Our Travel Approval is Here

Yippeee!!! One more step closer to Mia. Our travel approval came today and now we just have to wait to see if we get our requested U.S. Consulate appointments. We should hear on Wednesday. Meanwhile Dan is going to be busy today pricing flights. I am so excited...

Our Travel Approval is on the Way

We got word last night that our travel approval is in the mail and should arrive either today 12/31 or Wednesday 1/2/08. Therefore it is looking really good that Dan and Sallie will be able to leave for China on January 17th. Mia would then be in her daddy's arms for the first time on January 21st.

In All Seasons...

Mia, your tree continues to endure all seasons - frowning through each freeze, soon to grin in glorious bloom. And we love to watch it grow with each day, month, year.

Waiting, Praying, Hoping,

mom and dad

"There is a Light in Your Eyes"

Richard Avedon once said that "Each picture is accurate. No picture tells the truth." As I stare into the eyes of our little Mia, I can't tell you how this axiom resonates with me. With just 3 pictures and some cryptic, state-produced notes of Mia's life to go on, we have little context to understand the deep pool of her eyes. Are they melancholy? Tired? Confused? Irritated? Or was the camera just seconds late to her generous smile?

Alas, we're cautious to try. But suffice it to say - as Karin Evans has so astutely observed about girls like Mia, "The girls gazing into the camera are braver than children should have to be. And yet their spirits peek through...." She concludes the thought by adding, "What a difference a little encouragement could make." This is why I post.

The very day that we got Mia's package (or at least I think it was the very day), I heard a song on the radio with the chorus, "There is a light in your eyes." I immediately thought of her. Not for the pictures themselves, but for the fatherly hope I have for her ....for the trust I have in the Lord over her life...and for how, I pray, the love from my own heart will burst out through her eyes.

The tune is by Matt Kearney and it's called "Breathe in and Breathe Out". Here's a few lines that I've found particularly poignant: If everyone goes away/I will stay...I'm not letting go/You hold the other line/Cause there is a light, In your eyes, In your eyes...

Hold on, Hold tight/If I'm out of your sight and everything keeps moving on, moving on/ Hold on, Hold tight/Make it through another night/Everyday, there comes a song/With the dawn

Mia - Your Friends Can't Wait to Meet You!

Mia, when you come home...there will be so many friends waiting to play with you: eva, parker, j.j., bri, and more!

Mia, when Uncle Matt and Aunt Tara found out about you, they immediately wanted to throw a party. So they invited over all your friends and we had a feast! Hmmm...hmmm...it was DELISH! We had a savory beef dish that was cured in a crockpot with rosemary, basil, salt, and pepper...The wine flowed (in moderation, of course) and the fire crackled to Uncle Matt's delight until your dad let it die. Oh well, we had great fun together reading your referral and all the special news about you!

HCC Meets Mia!

I shared with our church congregation this morning Mia's picture (though were only about a third of the folks there due to an ice storm). Everyone was so excited for us and many, many people remarked at how beautiful Mia is. Some said that she has great "depth" in her eyes, others said that she looked well-nourished, and many commented on her cute, little mouth. As one friend (Rick) said this morning, Mia is being welcomed into one small family but ALSO into one large family too...a family (namely HCC) that we sincerely love. If you'd like to hear the announcement, you can podcast the service at www.heartlandchurch.org/podcast

Introducing Mia Grace!

We're so excited for you to (FINALLY!!!) meet our little girl, Mia Grace. Her name currently is Feng, Pu Han - which is pronounced "Fahng Poo Hahn" and so we're already calling her Mia Poo!

The Big Brown UPS truck pulled up to our home at 12:55 PM today with the package that we've been praying for and envisioning for over 2 years now. So, since we had a houseguest, Elise and I to commence a family opening ceremony. We sat on the floor in what was originally Mia's room, took some pre-game photos, sang the national anthem, threw out the first pitch, and then opened the package!

With great anticipation, we opened the referral and learned some little fun facts about our daughter:

1. She loves to listen to music (which was the FIRST THING to catch my eye!).

2. She's a moderate sleeper (which is a lot better than the unchecked box that just said "crying").

3. She is quiet but fond of playing with toys (wiffle balls, I presume).

4. She is slightly obstinate (b/c she's a Barton in spirit).

It's all so surreal, we can hardly take it in. I suppose that's what wonder and awe always feels like. Praise Him.

