite the entertainer. She constantly surveys the room to make sure that everyone is watching her and what kind of reaction she is getting. She's a hoot!

She weighed 21.8 lbs which is down 2 lbs from what she weighed in China. I am not really surprised by that as her diet has changed dramatically (introduction of table foods) and she is in a whole new environment. We made the decision not to redo her immunizatins at this visit as we felt it best to let her have another few weeks to settle into her new life. She was so traumatized when we first got her, I don't want to risk any setbacks. She is laughing, playing, talking, and generally being the cut up that we knew she would be. So, next visit, we will begin with blood work and immunizations. That should be fun.

Pete said that I could switch her to whole milk as he was not concerned about where she is nutritionally. He felt that she would be fine on milk. He was also not concerned about her developmental delays and felt that she would continue to quickly catch up. Actually, the only thing on the developemental chart for a 1 year old that she could not do is pull herself to standing. She has some weakness in her muscle tone, especially in her upper body. If you have seen her legs, you'll understand why there is not much weakness there. We have learned to roll over from back to front and front to back, wave bye bye, say mama, say dada, show us her tongue, play pat-a-cake, and play pee pie. She is so funny. She learns very quickly. She is still not eating from a spoon except for ice cream and she ate a whole scoop of vanilla ice cream with me feeding her from a spoon. I could not get it to her fast enough. She was like a little bird.

She is a pure joy and we look at her and still can't believe that she is actually here and that she is ours. And yes, we still look at her and cry. Pray that she will soon get on Tennessee time and off of China time and that her itching and rash improves. She is more that we could ever have hoped for. She is a perfect fit for our family. Hmm, imagine that.

Woo Hoo, We Are Home!

We are home and we are GLAD of it. It is SO good to be home. We thought we would never get here. It was a super long trip home, but we finally made it. We were met at the airport on Saturday afternoon by a LARGE group of friends and family and it was sweet. Jadyn did great on the flights and with her welcoming committee. She sort of had that deer in head lights look, but she handled it all very well. She is just so precious.

We are working hard on getting her on Tennessee time instead of China time and if anyone has any secrets, I'm open for suggestions. She doesn't cry at night, just awake. She is so sweet and we are just nuts about her. All of us. She is particular fond of her brothers and likewise. They can't get enough of her. Her Daddy comes home at lunch to see her, so she is not lacking in the attention department. We are working on catching her up developmentally and she is a quick learner. She is laughing, playing, entertaining and being the center of attention. (which she is very good at) What a doll God has given us. We are truly blessed. She is fitting into the Hood family perfectly, no surprise at all however. She was ordained to be our daughter before the very foundations of the world was laid. It is so obvious, she was/is destined to be ours.

Tomorrow, we go to the Dr for her first check up. Stay tuned for an update on that. Until then...

Another Day Down!

We have another day behind us and we are exhausted. We are having so much fun and still can't believe that we are finally here. Beijing is such a modern city and we have been a bit surprised at how Western it really it really is. It's really not alot different than the big cities at home, just more bicycles! :)

Today we went to the pearl market which was pretty neat. Bargaining is the name of the game there and I think we actually walked away with some really good deals. I'm happy with our purchases. Seth bought some beautiful freshwater pearls to put up for his future wife (awww) and Zachary bought Jadyn a beautiful pink pearl bracelet (awww again) and both brought tears to my eyes a little. We left there and came back to the hotel and walked across the street to a coffee shop for lunch. The food has been probably the most interesting part yet. We have had one INCREDIBLE chinese meal (no forks, just chopsticks which was worth the price of admission itself) that was so good. The breakfast bar is very western, so every male in my family left there VERY happy and full of eggs and bacon. I left there full of watermelon and a hard boild egg! :)

After lunch, we went to the Chinese Acrobatics show which was pretty amazing. I got some pretty incredible pictures of the show and will get them posted as soon as I can. We have to head out early in the morning at 8:00am to go to the Great Wall and to the Cloisonne factory (Pat say's yippee on that too!) so the day will be full. We also have the Harley Davidson shop address written in Chinese to give to the cab driver, so an adventure awaits us I am just sure of it. I'll try to capture that on film also! So, it's 2:30 in the morning here, everyone is fast asleep except me of course. I better get back to bed to try and get a little sleep before I have to get up in just a few hours. We love you all!

Amy

Greetings from Beijing!

WE'RE HERE! And we still can't believe it. Pat posted some pictures on his blog so be sure and check them out.

Man, what a trip. We are having a great time so far, but everything just pales in comparison to the real reason that we are here. My mind is on one thing and I'm having a little trouble feeling the excitement of everything else around us.

We had a great visit with a M family last night and this morning. They are doing an incredible work running a foster home. I so enjoyed seeing the children and visiting with them. All of the 12 children in their home are special needs. They are just so precious. We arrived at the hotel this afternoon and have been out walking the street looking for dinner. The guys ate at McDonald's and I opened the lid of a grilled chicken (?) sandwich that just didn't look to suit me - to much unidentifiable things attached to it. Oh well, the picture on the box looked good. Anyway, I don't think I will starve. I had part of a mashed blueberry muffin that I saved from the plane. :)

Remember to check Pat's blog for more pics. Remember to pray for our little girl. We're so ready to get to her. We love you all and we'll post more tomorrow!

