Packages and Paperwork

Hello!

Sorry it has been so long since we updated. We haven't heard any news about Kate or received new pictures yet... but hopefully soon! We are waiting for what is called the LOA (Letter of Acceptance) from China. That is currently taking 2-3 months from the time of your referral - and our referral was given in early June. So we have 1-2 months to go on that! After we receive the LOA, we'll send in another few forms, apply for visas, and hopefully travel to get sweet Kate in November or December!

In the meantime, we put together a little package for Kate. We included bottles and toys and various supplies for her orphanage. We also picked out a cute little outfit for her - maybe she will be wearing it when we meet her! We sent a photo album with pictures of our family. One of our sweet friends who speaks Chinese helped us draw the Chinese characters to label the pictures "Mom," "Dad," "big sister," etc. We included a little duck blanket for her (like her sisters' blankets - Anne has a lion and Molly has a hippo : ) and her grandmothers each got her a toy or two ; )

The things just for Kate:

A close-up of some of the pictures in the album with the cool Chinese characters:

Note how the symbols are repeated. Like "Ma Ma" or something... they do that a lot. And there are different symbols for maternal grandmother and paternal grandmother! It's all very cool. Can you imagine reading (or writing??) this way??? Wow!! So neat and so different!

We sent the package to our agency's liaison in China and she has received it. She will now forward it to the orphanage. We were able to ask 10 questions as well ... we asked how big she is, if her cleft lip has been repaired, what her favorite toys are, how she eats and sleeps, and those sorts of things! We can't wait to get the answers!

On the way to the pool one Saturday we took it to the post office. It was the same post office where we first mailed our application to adopt last August! So crazy!

And off it went! China bound ; ) 

Kate's birthday is coming up, so we just sent a second package through a sweet lady in China called Red Thread Ann. She has a "birthday package" that includes a birthday cake, a camera, another photo album, and some birthday goodies. That package was much easier to send and more economical ; ) Hehe. Ann has been so helpful and has given some neat insights into our little one's name. She says she will call the orphanage for updates and photos as well, so surely we'll hear something before too long!

We have also been preparing paperwork for this next round. As soon as we receive our LOA, we are ready to send out the next wave of papers. Here's our little file folder with all our adoption paperwork in it. It's been a LOT of paperwork to adopt - but I'm still thinking this whole thing is easier than pregnancy! But maybe that's because God equips us for whatever He calls us to... so maybe we were equipped for this so it seemed easier!

All these little post-it notes are to label the documents and also to flag any questions that we have. This adoption paperwork has been crazy and it's been a blessing to have such devoted agency helpers. I just mailed them these forms and they will check them and make sure everything is right. Yea!

We have had a fun summer. Anne and Molly have LOVED the pool Anne has recently been jumping off the diving board and sliding down the slide. 

Molly stands by watching and yelling "go sissy!" It's a hoot ; )

We have been watching a bit more TV (Boz is great! He's like a green Christian Barney ; ) Here's a picture of the girls watching a little DVD player in Anne's old (and Kate's future) crib!

We have had a rough patch of sickness and minor injuries. Hopefully we are all on our way to being better! God led me a verse that has been so comforting:

"Your strength will equal your days" -Deuteronomy 33:25

Just makes me realized that even when I feel weak/sick/etc, I will have all the strength I need for EVERY day! God will provide. I love that! 

So that about covers it around here... lazy summer days with some package-sending and paperwork-filling-out ; ) Hope you are all well! We will update the blog as soon as we hear anything new!

Our sweet and talented friends Whitney and Lance Cooper did this video of the girls ... we LOVE it! My mom is in the video too which is fun! Thanks, Coopers. This is the third summer we have done one and they are such treasures. www.wcoopervideography.com if you are interested!!! ; ))

http://vimeo.com/wcooper/the-wessels-2012