TA TA TA TA!!!

Can you hear us screaming yet we recieved an email from our agency informing us we leave for China January 19 and return February 5th thats just a little over 2 weeks and we will have the Prince. Finally the journey to the Prince is just about complete.

My World

Lily Grace

Lily is Two

As of yesterday my beautiful princess turned 2. It is so hard to believe that Lily is now two. She has changed so much in the past year I love her so much. Happy late birthday Lily
*Pictures to come from her special day and from her party Sunday*

She has a Family

The little girl mentioned in the post before this has a family that is going to adopt her we are so excited for the little girl and her soon to be forever family.

Help This Girl Find Her Family!

This is the email I receive from our agency today. I cannot publicly post the picture of this child because of CCAA rules, but she is beautiful as well as very smart. If you would like to have more info on this child please contact me and I will give you the name and number of our case manager who will be happy to talk with you about this precious child.Female. Hepatitis B carrierDOB: 1-20-1997She came to children welfare center on Jan 20th 1999. Now she is living with foster family and she receives good care from foster parents. She is a fourth grade student; she studies hard and does well in her studies. She is very smart and loves to sing and dance. She can manage herself in daily life and she also helps to do some house work such as cleaning tables and sweeping the floor. She is a very pretty girl and a good student with lots of talents.Dear China Families,As you can see that this smart and beautiful girl has only slightly over a year to find her family before she “ages out” of adoption. We would really like to try to prevent that from happening to her. She simply has too much potential and she truly wants a forever family…Please get her information to the lists that you are aware of and maybe, just maybe her forever family is out there; and they will come forward… We want to give it a final try before sending her file back to China; therefore crush her dream of a family that loves and cares for her… A child growing up in an orphanage does not have much future. She most likely will not be able to attend college; or get a good job… basically, she’ll just have a “gloomy” (I am not sure if this is the right word…) future; and we do not want that happening to her, not without one last try, at least.Please help us to get the word out! And pray for her to have a family, please.We thank you for any assistance you are able to provide!If a family wants to know more about her, I will be happy to talk with them when I get back from my China trip. Please feel free to give my contact info to anybody interested in adopting her.

Gotcha Day November 10th One year

Click here for the long over due post about Lily's one year gotcha day sorry I have been so slack. Lily's has forever been ours for one year on November 10th 2009 its seems like just a few days ago we were in China getting this precious child that I love. I have enjoyed every minute of being her big sister HAPPY LATE GOTCHA DAY LILY!!

A Year Ago Today!

One Year to the date we were a a plane to China to pick up our Angel and bring her home. We were headed to a foreign country we knew little about to adopt the little girl who has forever blessed our lives were so glad that Lily's journey home was almost complete. We arrived in Beijing tired and sleeped deprived happy just to be in the country were Lily was. But because of this trip I now have a little Princess who I love dearly.

My Princess

Pom Poms

Most little kids snuggle with a teddy bear or blanket NOT Lily she snuggles with her pom poms.

LOA IS HERE!!

Our LOA arrived today was signed and sent to Texas and back to case manager. Now we wait for I-800 approval then we can be given a TA. We are hoping to travel by the end of January.

LOA LOA LOA

We are thrilled to announce that our LOA is on its way! Can you hear us screaming from excitement yet we are thrilled to know that we are one step closer to our Prince Jacob. We are about 12 weeks out from traveling to meet Jacob that means late January we should be on a plane to China. Our friends the Rice's, Perry's, and Yingling's also received their LOA's congrats to you guys as well we are thrilled for you too!!

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween everyone. This year to no ones surprise Lily was a cheerleader. She wore my cheer outfit from when a did rec league cheerleading. She was too cute! We stopped by a few of our close friends houses for Lily to trick or treat at. Our first stop was the Knight's house they have a little girl Mia who was adopted from China too. Lily had fun taking candy from the basket and putting it into her pumpkin.

Lily and Mia

WE HAVE A LID!!!

Finally, we have a LID. It is 9/2/2009. This is the same day we received Lily's referral last year. September 2nd will always be a special day for our family. Our case manager still thinks it will be sometime in January before we travel. One more step closer to my brother

Future Cheerleader/model

Lily loves to say Go Panthers which is our high school mascot. So today I got the idea to dress her up in an old Cheerleading uniform that I wore back when I did rec league cheerleading in Kindergarden and 1st grade. Lily had a blast as you can tell from the pictures she had fun shaking the pom poms and modeling for me in some of the pictures.

Go Panthers!

Stunt Time

My favorite picture Miss. Lily is running to do her tumbling.

One year ago yesterday

It was one year ago yeasterday that we received the phone call that we had waited 3 years to receive. "You have a baby waiting in China for you". It was not long after we recieved the call we recieved Lily's pictures and I saw my sister for the first time when I got home from school. Our lives have been changed forever and definitely for the better. Life before Lily has been forgotten and we look forward to everyday we spend with her. She has blessed our family more than words can ever express. She is truly our miracle that we thank God for everyday. We love you Lily!

These are the first pictures we saw of our BEAUTIFUL Meng Ran Yue/Lily Grace Starnes

A year Ago Today!

One year ago today we read on rumor queen that referrals were arriving in Europe and we had made the cut off. Our little princesses pictures and information were on there way to the states and we would know who she was very soon. Little did we know that a year later how changed are lives would be with her finally home after 3 years of waiting to read that for so long.

Dossier To China

We are Dossier To China as of yesterday. It offical our paper are on their way to China. Next step a Log in date hoping it comes soon so we can go and get my brother. Over the moon exicted.

A Must Read Story!!!

