We really did get our LOA!

I still can't believe it, but here on hour 3 of paperwork, it does seem true now! Plus, we got the actual approval document via FedEx yesterday so I have proof!! HOPEfully this means we will be in China late July, early August. Please pray for the swine flu woes to GO AWAY and for this next set of paperwork to fly through US immigration and the path to the Chinese consulate! I have to re-post my pictures so Hope is at the top:

Drumroll please.....

We got our LOA!!!!!
This is day 70 for us and no one expected it!!
Guangdong province where Hope is still is not making appointments for people to complete adoptions, but this is great so we can get all the other paperwork done and reveiwed and hopefully by then the swine flu will be gone and we can go get our girl!!!!
And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
Romans 5:2-5
Here's a little quilt preview (really bad photo but I am too lazy to go back upstairs!)
There is the best quilt shop off of N. Druid Hills.
It's called Intown Quilters. If you don't sew, it will make you want to start! Their bag is even cute--see photo! The red fabric is for the border, the blue polka dot is for the back.

Serenity NOW!!

God, give us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

Original Serenity Prayer
by Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)

I found this online today and it really made sense. Now, how do I do it?? I feel like Jerry Seinfeld's dad. (edit: Oops, it was George's dad Frank!)

Swine flu

Well, it appears that the swine flu IS affecting things in China. No one has gotten this approval we are waiting for (LOA) in a few weeks, and China has not sent any referrals from the regular program either. AND we have found out that Hope's province, Guangdong, is not allowing people to make appointments at the civil affairs office. That's where parents sign everything to finalize the adoption. I heard of parents whose plane was quarantined and they were not able to meet their child on time, so I guess it is better not to go yet than to go and have that happen. Let's please pray for this to blow over as fast there as it did here.

I will work on the quilt today!

We have been taking a mental health break from school but the kids want to do something today, so I will get on that too.

This stinks!!! But I know God is not oblivious to all that is happening, and that I CAN trust his timing. (But I wish it were faster...)

We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.

In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.

May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD,
even as we put our hope in you.

Psalm 33:20-22

crickets

Ugh, China is silent this week! I just want SOMEONE to get approval!!
Check out the new blog I added to my list to read:
http://fieldtripmom.blogspot.com/
All Atlanta field trips!!

quilt progress

This is the part where you squint and get the main idea...I have everything stuck up on a flannel sheet. I decided to do the heart again because I already know how and I know the measurements! And I don't want anyone telling me I loved them less because I didn't make them a heart! There is a piece of fabric in here left over from Lilla's quilt but maybe I got it too late or misplaced it...it is at the very center top of the heart--white with tiny pastel pawprints. Anyone remember giving me this one about 5 years ago? lol

Update**I am glad I did this because I just thought of a few fabrics I got but I don't see them, and lo and behold they are in my basket still. So if you don't see your fabric, let me know :-) I will update the photo when I fix it. I will check check check to be sure I have all the fabrics before I start sewing! This is what happens when a homeschooling mom of 3 soon to be 4 embarks on a project that requires attention to detail.

Today "people" were expecting big news from China because last week hardly anyone got approvals, but so far hardly a peep! By people I mean the hundreds of people on my various chat groups I have never met! No one knows if they will hold approvals until more is known about the flu. Let's hope not.

Amazing story and some links

Okay, the adoption blog below was the amazing story until I got my mom's update today. She is doing great--feeling well and her scan looked good!!
Her journal is HERE.

A family has found that their daughter they just adopted actually has a birth sibling available for adoption and they are trying to bring him home. I have NEVER heard of this before! Read here.

Good link HERE on the Do's and Don'ts of attachment for family and friends.

A really good website about living with one eye here.

Amazing group of kids at Emory University (and other schools) who run China Care They also organzie a Chinese playgroup called Dumplings that Lilla loves!

Please pray that the swine flu doesn't make a mess of Chine travel!! God is in control...