Oh, What a Night!

Well, here I sit in the Detroit airport, waiting on a connecting flight to Tokyo. We left left the house at 8:12am this morning and headed for the Nashville airport. We got up at 5:00 when the clock went off and I had only been in bed for about 40 minutes. I went to bed at 4:10am, whew, what a night. I guess it was a combination of nerves, emotions, and an endless list of things to do. I hope we make it to China with everything. I had a fabulous packing list and stuck to it pretty close. What a task, packing for 2 weeks in China for 5 people.

The whole thing seems very surreal. People have asked me repeatedly if I am excited and I am, but yet it just doesn't seem like it's really happening. We have waited so long for this day and it's finally here and I can't believe it. Go figure!

Most of the blog updates will be done on Pat's blog. I will probably update from time to time, if I put the baby down long enough :) otherwise, just look to Pat's blog for the updates and hopefully a little video. Pray for us, especially for safety and good health. Pray for little Jadyn, that she will transition smoothly and with no trauma. Pray that she will know our voices when she hears them and supernaturally feel a comfort that only God can place in her heart. Thanks for following our journey. We love you all and can't wait for you to meet our new daughter!

Photography 101

Pat and I bought a new camera to take with us to China and I am so excited about it. It is a Canon XTi, digital SLR and it takes incredible pictures. Yesterday, I spent the morning with my friend Alison doing a crash course in photography. Alison is a wonderfully talented photographer and I guess I can just hope that maybe a little of her knowledged rubbed off on me. Anyway, here's a little sampling of some of the pics that I took yesterday. I'm pretty proud of them. Thanks Alison for your wonderful help and a huge thank you to Katy, who was a very cooperative model for our photo shoot. Good girl, Katy, good girl.

Short Timers!

Wow, one week from today, we will be own our way to China. Our hearts are already racing and we aren't sleepig so good. Well, Pat and I aren't sleeping so good. However, I have not slept good in a year anyway, you can tell by my blog post times. People ask me all the time why I email them in the middle of the night. It's just a hand time to blog and answer emails. :)

We can't believe it ourselves. We are leaving for China to go and get our baby girl and bring her home. Life, as we know it, will be forever changed, both for us and for Jadyn. Thank you Father for blessing us with this sweet girl. Continue to pray for her. One of the things that I have prayed since we began this journey is that God would give her our voices so that when she heard us speak to her, she would know that we were her family and feel a supernatural peace and comfort.

Happy Birthday Sweet Sophie!

Sophie turned 2 today which is so hard to believe. She is a tiny, smart, talking machine. What a little angel. We love you Sophie, Happy Birthday!

Some "Official" Information

When I got home from church tonight, the UPS man had delivered that long awaited package. The one that everyone in the adoption community longs for and wants to get their hands on - Officially it is called "Invitation to Travel-Notice of Coming to China For Adoption". We have two very official original documents that states the following...

Mr. Patrick Shannon Hood
& Mrs. Amy Rebecca Hood

You have met the requirements for adoption set by the laws of China and have been approved by the China Center for Adoption. You have agreed to adopt Fu Baojun, DOB 4/13/06 residing in the Fuling Social Welfare Institute. You must take this document with you to the provincial Civil Affairs Bureau to register and complete the adoption proceedings. This Invitation to Travel for Adoption becomes effective 15 days from the date it was issued (3/30/2007) and expires three months later.

It is embossed with a seal, a very official looking stamp and a picture of that sweet, round face. How great is our God!

In that same packet we found the following information:

CHINA ITINERARY
Patrick, Amy, Seth & Zachary Hood

May 9 - Arribe at Beijing International Hotel

May 10 - Acrobatics show in the afternoon

May 11 - Visit Great Wall and Cloisonne Factory

May 12 - Visit Tiananmen Square, the Forbidded City, and Hutong tour

May 13 - Flight HU7151 (8:35 - 10:55) to Chongqing - Stay at the Harbour Plaza Hotel. Go from the airport to Fuling SWI directly to pick up the children. The orphanage is in the same area as the airport. Please prepare a diaper bag and two gifts. Free in the afternoon.

May 14 - Fill out forms in the morning; adoption registration and notarization in the afternoon.

May 15 - Visit Chongqing Zoo to see Giant Pandas

May 16 - Flight MU8741 (7:40 - 9:25) to Guangzhou. Visa photos and medical exam in the afternoon.

May 17 - Visa appointment.

May 18 - 3:00pm Go to the consulate to take the oath and pick up visa.

May 19 - Flight NW10 @ 8:30am

Wow, it looks like we might be going to China very soon. Woo Hoo!

Another Answer to a Prayer

God is just so good. I have said it many, many times throughout this whole process and He just never ceases to amaze me. Once again, He has allowed us to see a glimpse of Jadyn before we get there. One of the Fuling Kids Yahoo group members just returned from Fuling after a visit there with her daughter. She took tons of pictures of the babies and there are several of Jadyn. We are just SO thankful.

