So Thankful!

What a fabulous way to end the year...an update and new pictures of Emma!  I am even more in love today and was just so blessed to see her face when I first woke up this morning.  She is growing some hair and she just looks so healthy.  We got several questions answered too, which is just so great and I am just so thankful for how well she seems to be doing. 

I haven't blogged about her 'special needs' because first, I don't want her special needs to define her.  I don't want to label her in peoples' minds before they even meet her.  Secondly, because there were just so many unknowns involved with her, it is hard to share what I don't know.  The update answered some of those unkowns, which we were willing to deal with and accept as God's perfect plan for us and her, but it is so wonderful to see some of the concerns answered.  It was a real concern that Emma may have some nerve damage due to a surgery she had early in her life, that would affect her ability to crawl, stand, and walk.  We are so thankful that our update included a picture of her standing and the report that she can sit up steadily, roll over, and pull her knees up under her.  While this doesn't mean she is all the way in the clear, it is certainly a great sign!  Thank you, Lord!  What a sweet surprise!  I pray so often for His hand to be on her, protecting her little heart and mind from the ill effects of an orphanage, keeping her healthy and strong, but I haven't prayed a lot for her to not have side effects that are common with her special need.  I was really trusting and feeling a peace that God has our backs and whatever problems she may have physically, He would supply the grace, energy, and peace to deal with them as they came up.  What a great gift that she is standing!  Wahooo!

Seeing new pictures makes me feel more connected to her and makes the wait a little more bearable.  I also got updated measurements so I can plan her wardrobe and shoes for when we go get her.  We also were able to share her English name with the orphanage staff and they agreed to our request of calling her by it from now on.  She is just so precious and we can't wait to bring her home. 

My sweet girl, playing with trucks, getting ready for having brothers!

 

 

Emma is standing...and making me one proud Momma! 

You go Little Sister!

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!  May God bless you in 2013!  Lots of love from the Morgan Family!

Another try!

here is another try from another app...trying to label pictures now. I am no techie...trial and error with mostly a lot of error and not enough fear factor to stop me! Determined to get it right!


Snow picture!



Matt is buried in the snow!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Christmas Morning Smiles!

All smiles in the Morgan house on Christmas morning! My mission this week is to figure out how to post pictures on here using my ipad! Christmas is over now and I although my heart has been in China for a long time, I am now able to shift my mind to China too. There is such a long list of 'to-do's' for the trip. I realized this week that although I love Christmas and all the excitement of programs, decorations, traditions, and the like...my heart has only been half in it this year. The other 1/2 has been thinking of my girl. Tears come quietly and easily, especially when the kids bring Emma to the throne of grace and pray for her safety and warmth this winter season. She SO belongs here and although I haven't met her yet...I miss her. So, let this list making Momma start to cross things off the long list of to-do's! :) Hopefully, the fruit of this will make for quick and easy updates while we travel to get Emma. We can almost start to count the days!! Wahoo!

Merry Christmas Emma Grace

Emma's first ornament! 

 

I wanted to post a video that explains my heart this Christmas.  I celebrate Christ's birth with my family this year with a piece missing, Emma Grace.  May God bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you this special day of Jesus' birth.  May you never know another lonely Christmas for all of your days, Emma!  Momma loves you and is counting the days till I can hold you in my arms .  God bless you with His perfect peace today!

 

 If you can handle a cry...go ahead and listen.  :)

 

 

 

Merry Christmas

by Third Day (written by Brad Avery)

 

There's a little girl trembling on a cold December morn

Crying for momma's arms

At an orphanage just outside a little China town

There the forgotten are

But half a world away I hang the stockings by the fire

And dream about the day when I can finally call you mine

It's Christmas time again but you're not home

Your family is here and yet you're somewhere else alone

And so tonight I pray that God will come and hold you in his arms

And tell you from my heart I wish you Merry Christmas

As I hang the tinsel on the tree and watch the twinkling lights

I'm warmed by the fire's glow

Outside the children tumble in a wonderland of white,

Make angels in the snow

But half a world away you try your best to fight the tears

And hope that heaven's angels come to carry you here

It's Christmas time again but you're not home

Your family is here and yet you're somewhere else alone

And so tonight I pray that God will come and hold you in his arms

And tell you from my heart I wish you Merry Christmas

Christmas is a time to celebrate the holy child

And we celebrate his perfect gift of love

He came to earth to give his life

And prepare a place for us

So we could have a home with him above

It's Christmas time again and now you're home

Your family is here so you will never be alone

So tonight before you go to sleep, I'll hold you in my arms

And I'll tell you from my heart, and I'll tell you from my heart

I wish you Merry Christmas

We Got the Call!!!

