Special thanks...

We want to give a special "Thank you" to Jenovie (Barbara's cousin) for this special gift that she got for Crystina. We LOVE it!!!!!!!

This says "Crystina" in Chinese. It is SO cute!!!
Thanks Jenovie!!!!!!!!!!! ; )

Our "furry" girls & "baby" training...

We've been in training for baby duty for about 3 months now. Let us explain....

In March we got a Yorkie "puppy", whom we named Lola. Well, Lola came to us already pregnant...NO, we did not know until 3 weeks after she came home with us, when she was having "morning sickness". And on April 24, Lola had 5 beautiful puppies (3 girls & 2 boys). Dr. Edgar & my dad (midwife) helped deliver the pups. Lola did great and is such a wonderful mother. Lots of people have been telling us that this has been our "training in progress"...getting up every 2 hours for feedings, making sure they were warm and doing good, taking them to the Vet for check-ups, etc...

Here is a picture of all 5 puppies, the day they were born...

And here's one of our Lola, our furry daughter. We think she is so beautiful!! : )

And here's one of the puppies, Bertha. We are keeping her, so she and Crystina can grow up together. The other 4 puppies went to very loving homes.

Cousin Alvani's Letter

Alvani wrote this to Crystina on July 18, 2008 all by himself

Crystina - 15 months old today...

Today our baby girl is 15 months old.

Crystina,

We can't wait to hold you in our arms so we can give you LOTS of hugs and kisses and show you so much LOVE. We have dreamt of the moment when we meet...and look forward to that day. God willing that day will come very soon. We love you with all of our hearts! May GOD always bless you and keep you safe.

With all of our love...
your mommy & daddy

First gifts (since referral)

This past weekend we went to the mall and visited Build-a-bear and you won't believe what new animal was there? A Panda Bear!!! So, of course we got one for Crystina. We named her Mei Mei, which means "little sister" in Chinese.

We want to say a big "THANK YOU!!!!" to Edgar's co-workers...CNA's B&M South Region Group for the adorable pink bear. We're sure Crystina is going to love it! Thanks again!!

Crystina's nursery

Here are a few pictures of Crystina's nursery. We finished it in December, hoping and praying that our turn would be in 2008. And sure enough....... : )

Yes, this is her closet....full of clothes! We've been shopping for almost 3 years...what would you expect from a shopaholic? : ) Besides during that time, we have found some AWESOME sales!

About Crystina...

Crystina is waiting for us in Kunming, Yunnan, (southern) China. She is in Foster Care.

Here is some information about her...
Chinese name: Pan Liang Chen
DOB: April 19, 2007, currently she is almost 15 months.

Her medical report (dated March 2008) states the following:

• Deep sleeper
• Likes music
• has 8 teeth!!!
• can't walk, yet...but can stand up with help

We can't wait to meet her and hold her in our arms!!!

Crystina Luz ChenLi

Our first glimpse of our daughter!!!

Here's another...

And one more.......

Welcome...

Hello everyone,

Well this is our first time blogging, we are setting this up so everyone can follow our journey to our daughter, in China. We are SO excited about becoming first time parents. It's been so exciting & stressful (the good kind)!! We are looking forward to the next step. It's been a long wait for us (2 years!!) and we can't wait to meet our daughter.

Well, it's been a crazy 4 weeks! We got the phone call on Thursday, June 12 for our daughter...and it's been, sort of, non-stop since. All of our paperwork is in China and now we wait for our Travel Approval (TA) from China. This is when we need approval to go into the country.

We'll keep everyone updated as things happen.

Please keep Crystina in your prayers as she waits for us. Thanks!! : )