Continuing the Journey

Yes, our baby girl turns 4 today!! Since we have already sent a care package (complete with photo album), hopefully she is fully aware that this is the last birthday she will spend without her Forever Family.

In case that care package didn't make it to her, we sent a Birthday Care Package through Blessed Kids. Adele Hall, who runs this awesome company, has connections in China and will have a bakery cake sent to the orphanage along with photos of us, a birthday letter that I composed (and she translated for me), and a camera for them to photograph Molly enjoying cake with her friends. They will bring the camera with Molly on Gotcha Day and we'll get the photos printed in China. However, because I'm DYING for new pictures, I paid Adele a tad extra to request digital pictures...hopefully we'll get 'em this week!

We are also having a small birthday cake with dinner tonight to honor Molly's birthday...although Carson isn't very pleased. He doesn't think she should get a birthday since she isn't even here yet. (Little stinker...) He suggested to me this morning that maybe it could just be HIS birthday again. Nice try, Little Man!

Last year, when we had cake for Carson's birthday (which was only six weeks before we traveled to get him), it really put me into a funk. I'm in a better place this time...I don't know why. Maybe because I sent the Birthday Care Package, maybe because Carson is here to keep us occupied during this eternal wait...or maybe I'm just trusting in God's perfect timing and not wishing away the time we have until Molly joins our family. Who knows? Whatever the reason, I'm so excited that halfway around the world our beautiful little girl in Louhe, Henan Province, will be having a surprise birthday cake and be able to feel like a princess for the day!

In other news...

My weight loss tracker reflects my first week of getting serious about my fitness...I lost THREE POUNDS!! I was hoping for bigger progress in my first week of Weight Watchers, but I am proud of myself for learning this crazy "points" system and sticking to it. In addition, I swam laps twice last week and will be able to swim three times this week! How are the rest of you ladies doing?? Updates, please.

I also added another tracker on the blog (under our family picture in the left column) -- to track how long it takes for our fingerprints to process and generate the I-797C. I used a turtle in that tracker on purpose...this process is so S-L-O-W! Hopefully that turtle won't get to take a very long walk in those flowers...

I'll post pics from our little celebration of Molly's birthday later tonight. If you wouldn't mind sending up a prayer that our little girl will know she is loved on this special day, it would truly mean a lot.