She's So Beautiful!!

Great things come in big brown trucks around here!

We received our referral package at 11:00 am this morning - praise God for Saturday UPS Delivery! The UPS guy thought I was absolutely out of my mind (which my husband would agree with!) as I was taking his picture as he walked up our driveway...and our two neighbors across the street were a little worried as I was jumping up & down & screaming!

Doug was out washing the car...and I immediately summoned him home! He opened the package and saw her precious face first - and broke out in the biggest smile! You can see why for yourself....

Isn't she just about the most beautiful baby you've ever seen?? We are so in love with her already!

For those who have asked - what will happen next is we have sent back to our agency our acceptance of her; we will then wait about 3-4 weeks for the US Consulate in Guangzhou to schedule our visa appointment; we generally travel about 6-8 weeks after referral date, so we anticipate that travel will be in mid to late May.

We are thankful to God that He has blessed up with this child; while the next weeks will be difficult for us with our daughter so far away, we trust our Lord to watch over her and keep her safe while He prepares her heart for her new family!

Think Pink - we have a daughter!!

“I prayed for this child and the Lord has granted me what I have asked of Him”

Today we received word that we have a daughter! Her name is Ai Lan Ji, she is a year old (dob 3/24/07) and she is in Hexi, Huazhoa, Guangdong Province! She is about 16 pounds and 27 inches

We anticipate that Karen, her mom & Destiny will travel mid to late May to pick up Becky Ai Lan Yingling!!

Thank you for all your prayers – they are so appreciated & felt!

Our God is an AWESOME GOD! Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow!

Stork Sighting???

There is a rumor "flying" about the China adoption community that referrals have been sent from the CCAA in China; if it's true- - it means that after 28 long months, we may see our precious daughter's face sometime between Friday and next Tuesday!!!!

We will keep you updated!

"Play Ball"!!!!

Well, it's our family's favorite time of year - baseball season begins in 8 days!! Anyone who knows Doug realizes that from the last out of the World Series until the pitchers report for spring training are a dark time in his life - and the rest of ours as well because of that!

For the past couple of years, we have ventured to Arizona to see a few spring training games. This year, we took Matt and our friend Kris and saw two games. Easter Sunday, we got to go to Living Streams church with a neighbor of my mom's - it was an amazing service full of the Glory of the resurrected Lord. Then - it was off the see the Cubs clobber the Padres...too bad for us San Diego fans, but Kris - our favorite Cubs fan - was very happy!

On Monday - we started out at Hohokum Field - the Cubs were playing, and we weren't going to that game, but Kris wanted to get some Cubbie souvenirs. On the way back to the car from the store, we got to see the awesome Clysedale team! The were at the stadium - and we were close enough to practically reach out & pet them. It was very cool.

We then ventured over to Diablo Field in Tempe and watched the Anaheim Angels battle the Padres. Cheering on the Angels - they came back to tie it up in the bottom of the 9th inning. We also found out that during spring training, the maximum number of innings played is 10!

The horses came with two feet of us - weliterally had front row seats!

They are so majestic....

Kris would make a great "Vanna White" for the Clydesdale team

no words for this one - it speaks for itself!

The Final Birthday Celebration

We finished up celebrating Doug's 50th birthday two weekends ago with a trip to Italy.....right on Valley View Place! We had our friends and neighbors gathered - the only one missing was Doug! He was very sick for five days - and missed most of his party. He tried to rally Saturday night during hte party to no avail. HE is feeling better now, and enjoed the pictures!

A Red Thread

An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle but never break.

Ancient Chinese Belief

Yesterday, we received a quilt square with a note from our very dear friend Lois; in her note was the following poem

A Red Thread to China
A red thread to China was cast today

From us to a child so far away

This thread symbolizes an attachment of hearts

That distance alone can’t keep up apart

Her mother & I are caught in a chase

That time alone bring us to face

This loving young child we want so much to greet

With love in our hearts before we did meet

This tiny thin thread may stretch, tangle or fray

But our love for her grows stronger each day

Through the test of time it won’t break or sever

She’ll be part of us forever and ever

With oceans between us the distance is spanned

By a love that is greater than man could have planned

For God in His mercy loved her and loved us

And decided our family would be a great plus

So for now we’ll just love her and pray every day

That God keeps her and loves her for us till we may

Travel to China that land of great past

To the side of our daughter to hold her at last

Please keep praying for us and for Becky who is somewhere in China; we are cautiously optimistic that we will receive a referral the beginning of April and travel late in May - but all in God's timing!

The Perfect Birthday Getaway

We left Thursday morning (Doug's birthday!) for four fabulous days at the One & Only Palmilla in Los Cabos, Mexico - courtesy of our good friends at CCM. This is our second time there, and we never get tired of it! The service is beyond amazing - and we will let the view from our room speak for itself!

This day bed was a great place to read & listen to the waves crashing right below us

A great place for a little morning coffee & whale watching. The hotel provided us with a telescope for looking at the whales; we saw some everytime we were out on the balconey

While the view from the rooms wasn't bad (!!), the view on the beach wasn't anything to overlook either! Doug even made some new friends!



The next picture was taken specifically for Ashlee......

It was an amazing four days that allowed us to relax and reconnect - and get ready for the next phase of our life! We are so grateful to our friends at CCM for the effort they put into making this an amzaing time for us -