Referral Approval & first pics of Audrey

These are the first pictures we received of Audrey with her referral on August 15th. Now that we have received our referral approval, we can post them here. We fell in love the moment we saw her and knew right away she was our daughter. She is just beautiful, and we are so blessed that she is ours!

Our family coordinator with America World (AWAA) called on September 25th to let us know that they had received our referral approval (RA) from the China Center for Adoption Affairs (CCAA). This was the next important step in the process that we had been waiting on since receiving Audrey's referral. This means that the CCAA has officially approved us to adopt her. We are now waiting for travel approval (TA) from the CCAA. Nicole, our family coordinator, said we should receive the TA in 2-3 weeks and to tentatively plan on traveling in early November. Once the travel approval is received, America World can get a consulate appointment for us, set firm travel dates & make all of the travel arrangements for us. We are praying that it comes quickly.

It was also a special day because it is my Grandmother's birthday. She turned 83 today (Sept. 25th) and is doing well overall. We all love her so much. She is a very special and unique lady that never fails to put a smile on our face. She and Alex are best friends and have been since he was little. They have a special bond.

I am a bit behind on posting here, but I am going to try to catch up on the things that have been going on lately over the next few days. We have been very busy with cleaning out the house and getting Audrey’s room ready, a yard sale, consignment sale, baby showers, birthdays, work at camp, etc. It is such an exciting time for us, but it can all be a little overwhelming at times, too. There is so much to do and many things that we want to accomplish before we bring her home. It seems like I think of something new to add to the to do list everyday. We have accomplished quite a bit already though, and I am trying not to stress about it too much. Some days I do better about that than others. :)