Update!

I confess...I've been checking my e-mail a gazillion times a day just hoping for some news about our potential travel dates, updates on our son, Travel Approvals for several internet friends who are waiting on it (not to mention our TA), etc.

After checking for the 58th time this morning, I was finally rewarded with an e-mail from our agency titled "Xi JiHao". My heart quickened as I clicked to open the e-mail and was greeted with this news:

Good Morning Max and Tracy -

Below are updated measurements for your son, and attached are updated photos of him - he's a handsome boy!!!

Enjoy these and have a terrific day!

Xi Jihao:

height 122.5cm (48.2 inches)

weight 21kg (46.3 pounds)

head size 51.5cm (20.3 inches)

chest size 59.5cm (23.4 inches)

feet length 18.5cm (7.3 inches)

teeth 23

Are you thinking what I'm thinking???? Now that we have his current measurements...IT'S TIME TO SHOP...shoes, little boy shirts, little boy pants, little boy shorts, ball caps, swimsuit, pjs, undies, etc.!!! What could possibly be more fun (and more therapeutic) at this time???

O-kay...maybe studying his sweet new pictures is just as fun (and just as therapeutic). Doesn't he look more grown up?

We can NOT WAIT to meet you, our precious little man!

Oh, Happy Day!!!

The most beautiful piece of paper in the world!!

Our SCL has been signed, sealed, and priority overnighted to our agency in St. Louis, who'll send it off to China sometime tomorrow!!

I was soooo excited to find two new pictures of our son in our SCL packet! I've stared and stared at them, just as I have all the other pictures we've received of him. It is such a HUGE blessing to have these tiny insights into our son's life. By the way, we were "forced" to make a decision on his "American Name" in some of today's paperwork....

SO (drumroll, please)....Introducing,

Brock Ji Hao

So very adorable, isn't he??

We found out through his best friend that he is indeed called both names "Ji Hao". So, even though we gave him the required Goodrich Family Br- name, we plan on calling him "Ji Hao" until he makes the decision (if ever) to be called "Brock".

Next step...Travel Approval --STAY TUNED!

One BIG Step Closer!!

YES!!!!!

This morning, after 84 (LONG) days, we finally got the call that our Seeking Confirmation Letter (SCL) had arrived at our agency's St. Louis office!! The SCL is our "official referral" of little Xi Ji Hao, and the necessary NEXT STEP in getting to China to meet our son.

Just had to again include this picture because it is so irresistible, and because I can NOT contain my excitement!!! This little guy is OUR SON! I can NOT wait to scoop him up and kiss his sweet face. I'm trying to mentally prepare myself that he will be almost 8 years old when we first meet, so scooping and kissing might not be the best approach. Coupled with my gesticulative manner (not to mention protruding Caucasian nose), I just might be a little overwhelming (can any of you imagine that????)!

Anyway...back to the steps necessary before all the scooping/kissing can occur...

Our agency is going to overnight our SCL and other necessary paperwork. When we get it, we'll need to sign our name in a few places and then overnight it back to them.

Our signed SCL will be returned to China, and then we once again W A I T for China to issue us Travel Approval (permission to travel to China). This has been taking 2-3 weeks.

Once we receive Travel Approval, our agency finalizes all arrangements in China, we book our international flights, apply for our Visas, and PACK LIKE CRAZY!

Better go camp out and wait for the UPS man to arrive ...

One Day Closer

We are on wait day 80 from LID to SCL.

Although our agency told us not to expect to hear anything "for at least" 3 months, I guess I really did expect to get our SCL before 3 months. I am starting to get antsy and uneasy, especially in the face of rumors that, due to the Olympics, China will not be issuing travel approvals r/t adoption in June, July, and August. Ugh, ugh, ugh. Our agency has not heard that there will be a halt in travel all summer, but I can't imagine the Olympics NOT effecting adoption travel in some way. For sure, it will become more and more expensive to travel to and then to stay in China the closer we get to August.

I honestly can not imagine having to wait until September or later to bring our son home. Especially knowing that his very best buddy has already gone home. Adoption can drive a person absolutely CRAZY! It's ironic...one of the requirements to adopt from China is that you can not be taking any psych med (no antidepressant, antianxiety meds, etc.). So, of course, you send off your paperwork all happy, hopeful, and med-free ... BUT, by the time you WAIT out all the emotional twists and turns and FINALLY hold your child, you just might be on every psych med on the market!!! Hmmm...maybe drug testing on adoption day would be a good idea :0)

Thankfully, more numerous than my ansty, uneasy, and insane moments, are the the moments when there truly is NO doubt in my mind that God has ALL the details worked out, just like He always has. When I think back on all the detailed "coincidences" that led us to KNOW that Hao was OUR son, and how I have been "coincidentally" corresponding with Hao's best friend's parents, how can I doubt that He is in EVERY detail surrounding Hao's homecoming? No - it might not be easy to have absolutely no control over when we'll finally all be together (as a matter of fact, there are moments it feels downright unfair, sad, frustrating, crushing, nerve wracking, and torturous), but - the God of all the universe is such a better planner, organizer, and orchestrator of the details than I could ever be!

