With Joyful Hearts and Outstretched Arms, 

We Introduce Our Daughter, 

Vivienne JiaPing!

On Monday, January 7, in the middle of the afternoon, Michael answered his phone.  Which is actually a minor miracle for a workday, but back to our story.  It was Logan, our caseworker, asking him if we would like to look at the file of a little girl.  Michael and Logan then spent the entire afternoon trying to successfully send and receive that file, while I made my afternoon therapy visits, blissfully unaware of Michael's efforts to surprise me!  When he came home, he had yellow roses...lest you think that was a giveaway...he does that all the time.  I know!  Now, the mad rush to grab my phone and set it next to his was kind of a hint hint that something was up, and he ultimately had to tell me we were waiting on a stubborn file to find it's way to one of our inboxes.  Only a few minutes later we read about a beautiful 20 month old little girl in Chongqing, who loves her stuffed animals and music and climbing over her crib to play with another child.  Then we opened her photos and saw our daughter.  I just knew deep, joyful peace.  Michael immediately called our parents asking them if they were ready for their granddaughter, and then we called the siblings.  Here is the catch.  We had to wait for PA, which is a kind of preliminary authorization from C* to say much more than that.  And OH we were going to POP!  Monday evening we sent her file for medical review, and on Wednesday Dr. Chambers, who has examined Vivienne twice in C*, yes that's right touched our daughter and heard her cry, provided us with her medical assessment and some invaluable insight into our daughter's little personality.  We immediately sent word that we wanted to bring this child home!  The next day, I spent the afternoon composing our LOI (letter of intent) for Vivienne, and by Friday morning it was submitted to C*!  Remember, we were still about to pop from Monday.  But we had to sit on this news until we received PA (preliminary authorization), which was Wednesday, January 16! 

The race is far from over...there are 4-5 long months of permissions, immigration, paperwork, and processing ahead.  We deeply, deeply desire your prayers on an ongoing basis for this challenging process.  Right now, our three biggest prayer requests are for timing of the process, providence, and above all for our little girl's heart.  We have prayed for this little one since November 2011, which we now know was 6 months after her birth, just after her first surgery.  We invite you along to watch the plan God unfolds! 

Next step: Letter of Approval to adopt Vivienne JiaPing!  

Time frame: Widely variable