For the first time, however, a little reality has set it. The bungee cord on the diaper has deeply saddened me. The reality is, Jadyn is in an orphanage. While it is one of the best facilities in China and we could not be more grateful, it is still an orphanage. That breaks my heart. But, not for long. We are almost into single digits on the number of days before we travel. Maybe it really hasn't sunk in yet, but it's all I think about. Thank you Lord, for allowing us to see our baby girl and know that she is being cared for. Hold on Jadyn, we're on our way!

We're Leavin' on a Jet Plane!

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

Now that you have that song in your head, I thought that I would give you a little flight information.

May 7 - Leave Nashville Airport on Northwest Airline - Flight 1742 and 8:12am
Arrive Beijing - May 8 at 9:25pm

May 19 - Arrive in Nashville on Northwest Flight 1735 from Detroit at 4:17pm

So, kiss me and smile for me,
tell me that you'll wait for me,
hold me like you'll never let me go.
Cause, I'm leavin' on a jet plane,
don't know when I'll be back again, (Not!)
Oh, babe I hate to go! (Really Big NOT!)

Everybody sing! Make Janis Joplin proud!

Happy Birthday Zachary!

Today, Zachary Christian Hoods turns 14. WOW, it's hard to believe that our baby boy is that old. He has been, and continues to be, such a blessing to our family. He can't wait to be a big brother and we know that he will make a great one. He arrived in the world 9 days early and has been going head strong since that time. He was born in Dallas TX and sometimes Pat tells him that he's adopted and we think that Emmitt Smith is his Dad. I see the resemblence, don't you??? Actually, we really could do a maternity test, because there is no mistaking who his Dad is. He is a Pat Hood clone. We love you Zac, we are proud of you, and hope you have a GREAT birthday. Hope you wanted a trip to China for your birthday! :-)

3 WEEKS, 3 WEEKS, 3 WEEKS!

When Seth was 4 years old we moved to Ft. Worth Texas. It was a dark, dark time in our family. We loaded up everything we had, which was not much, and headed out. We were SO homesick and wanted to load everything back up and move back to East TN. We had some dear friends, David and Linda visit us while we lived there and Seth was in the back seat of their car doing the following cheer - 3 WEEKS, 3 WEEKS, 3 WEEKS! You see, in 3 weeks, we were going to East TN for a visit and he was VERY excited. We all missed home and our family and friends very much.

Well, in exactly 3 weeks from today, we will be in the air, on a plane and on our way to China to bring our little girl home. It's been two long years and the journey, at times, has been tough. But we are 3 weeks away from beginning the real journey. The journey to bring Jadyn home.

So officially, today we can all do the cheer that has so stuck in our minds. We talked about it a few weeks ago with David and Linda in fact. So all together now!


3 WEEKS, 3 WEEKS, 3 WEEKS!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl

Today is Jadyn's 1st birthday. Oh, how I wanted to be in China to tell her happy birthday myself. I want her to know that she will NEVER have to spend another birthday alone. I want her to know that her family will always be there for those special days. I want her to know that Mom's buy ridiculously priced clothes that can only be worn once because it only has 1 candle on the embroidered birthday cake. Speaking of cake, I want her to know that one day a year, babies are allowed to put their hands in their cake and rub it all in their hair and everyone thinks it's cute. Most of all, I want her to know that we are so thankful that God created our little one year old just for us. And by this little one year old, we are forever blessed.

Happy birthday Jadyn, your Mommy and Daddy love you very much. Soon and very soon, we will be there to tell you ourselves. Hold on, the party is not forgotten, only postponed until we can get our arms around the 1 year old guest of honor. We love you, sweet girl.

We FINALLY have a TA!

Well here it is!!! We finally have our TA. We have to be in Beijing on Wednesday, May 9 for touriing, we will arrive in Chongqing on the evening of Saturday, May 12 and our Consulate appointment is Thursday, May 17th. We will be returning to the US on Saturday, May 19th.

I am a little disappointed that we have to wait so long, but if there is one thing that I have learned during the past two years it's that I am SO not in control! I realize that it's God's perfect timing and I am very thankful that we finally have a light at the end of this very long tunnel. We are truly excited!

Update on Jadyn

This past week we received an update on Jadyn. We think that this update was aquired within the last two weeks. Here is the info that we have:

Weight - 22lbs
Length - 29.5 inches
Foot length - 4.7 inches
8 teeth
Can sit/stand/crawl

Friday is our sweet baby's birthday. We so wanted to be there to wish her a happy birthday ourselves, but we'll just have to have her a big party when we get home. We are looking for our TA's this week. We are also praying for quick travel.

Fuling SWI

This is where Jadyn is currently living, but not for long.

If These Walls Could Talk...

Here is a couple of pictures of the beautiful mural on the wall above Jadyn's changing table. Let me just say that I am THRILLED with the outcome. The mural was painted by a dear friend, Roseanne Peppers, who I have come to know and love through working at City Hall. She is an incredibly talented person that pulled the image that I had in my head and put it on the wall. What a feat! I sit and look at it and my mind travels to China, where Jadyn waits. I hope that it gives her a connection to the heritage that is hers. Developing a sense of pride in who she is and allowing her to see the beauty of the land where she was born makes me feel that I am giving something back to the country that gave us this child. Thank you Roseanne for the hours you spent and for each loving stroke, for I know that when you paint, you paint with love. Jadyn thanks you also!