SO...instead of thinking about how many days we've waited,

I'm going to try to think of each passing day

as one day closer to our son.

*just so you know, I'm already anticipating the need for some daily accountability on this positive outlook :o)*

More to share about Hao and his best friend!

I received another e-mail from Joseph's mom tonight!!! It seems that when they took the picture of Joseph and his "best friend"(see post below) in the orphanage, they did not realize this "best friend" was our son, Hao. It wasn't until yesterday that they started putting things together.

Here is a portion of the e-mail she sent me:

Yesterday we showed our son the referral picture of your little boy, and
asked him with our translator if that's the same boy as his best friend, and
he smiled and nodded "yes". You might also like to know that he asked us to
put the referral pic of your son and the pic of the two boys together into
frames, and he attached them to the head of his bed. Last night he said
"Wan an" (Chinese for "Good Night") to your son and he gave the pic a kiss
before he went to sleep.

Another part of this amazing story is that we gave our son a Legos transformer to put together in China. He loved it--it went into the bathtub and into bed with him. At the orphanage, he gave it to his best friend--made all the adults choke up to watch. At that time, of course, we had no idea his best friend is your son!

Is that AMAZING or what? My heart overflows knowing that our precious son has had such a sweet friend. At the same time, my heart aches for these little guys and their loss.

Again, I stand in awe that God has placed both of these boys in their forever families within months of each other...after waiting EIGHT long years!

I'm afraid my growing impatience is becoming unbearable. Hurry, hurry, hurry, LOA!!!

Best Friends

Yesterday, we received an e-mail from the family who recently brought their 8 year old son home from Wuxi. The e-mail read "attached is a picture of our son with his best friend from the Wuxi SWI".

Here they are....best friends:

Joseph's parents took this picture when they returned with Joseph to the orphanage to say their final good-byes. Joseph has told his parents that he and our Hao are best friends! Wow! It warms my heart to know that Hao had a special friend, and that both of these little guys would now have a forever family. After eight years of waiting, they both would go home to loving families...within months of each other. I am confident that God had this all in the plans.

I'm sure our little Hao is missing his buddy. We still don't know whether or not he knows he has a family who will soon be coming for him. We do know that the orphanage director is aware, because he asked Joseph's parents for their contact information so that he can give it to us when we come for Hao. I'm assuming that this gesture shows the closeness of these boys in that the director wishes for them to make contact in America. So very sweet!

Your continued prayers for Hao are extremely important to us.

P.S. Joseph and his family visited the SWI during nap time, so Hao is kneeling on his bed...he is not as short as he looks in this picture. I thought I might need to clarify, because our first impression when seeing the picture was "wow...he is so small"

P.S.S. Also see our March update BELOW...

March Madness

We’ve had an event-full March.

Our homeschool co-op ended the first Friday in March, supposedly freeing up more of my time. No more finishing school with my kids only to spend hours preparing for my co-op class! No more waking Brielle up early on Friday mornings to make it to co-op on time! Yes!!! The end of co-op also meant the performance of the radio drama that Brittany's Radio Drama class had been working on all semester. Brittany loves radio drama and, as always, pulled off her part with much passion and projection. Brant takes more just-for-getting-together-with-friends type classes, and he is always happy and content having no performances of any type.

March 15th, 2008, was an especially exciting day, as Brittany celebrated her GOLDEN BIRTHDAY! Our sweet daughter turned FIFTEEN years old. What a blessing she is! Brittany is content and gentle-spirited. She is creative and tender-hearted. Her dad calls her “perfect” (but he hasn’t been in her messy room lately). God has gifted her in so many ways, and we are so privileged to watch His plans for her unfold.

Thank goodness Brittany is also a loyal hockey fan, because we spent the weekend of her birthday at four of Brant’s hockey games in Dallas. Brittany was so excited to spend her birthday watching her brother play hockey…what a sweet sister. In between the games, Brittany wanted to go to the Dallas Art Museum, and we had a wonderful time exploring the works of art there.