This story of Christina is very heart touching and is a must read for anyone. http://afamilyforchristina.blogspot.com/2009/08/beginning-of-story.html

Documents Complete

Words from Mom:
Our documents have been authenticated by the Chinese Consulate in Washington, DC and are on their way back to us. By tomorrow afternoon, our dossier will be on it's way to our agency to be prepared for China. The next group of dossiers to be sent to China will be on Monday, August 31st and ours will be in this group. Now the wait begins!

I797C Approval

We returned home from the beach today and in the mail was our I 797C approval. This means that the United States Immigration has given us permission to adopt a foreign born citizen. This was the last document that we needed. Monday our papers will be in Raleigh to be authenticated and then on to Washington to the Secretary of State, next to the Chinese Consulate in DC, then our dossier can be sent to China. One more step closer to bring home my brother. Yay

Beach Trip

This week we are at the beach and it is Miss Lily's first time and she is in love with the sand and water and very tired when we come in from playing. The first picture Lily was in the water and a wave knocked her feet out from under her. We all have had fun today swimming and playing in the sand. I got the fun of burring the princess in the sand it lasted long enough to take a picture and she was up again playing.

Swimming With daddy

I love the beach
Tay Tay Buried me

Can't keep me down

Sandy Girl

Ready to play

Hannah and Jeff building a sand castle

The finished Castle

Cheer Camp

As most of you know I attended cheer camp this week at Wake forest University. We had a blast between silly sting fights and flour fights woo messy. Today was awards for teams Piedmont Varsity Won Home Pom which is the dance we brought from home and competed with the first night. We also won the Extreme routine Dance award which is a dance UCA teaches us and we add on 8 counts to and Finally Varsity won the Leadership award. Our JV did amazing too they won everything we did minus the leadership award and they won 1st place for the cheer which we did not win but all of us had an amazing time looking forward to our season to start. Lily was too cute today while we were cheering and dancing she was cheering right along with us. Will post pictures when i get some didn't take my camera. no word about adoption process with the Prince.

Relaxing in Sissy's bed!

Lily enjoyed relaxing in my bed today and pretending to text someone on my phone. She never ceases to make me laugh each and everyday. pictures from my chinese camp will be posted soon i promise i have so many it hard to pick which ones to put on here. Please be in pray as me and Madison travel to Wake Forest for cheerleading camp tomorrow and no one gets injured this year. Be back Monday

Fingerprints are finished.

We received our fingerprinting appointment in the mail this week for August 12th. We will be out of town and cannot be there.so yesterday my parents and I were in Charlotte today and thought we would go by the Application Center and just ask if they would do it today. Well, they did! They were very accommodating to us. This is a big relief to have this part of the process complete. We are on step closer to my little brother. YAY!

The Waiting child

This is a wonderful video made by Love Without Boundries about the waiting children of China. Please have a look. Make sure to turn off my music at the bottom.

Tiger and number song

I have a youtube video from camp we are singing the Tiger and number song in chinese check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmq6Fcd6FAY

Purse snd Shoes

I haven't been around this week to take pictures so I am guessing that Lily was digging in Madison's purse, Madison caught her she acted like she hadn't done anything wrong, but Madison took the purse, she cried then decided the shoes were better anywhy who needs a purse when you have a nice pair of shoes.

Hmm... What is in here

Oh no I've been caught act cute

NO! Don't take it from me

Oh well i guess these shoes are ok

Adopting Again

Yes, you have read correctly. Most of you know that my family is adopting from China again so this announcement is not a shock. Our agency is one of three that the CCAA gives a waiting list of hand picked children to find homes. These children are not on any other shared list. My brother, yes it is a boy, is a healthy 7 year old beautiful boy. His is in foster care and his orphanage just recently started participating in International adoption, so this is why he is older. Our agency has sent us pictures as well as a DVD of him. Obviously we all are in love. We have received our home study and our I-800A will be at the Fedex office to be delivered to the USCIS office this week. Our case manager predicts that we will travel sometime between December 2009 to March 2010, depending on how fast our paper work is processed. Please keep us in your prayers as we travel down this road. We can't wait to have our little guy home with us!

Here is some of what I learned today at my Mandarin Class. Click on the picture to make it bigger to read.

Mandarin Class

I started Mandarin class at Queens University in Charlotte today. It was very interesting, it is quite over whelming at first but really sort of easy once you start to learn characters and how to say some words. We learned so much today. It is not as hard as it looks to draw the Chinese characters. My teacher taught us to break it down stroke by stroke and it is very simple. I have learned so much in one day I will post some pictures of my notes later for you guys to see what I am learning. We have a field trip next Friday to ride in the Dragon Boat at Lake Norman. Hope everyone has had a wonderful Monday

4th of July weekend

This weekend we to Georgia on Friday to visit some of our friends in the Llama community. Ken and Kathy have a July 4th BBQ every year for their close friends and family. This year was special because it was Lily's first, and of course she was the center of attention that everyone had to hug and kiss. But Lily was interested in kissing one thing, the head of a bald eagle on the Colonel Richard's cane. Lily called it a "chicken", so everyone else started calling it "the chicken".

One Step Closer

We recieved our homestudy today and will be mailing the I-800A to the USCIS office tomorrow to get their on Monday morning. We are one step closer to bring the Prince home YAY!

Leaving tomorrow.

Today has just been a stay at home day. Lily hasn't felt very well today and has not had a great nap. Please pray for our family as we travel to Georgia tomorow to visit friends for the Fourth of July. Sorry no pictures today. HOPE EVERYONE HAS A WONDERFUL 4th OF JULY ON SATURDAY!

Sand and Pool #2

Today I had Hannah over who is a good friend of mine. Her and Lily played in the sand together while I took some pictures. Lily enjoyed the cool dip in the pool after playing in the sand. Enjoy the photos from today.