Welcome Home Jadyn Grace...

No, she's not home yet, but this is the print that my sister and brother in law got for her. It says "Welcome Home Jadyn Grace" in Mandarin. It looks perfect in her room and I am so excited to have it. Anna Ruth asked a friend of hers who is Chinese if she would write it for her and she went one better. She had a cousin, who is an artist, paint it for her. Benny, then ran all over the East TN picking out a mat and frame and etc. Well, this is the outcome of that labor of love. It is just beautiful and will be so meaningful to Jadyn. Keeping her culture is very important to us as she will always be Chinese. Thanks Benny and Annie for loving our little girl and blessing us with this picture.

On Saturday, we went to Jeremy, Manda, and Will's for a family shower. They were kind enough to host the shower and have lunch for us. It was a wonderful family time together. We received some great gifts and can't wait to get Jadyn here to dress her in all those pretty clothes, wear her bracelet, put money in her bank, potty in her new potty, listen to her music box and play with her new toys. We also received a great hand painted picture from Annie and Benny that says "Welcome Home Jadyn Grace" in Chinese. It is beautiful and I will take a picture of it and post it next! Until then, enjoy the slides from that very special day!

Excuse me, but do you know where I can find...

...Amy Hood?

Well, one would think that I had fallen out of the blogosphere, but alas, I am still here. What a whirlwind 2 weeks it has been since we got the call. I can't even begin to describe what the last 2 weeks have been like. That's the reason for my lack of blogging, I have been able to form words. Our minds have been reeling and our eyes are constantly drawn to the picture of that sweet face that has melted our hearts. Did I mention that we are in love?

When Seth and Zac were born, the same exact thing happened. They placed both boys in my arms wrapped tightly in a blanket. In order to get a good look at them, I had to unwrap just to get down to the real thing. Those were grand and glorious days. On Tuesday, March 6, 2007, Jadyn Grace Hood was placed in our arms for the first time. And it was a grand and glorious day. It was a LOOONG labor, but the delivery was much easier - no staples - well, there were actually staples, but they were in the corners of the paper and not in my belly! The only difference in the three experiences is Jadyn came wrapped in a Fed Ex envelope instead of swaddled in a blanket. Everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING else was the same. The feelings of complete dependence on God coupled with extreme gratitude and thanksgiving were the same. The feeling of instant love, the kind that you would lay your life down for this child was the same. The feeling that I have never loved my husband more than I do right now was the same. The feeling that I have just laid my eyes on the most beautiful baby in the world was the same, and I have experienced it three times in my life.

Pat told me last night, in his very sweetest way, that he was "glad to be having another baby with me". Wow. What a feeling, we are having another baby and after many years of praying, we are seeing the perfect plan of the Father carried out at just the right time. It just leaves me speechless...

For anyone to understand a tiny bit of how adoption has touched our lives, you must understand one thing, if you don't understand anything else. Adoption is a calling. We have been called by God to adopt. If it were about us, then we would have never adopted. It took 3 years for God to reveal this to Pat. It is also not about my desire to have a little girl and it took God 2 years to reveal that to me. Or maybe, could it be, that it took us that long to figure it out? You hear questions throughout the process like why adopt, why international adoption, why don't you just have another child of your "own", can't you have children, why china, and on and on. Some people just don't get it. It is not about whether I can have children, whether I choose China, Vietnam or Ethiopia, or any other question. Adoption is too expensive, the wait is tougher than either one of my pregnancies combined and at times, the stress is near unbearable - but it's not about me. It's about the Creator calling a family to step out in faith and completely trust His plan. What a beautiful plan it is. If it were about me, I would have skipped all that and just spent my money on a pool. But God chose us to parent that little round faced, tulip lipped, fuzzy headed girl with black eyes that melts you heart. And God chose that round faced, big eyed, little Chinese girl to be our daughter. Before the very foundation of the world was laid, she was chosen to be ours and we were chosen to be hers. And for the plan of a very creative God, I will be eternally grateful.

Thank you for walking this walk with us, and if you were wondering about all the "whys", wonder no more. We are humbled to be chosen by God to adopt...it is an honor and a priviledge.

My Favorite Picture of All!

This is my favorite pictue of all. This picture was taken in November. Is that not the sweetest face that you have ever laid eyes on? We cannot wait to kiss those sweet cheeks. I am so humbled that God has chosen us to parent this child.

It Just Keeps Getting Better!

I received an email from a lady asking me about Jadyn's birthday. I emailed it back to her and she sent me this wonderful present. Jadyn is in the infant nurture program at the orphanage and this picture was taken in February. We are so blessed. I promise, I will blog more soon. I am just having a really hard time forming words at this point. Until then, enjoy the newest picture of my sweet angel. With all her layers, she sort of has my Uncle Robert's belly! :)

To God Be the Glory...