It ended up being a rather disappointing weekend of hockey, as Brant’s team underplayed and therefore would not proceed to the Finals. You’ll note the look of disappointment on Max and Brittany’s faces (notice, too, that there are no pictures of the expression on my face…hmmm…with this finally being the end of hockey, I couldn’t help but have mixed feelings). Hockey is a great sport, and it is fun watching Brant become a solid hockey player, BUT seven months of practices, games, stinky equipment, and travel is enough for this momma…especially with a two year old “rink rat” in tow.

Broadway’s production of The Phantom of the Opera has been on tour here, so as part of Brittany’s birthday present, Max and I took her to see it. It was a beautifully staged production and a wonderful evening with just the three of us. You can read more about our evening on Brittany’s blog at http://brittscreativecorner.blogspot.com/

To add more to the excitement, last weekend our homeschool group hosted its annual Spring Ball. I guess you could call it a friend and family-centered version of prom. Brittany looked gorgeous in her gown! She had a great time dancing the night away with friends, while I had a wonderful time talking the night away with a whole bunch of adults (a rare occasion, indeed). Driving Brittany to the Ball, I looked over at her and tears welled up in my eyes. My little girl has grown into a lovely young lady. Sitting there in her gown with her hair done-up, the song “Butterfly Kisses” came to mind, and I saw her wedding day somewhere in the all-too-soon future. Wow.

Brielle continues to grow taller and taller and is talking, talking, talking. She is an adorable little bundle of energy, independence, charm, and will. She loves attention, and you’ll most definitely know if she thinks she is not getting enough of it. She had a great time Easter morning, eagerly hunting for her basket and Easter eggs. We recently went to the zoo, and she kept asking to see a “water buffalo”, which of course is one of the few animals our zoo does NOT have. I look at her, with her dark almond eyes and sweet little nose, and marvel at how God has brought our lives together. My heart swells with gratitude when I think about how He moved us to grow our family through the blessing of adoption.

Which brings me to our little Hao. We are still waiting to hear from China, some days more patiently than others. Now that co-op is over, I’ve been trying to spend some of my freed-up time learning all I can about older child adoption, microtia, etc. One thing that both older child adoption and microtia have in common is that there are no absolutes. We can do our best to prepare ourselves for our son, but we really won’t know exactly what our biggest blessings and challenges will be until he is finally home. Even then, discovery will be a process over time. I am so eager to begin this amazing journey (o.k….I don’t feel very patient at this very moment…hurry, LOA)!

BubbleShare: Share photos - Powered by BubbleShare

Finally Coming Home...

Some friends I've met online are leaving for China this Thursday to FINALLY meet their beautiful 8 year old son. This little man has grown up in the same orphanage (Wuxi SWI) as our son, so we are assuming they know each other well. If they happen to cross your mind this week, please pray for Jim, Marilyn, and their new son, Joseph.

Jim and Marilyn plan to spend one night in Wuxi and will be visiting the SWI (orphanage). They have a picture of our son, Hao, and are going to try to check in on him and potentially get a few pictures. I'm trying NOT to get my hopes up, but it would be so very wonderful to have an update on him!

I'll try to keep you posted on Joseph's homecoming and any Hao updates!

A Hard Day for Packer Fans

Today, after 17 seasons, Brett Favre announced his retirement from football. Even though we've seen it coming, it was nevertheless a punch in the gut for all Packer fans. Number 4...the only Packers' quarterback Max and I have watched together as a married couple. Number 4...the only Packers' quarterback my kids have ever known. Will "the Pack" still be "the Pack" without Number 4????

I love how the youth pastor of our church in WI addressed this sobering news. Here is a link to his blog (I hope you don't mind, Jon), in which he wisely advises us to seize this opportunity to instill truths into our sons (and daughters):

http://www.mantransformed.blogspot.com/

Go Pack, Go

Lions, Love, and (Child) Labor

Happy Year of the Rat!!

February 7th marked the beginning of Chinese New Year, and according to the Chinese Zodiac, 2008 is another Year of the Rat. People born in a Rat Year are said to be logical realists, shrewd, charming, ambitious, and inventive. A Rat Year is said to be a time of hard work, activity, and renewal. Traditionally, this is a good year to begin a new job, get married, or make a fresh start of some other sort. I wonder if adding a new child to the family counts??

During Chinese New Year, a local museum hosts its annual Asian Festival. So, we were able to spend an afternoon taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of the Asian culture. The festival ended with an assortment of traditional Chinese dances, the lion dance being the grand finale.

The plate dance...

The fan dance...The lion dance...


Brielle is not so sure she likes the lion dancers...

