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...