We are leaving May 1!

It's almost time! We got the call today about our Travel Approval (TA). We are definitely invited to China to get our boy. Sometimes I feel like I can't breathe when I think about it. It's time. He's been away from us too long. It's time for momma to hold her boy. I dream about him almost every night and then I wake up and almost cry at the thought of leaving little Hadley for 2 weeks.

We are so excited to leave - We plan on going to TN on April 29th! One month to go!

Help Bring Me Home!

There's a new Sheriff in Town!

We are a family of women.

Strong, loud, lipstick lovin' women.

What in the world are we going to do with a boy?

I think he will rock our world and we will all be in love with him shortly.

Correction: We are all already in love.

The girls cannot wait to see him. My daddy is especially excited. There hasn't been any testosterone (save the son in laws) in this family since he was a child.

Even on Chad's side, there is a GRANDDAUGHTER! What is the deal?

Well, there's a new sherriff in town and his name is Shepherd.

Get ready girls, this is going to be fun!

This man came up with the name of my child...

Well, since you asked...

I have absolutely racked my brain (not to mention every site on the internet about names). I am kind of a name junkie. I used to be a teacher, so I know that has something to do with it. There are some names that make me cringe and others that make me beam with pride due to the person attached.

I also have lots of family members and friends that are teachers. Boy, do they have opinions about names! And then there was this huge news story on how what you name your child has a direct effect on their success in life! In LIFE, not elementary school, high school, but the whole kit 'n kaboodle!

Can someone say "Pressure"?

So, I got many people weighing in on names - many unsolicited, but that doesn't bother me, I like to see what others like.

Then, there is my husband. How can a mature, god-fearing man come up with so many seventh grade retorts?

It goes something like this:

"Chad, how about "Wells"?"

Chad: "Like Wells Fargo?"

Candace: "What about Payne?"

Chad: "Do I even need to go there?"

Candace: "What about Pryce?"

Chad: "Yeah, Pryce Keck, that would be good. "Pryce Keck on aisle 9... please woman!"

So, I got nowhere with him. Well, he named Hadley, so I decided it was my turn and just as long as he kind of liked it, that would be ok.

Then, one night, my daddy called me and piped in with a name. Odd. Daddy's don't usually get into this type of thing. He came up with Shepherd. I don't know if it's our sheep raising background or the fact that we love the newscaster on FOX, Shepard Smith, but we all liked it.

So, thanks, Daddy. It meant alot that you chose the name and that you got involved. Must be because this is the first boy anywhere in sight!

Shepherd Dang Keck... it has a ring to it...

Big Sister, Hadley

Hadley is excited about being a big sister.

Hadley: "I want to share my toys with Shepherd."

"But not my dolls. Boys don't like dolls."

"Mommy, what is that on his mouth?"

Candace: "Hadley, that's a little boo-boo he was born with."

Hadley: "Why?"

Candace: "That is just how God made him. Kind of like how you have blonde hair and that big tummy!"

laugh...

Hadley: "Mommy, why does he have that boo-boo?"

__________________

Yes, I have been over it a hundred times! Hadley doesn't understand Shepherd's condition but she has big plans for him. She keeps showing me how to hold a baby and feed a baby. It's tender and innocent and I love it. I think she will be a great big sister!

Our Adoption Journey

In 2003, we began our adoption journy. After suffereing the loss of 2 babies through miscarriage, we decided to adopt. Russia, it seemed, was where we would start building our family. We got a referral of a little boy we named Clay. He even had red hair! Adorable!

We then found out that we were expecting. We continued the adoption process and in March, prepared to leave to meet our baby. He was 13 months at the time. Less than 3 hours before getting on the plane, I suffered a pregnancy induced kidney stone. Chad rushed me to the hospital where I would stay for several days. We had to make the heart-wrenching decision to relinquish our little boy. They simply couldn't "hold" him for us. We were heartbroken!

About 2 months later, Hadley, our daughter was born at 25 weeks. Her days in the NICU as well as her care for the next 2 years kept us busy! So the adoption was put on hold.

Fast forward to 2005 - we had moved to Texas, Hadley was stable so we got excited about the possibility of a little Chinese sister. We started the process only to realize that all of a sudden the most stable adoption program in the world was slowing down to a crawl. Hey, I was in my late 30's, this gal needed to get on with the program!

We got on with the program alright. After 2 great years in TX, we moved to FL. Do you know what that means for a Paperchasing Family? MORE Paperchasing!

Finally, we had waded throught the paperwork and something hit us. Why not check into a child with Special Needs? It was like a light went off in our heads. We joined that group through our agency in October, 2007 and boom! January 9, 2008 we got our referral. Because we had checked that we would accept a boy, things really moved for us.

Dang Fu Jie, born on April 30, 2007 and found in a flowerbed at about a month old was to be our son. I laughed at his surname of "Dang" - sounded like a good 'ol Tennessee name to me!

They sent me his picture and of course, I was done! Chad was very excited and Hadley didn't know WHAT was going on!

Here are our dates. They won't mean alot to you, but for us, they are dates burned forever in our minds...

LID - Login Date (China had received our paperwork) - January 4, 2007
Referral - January 9, 2008
Accepted Referral - Jan. 17, 2008
Electronic Acceptance Submitted to China - Jan 25, 2008
PA (Pre-Approval) issued! - Jan 30,2008
RA (Referral Acceptance) - March 10, 2008
TA (Travel Approval) - March 31!
Travel Date - June 12-25/28

Shepherd's Special Need is Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate. He will have 2-3 surgeries when he gets home to repair them. We just think he's adorable already. I am sure you will agree! I am attaching his passport picture for you to see him!