Valentine's Day followed all too quickly on the heels of Chinese New Year (where has February gone, BTW?). February 13th at 9:00 p.m., Max and I joined the swarm of others who were searching for those perfect last minute gifts for the ones they love (trust me...the early bird really does have the advantage here; the rest of us are left with whatever the early birds have cast aside, unwanted).

For Valentine's dinner, it has become our tradition to make heart-shaped pizza. Right before Valentine's Day, I saw an ad that Papa John's was selling heart-shaped pizza, so I decided to delegate my pizza-making to them. Brielle and I listened to Chicago's love songs CD while making our Valentine's jello and cherry cheesecake. There is nothing like "You're the Inspiration" to get you into the Valentine's spirit!

After dinner, Max held the annual presentation of Valentine's gifts to the kids. As you'll see from the pictures, he has them sit backwards on the couch (no peeking) with their hands behind their backs. Brielle joined in as if she'd been doing this forever! Max then places gifts in their hands, starting with small things and moving up to larger things. The kids like to "feel" their gifts and guess what each one is before looking (this might be a significant fact to know before viewing one of the photos below). I'm not sure why we ever started this for Valentine's Day...there was obviously not a lot of thought put into it and there is obviously no significance to any of it...but, it's made it a fun night for all of us!

In position...I can't believe the early birds left some of these...

Look carefully at what Brant is receiving....yes, that is our already been "used" plunger....no, it wasn't really a gift to him...yes, Max is mean...no, Brant will probably never trust Max on Valentine's Day again...UGH! Brant was a good sport, though, and after scouring his hands, he was able to laugh about it.

Before closing out this post, I wanted to share some pictures of Brielle, my BIG HELPER! Brielle LOVES to "help you, Mom", and is quite capable at what she does. If I am in the kitchen, she will drag her stepstool to wherever I am working. I have learned to capitalize on this, and she and I will work on dinner together right after lunch. With her stepstool pulled up to the island, she is a master at opening any boxes of food I might need; she can crack eggs; she pours, whisks, and stirs; and is the best spoon- and beater-licker around! Last week, she totally surprised me by folding dishcloths and washcloths just about as well as I do. Truthfully, I do NOT know how she knew how to fold them so well. She just picked them up, one after another, and folded them like I would. I never taught her to do it...she just must have watched me and figured it out. I was shocked! Since then, whenever I have a load of towels out to fold, she grabs all the little washcloths out and folds them! Now, if only I could get my big kids to fold so eagerly and so well!

"Reporting for duty, Mom!" (Grandma Thibert...do you recognize this apron?) Brielle even stacked her folded cloths...

Inspecting her work...

"Seize the Day" (and the irresistably quiet night)

Last night I stayed up late planning Research Paper assignments for the two big kids. Once I was done, I should have gone to bed, but the house was just too irresistably quiet not to spend some time doing some uninterrupted web surfing. So, I began perusing ALL my favorite blogs, adoption yahoogroups, etc. As any late night web surfer knows, one blog leads to another, and before you know it, the wee hours of the night have passed. I know the internet has a great potential for evil and yuck, but I am constantly amazed at how it provides me with a network of invaluable information --I absolutely can not imagine adopting or homeschooling without it (was there such a thing as adoption and homeschooling before the internet :o)?)

One of the blogs I infrequently visit is Doug Phillips' blog at Vision Forum. Although I don't agree with exactly everything Doug espouses, I do think his vision and voice for the family is something desperately needed in today's society. Last night (or should I say, this morning), I stumbled across the following post on Doug's blog--I hope to make "Seize the Day" the battle cry of each and every morning!

"Seizing the Day for Our Children"
by Doug Phillips at Vision Forum
http://www.visionforum.com/hottopics/blogs/dwp/2007/12/3285.aspx

My children are growing so quickly. And so are yours.
Today, the fair-haired
little boy is tugging at Daddy’s leg, but tomorrow he is a young man of stature,
strength, and potential who will soon be a family leader in his own right. The
pig-tailed little girl who is so generous to Daddy with her butterfly kisses
will suddenly emerge as a woman whose heart will be given to the husband
prepared by God to take Daddy’s place as the human love of her life.

Our time as parents of children is slipping away from us. Each day that passes
without a self-conscious determination on our part to invest great spiritual
resources into their lives and to equip them is a day lost. It is a day that
will never be recovered.

What will be our message to the little boy and
girl? How will we use the brief moments God has given to us to equip them to
stand holy, pure, hopeful, and determined through the cultural tumult of our
budding twenty-first century?

It is the mission of Vision Forum Ministries
to encourage and inspire the Body of Christ to make this time — this season of
precious parenthood — count for all of eternity.