Finally, our prayers have a face. We think that she is the most beautiful baby on this earth and we are speechless. We are in awe of God's goodness and His faithfulness. We cannot believe that He saw fit to match us with such a beautiful baby. She is truly beautiful, for her sticking up hair to her little tulip shaped lips. WOW, pretty much sums it up. I will post more later. We have so much to enlighten you on. Until then, you will just have to stare at these two pictures. I have been for the last 10 hours. Life is so sweet!

WE HAVE A BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are praising God for this wonderful news! We have a daughter!

Name: Fu Bao Jun
DOB 4/13/06
Fuling Social Welfare Institute
Chongqing

We are absolutely beside ourselves and still cannot believe that we have gotten "the call". We go down tomorrow to Bethany and pick up the picture and the rest of the translated information. We stand in awe of the God we serve.

Breaking News!

100% confirmed that the package that has been mailed IS referrals. Also, the confirmed cut-off date is 10/24/05. Unless there is some fluke, we are IN! Referrals are in the states, one agency has received their referrals today. Stay tuned.

Shower Slideshow

Here is a link to the shower slide show. This will have to hold you over for now. Alison did the pictures and they are GREAT, which is no huge surprise. Thanks Alison for your talent and for being my friend. Click on shower slideshow above in the title.

Here's The Scoop!

Well, it looks as though 10/24/05 has been confirmed as the cut-off. I always hesitate to say this as it has not changed on the main CCAA site. Apparently this is from the "internal" pages that can only be accessed by log in. So I guess until I see it actually change on the CCAA website or get "the call" I won't hang my hat on it until then.

Now, the question is, what does the package that was mailed from the CCAA on Friday 3/2 contain. Could it be referrals? Yes. Could it be TA's? (travel approvals) Yes. Both are a possibility, but with the rumors of a cut-off date floating around, I can only believe that there is a strong possibility that there is referrals in that package. Time will tell. Stay tuned and check frequently. I will blog as soon as I have news of any kind.

Also, I will blog about the shower we had yesterday as soon as I can. WOW. It was great!

Am I Prepared?

Today I have been reflecting on all that is about to take place. Things are about to kick into high gear and I wonder if I am really ready. Not, ready to get Jadyn, because believe me, we are past ready (not a huge surprise) and are we REALLY ready. It's the little things like a day or so ago I realized that I have nothing to send for her care package. Once we find out the orphanage that she is in, I can prepare and send a care package to her. This is a common occurance. Most families send things like a soft blanket, a photo album with pictures of her new family labeled in Chinese, a small toy, some candy for the nannies and a couple of disposable cameras. The idea in sending the cameras is to ask the nannies to snap a few pictures of the orphanage and the caretakers, cribmates, orphanage life etc. I do actually know of people that the camera is returned to them and the pictures have all been taken up. This, in most cases, is the only link to that past life that our daughter would have. Those that have received these camera back have had them developed and realized what a treasure they really are. Most of the time, if you get anything back, it's the cameras. It is not unusual to see any of the rest of it, which is okay. Maybe some little baby will get the use of the rest of the stuff. So, I've got to get that stuff together. I fully believe that one day next week, we our prayers will have a face.

Hello March!

Well, this is it, officially the first day of March. My hope is dwindling that we will see referrals this week. Not that I really had much hope anyway, but you just never know. Now, if we don't start seeing something happen next week, then you can officially place my name in the very disappointed column. I think that this week was really a little to early to set your expectations too high. Today has been a pretty good day and we have a big weekend coming up so we are excited about that. I have family coming this weekend and I am sure that we will shop til we drop and then all shower on Sunday. Hee hee! That just sounds funny to me! It's going to be a great weekend and I am sure that we will squeeze in a little Chinese food at Pei Wei at some point. Woo Hoo, a good time will be had by all.

A Better Day!

The excitement is building! Rumors are beginning to float around and right now they are all over the place. We are seeing everything from late this week to mid March referral arrival and nothing close to narrowing a cut-off date. This is very common for early referral rumors. This is where great patience is required.

One thing that I have to keep in mind is that they are exactly what they are and that is rumors. Nothing to bet your house on, just rumors. But when you have been waiting for almost 2 years, you grasp at anything that you can and hold on for dear life, especially if it is positive. And, with that, if it is not positive, you let it keep you awake at night. As I have been reminded almost on a daily basis since we began this whole journey in 2005, guess who is NOT in control and guess who is.

So, that is really all I have, which is pretty much nothing. Thanks for your concerns on my crying day yesterday, today is actually better. I still look quite tired, probably because I am. I was at the Y before 7:00am today and haven't stopped yet. Wednesdays are a little crazy for us, like most every other day. I have family coming this weekend and that IS exciting. Our church shower is Sunday and they are coming Friday so we can get in a little shopping before the shower. Ooohh, now that sounds like fun. Thanks for checking in on us and hopefully, I'll have a little more news tomorrow. Goodbye February, Hello March! This IS our month! Stay tuned, same bat time, same bat channel!

Try Not to Make Eye Contact!

First of all, let my offer my humble apology for not blogging yesterday. Yes, I am well aware that I said that I was going to post everyday until we get our referral and already, I have failed. The day just got away from me and my "little" project of completely redecorating Zac's bedroom in 5 days is making me crazy, or crazier I guess I should say.

