New Pics!!

A sweet family went to visit their new son's (adorable new son) orphanage and took some pictures of our sweet Emme, who just happens to be at the same orphanage.  I am so thankful for this precious gift!  It's been four months since another sweet family took pics of Emme.   This sweet Mom also prayed over our girl and that is even more precious to me.

  Our Article 5 was picked up yesterday ...which means we are officially waiting for our Travel Approval to come get our girl!!  This usually takes anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks...sometimes more and sometimes less!  Please pray for the less.....:)
   

 

I 800 Provisional Approval!!!

Today on the way to town I stopped to get our mail and our provisional approval was in the mail!!  Yippee!!!  I was completely suprised!  It was approved last week on the 10th!  So only a couple more important steps and then we will be waiting for our official Travel Approval from China to come get our girl!! What a blessing that was today!!  So thankful to the One who knows the plans He has for us...even though  I complain because I don't know them.:)
   Here are some random pics....sweet Libby who can't wait for her "stister" (as she likes to say!) and my sweet son Parker (he is the anti dentist king from the previous post) who loves his cat (and she must love him too....because she is totally okay with being carried like that!)

Six Kids and a Dentist

Yep, last week we took six kids to the Dentist. And five of them had appointments. And yes there was standing room only in the waiting room. One has Autism and hates all things medical.  This sweet boy of mine usually starts yelling and crying the minute we turn down the street that the dentist's office is on.  But last week my brave son went into that office without a peep.  He did not start yelling until he had to sit in that chair.  And yell he did....but his teeth got cleaned! We have a great dentist!
   Libby had her first appointment to get her teeth cleaned and she did great!  She was so proud of her new toothbrush and toothpaste!
   The best news of the day was NO cavities!!

Agate Hunting

Last Saturday afternoon we went agate hunting.  The weather Saturday morning was beautiful, but by the time we got ready to go it had turned overcast and very windy.  So we bundled up and away we went.  We finally found a spot out of the wind and the kids had a blast.  Who doesn't like digging in the sand and dirt??  We didn't last too long though...it started raining (and it was in the 40's)  So back home we went to cups full of hot chocolate and a look at all of our cool rocks.  And as usual, with everything we do, I picture a sweet little face that will be a part of our family....hoping and praying it's as soon as possible.  This Mommy heart can't wait too much longer....

This Piece of Paper

This piece of paper made me crazy (crazier) last Tuesday.

This piece of paper made me hunt down a Fed-Ex truck at a gas station...and it's unsuspecting driver.

This piece of paper made me beat on the Fed-Ex wharehouse doors after hours...loudly.

We live in a small town, with no Fed-Ex office.  And my L.O.A was supposed to be here Tuesday morning. And by 4:00 p.m. I was a little worried.  And when every day matters... well, you do things you might not normally do.

This piece of paper means 8 months of waiting and we finally can see a light at the end of the tunnel!

Our L.O.A came!!!!

Our LOA arrived at our agency yesterday!!!!!  And this morning I am waiting on Fed-Ex to deliver it.  Those 3 letters stand for our Letter Of Acceptance.  This is HUGE.  This is China saying YES, Smith family, you can adopt sweet Emme!!  We waited 59 days...not that I was keeping track (EVERY single calendar in the house was marked..and marked some more!)   And in a LOA celebration, Colter and Libby broke out some costumes and ran around.
         The last picture of Colter pretty much sums up my feelings from last night!!  (his face...not the cow costume....)  WooHoo!!!!

A Boy and His Pumps

My other boys didn't have the opportunities Colter does...He has a vast array of princess shoes to choose from, thanks to his big sis!  He can walk in heels better than his Momma.

Party Time

Yesterday was Carter's 7th birthday!  We had a family party last night.  I can't believe it's been seven years...we had only been in our new house 4 days...and I went into labor right as our power went out.  We had no idea where the box with candles and flashlights was hiding...boxes were everywhere!  We found one candle. One.Tiny.Candle.

We somehow made it to the hospital and two hours later our precious Carter was born!  He is a miracle in so many ways!!  He has the best smile in the world. (But doesn't like to smile for pictures....)

My First Post!

Last weekend I FINALLY took the time to sit down and start our blog, and then it was time to make supper.  I "thought" I would sit down quick after eating and write my first post....but I made two gallons of black cherry Kool-aid (yes, it's RED) and managed to spill it everywhere.  After I cleaned it up I sat down (by myself at the table...everyone had eaten their supper and run away) with my food and a freshly poured Dr. Pepper which I then also managed to spill.  Everywhere.  After cleaning that up and sitting back down to eat....I heard a rustling sound...and looked up and our precious, tiny, sweet, brainless little Yorkie mix had dumped out the garbage and it went EVERYWHERE. (Oh and throw in the fact that this whole adoption process might take over a whole year since we first saw our sweet Emme's face...I had enough)  So no first blog post...I instead layed my head on the table and stared into space  for a while. 

      This is our precious daughter who is waiting for us in China.  The first picture is just from a couple of months ago on her 3rd birthday.  The second is from a year ago when she was at Maria's Big House of Hope.  We are very excited to be adding another blessing to our nest!