It is why the words of my dear but now departed spiritual son Michael Billings, in his sermon to the future fathers of his own generation, ring so true: “Seize the day.”

DTC, LID, and other Adoption Acronyms

Finally!!!!!

Our dossier is in China!

Our dossier went to China (DTC) on January 18th, 2008, and yesterday we found out that it was logged in (LID) at the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) on January 28th, 2008. FINALLY!!!!! With Brielle's adoption, we were DTC just shy of three months from the day we began paperchasing. This time around, it took TWO extra months to get through immigration (and to get our I-171H), and so we are approaching five months since we began the paperwork to bring home our little boy. Needless to say, we are very excited that our paperwork is finally in the hands of the CCAA!!

So, what does this mean? Well, we are told it will be at least three months before we hear anything from the CCAA. We are now waiting for the CCAA to review and approve our dossier, then send us the Seeking Confirmation Letter (SCL), which is the official "referral" of our son. We will need to sign this letter, stating that we do indeed wish to adopt him, and send it back to the CCAA. Then, we'll wait for them to issue us Travel Approval (TA), our agency will schedule our appointment at the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China, and we'll book flights and get packing! TA and travel usually occur about two months after the SCL is received.

The special needs children adoption route is faster, but less predictable than the non-special needs adoptions. So, all waiting times are only estimates. That being said, our best guess-timate for meeting our little guy is sometime in June (oh my goodness...can I wait that long?). Again, this is only a guess, and we are, of course, holding on to hope for a record-breaking fast SCL!

When you are adopting an older child, you are allowed to send them a little package. We were told we were limited to "a beanie baby size toy no larger than your hand". Thank you God for making Max's hands so large :o)! We thought and thought about what one toy would be the perfect one to send to our little son whom we've never met. Think about that...that's a tough one. Then, I read that a family from our agency sent their older daughter a little purse full of fun girly things. Perfect! Just the idea I was looking for! So, with Max's hand spread wide open, we found a little pack just the right size and filled it with all sorts of little boy things...a ball, yo-yo, slinky, flashlight, puzzle, Hot Wheel cars, stickers, and even a personalized little TX license plate for the bike we'll soon get him! We had so much fun putting everything together!
(note to other adoptive parents: our agency allowed us to send everything except for the candy we had included; I'm not sure why they didn't allow the candy)

Along with this, we sent him a Shutterfly photo book in which we shared photos of ourselves, our house, pets, etc., and through words and pictures, attempted to prepare him a little for his new family and home. We would so greatly appreciate your prayers in this area. Please pray that he will understand what is about to take place, and that his little heart and mind will be prepared. It grieves me to think about the emotions he will soon be facing - fear, loss, grief, lack of control... I pray that mixed with these emotions are even the tiniest bits of hope, comfort, warmth, sense of belonging,...

Thank you SO much for your support. We'll keep you posted on any news!

An Ideal End to 2007...

Brielle is shocked that Christmas is over, and there are no more presents to open!














It is so hard to believe that the holidays have passed, and today it was back to school for us and back to work for Max. I hated to say goodbye to Max this morning, because we had him all to ourselves for a whole 16 days! This was the first time since we were married that we can remember having time off and just being together at home as a family. What a perfect way to end the very busy year of 2007!

This was also the very first Christmas with just us, our little immediate family. When we first decided to stay home for Christmas this year, I was somewhat afraid that we'd regret it, but as much as I love spending time with my extended family, I have to say that this was the most relaxing Christmas season I can remember. No packing, no rushed cookie making, no early gift opening (our kids actually opened their gifts on Christmas morning), no car trips or plane rides with a two year old....total relief! This time of rest and togetherness was priceless.

Max insisted that I wait to make our Christmas cookies until he was off of work, so we could all make them together. He was a HUGE help, and with him by my side in the kitchen, cooking and baking was much more enjoyable!

Cookie Decorating...

















Some Christmas Pictures...

Brant had just two things on his wish list:

1) This airsoft gun















2) A Nintendo Wii

















Brittany wished for a dozen books and almost that many movies!

Brielle continually asked for "games" for Christmas. What fun it is to experience Christmas morning through the eyes of a two year old! Brielle opened each of her gifts quickly and ably, moving onto the next one without pausing to play with the one newly opened. She let out a loud scream of delight when she uncovered her final gift - a new kitchen!























A Christmas evening walk
















Brielle takes Daddy for a spin in her new race car...

















With 2007 behind us, we look forward to what God has in store for our growing family in 2008.

Wishing you a blessed 2008 from all of us to all of you!!