Happy Birthday to my baby girl!

Kate turned four today. I cannot believe that it has been four years. She has brought so much joy and fun into our family. Sure she has her moments, but 97% of the time she is sweet, adorable, loving and fun. She was cuddling me in bed the other day and thanked me for being her best friend. This is what I am talking about when I say she is a sweetie!

This was the first birthday that she totally understood what was happening. She is super easy to celebrate because she is so dog on lovable! Here are some birthday highlights. I snapped some of these while she was watching a "birthday" show so she was not at all interested in looking at the camera.

This has to be one of my all time favorite pictures!

We are in a documentary!

Our family was recently interviewed for a documentary about international adoption. The documentary was produced by two college girls for an assignment. We make a few appearances and Brigham made an appearance alone ... very impressive!

The documentary is a great starting point for any family considering international adoption. It felt good to help get the word out there about this amazing experience.

L.I.D.!!!!

Yes, you heard that right. It took only 5 days to receive our LID. I am a little giddy. This is the first thing so far in this adoption that was fast. Everything else has moved at a snail like pace. Things are looking up people, and we are so excited!!!!

For those of you not very familiar with the adoption time frame. Here is a list of things to come and about how long they could take.

Hey, That's My China!

Today we took "the littles" to a Chinese buffet for lunch. We rarely go out to eat, and it is even more rare when we bring Kate & John with us.  As a matter of fact since our trip to China, we have not eaten at a Chinese restaurant. We walked into the restaurant, and John immediately seemed like he recognized it. He exclaimed, "Hey, that's my China!"

He was so happy to be there. I think he is a little confused though because we had a conversation about Sarah, and how we were going back to China to get her. John kept assuring us that we were "at" China.

We talk about China all the time at our house. For a little while John kept saying that China was "mean". Whenever he said that we would remind him that China was wonderful and that China loves John very much. Hopefully that message is resonating with him. I think today may be some proof that our John thinks China is pretty awesome!!!!

Our Dossier Is Going To China!

Hallelujah! Holy moly this is a huge milestone. It feels so much bigger than when we were at this point with John (probably because we didn't know about John at the time.) At this stage in my life you would think that I have learned patience. Do not be fooled, I haven't - well I have, I just realize that I am reluctantly patient. I want this process to go faster than it is. I am fully aware that I have zero control, so I guess that is where the lesson in patience has burrowed its way into my life. So on the outside I seem patient, but inside ... not so much!

Oh well, the good news is that our paperwork is soon to be in the hands of the Chinese government, and it is a happy day. One step closer to our sweet Sarah!

I took some pictures of my littles today. They are happily playing upstairs together, heavy in a game of imagination. I've heard some "cockadoodle doos"  with "wake up let's go to a party" and "you be a clock, I'll be a monster" and tea party games. Such a sweet reminder of how far we have come and what a miracle time and love and yes, patience has played in our adoption journey with John. These two are such good friends. They need each other and they love each other. Again, what a happy day!

Fundraising Update

Our fundraiser for our sweet little girl is complete. Thanks to all of your help we were able to raise $850.00. That seems like so much money! I feel such gratitude and extremely humbled by those who gave during the Christmas season. Today my adoption agency verified that all the money will go directly to Sarah and the friends her age. They even asked me how I wanted to spend the money. Truly amazing! I actually told the agency that I trust them to distribute the funds the way they see fit. They just returned from another trip to Sarah's orphanage (it seems like they are there every 3 months) so I trust that they know these cuties and will do the right thing for them.

They asked if I would like updates on how they have spent the money ... I said YES! I have had tears of gratitude in my eyes all day long. Thanks again to all of you for helping our Sarah. It is so hard to be apart from our girl. It is hard to spend Christmas without her. It is hard to see her growing up so much in pictures. It is hard to know that she has a family, yet remains an orphan. It is hard to know that we are still 5 to 7 months away from bringing her home. This fundraiser was as much for her as it was to bring me some comfort. 

I will keep everyone updated as I get more information. With much love and gratitude,

Marisa

Here is a picture I received today and some that I received over Christmas.

Check out those bangs! Love it