Packed and ready (Almost)...

We made our list and checked it twice, three times, four times... OK, so we're a little uptight. We are trying to pack two weeks worth of stuff for two adults, one child and one baby in two suitcases and a carry on. Knowing the tight weight restrictions on international flights, we decided to do a trial run this weekend. We got everything packed with room (and pounds) to spare, but not a lot to spare! We decided to go ahead and leave everything packed since it is all warm weather clothes (good thing there are irons in the hotel rooms). That is one less thing now to worry about (other than all the odds and ends still to be bought, made, laundered, etc.).

Megan is excited about "Trunk or Treat" this coming Friday. She is dressing up as a friendly ghost even though she has no idea who Casper is. We attended her first Fall Festival at Tate Elementary school this past Saturday. We got to meet her classmates, teachers and even watch the principal kiss a pig. We went down the "Haunted Hall," which was pretty scary and Megan loved it. She even helped one her little friends get through.

I am doing my best this week to prepare the office for my absence. If all goes well, we will have our best sales performance of the year and they will kick me out for weeks at a time more often :)

This will be a busy week of wrapping up details and making final preparations. We hope that two weeks from tonight, we will be cuddling our new baby! We continue to covet your prayers and will keep you posted as we get closer to the "Big Day".

Peace
Matt

We're Booked!

Happy Monday! After hours......and I mean HOURS on the phone and Internet with Delta Airlines over the course of 4 days, we FINALLY have our airline tickets booked through Delight Travel! We were hoping to use Frequent Flier Miles and one road block led to another. I keep waiting for the phase of the process that will go smoothly and easily, without a hitch! We gave up on FF Miles and then turned to the Travel Agency that Great Wall (our agency) uses for their travel arrangements. And, here we are! We are booked....we'll be ticketed next week.....and on our way on November 5.

In our travel planning, we were hoping to include some special time just for Megan. We will depart Atlanta on Wednesday, November 5 and fly to Hong Kong (arriving on Nov. 6). We will then stay at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel for 3 nights enjoying Hong Kong Disneyland together for 2 days! Their Castle belongs to Sleeping Beauty - what fun! Megan is beside herself excited and we have already checked out every ride and attraction on the Park Map. It will be a fun time for the 3 of us to share. As we looked at the photos and the map on the Disneyland website she kept saying, "Look, there are China people like me!" She will be amazed when most everyone looks just like her!

We will then depart Hong Kong on the Train bound for Guangzhou on November 9. We will get settled into the White Swan Hotel and have Miss Madelyn in our arms on the 10th or 11th - I am hoping for the 10th :-) We will then take care of daily paperwork and processing, some shopping and touring and head back to the States on Friday, November 21. We should touch ground in Atlanta at 6:05pm. Searfoss, family of 4 headed to Big Canoe, Georgia! That will be a truly blessed day!

We thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers and will keep you updated as we have more information.

Until then......God bless and much love,
~L

What an Angel

Hi. We are still waiting on our US Consulate appointment dates so that we can make our final travel arrangements. We hope to have that information tomorrow. We are so fortunate to have a new friend in Guangzhou named Ann. She is going to take us shopping while in China and show us some of the places most tourists don't get to see. She also has a connection with our orphanage and was able to get some updated pictures for us. What a blessing this is. The wait at every turn has become so frustrating but looking at this precious face makes it all worthwhile. We are not sure exactly when these were taken, but they are recent. One of the pictures shows Madelyn with one of her caregivers. These are amazing women that really love these children. We are so thankful for them. We cannot wait to get there and hold this sweet little one for ourselves.

We continue to covet your prayers as the journey continues!

We're Almost There!

We received our Travel Approvals and Passports complete with Visas this week. We are really close to making our actual flight and hotel reservations. The Government offices in China have been on Holiday this past week so no official appointments could be made. (Really......one more hurry up and wait!) We hope to have our final Consulate appointment scheduled this week so that all other arrangements can be made. We have been working on our packing list and made great progress on Madelyn's room yesterday. The crib is back together and it's looking like a baby will soon be here! Not soon enough!!! We continue to be anxious, excited and filled with anticipation as we await this new chapter in our lives. Megan can't wait to go get "her baby"! Thank you for sharing this joy with us.

Referral Acceptance on its way!

Our agency sent our referral acceptance documents to China today! We are now awaiting our Travel Approval so that we can get our Visas and make all of our travel arrangements. We should know something in the next 10 days as to when we will travel. Hurry up and wait....again! It is all becoming real. I have done some shopping....it seems we have a tiny one on our hands so we needed some little clothes. I love this part! We now have blankets, diapers, jammies, bottles etc. as we prepare for our travels.

