An unexpected gift.

Life is just so unexpected sometimes. Lily and I left Kentucky last Friday to come to Louisiana for the funeral of my dear friend, Stephanie's Mom. We came to be with Stephanie and to celebrate Mrs. Rachel's life. I love Mrs. Rachel and have many fond memories of her from girl scout camp trips in young childhood to a teenage trip to Chicago with her and most recently, swimming with her and my daughter. Our lives have been interwoven for many years and I was blessed to have known her. She doesn't even know it but she gave me one final gift. I came into town to say goodbye to her and by doing so, I got to be there for that miraculous moment when my nephew first arrived into this world. My sister gave birth to Luke Stanton today at 10:23 a.m. and I was right there with her. I have never before experienced anything so amazing and beautiful and awe inspiring in my life. It is hard to describe the conflicting emotions of the last week. I don't even know if words can do that. I just know that at 10:23 this morning, I was in the right place at the right time. I watched Luke enter this world in a beautiful hospital suite with his Mom and Dad, aunt and grandmother all there to welcome him with open hearts. It was such a beautiful moment and one that took my breath away. I was so lucky to be here. What an unexpected gift!

As I held him this evening and looked at his tiny exquisite face and his head full of hair, I also wondered what it was like when Lily came into this world and what it will be like for our baby Becky. I know in my heart that it will be just as miraculous. I know what a miracle it was for Lily to be matched with us. She is so perfect for our family and I am sure that Becky will be just right for our family. Still it is moments like today that just make you wonder. I wish could be there! I wish that mine could be the first face that she sees and the first one to welcome her to this world. At the same time, I know that if that were the case then I wouldn't be on this journey.

Tomorrow morning, I will take Lily to meet her new cousin, Luke. She is very excited to meet him. I can't wait to see her face when she holds him for the first time. And still, I'll wonder...

My little gymnast!

Waiting for baby Becky is hard. There are just no words to explain it. It helps to keep busy with Lily. One of Lily's loves is gymnastics. We drive over an hour one way to Meadowview Gymnastics in Kingsport, TN just for her class. There are people who think that we are crazy but SHE LOVES IT! The pictures say it all! Watch and Enjoy our little gymnast. Guaranteed to bring a smile!

Check out my Slide Show!

One month anniversary!!

Today is the one month anniversary of our log in date!

Lily is emphasizing the fact with this picture. We were all so excited to make the April cut off. Many of you may not know but China is changing its regulations for adoptive families beginning May 1. It was very important to us to have our paperwork in before this date so there would be no question as to whether or not we would be approved. In true Margaret procrastination fashion, we slid in there with just days to spare. It literally took an "Act of Congress" as we had to get our congressman's office involved to expedite the last piece of paperwork needed for our dossier. They were great and we owe them so much!!
Lily and I spent the day celebrating this speical anniversary. We stayed in our pajamas until noon while we played all morning. This afternoon we went to the playground at church where she climbed, slid and ran to her hearts content. She is quite agile and not scared of much. She is also very into her pony tails these days. The bows of course are my idea!

We are just so glad to have one month of the wait done, finished and over with. Now, the next seventeen unless the timelines change. I am praying they get shorter. Wes kind of likes where they are now because it makes it more likely that he will get to go with us to China. I think most of you know that he is going back to school and his nursing program is a 2 year program. So for him, the wait is better. I just can't imagine waiting 2 years when we want Becky home now.
Things worked out with Lily to where we got the child that was meant for our family at the perfect time. We will just keep praying that everything falls into place again. One whole month...WooHoo!!

Our sonogram

We are so proud to share our first ever sonogram picture! I found it on someone else's blog and just had to share! Earlier this year I was blessed to be in Baton Rouge when my sis, Jodi, had a sonogram for her second child. It was such an amazing and emotional experience for me. As those first images of her healthy baby appeared, I was so happy for Jodi and her husband. At the same time, the moment was bittersweet. I realized that I would never see an actual sonogram picture of my babies. I would never feel that cold jelly on my belly as I anxiously awaited those first images of my baby to be. My first pictures come so many months later as we gather around a computer screen and wait for the referral pictures to download. I wished in that moment that I could have seen Lily's ultrasound picture or that I would be able to see our baby Becky's picture. I would love to see that little heartbeat or to see Lily in utero sucking her thumb. I could almost bet that she did. With current wait times, so unpredictable, who knows where in the universe our baby is at this point. If current wait times remain the same, she is probably in her birthmother's belly right now somewhere in China. So I will hold onto this sonogram picture as our "first" picture while Lily, Wes and I pray for her daily. Each night Lily finishes her prayers with "God bless Baby Becky where ever she is. Amen." I couldn't say it better if I tried.

LILY WEN

Here she is in bubble land! ENJOY!!!!

Lily Update

I have had several requests for an update on Lily Wen. She is now 3 years old and such a delight. We had a wonderful mother's day and each day is just special with her. I am attempting to add a recent picture to this blog. If it actually shows up, it was taken a few weeks ago when Lily and I spent the weekend with Mel, a close friend who is adopting her first daughter from China. We are in the bubble room at the Children's Museum in Lexington, Kentucky. We had a great weekend! Lily is one busy little 3 year old. She loves her K-3 class at Sunshine School where each day she plays and reads and sings with her friends. She has become quite the gymnast and we still drive to Kingsport, TN to the gym she loves. In Lily's words, "I love to swing. I love to flip." She does both really well. I love to see her ride the zip line with a look of pure joy as she flies across the gym. She is also taking dance class and will debut in her first recital in June. It should be a sight to see. so that is what is up with Lily. She is busy, busy and loving every minute of it.

Waiting for Baby Becky

I am new to blogging as will be apparent over the first few posts I am sure. we didn't do this when we adopted Lily. Blogging may have been popular but I was blissfully unaware. Many of the people I will travel with have blogspots to detail their journey and I thought it would be a nice way to keep people informed of our journey to Baby Becky. We are officially paper pregnant for our second daughter. Many of you may remember that with Lily, we expected to wait a year for her referral and were blessed that the time frame sped up and we received her referral in record time, 6 months. Well, those were the good old days. The current time frame for a referral from China is 18 months with rumors that the wait could be as long as 2-3 years. We will just all have to pray that things move quicker than anticipated yet again. We are using a different agency this time and have chosen CCAI. We have been very pleased. Our paperwork was logged in China on April 20, 2007 which is when the official wait begins. So follow us and send us notes of encouragement as we begin our second journey to China.