We miraculously received updated pictures of Sasha this week! We were so surprised and are so excited that this has happened. We'll have to explain it all later, but God has been answering so many of our prayers as we continue on this journey He has led us on. He is always by our side to lead us and guide us and to protect and care for our sweet little one! We can't wait to bring you home Sasha!!!

"This is my secret talisman, my act of faith, my leap into the arms of the possible. I have shoes for Baby, waiting for her little feet to fill them. They will be my symbol of hope, and a reminder that sometimes we must walk through pain to get home again."

-an excerpt from Forever Lily, written by Beth Nonte Russell

Since we received the referral the difficult part has been knowing our little darling Sasha is waiting for us in China and that it would still be much later in the year until we brought her home. Our paperwork was electronically accepted in China on July 13, 2006. We were told it would likely be three and a half months until we received our referral acceptance which is the next step.

We were shocked to receive it on August 20 -in just over a month!!! This means our projected travel dates will likely be in October! God continues to amaze us as He provides hope in large and small ways throughout our waiting process!

http://bringmehope.org/movietheater/bmhdvd/4minadoption.html

July 10 was Sasha's 1st birthday.

Brady, Mikelle, Rachel, Godwin (our friend from India), and Dave and I celebrated with food from our local chinese carryout and an adorable little chocolate cake that Brady brought home. We didn't eat the cake though! We lit a candle and blew it out in honor of Sasha, but then wrapped it up and put it in the freezer for Sasha to sink her chubby little hands and cute little face into when she gets here this fall!

Thanks to all our other friends who remembered this special day too! Keep praying for our precious little one. We are so very anxious to bring her home.

WE HAVE A BABY!!!

"For this child I have prayed and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him." Oh, how many times I have prayed that verse from 1 Samuel! And now God has answered our prayer!

The past three weeks have been a testimony as to how God does indeed answer our prayers. Dave & I were wrapping up a three week fast regarding our adoption. Dave really felt the need for confirmation that we were to proceed with our adoption, since it was looking like it would be summer 2008 until we might be matched with a baby and we have been in the wait process for what seems like forever. We wanted to know without a doubt that we had heard from God and that we were doing the right thing by adopting a baby at this point in our lives. Just three days before our fast was to end, on Thursday, June 26 at 1:27 pm, our phone rang. When I saw the call was from our adoption agency, I just knew they were calling with a baby for us!

I began to tremble as our adoption coordinator began to tell me about a baby girl who was born July 10, 2006. She was 6.6 pounds and 18.9 inches long at birth. She now weighs 15.4 pounds and is 27.6 inches long. She has two teeth!! Her Chinese name is Yang Chun Hua Li, she is from the Guangdong Province and is currently in the Integrated Social Welfare Institute of Yangchun City. According to her medical report she is normal in physical development except for her right hand which in not fully developed. Apparently, she gets along well with the other children and she likes acquaintances but not strangers!!!

In January Dave and I had decided to put our names on the special needs list with our adoption agency. This list has many people on it with the majority being people like us, who are requesting children with minor health challenges. We were told it was highly unlikely that we would receive a special needs referral before our regular referral since there were around 100 people on the list ahead of us. The possibility of a referral sounded so remote that when they told us to update our homestudy for a special needs referral we didn't even bother. But God had other plans!! When America World receives their list from China they take the list and pray for direction as to how to match the children with families. So the first people on the list don't necessarily get the first baby that matches their request. Amazingly, they felt Huali (pronounced Wa Lee) was the child for us and that is what has brought us to this point.

I hung up the phone and called Dave. He could hardly believe it! God had spoken clearly to us that not only were we to proceed with the adoption, but that He had chosen this baby just for us and we were chosen to be her family! In a flurry of excitement I shared our news with Brady and Mikelle who both "just happened" to be home.

God continues to show us how incredible He is! Our beautiful little Sasha Mei is perfect as far as we are concerned and we cannot wait to hold our precious darling in our arms and love her and take care of her. We expect to travel this fall to bring her home. Please join with us in praying for her as we wait for our travel dates. It is estimated that it will take approximately 2-4 months to transfer our paperwork from a regular application to a special needs application. This is done in China. It will then be another 2-6 weeks until we actually travel.

Thank you to all of our special friends and family who have stood beside us during these difficult weeks and months and lifted us up in prayer and touched us with your love. You have encouraged us and blessed us in more ways than you know. And praise be to God for what He has done in our lives!

"How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears." -2 Samuel 7:22

"You don't bless me so that I can close my eyes and fold my hands and be content with what I have

You don't fill me so that I can live a life that's full and free for only me."

To our beautiful daughter

SASHA

We think about you and pray for you every day. We wonder where you are at this very moment. We can almost hear you, but your voice is silent. We try to imagine what you look like but that picture is not very clear. We ask God to never let go of you and to hold you in the palm of His hand, to comfort you, to love you and to care for you always. And once He places you in our arms we will hold you and love you and comfort and care for you too! That day the sun will shine in an incredible way and everything will be brighter and we will understand why we had to wait so long for you. We know you were chosen for us and we'll understand why you couldn't come any earlier and our questions will be answered the moment you come because you will be the answer as we finally hold you close to our hearts and touch you and love you.

Were You Born Today?

Were you born today across the ocean deep and blue?

Did someone wrap you warmly? Did they stop and gaze at you?

Did they look upon your almond eyes and touch your silken hair?

Did they stop to kiss each tiny toe, hear your breath upon the air?

Did you hear a soft voice comforting, securely in her arms?

The warmth of two souls bonding, oh, the lure of newborn charms.

Were they charmed by every movement; every yawn and stretch and pout?

Did they celebrate with handshakes and good spirits all about?

Or were the tears mistaken, as they fell upon your face?

Their eyes were wells of sorrow? Their heads hung in disgrace?

Did they tremble when they realized the thing that would be done?

Did they mourn the new day coming, with the rising of the sun?

Did they place you, oh so tenderly, in the place where you were found?

Were those blankets wrapped up tightly to deny the cold hard ground?

Did she whisper words of comfort with a love that was so deep?

Did she recognize the features of this one she could not keep?

Did you feel the night wind blowing as it carried in the morn?

Did you hear your mother weeping on the day that you were born?

And here across the ocean a mother weeps for you.

How long before she travels 'cross that ocean, deep and blue?

How long before she gazes as those little dimpled hands?

How long before she travels to that promised, distant land?

Her heart is filled with gladness. Her dreams are coming true.

The secret thrill of motherhood, across that ocean blue.

And she'll gaze upon your almond eyes and touch your silken hair.

She'll stop and kiss each tiny toe...feel your breath upon the air.

And you'll hear a soft voice comforting; the world's so insecure.

Two fragile souls are bonding as they hold each other near.

She'll be charmed by every movement; every yawn and stretch and pout.

And she'll celebrate with handshakes and good spirits all about.

And you'll hear the night wind blowing as she rocks you off to sleep.

And she'll whisper words of comfort, with a love that is so deep.

...And far across the ocean a mother weeps...

Mary E. McRae