China said yes!  She is ours!  Our wait for the RA is now over!  We got the call saying our official referral acceptance documents had arrived at America World Adoption Association.  The document will now be over-nighted to us for our signatures and then be sent right back!  We are so thankful to have this part over with as it is China's official permission to adopt the little girl that has captured our hearts for several months now.  So with no further ado...we are allowed to post her pictures now!  May I introduce you to Emma Grace Morgan, born on August 26th, 2011.  She lives in Baoji, Shaanxi, China.

 

 This was taken when Emma was 6 months old.  It is the first picture we saw of her and the one we fell in love with. 

 

 

This was taken a couple days after her 1st birthday, in August.

Isn't she precious!  I can't wait to see a smile on her face and maybe a little more hair up top! :)

Now we enter the next phase of paperwork and the nitty gritty of getting ready to travel, oh and, mail out the Christmas card that I just couldn't print up without her picture on it!  Praise God for His blessings!  We hope to travel early to mid March! 
This is where I jump up and click my heals in excitment...that is, if I could jump up and click my heals!  :)

Never Give Up!

 

 

My reminder for the day! 

 

oooops!

Every few days I look through my 'while you wait for your RA' packet, making sure that I have all my paperwork in order for the day our RA call comes.  On that day, we have a major packet of papers to send off to clarify that the prior approval from the US government that gave us a blanket approval to adopt 'some' Chinese orphan now will be for a special known child from China.  As I was looking through all the notes that our adoption agency has been so good to spell out for us...I noticed something I hadn't seen before, or maybe I just ignored.  It talks about the expected wait times from PA to RA being 2-4 months, with an average of 2.5 months.   60 to 120 days.  Then it says "Don't compare yourself to other families and how fast or slow their RA have arrived" AND "Don't count the days".   Ooooooooooops!  Guilty.  This morning dawns as day 68, to be exact.  Others I have watched go through the process have waited in the 70-80 day range.  So after 68 days of counting and crossing the days off the calendar...I realize I shouldn't have been...oh well.  I will continue to count!  So day number 68....hoping for the wait to end this week and expecting it to go all the way to 120 days!  Either way, I know God's timing is perfect for us, for her, for me and as I battle the emotions that have attached themselves to my heart since day 1, I will continue to give it back to Him even for more than 120 days!

"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.  

Each day has enough trouble of its own."  Matthew 6:34

Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving came and flew by!  We have so much to be thankful for here on Long Hollow Road!  Thankful for family near and far and for the five blessings God has entrusted Justin and I with!   I *tried* to get each child to pose for some picture updates and for the yearly Christmas card family shot!  So here goes....

Mark, age 10, so caring and tender-hearted,

responsible and playful although very stoic!

 

Matthew, age 6

All boy and adventure, never a moment without another

fabulous question!

 

Ashley, age 4

Super sweet Daddy worshipper!  All about girlie everything, except when it is

time to work with Dad!

 

Beth Ann, age 2

Mischievous go-getter in a tiny package that loves to take time

out for cuddles!

 

The Crew, missing Emma Grace, can't wait to add her to the shot next year!

 

 

The Morgan Family, 2012!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

40 Days!

Today marks 40 days since we accepted our referral for our dear sweet "China Sister"!  The perimeters of wait from now to RA is 30-120 days...so I am embracing day 40 as the 1/3 mark!  The time has sped by in lightning fashion and yet has crept by ever so slowly. I am thankful this week for two new friends that God has put in my path, both who love Him and who are adopting from the same country, province, city, and orphanage!  What a gift to share this waiting game with them!

 

"Yet those who wait for the Lord

Will gain new strength;

They will mount up with wings like eagles,

They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary"

Isaiah 40:31

 



 

 



My Middle Man!

A great big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sweet middle man, Matthew!  He has taught us all so much about life and how to embrace each moment with GUSTO!  He intrigues me with his questions (like what happens if you glue your lips together, Mom?), impresses me with his ideas and questions, gives the best Velcro hugs, tells me daily something he wants to do when he grows up, loves Jesus with a sweet faith, loves to collect things, keeps everyone he knows in stitches, never knows a stranger (like his Grandpa Great Miller), loves his family, and keeps everyone on their toes ALL. THE. TIME.