Truth be told, I was just seconds behind the UPS truck. We expected the delivery in the late afternoon but it showed up before 1:00! So as I was just about to turn down our street, I saw UPS pulling away! It was a bummer but I kinda forgot all about it when Elise and I opened up Mia's package.

What Can Brown Do For You?

Mark the date: Friday, December 7, 2007...12:55 PM
UPS delivers the best Christmas present ever:
pictures and info on our little Mia Poo!

Referral

Elise and I are joyfully pleased to share that we just received our “referral” today and have learned that our daughter is named Feng (last name), Pu Han (first). We’ll be receiving a UPS packet tomorrow with more information and pictures but all we have to go on right now is an email and a very grainy picture. So we’ll send you more tomorrow, but here’s what we know:

o she’s beautiful
o she is currently 9 months old
o she was born on March 13th, 2007 (not sure if that’s an approximate or not)
o as of her last medical check-up (in late September) she was 17.6 pounds, 26 ½ inches tall
o she is waiting for us in the Jiangxi Province

So, this means that we should be traveling 2 months from now – BUT, they might have us go earlier to avoid the Chinese New Year (on Feb 7th).

We’ll post pictures tomorrow after we get our UPS package!

We Made It!

Wow! After waiting over two years and after checking the CCAA website almost every day for the last year and half I never thought I would see the day come when our date is included. It feels so unreal that we should see our sweet Mia's face tomorrow. I have so many questions. How old is she? Where is she right now? Is she crying? Or has she stopped crying for help? Will she be terrified of me? Will she even know and understand the look of love? Or will time have to teach her that? Will the nannies miss her? Does her birth mother ache every day for her? Does her birth father look at other children and wonder about her.

Hoping and Praying Tomorrow is the Day

I haven't posted in forever. Wow has a ton happened this past year. The word on the rumor queen is that someone on the West coast got their referral today. So we are hoping and praying that tomorrow is the day that we get to see our daughter Mia's face for the first time.

I have just been going crazy this past week. I have been making Dan leave the computer on at night so that I can check it in the middle of the night if need be. Monday night I checked it at 3:30 am to discover nothing.

Today I have been a complete mess and have barely been able to leave the computer. This morning was looking bleak and I sent an email to family and friends saying it looked like it wasn't going to happen this week. Next I had some sugar therapy. :) Then low and behold I checked it again around 1:00 and someone on the West Coast got their referral. How I am going to sleep tonight I have no idea.

Prayers For an Anxious Time

Just before Thanksgiving 2007, we knew we were getting close and that made Elise and I all the more anxious. So one Friday morning at our Men's Journey Bible Study, I asked Joe Leimer to pray for me. As he did, it hit me: "We need to invite everyone over to pray for us!" I talked with Elise and she was excited about the idea and so we called some of our dearest friends and invited them over for an hour of prayer in our living room. Burt, Sarah and Joe, Sara, Mike and Cheryl, and Todd were all able to make it.

Joe did a beautiful job leading the time and, man, were there some beautiful prayers lifted up that evening. Elise and I were a slobbering/sobbing mess as we felt so loved and were so touched by the care of all our friends for Mia! The only downside was that Keiffer and Bower thought that our little prayer circle was for them and they cried and pawed us for attention all the way through the hour. It was a little shocking that they weren't more conditioned by now to our nightly hour of prayer but...

Parenting with Boundaries

Elise and I went to a seminar on parenting called "Boundaries in Parenting" last week. Dr. John Townsend spoke and it was excellent. Of course, now we think we have this parenting thing licked! We are over-achievers, one must admit...

Preparing Keiffer Part II

Knowing that our dogs await an unsuspected awakening to true "dogdom" (once we get Mia), I took to writing a little book entitled, "Keiffer Becomes a Dog." This is a short story in which I attempt to prepare Keiffer for Mia's arrival but first must convince her that she is of canine descent. The conversation goes poorly...The little book is dedicated to Mia, using the same inscription heading as this blog: "dedicated to our daughter, Mia Grace Deeble, whom we alrady love, deeply cherish, and long to know. About you, my sweet, God whispers, 'She is mine!'"