Here we go!!

We are headed to Indy right now! The girls are doing great so far, but it will be hard to give them kisses good-bye at the airport.  They have their paper-chain ready to countdown the days until we are back with Beilyn! They are super excited about all the sleepovers and daily gifts for the next two weeks!

Here is our itinerary:

May 1st-2nd- Travel to Beijing

May 3rd- Tour Beijing and take overnight train to Nanchang

May 4th- Beilyn Day!!  Our guide said we will probably get Beilyn around 4:30pm, which will be 4:30am on Sunday morning in Indiana.

May 5th- Adoption Day- complete the paperwork to make her officially ours forever!

May 6th- Free Day (We have some big plans that I hope to share soon!)

May 7th- Hopefully visit the orphanage or meet Beilyn's foster mom

May 8th- Free Day

May 9th- Pick up Beilyn's Passport and fly to Guangzhou

May 10th- Medical Exam

May 11th- Free Day- planning to go to church and shop on the island

May 12th- Consulate Appointment

May 13th- Pick up Beilyn's visa and take a train to Hong Kong

May 14th- Fly Home!  With the time change, we will leave Wednesday morning, travel for over 24 hours and arrive home on Wednesday afternoon! :)

One of my favorite verses is Isaiah 26:3 and I've been praying for that perfect peace since the day we sent our Letter of Intent to adopt Kaiyun.  I'm still scared about what her future holds, but I know He chose her for our family. Please pray for our girlies while we are away, pray for safe travels for us, and especially be praying for Beilyn as her whole world is about to be turned upside down!  Thank you for your love and support!

♥ Two Years of Forever! ♥

On April 23rd, we celebrated two years with our Brielle AnnaMeng! I had no idea just how much God would use this little girl to change our hearts! She is simply amazing. Truly a gift from God!

On Brielle's Gotcha & Adoption Day! 4.23.12

We had Chinese for dinner- noodles & rice for our spicy girl!

She was a bit confused as to why there were 2 candles. She said, "I'm 3 but I'm going to be 4!" ;)

After dinner, we went to Awana at church.  Just another reminder of how much this little girl's world has changed... she bowed to Buddha and called him by name when she joined our family but now she knows who Jesus is! 

We had to pull out her Gotcha day outfit! She has grown and changed so much!

Easter Weekend {St. Louis & Celebrating Jesus}

On Good Friday, the girls and I drove out to St. Louis to visit my friend Julie! (Alex had to stay home due to Bible studies and basketball.) We couldn't have asked for better weather!

Julie and I met through blogging over 2 years ago, but this was our first opportunity to meet in person! She has been a huge support to me through the ups and downs of this second adoption. Rarely do more than a few days go by without us "talking" via text.  Sometimes I have even shared things with her that I haven't shared with my "real life" friends because there is just something different about the bond of adoptive mommas.

We were waiting at the Arch for them.  When I saw them walking down that grassy hill, it was like reuniting with an old friend and I couldn't wait to give her a hug!  We plopped right down in the grass and started chatting while the kids ran around us and played.

She is just as sweet and kind in person as I imagined, but she is also really funny! (And she may just be the Proverbs 31 lady.)  Her family is adorable and my kids fell in love with hers instantly...well, except for our 3 yr old Chinese princesses. They weren't quite sure what to think of each other. When they had a little discussion about their birthday parties, Julie and I were about to burst with joy. It was so cute!

Brynna was very protective of Katee all weekend. She loves her!

Her husband Ian was super sweet too. He reminded me a lot of my brother-in-law, Andre.

Calla & Braylee

The next morning, we met at the zoo and then had lunch together before heading back home. It was such a fun weekend. The only downside was that it went too quickly!

My big girls *might* have been fighting for Katee's affection.

All of Brynna's babies are now named Katee. ;)

Brielle was very calm & quiet all weekend but she gave Julie a great hug before we left!

The next day was Easter Sunday! The reason we have hope! So thankful for what Christ did for us on the cross! We went to sunrise service, had breakfast at church, then our regular service and then on to my Grammy's house. Such a beautiful day!

Celebrating our Risen Savior!

With Gramma & Pappy

Hunting for eggs!

Our last holiday without Beilyn!

Egg hunt at Grammy's house with cousins

Then we finished off the special day at Gramma & Pappy's house with more cousins.