All about Matt this year...
Grade..Kindergarten, Mrs. Largent's class
Favorite color..green
Favorite food..banana's (although allergic)
Favorite toy..bugs
Favorite activity..art
Favorite place to go..toy store
Favorite person..Mom (aw!)
Favorite ice cream..any
Favorite character..smurfs  (??okay, wouldn't have guessed that one)
Favorite movie..Jeff Corwin on Netflix
What he wants to be when he grows up...a bug scientist
What he likes to do with Dad..snuggle
Favorite animal..snake  (rattle snake and king cobra)
Favorite restaurant..Chinese
Favorite birthday present..bugs (real bugs sealed in silicone)
Most excited about..his baby sister in China, Emma

Sweet Matt, I pray the Lord will guide you and teach you as you grow to use your kind heart and outgoing personality to share God's love with others.  May you never lose your adventurous spirit but use it all for the glory of God!  Love you so much!  Happy Birthday!

Adoption

I don't know where to begin when I sit here to write out our 'adoption story'!  I feel like I am behind because most people blog the day by day happenings of their adoption as they occur...but I will have to start from here and recap where we have been up until now!  So here are the highlights of the process so far....

March 9, 2012- we got accepted into the China program at AWAA and began digesting the huge amount of literature they sent to get us started.  We began to compile the documents we would need to form our 'dossier'.  This is the group of documents that are sent to China.  It involved doctors appointments, shots, financial forms, a home study with a social worker, finger-printing, special on-line classes, lots of reading, marriage and birth documents, references, notaries, certifications, authentications, and countless trips to the Fed-Ex office.

June 18, 2012 Our home study was approved.

August 8, 2012 Sent our application to AWAA for the Waiting Child Program

August 23, 2012 REFERRAL!!!!  A scheduled phone conference to review the 'next steps' with our family coordinator turned into a referral for a little girl from the waiting child list.  She was listed for a log in date family only so we had to scramble from here to get our paperwork submitted before we would be able to accept her.

August 28, 2012 We received updated photos of our sweet girl!  So cute...and totally bald!  :) We also filed to receive an updated medical report on her health status.  Part of the requirements before accepting a referral are that you must have a visit with a physician, and it is suggested to consult an adoption specialist.

August 31, 2012  DTC (Dossier to China)  FINALLY!

September 4, 2012  LID (Log In Date)

September 26, 2012  We finally received her referral update after a whole month of waiting!  Several days later we visited with our choice of Adoption Specialists, Dr. David Douglass in SC! 

October 2, 2012 LOI (Letter of Intent) also known as EA (electronic acceptance)

October 12, 2012 PA (Pre-approval) received saying our acceptance had been accepted and our file would be moved to the 'need approval' pile.  Our dossier hadn't been translated yet because it was just received..so it would be moved into another pile to be translated, then it will go to the next step of review to see if we are allowed to adopt our sweet girl!

And that brings us up-to-date as of today....the wait is hard!  I pray for my little girl so far away...it is so hard to not know how she is!    At this point, we aren't allowed to share her picture and we've chosen not to share much of anything.  We are just trusting for that RA to get here, and soon!  I have never been stretched in my faith quite in the way this has stretched me.  I am thankful for God's perfect timing, even in this.  In the meantime, I am filling up the time with reading on how to best care for her, emailing with other moms who are waiting as well, researching where she lives, and planning for the day she'll will join our family!   I juggle the emotions that come too...they come from both sides of the spectrum all the way from total peace, excitement, and anticipation to fear, sadness, and inadequacy!  The wait from PA to RA is 2-4 months...with 2.5 months being the average for people who do not have a translated dossier.  We'll be one month into our wait on Thursday!  I am so hoping and praying for the 2 month mark instead of the 4 month mark! 

And that is that!  I cannot wait to post ALL ABOUT HER, but will save that for another day!  

This is it...

This is it...my attempt at a blog!  I, for a long time, have been a reader and admirer of blogs but never thought I would actually start one. However, recently, I have felt it would be a great way of remembering this journey of life we are traveling.  Some day, when memories have faded, and questions are asked about this time in our lives, we can reflect back on this space for the answers.  Justin is always looking at me at the dinner table over the dull roar of laughter, funny business, or chaos and saying "our house is full of life"!  And so it is!  So this is it...I wanna write stuff down before I forget it!  Life is zoooooming by and I don't want to miss any of it, and some of it I want to remember for a long time!  We are living full of life around here so come and join us!