Our Christmas...and our SECOND best gift ;)

We REJOICE in the birth of our Savior!!!

We started off our Christmas Celebrations with Brodie's family up north...we had a wonderful and relaxing time there. We love going out to Nana Carol's house and watching Hallmark Christmas movies ;)

Grandma and the kids...

 We went to my parents house for Christmas Eve with all of my cousins and their families

Nana and Papa with the grandkids

Christmas morning we went back to my parents with just our immediate family...

Papa and Nana with Claire

The boys :)

Papa is working hard to help Nana get breakfast ready

Aunt Abbie with Sis and Keeg on our way their

Anna loves her new journal from Santa

Me with two of my nieces

Papa is praying over the food

Our family Christmas 2012

Grandpa with his great grand-kids...we are so blessed to have him - such a sweet man!

Keegan is having fun opening presents

Another shot of Anna with her journal...her favorite gift!

Wahoo! New shoes from Papa and Nana

Legos...that the boys have already put together!

Rachel with her new ipod

Thomas is ready to open another gift...he's trying to guess what it is ;)

Nana with her grand-kids

Claire doesn't leave Nana's side...and Anna is always right with Claire...so sweet ;)

Grandpa and Keegan

Claire and Nana

The girls

Claire

More of Nana and Claire

The parents :)

The girls :)

We are forever grateful for Jesus coming earth...being born to die for us - that we may live with Him eternally! This will always be our BEST Christmas gift!

Our family received a SECOND best Christmas gift...on Friday as we were heading up to see Brodie's family, we received a call from Logan at Lifeline letting us know that we got our....

"L"

"O"

"A"

our official LOA... Letter of Acceptance! This is the main approval that we have been waiting for!!! This means that we only have a few more steps and should travel in about 10 weeks :) We also received an updated picture of her with some of the other children at her orphanage...

She is on the far left ;) We have been so blessed to connect with two other families who are adopting 2 year olds from Kaylee Grace's same orphanage!! It has been so wonderful to be able to chat along the way and pray for one another :)

What a special gift it was to get our LOA and an updated picture of her...we're getting closer and we truly can't wait to start loving on her!!!

Merry Christmas Kaylee Grace!

This is what Christmas is all about! 2,000 Decembers Ago

Merry Christmas!!! We praise God for His Son...THE greatest Christmas gift of all time!

This is what Christmas is all about.....

Christmas Parties at school...

We've had a great last week of school and we are SO ready for Christmas break and to celebrate the BEST Christmas gift ever....Jesus!!!

We got an Update ;)

We received an update on Kaylee Grace on Friday! It is such a blessing to have updated pictures! They were taken on Thursday of last week :))) We also were able to ask 10 questions to the orphanage and we got answers to all 10 questions...

What do you call her and why was that specific name chosen for her?


We call her Ting Ting. Sui is the last name for the children from our orphanage. Xiu is the first name for the children who entered our institute in 2010. Ting means grow to a beautiful, slim and graceful girl. 

How would you describe her personality? 



She has a ready smile, but she is also stubborn. 

Does she sleep well at night? What are her sleep habits?


She sleeps well. She likes to sleep on her stomach. 

Does she say any words? If so, what are they?


She is not talking yet. But when she needs something, she burbles and gestures. 

What is she afraid of or what are things that she does not like?


We didn’t find she is afraid of anything at the orphanage. 

What calms her when she is upset or scared?


Pick her up and talk with her will calm her. 

Does she have a favorite toy?


She likes to play with small balls. 

Who is she the closest to at the orphanage?


Her nanny. 

Does she take a bottle or eat solid foods? If so, how do you prepare it?

She takes a bottle. Mix formula with rice cereal. 

What is her favorite thing to do or something that makes her smile?

She likes to play with other children in the playroom.

Her updated measurements:

Height: 75cm; Weight: 9kg; Head: 47cm; Chest: 46.5cm; Teeth: 16; Foot: 12cm.

(Height: 29 1/2 inches; Weight: 19.80 lbs)

We were so excited to learn some more about our girl!!! We haven't seen any pictures of her smiling so it was so sweet to hear that she has a "ready smile" ;) We can't even wait to get there and hold her!!!

SPEAK UP - 2013...All I Really Want

This song represents all of the children who just want a FAMILY this Christmas!




Can't wait for the city-wide Orphan Event on
JANUARY 27 - Speak Up 2013 -
4:30 PM & 6:30 PM
Clovis North Performing Arts Center
Worship by Joh Shabaglian
Special Guest: His Little Feet International Orphan Choir
Guest Speaker: Jedd Medefind (Christian Alliance for Orphans)

Come and hear the head of the Fresno County Foster System address our city about how WE can help those in our city who are "fatherless". We may not all be called to adopt...but we are all called to do something...come and hear how YOU can make an ETERNAL difference in the life of a needy child!

Kaylee Grace's Care Package

We were SO excited to get to send off our care package this weekend ;)

Here are some of the items that we sent: Goodnight Moon (recordable book where I got to record my voice reading to her! Another adoptive mom who is adopting a little girl from Kaylee's orphanage gave me this idea), a couple of toys, soft blanket, lovey, footie pj's, socks, toddler toothbrush and toothpaste, disposable camera (hoping that they will take some pictures of her over these next couple of months and then they give it to us when we get her!), and the soft photo book with our family pictures in it ;)

 Here are some close-ups of the book:

Dear Jesus, we pray in Your Holy Name that You will so knit our hearts with Kaylee Grace's heart as we wait to hold her. We pray that Your Holy Spirit will SO cover her and that she will become so familiar with Your Spirit surrounding her... so that when we get there and get to hold her we will feel strangely familiar to her as she senses Your Spirit in us!!!

And here are the kids and Brodie in front of the post office 

The postal lady let them decorate the box too!

Wo ai ni means "I love you" in chinese

You will love our jiating (our family) ;)

We love you, Kaylee Grace! We can't wait to hold you and pour the love of Jesus into you :)

Introducing...Kaylee Grace!!! We got PA!!

 Here are the first pictures that we saw of her (her referral pictures): (To read more on her story click here and here)...

"You whom I have upheld since you were conceived,
and have carried since your birth.
Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am He, who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you."
Isaiah 46: 3-4

Lord Jesus, thank You that You have upheld Kaylee since she was conceived! You have carried her since her birth! It is You who will sustain her - You have made her and You will carry her. You will sustain her and You will rescue her. We rejoice in You; 

the God who rescues and saves and heals! 

These are the pictures we got from when our agency went with their team as part of the orphanage partnership program that we are in. 

We can't wait to get there and pour the LOVE of Jesus into her!!!