Secondly, let me just warn you, it will probably be in your best interest to avoid eye contact with me today, I am a bit weepy. Okay, a whole lot weepy. So far I have cried twice at the Y today, not because anyone made me, just because I felt like crying. Pat, this would be a good time to remember that I don't always have an answer for why I am crying. I then proceeded to WalMart where I cried once in the van on the way there and once in the WalMart. The episode in the van was brought on by that blame Pedigree commercial that obviously makes me cry even when I think about it, and the one in WalMart I suppose could be pinned on the fact that I could not find the Herbal Essence Pin Straight Shampoo that I was looking for. At least that's the only thing that I can figure out that I was doing when the tears began. Oh, I didn't utter a sound, so there was no wailing, just some rolling tears and a little snot, if you will.

So, yes, the month of February is about over and we are next! Just know that if you make eye contact with me, I could just cry.

What am I counting to?

I was telling Pat something about the blog today and he said that he was wondering what I was counting down to. So, I guess that I will have to change my post titles to no count down since I don't know for sure when we will get our referral. I was counting down to the end of February, but since there is no guarrantee that they will come March 1, I suppose I need to change my counting ways!

We have began a huge project and that is trying to get Zac's room ready upstairs. He is moving into the bonus room, which was Seth's old room. We are going to make Seth's old room an office/guest bedroom so the pressure is on. We went Saturday and purchased paint and it is looking great. It will be a sweet room. So now, our "spare" time is spent on painting. It's a big room, lots of angles and lots of trimming. Pat and Zac helped do the rolling, but I am the only one that can trim, or that's the story and everyone is sticking to it.

Consider Yourself Warned!

February is quickly passing and we are about to be at the end of it. I can't help but feel in my gut that we will hear something very soon. Call it instinct, call it a gut feeling, or call it the chicken stir fry that I had for dinner, who knows? We have worked so hard today on Zac's new room. He will be moving upstairs to the bonus room and we are trying to "cool" it up a little bit. Jeremy, Manda and Will came yesterday to enjoy the festivities of Elijah and Macklin's birthday party and stayed all night with us. Manda and I worked this morning in Jadyn's room, putting things in drawers, in the closet, etc. I have mush for brains and I couldn't make a rational decision as to where to put her socks. You see, I have a chest of drawers and a changing table and I want to put everything in the most efficient locations. I think there may have actually been a tear or two shed on Friday morning when I was facing that all important decision that all expectant mothers must face - "do I put the socks, tights and leggings in the same drawer in the chest, or do I seperate them and put the socks in one of the drawers in the changing tables?" I just couldn't decide what the most efficient location would be. Anyone want to come help get things situated? I might cry - consider yourself warned! Our church shower is next Sunday, so I'll have some more things to put up after it!

To Work or Not to Work-That is the Question!

Wow, what craziness! I read this morning that the CCAA is opening back up on 2/24/07. If that is true, it's a little quicker than I thought. It was my understanding that they were to return to work on 2/26. I hope that this is true, it could only speed us up. I anticipate that referrals will be sometime in the first 7 days of March. So I guess I should have started the countown at T minus 11 or 12, but 7 sounded like a good number. I am counting February out of here. Next week is our shower and we are SO excited about it. We are beginning again, which is crazy to me. People ask "what do you need?" and I just say "mostly everything!" because I got rid of everything. If I did not get rid of it, it would be dry rotted anyway. Zac is 14 you know! That's what I mean by craziness. Oh well, I am already not sleeping, so I guess I am preparing to get up with a baby again. It's been along time since I have had to do that too. Stay tuned and be sure and check out Pat's blog which is listed above. He has been talking about the adoption and how God has dealt with him on this subject. Now that's craziness!

Well, We're Another Day Closer

Every morning when the clock goes off Pat says, "well, we're another day closer." I just love the way that sounds. He is so encouraging and is so excited. He cannot wait to have a little girl. I have been trying to get him to put is in a pool and he has refused for years. I told him that I am going to have Jadyn ask him to put her in a pool when she gets old enough to talk. :) He said that I had better not and gave me "the look". Life with a little girl, he has no idea what he is in for. But, I want Pat to experience what it is like to be loved by a daughter. It's the sweetest kind of love. I can't wait for him to know this kind of love. We are another day closer and I fully expect to begin to hear some rumors the beginning of next week. The CCAA is closed all this week for Chinese New Year, so there is not much out there. The countdown is on, we're ready to see that face, and this will be the first place that her picture is posted for public viewing! Check back often, you never know when we might get "the call".

Counting February Outta Here!

Today is February 21, 2007. Officially, we have been logged in for 16 months today. That's a long time in case you didn't realize! :) I could have carried and given birth to an elephant by now. But let me just say: LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN! Most of the time referrals come the end of the month, so I am counting down the end of February. I will be posting a message everyday until we receive our referral which should be the end of February/first of March. Pray that it is closer to the end of February. Finally, we will have a name, picture, birthdate and our prayers will have a face. Our hearts are filled with joy and anticipation and especially love. Join me as we count down these next few days until we see the face of Jadyn!

Lesson 2 - How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count ...

