I-797C Came in the mail yesterday!

Our Notice of Action from The United States of America came yesterday. This is the approval to adopt one child from the convention country of China. This approval is restricted to a special needs female child from newborn to 4 years of age, with special needs such as brain disorders, developmental delays, hydrocrania, limb deformities and correctible heart defects.

Now our next step is to file form I-800 to classify Faith (HengSi) and an immediate relative to us! How exciting. We have paid to expedite this process!

Once we receive the I-800 our Dossier is wired to China. Then we wait on a log in date, an approval date and finally a travel date!

Our dear friends at Our Little China Girl celebrated their" GOTCHA" date a year ago today. This little girl has blessed so many lives, including ours. She is a big part of why we decided to adopt a daughter from China...Lucy we love you and are so happy you are a part of our lives!

Happy Birthday my little girl!

Hooraay! We got pictures of Faith celebrating her birthday in China. We were able to send money for a party and a cake through Ladybugsnlove.com this is the same organization that we sent her birthday packages through. They have done a wonderful job. These pictures are just treasures to us. When I received them Jeff was upstairs getting ready and all the kids were asleep and I just gave a loud " Come look at her smile!" My husband rushed down, and we couldn't be more thrilled. These are the first pictures we have seen of her truly happy. What a gift she has given us on her birthday. It's amazing without ever meeting her, how we can be so completely captivated by her and the few pictures we get of her. I love her already so much, and I have never even heard her voice or held her in my arms. I believe our spirits must have memories of each other from before this life, and I knew my daughter in heaven, and she knew me. These strong feelings I have now for her, are so real and tangible it's hard to put into words how connected we already are. Faith...mommy is doing everything possible to get to you as quickly as I can!!! Happy Birthday my little peanut!

It looks like Faith is just like big sister Kylee...Boys make the best friends! And bodyguards!

The biggest smile is when she is holding a phone...hmm that reminds me of Lucy!

PS.

I have a teeth fetish and her's are fantastic! I can't wait to brush those babies!

A new picture of FAITH in her birthday dress!

Faith will be two years old on July 9th. Gratefully there are wonderful organizations that will translate,purchase gifts and contact the orphanages in China. Here is a picture of the care package we have sent Faith for her birthday. We have also ordered her a birthday cake, and we will get pictures of her celebrating her birthday! This is especially exciting to us. Our hearts ache to be with her and we are so grateful there is a way to show her our love while she waits in the orphanage. Knowing that she will enjoy her birthday gives us such peace.

We got our PA! ( Pre approval from CHiNA!

A (PA) is significant in the adoption process. This is when China has reviewed our file and approved us to adopt the specific child we requested (pending we follow through with certain conditions). For me this step also means it is ok for us to begin connecting emotionally with our daughter. Going through this process is so unnatural. No woman picks the face of their child when she is pregnant. As a mother you love what you have created. In adoption, I am finding that I want so badly to emotionally connect, but I am afraid to give my entire heart because I don't want to get hurt if something goes wrong. This (PA) validates our paperwork, and says to me that it's ok to love her now...she is ours... the agency agrees and China agrees. Now our adoption starts to become real...we can also post her picture and give some details. Introducing our daughter Faith Hengsi Brown. We have already become attached to her, and are overjoyed every time we see her pictures. We know you'll fall in love with her too...you just can't help it, she is beautiful! I apologize to my close friends, I have already printed her pictures and carry them in my purse, and no doubt if you sit next to me during a sporting event, or other event, I will bring them out time and time again to talk about her. So be patient :)

The Power of Prayer!

We heard a cool saying from Mr. Spock in the new Star Trek movie today...

"Fate never happens when it's most convenient."

A leap of faith...so we have decided to move forward with adopting a daughter from China. Last week on Dallin's birthday, we met with the adoption agency for the first time. While in the office, we were looking for a little special needs girl we had seen a month before. Unfortunately, or fortunately for her, she has found a family to adopt her, but it was not us. I was so sad. As we sat, and visited with these wonderful ladies, there was another little girl who had been on hold for adoption, but was returned to the list. We looked at her picture, she was the first girl we saw and beautiful -We wondered why has no one adopted her?... Her file was forwarded to us at home. While driving home, we could not stop talking about her. As soon as we got home, we researched her file, knew she needed brain surgery, but felt it was right for us to "hold" her for our family. We immediately sent the required letter of intent, and surprised the adoption agency at how quickly we decided. Sunday we fasted and prayed about our decision and for more information, and our prayers have been answered. We feel now more than ever, that she is meant to be a part of our family! Now we hurry up and wait, until all our paperwork is complete, and we get approval. She is not yet two years old, our little Si Si. We will hopefully be traveling to China by the end of this year. Our kids are so excited, and Dallin has offered his bedroom to her. On a side note we got to see the new Star Trek movie before anyone else in the country. Microsoft set that one up for an employee morale event, and Jeff brought me along. The movie is fantastic!! We got as much free candy, pop, and popcorn as we wanted, and filled my purse full !(for the kids of course )