DTC and Hip Mom

We got news on Friday evening that our dossier is on it's
way to China!  Yeah!!  Another step completed and one
more step closer to our little sweetie!   We're waiting for the
next e-mail (anyday...hopefully!) saying that our dossier has been
delivered to the CCAA and logged in. 

We also look forward to getting updated information on her and
maybe some pics.  That should happen sometime this month.
It seems like forever since we've been matched....

Don't forget about Hip Mom!  Now's the perfect time to get
some Christmas shopping done for ladies in your life.
Remember to use our family code gay1110 when you check out
so that we can get credit for your purchase.  Please spread the
word to family and friends.  Thank you again for helping us to
bring this little one home!

30 Day Holiday Giveaway!

Stefanie over at Ni Hao Y'all is at it again with a cool giveaway.
She's calling it 30 Days of Giveaways.  The gift giving starts on
Thursday, so click on the button below or on her web site above
get in on fun!

While you're there, take some time to read her blog.  She and her
husband are amazing! 

Shopping for a Good Cause

We're so excited...Ann from Hip Mom Jewelry has chosen us as one of
the families to be a part of her November Adoption Fundraiser program!
We will receive a portion of the profits from each piece of jewelry that is
purchased during the month of November.

You can enter her website from the button on the side of our blog or
click Here.

She has some really great pieces.   Some are adoption related...

While others are not....

Now is a great time to shop.   Christmas is just around the corner and these
would make wonderful gifts for the ladies in your life.  Remember when you
check out use our family code gay1110 so that we can receive credit from
your purchase.

We hope you enjoy looking at Ann's designs.  Please spread the word on
the web site as we only have one month to take advantage of the proceeds.

We thank you for all your support and prayers as we wait! Our dossier
should be in China very soon and then we wait some more until we get
our TA (travel approval).  We look forward to receiving more info
on our sweet pea sometime this month!  Please keep her in your prayers
as she awaits our arrival. 

Our Daughter

Meet our daughter, Qiana Rebekah.  Isn't she adorable!
She was born in April 2009 and currently lives

in an orphanage in China.  We don't have too many
pictures to share right now. We're hoping for an update
sometime next month.  New pics are possible.

We can't wait to bring her home! 

In the next couple of days, we'll share some ways that you can
help us to bring her home!

Early B-Day Gift

These arrived at our doorstep this morning.  They are an early birthday
gift from my mom. I'll share with the family as eating all of them won't help this
almost 40 year old gal in keeping somewhat of a modest figure
(insert laughing here). :-)  The card in the box says to consume them within
48 hours of arrival.  Darn.  I guess we'll have to eat them today as I don't think
they'll stay fresh for another 10 days!   The boys think they are very cool! 
They especially like the chocolate b-day card that was included  in the box.
They will have to wait for that until my birthday. :-)  Thanks Mom!!!

We do have reason to celebrate, so I guess they arrived on an appropriate day.

Our dossier is completed and on it's way to our agency!  It's amazing how much

paperwork is required to adopt a child.   There's been a lot of hurry up

and waiting involved.  That's okay though because we have a wonderful

reason to have gone through all of this...she's waiting for us in

Henan, China and we can't wait to meet her and bring her home!

God is so very good!!

Progress!

Okay, so it's not like we're ready to travel, but we're one
step closer.  It's been almost a month since we heard
from USCIS saying they were processing our
paperwork.  The next piece of paper would be the appt.
letter for biometrics.  Once the prints are taken,
then we get the piece of paper that approves us
to adopt from another country.  The very last piece of
paperwork we need for our dossier to be complete.

Well, I've waited patiently each day for the postman
to deliver our mail and nothing. No letter. 

Yesterday seemed to be another day of nothing. I have
to admit, I was truly sad when I took the mail from the
box and there was nothing from the USCIS.
Then about 30 mins after getting the mail from
the mailbox, the kids came to me and said the
postman was back.  I quickly ran up the stairs to
find a book that I ordered plus two letters from the
USCIS. Yeah!!

So today we decided to try and get the prints
done a week early and we were able to get
in!  Thank you!!!

Our hope is that we'll get the final USCIS paper
by later this week/early next week so that we can
get it sealed.  Then.we're.done.   Our paperchase
will be complete.  Everything will be at the agency
for checking before sending our dossier to China. 

We're getting closer to meeting our daughter and
we can't be more excited!

We would post pics of her, but we want to wait until
we get our LOA before making it official on
the blog.  Just a little longer. :-)  We can't wait to
share pictures with everyone!!

Meet the Champ!!

The Wild Thing Kart Series at Stafford Motor Speedway has come to an end for 2010. The final race was last Sunday, September 12th. It has been an interesting season. Not many updates were posted because of our busy summer schedule both on and off the track, so here is a quick wrap-up of the season at SMS.

D ran the Tiger Sprint ‘B’ class this year. He qualified for the 1st feature race (which pays the most points) all but one time this season. He has two 3rd place finishes to his credit. His consistency has allowed him to accumulate enough points to finish 2nd overall in the point standings. Congratulations D!!

J ran in the Jr. Outlaw and Tiger Sprint ‘A’ divisions this year. He finished 8th overall in the Jr. Outlaw division. His best finish was 5th. Not bad for the first season. The biggest surprise was how he finished in the Tiger Sprint ‘A’ class.  J has four 2nd place and one 3rd place finish this season.  He was third in the overall points going into the final race last Sunday and ended up with a 6th place finish. This put him second in the overall points standings. However the kart that won the race, and was leading in the points, was found to have an illegal muffler and was disqualified.  He received zero points because of the disqualification which put J in the first place overall.  Congratulations J on becoming the Tiger Sprint ‘A’ division champion for 2010!!

There is still some racing left in 2010, all of it in New Hampshire. J&D Racing will be racing at Twin State Speedway in Claremont, NH on 9/26 and 10/10 and at Route 106 Racepark in Concord, NH on 10/2 and 10/9. Stay tuned for more updates now that summer is over.