What a fitting day to talk about love. So many things have rolled around in my head during the past two years and one in particular is thoughts of love. How important love is to our lives. I was fortunate to grow up in a very loving family. Saying "I love you" was something that was spoken sincerely and spoken often. That is something that has carried into my marriage. I love to hear the words I love you. One of my favorite children's book is Guess How Much I Love You and it warms my heart. It is the story of Big Nutbrown Hare and Little Nutbrown Hare and there debate of which one loves the other the most.

"I love you all the way down the lane as far as the river." cried Little Nutbrown Hare. "I love you across the river and over the hills," said Big Nutbrown Hare. That's very far, thought Little Nutbrown Hare. He was almost too sleepy to think anymore. The he looked beyond the thornbushes, out into the big dark night. Nothing could be farther than the sky. "I love you right up to the moon," he said and closed his eyes. "Oh, that's far," said Big Nutbrown Hare. "That is very, very far." Big Nutbrown Hare settled Little Nutbrown Hare into his bed of leaves. He leaned over and kissed him good night. Then he lay down close by and whispered with a smile, "I love you right up to the moon - and back."

I use to tell my dad "I love you up to the sky and down to the ground" and that's alot of love. When you experience that kind of love, it gives you a glimpse into the love of God. How can I love a child that I have never seen and that another woman carried and gave birth to, but yet the love I feel for her is as deep as the love for my boys? It is a love that can only be placed in your heart by a Holy and loving God. I cannot even fathom how much the Father loves us, but for this love, I am forever grateful.

How Deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure.
That He should give His only Son,
To make a wretch His treasure.

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away,
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory.

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders.
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers.

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished.

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection.

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannon give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom.


Love... How thankful I am that I cannot possibly understand how much God loves me but one thing I know for certain, I do love Him "up to the moon - and back" I thank Him for teaching me more every day about love.

Jadyn's Quilt

Here is the quilt that goes with Jadyn's bedding. I still have a little work to do on the bumper pads and they will be finished also. I had them made, but I have to add some extra ties on the sides to help them to stand better. Everything matches so well and I love it.


The mural is almost finished, one more visit from Roseanne will do it. I narrowed the mural down quite a bit and made a few changes. Roseanne is now painting the curtains to look like the real curtains on the window and it looks so good. I am so excited about it. It is all coming together. Here is a picture of the mural at this stage.





And finally, here are all of Jadyn's friends waiting on her to come home.

The View From Down Here-Lesson 1

You asked for it, so here you go. What have I learned during this long journey of adoption? A journey, that I might add, that is not over. We are still traveling that road and looking for a place to rest. Sometimes, we need the rest more than others. Sometimes, we find ourselves running and other times we are simply dragging our feet. What a journey it has been!

From the time that we began this journey almost two years ago, I held onto a picture in my mind of Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus while everything else is going on around her. That is precisely where I have found myself and how I have coped with the increase wait times, the disappointments along the way, and quite frankly, the thought of my daughter being in an institution in China and my inability to get to her. At the feet of Jesus, that is where I have stayed. Never before in my life have I ever been forced to rely on Him so much. Isn't that exactly what He wants us to do? So what's the problem? How hard can it be to completely and fully rely on Him? How hard can it be to trust Him completely? How hard can it be to sit at his feet and focus on Him, rather than everything that is going on around me?

It's hard, very hard. At times, I have found myself, sitting at His feet, yet looking at the giant that I was facing. The giant of increasing wait times, etc. It was during those times, I realized I was no longer focusing on Him, but the other things and they were huge from where I was sitting.

One of the verses that God has repeatedly given me during this time is this...

"For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." Isaiah 41:13

From where I am sitting, it's looking pretty sweet right now...

I See The Moon and The Moon Sees Me!

I got up Saturday morning and one of the first things I do is look out the front door to "check the weather" as my Dad use to do. My eyes immediately were drawn to this beautiful moon that was shining so bright in the daylight. The picture does not capture how bright the moon really was. You could see the surface colors and it was so vivid. So many times throughout this journey I have looked at the moon and it is one of the few things that links us to Jadyn right now. As she is in China and we are on the other side of the world, it's the same moon that shines over both of us. When I see it in the daytime, my mind always thinks that maybe a very loving nanny is walking Jadyn outside to see the moon. She points and shows it to her and they look at it, just a few seconds and at the same time that I am standing on my front walk in my pajamas, looking at the moon and thinking about my little girl. Maybe a stretch, but somehow it give me such a peace. I really needed to see that daytime moon Saturday morning and I thank God that He put that moon in the daytime sky just for Jadyn, her nanny and me. I see the moon and the moon sees me...

How I Am Feeling Today

Today is one of those days where my emotions have been "running crazy". Here is my post from the babyjellybeans site that pretty much sums up what I am feeling in my heart...

When I think of the whole process, it overwhelms me sometimes with raw emotion. I don't understand why God chose for us to be in this place, at this time, but He did. And for that, I will be forever be grateful. It is so hard to describe how you can love something so much that you have never seen, felt, smelled, touched or held. Hmm, much like my love for God I would say. We are in love with a child we have never seen and that boggles the mind. How can I love something so deeply that I have never seen? That, my family and friends, is the overflowing of the love of God in my life. It is a love that is so real it consumes you, yet so tender, you just want to share it with the world. Isn't that what it's really all about. Sharing God's love with the world. When I think of the complexity of it all, it always leads me to the God I love and His grace. He has chosen to entrust us with this gift of undescribable love in our hearts. A love that can only be placed there by the Creator. Wow.

