Christmas, LOI, and PA

It's been a wonderful few weeks. The hustle and bustle of Christmas missed us this year! We are blessed to have family close and have been able to relax and enjoy the Christmas season. Being home and spending time together has been special. I've savored the last couple of weeks as I know that things will be busy and hectic after the new year. Waiting on LOA hasn't been on my mind every second. I have listened to Third Day's Merry Christmas song and thought about how special it will be to have Maeli here with us next Christmas. I wondered if they even acknowledged Christmas at the orphanage... I received a wonderful Christmas present on December 26th from an American couple volunteering at the orphanage. They said that the children celebrated Christmas with a special program in which Maeli danced and participated in a magic show. The children received treat bags, warm shoes, and a blanket for Christmas. They ate chicken, french fries, and cake. What a blessing to know she celebrated her first Christmas. I am thankful to the volunteers and those who are loving her while we work to bring her home. Hopefully there will be some photos from the program that I can get soon. Over Christmas break, we told Emma about her new big sister. She is SO excited and talks about Maeli often. We felt that we better fill her in since she was beginning to think Maeli's room was her new room! Emma says that she can't wait for her sister to come. Bless her heart, it's going to be a long several months!

On December 27th, our agency emailed to let us know they have submitted our Letter of Intent (LOI) for Maeli. This is a letter from us requesting that we be allowed to adopt Maeli. Typically pre-approval comes within a week from the Chinese government. We were excited to get pre-approval the following day! :)

Now we wait as the Chinese government processes our file and ultimately grants our letter of acceptance (LOA). This could take several weeks or a few months. We are certainly praying that we are granted LOA quickly! Please pray for a quick LOA wait! In the meantime, we are going to enjoy these last few moments as a family of four and also look forward to becoming a family of five!

Here's a sneak peek of her room. Still a work in progress but hopefully finishing it soon!



- Jessica