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!