October 13, 2005 - The New Cut-Off

The CCAA has officially revealed the new cut-off date. The website was updated tonight and they managed to get through October 13, 2005!!! This means they are in October and it is SO good to finally see that month on their website. Now, what's next? I'm glad you asked. WE ARE!!! This leaves us in the position to almost be a shoe-in for the next batch of referrals!!! This sounds unbelievable to me and I think that reality is beginning to sink it. I guess you could say that I am pretty much a wreck!

My sweet friend Becca gave us this plate for Jadyn's room and I think it pretty much sums it all up. "We prayed for this child and the Lord has granted us what we aked of Him". From the very beginning, Jadyn Grace Hood has been bathed in prayer. We don't have too far to go now. Continue to pray daily for Jadyn, her birth family, her health, her country and her new parents who are so anxiously waiting for this baby girl. We are almost there Jadyn!

Coming Soon - What I have Learned

I am attempting to put together my thoughts on the lessons that I have been taught over the past two years and even beyond. I am going to post some of the things that God has taught me during this very difficult time in hopes that someone, somewhere may benefit from those lessons. So, stay tuned for the real truth, some of which is pretty and some of which is not so pretty.

When you gotta go, you gotta go!

I ran across the picture and it just cracks me up. What a great and creative angle. It really sums up how I feel right now. I have been somewhat preoccupied yesterday and last night after reading a thread of the Bethany Board about attachment. I keep going over and over in my mind, what if I don't get it right, what if I miss something, what if Jadyn has attachment issues that I don't recognize, and every other question rolling around in my head. I guess you can say that I feel like I'm "freaking out" on the inside. For those that know me well, you know that I wouldn't show it on the outside. Is this normal to feel this way coming down to the wire? I have waited so long for this and I just don't want to mess it up. I read of severe attachment issues and I read peoples blogs that say their issues are very minimal. I think that it is safe to say that all instutionalized children have suffered a break in the attachment cycle and will have some issues and I recognize and believe this, but I can't help but be worried about missing something. Maybe I just need reassurance, maybe I just need encouragement, maybe I just need to use THAT bathroom at the Great Wall!

Anyone for Sushi?

For those of you that know me well, you know once I have something in my mind there is no stopping me. I will drive 500 miles just to find one thing. Well, one of my most recent missions has been the Great Sushi Set Search of 06! I saw this "Melissa and Doug" wooden sushi set on line and felt in my heart that Jadyn "must" have one. It was way too much on line so I began my hunt. I had a few shops that I knew that sold Melissa and Doug toys but I kept coming up empty handed. Just when I had resolved that I was going to "have" to pay that ridiculous price, I found it at the Peanut Gallery in Murfreesboro. Woo Hoo! It is so cute. The sushi rolls velcro together so you can put the together and then "cut" them apart to serve. The chopsticks have velcro on the ends of them so you can easily pick the "sushi" up. It also has a bowl of soy sauce, wasabi and ginger slices. It really is too cute for words. Guess you can tell that it don't take much to excite me these days.

Fun with Addie!

Just before Christmas, we got the priviledge of keeping Addie Mei for Dick and Leslie. She was a blast. I told Pat that we must look ridiculous as we sat in chairs (all three of us, Pat, Zac and myself) just watching her eat in her (actually Jadyn's) highchair. Can you imagine? Oh well, here are a few pictures from the night that I am just now blogging. What a great time we had. It was a true joy and she loves egg nog. I don't think that they served it back at "the home" :)

A Little Bummed!

Well, the new cut-off date is 9/27/05. I really had hoped for the rest of the month, or at least through the 29th of September, but no go. I am not at all surprised, but I guess a little disappointed. This means that we will probably not get our referral until sometime in February or even into the first or March. I don't look for the next cut-off to go much into October. Even though there is more days in this batch, this is still considerably less LID's that they have previously been processing. I am still searching for the lesson that God is teaching me!!!!!

What do I Know?

Nothing, absolutely nothing at this point. I am still diligently praying that 9/29 is included in this batch that is due to hit the states today. We need it to and we need it to BAD!!! Keep on praying. This is HUGE for us. There are conflicting rumors, but it's not looking too good right now.

Happy New Year!

Yes, I know that I'm a day late, that is usually how it works for me. But, here's hoping we hear some wonderful referral news today. There is a European agency that has already confirmed that their 9/27/05 people are in. We REALLY NEED for this batch to go through the end of September. Get busy praying! More later as the excitement unfolds! Just a thought, what if we get a call today and our LID has been changed? Stranger things have happened you know! :)

Stop the Madness!

Things continue to be crazy in the world of adoption. There have been several families who had LID's past 9/8/05 who have received their referrals in the last batch. I have seen one as late at 9/15/05. Talk about a surprise. How wild would that be? I really think that we are on target for February. However, there is a slim chance that we could get ours in January. This has been a crazy process and just think, the fun is just beginning.