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.