Many of you may have heard about the formula recall in China. The reported cases seem to be in northwest China.....our orphanage is in southeast China so we are hopeful it is not the formula Madelyn is being fed. We are praying for good health while she awaits our arrival. Please say a special prayer for her. It has been a difficult day wondering if my baby could possibly be struggling and there is absolutely nothing I can do to help her. Matt and I both realized how much we have already come to love this child that we have not even met yet. She is our girl! Megan has completely embraced the idea of her baby sister. She wanted to make her own post to the blog tonight as she anticipates this new addition to our family. It is going to be good to be in China and finally complete this family of ours. We are so blessed.We continue to covet your prayers and would love to hear from you.

Love to all,
~L

some thoughts from Big Sister.....

It is going to be a great time in China. We hope we can get Madelyn sooner than soon. We wish she was here already. We are so excited that we got her picture and that we are getting her very soon.
Love,
Megan :-) This smiley face is because we are excited to get Madelyn

Healthy Girl!

We received our referral packet this afternoon. We have a very healthy baby girl who was 15.4 lb. and 24 inches long on July 10, 2008 (8 months). All reports show happy and healthy and they tell us she is both a deep sleeper and a very active baby. How could she be more perfect?!

We had hoped to travel asap but it looks as though there is a Trade Show in Guangzhou from Oct 15 - 30 and all hotels etc will be booked solid during that time. We will have to wait until November to finally have that precious baby in our arms. After 32 months, what's another 2 weeks??? Now we start the final paperwork, getting packing lists together, obtaining Visas, making travel arrangements etc. Oh, and there's the signing and returning of one special document....."yes, we will love, care for and adopt into our family, Jiang Cheng Ci - Madelyn Grace Searfoss!"

Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we enter the next phase of this journey. Our minds and hearts are racing and, at times, it is difficult to sort out all the feelings and emotions. One thing we know.....we are to be a family of 4 and we are so blessed with our precious daughters, Megan and Madelyn. God is SO good!

~L

Caught in the whirlwind.....

Good morning. I finally got some sleep last night and think my feet are actually touching the floor this morning! Thank you all for your kind words of congratulations and support. It still seems like a dream. Can't wait to pinch those cheeks!!! I had a strange experience at the grocery store yesterday. My cart just gravitated toward the baby aisle. I have not been down that aisle in a while! This time I didn't have to wonder about what size diapers we will need - SIZE 3! I didn't question bottle or sippy cup - BOTTLE, for now. What a fabulous feeling!

Megan is both excited and apprehensive......she is going to be the best big sister! She is anxious to assist with all the day to day activities and will be such a huge help. I cannot wait to see the two of them together. Megan has anticipated this for 1/2 of her little life! My girls....that sounds so wonderful :-)

We will receive our FedEx package today with the original photos, medical report, height and weight as well as information on what she enjoys and what she is doing. They did tell me she likes to laugh and that she is fond of music and playing with toys. She's our girl! The whole process still amazes me. Megan could not have been more perfect for our family. I still marvel at how they could find our baby a whole world away. Here we go again.......more later......love to all.....

~L

It's a GIRL!!!

Well......It has been a day. I have been pacing all day not sure whether to wet my pants or get something else to eat (bad choice!!!) We received news early that referrals may come today or tomorrow. After contacting our agency, I learned that the packages from China usually arrive between noon and 1pm CST and today they thought they might run late due to the holiday yesterday. Well, it was 9am EST! What am I to do for 4 plus hours??? Matt called several times to "check in" and every time the phone rang, my heart skipped a beat.

At 2:54pm EST we got THE CALL! We have baby girl! Her Chinese name is Jiangcheng Ci and she was born on October 29, 2007 (10 months old!) She is currently in the Guangdong Province at the Jiangcheng District Welfare Institute soon to reside in BIG CANOE, GA!!!

We could not be more thrilled and cannot wait to get there! We expect to receive a package with the original photos and other acceptance documents on Thursday and travel plans should follow. We will continue to keep you updated as things develop.

Thank you all for your prayers, patience, love and support throughout these 32 long months! It has been a journey and we have only just begun. God is faithful and once again he has blessed us beyond measure. Thanks be to God!

~L

We are getting close!

Rumor has it that we may get referrals this week. We are confident that Madelyn is in the next group. The question is whether we get the call this week or next.

We will keep you posted!