My loving husband!!

On Wednesday after we received our referral and picture, Anthony went out to get my Mother's Day and birthday present. I have wanted a new vanity in my room so he found one and that's what I got...well, he went to run some errands and the doorbell rang. Zackery came running to the back of the house telling me I needed to come to the door, well I had no idea why but I did. My sweet husband had sent me this in honor of my birthday, Mother's Day and my first, "It's a girl" bouquet. He said he told them to just make it alllll pink!!! How sweet is he?? I loved it and the pot it was in!! This had just been a wonderful week full of wonderful suprises. I am a very blessed woman!! I love you Anthony! And my gorgeous boys, Zackery, Cameron and Chase and now my beautiful baby girl, Olivia!! See how blessed I am???

The boys holding their sister for the first time!!

Well, Cameron and Chase were asleep when we received the package and Zackery was about to leave to come back from camp, so I had to take their pictures later. Can I just say that Olivia is going to have 3 of the most loving big brothers in the world. They all thought that she was just gorgeous...they keep saying she's the most beautiful baby in the world!! I cannot wait to see them interact with her. They are wonderful with little ones, I can't even imagine how they are going to be with their very own sister...I hope just as good if not better!!:) How wonderful is our God that he had this little girl picked out for us from the very beginning of time and He also knew she was going to fit perfectly and that her brothers are going to adore her! He is soo awesome! Stay tuned in a few months and I will let you know how well they are doing with the diapers and such! HAHA! My four kids....what wonderful 3 words!!Can' wait until the end of August!!! Til later....Blessings! Please continue for Olivia's safety and fast TA's!

The day we received our package

Here is the FedEx guy. Before he even got out of the truck good, I told him to be ready for some pictures. I explained what he was holding and after I signed for it, he started asking questions. He knew it was from an adoption agency, but he wanted to know more. We told him and he was very excited for us.
Anthony took the package and opened it without me!! HE wouldn't let me see anything. Then a neighbor drove up and he showed HIM the pictures before me....I almost killed him right in the middle of the road!! :) But then, he brought it in and we had 2 more pictures to look at! We were in awe, but in a rush because we had to have all the paperwork back to our agency by Monday, and the FedEx place closed at 12:00. It was 10:10! We got it done though. Anthony took a quick shower and left fast! It was a very memorable day. The day we saw our daughter for the first time, one the computer then others in an envelope! We are so blessed!!

We received her translation!

Well, we know a little more about our little girl. First of all, she was found in front of the orphanage with her cord still attached. She had on a hat and was in a long onesie. She weighed 6.2 pds and was 18 inches long. No abnomalities. She did get jaundice at 3 days old (I had jaundice and so did Zack and Cameron) but it was gone by day 7. She lost her unbilical cord on day 5. Get this..she loves to be touched on the face and hands, talked to and accompanied. Her favorite activity is being held...that's my baby girl. She laughs when played with or tickled, can hold her head up while on her stomach and plays with toys without knowing she is holding them. She also loves her hands and plays with them. I did find out that she likes to be rocked!! YEAH!! I can use the rocking chair in her room. I think also by what I read that she is really small. Not malnutrioned, but small. They are having to give her quite a few vitamins and things for her growth. That's okay, I am glad that she is small if she is healthy!!
Just thought you might want to know what else we found out about her. We will send in our final paperwork Monday and that's all the paperwork until we leave!! YEAH! Keep Olivia in your prayers that she stays healthy and pray again that TA's will come quickly!
In His love, Mysty

It's been a week already!!

Hey guys! It's been a week since we found out that we had a little girl!! The week has really gone pretty fast. Cameron and Chase went to camp this week and I go and get them today. I have missed them and glad that the 5 of us will be together again. I know they had a great time...but I hoped they missed us!! :) Zack has been here by himself all week and I think kinda loving it. He said he missed them, but how much I don't know!! He's really had it easy this week, but that's about to change! :)
Well, we received our travel packet (not travel dates) Wednesday and I have filled them out and will fax them to AWAA to be looked over and make sure all is right. I think I will have to send the money for the Visa's next week and then they will do the rest for us. I am glad they are handling the Visa's, I heard it can be a pain!! I am hoping in about 2 weeks we will have our travel approval and know when we will be going to get Olivia. But...there's more paperwork to fill out and more to get together for the actual trip. We have to bring ALOT of papers, so I have to make sure I have all of them together. I am making 2 copies of it all, the originals are going in my bag, and a copy for Anthony and a copy for home in case something happens to both of ours!! (Let's pray that doesn't happen!!)
Now, packing for Olivia! OH MY GOODNESS!! Can a baby really have that much to bring?? I will take a picture of it and post it later, but her room is in disarray. Heather came over and tried to help me decide what clothes to bring, but we both liked them all so much, not many were put back and I think a few things were added!! HAHAHA. I mean, my first girl and she has PLENTY of clothes so hey...have to take them. We bought her coming home outfit. It's soo cute, I will post pictures of it too. I bought it at Little Lambs and Ivy, it's smocked. It's light pink and it came with a bonnet!! SOOOOO CUTE!! Oh and she needed shoes, and I found some...well 8 pair to be exact. I hope she wears a 3!! :()
I am really hoping the time goes by for me. I know the boys don't want me to wish their summer away and I don't either, but I really want to go and get Olivia and become a complete family. It's been sooooo long and I just want to go and get back with her. I can't wait to hold her in my arms. I hope I get to between her brothers and her daddy!! I guess I will atleast get to hold her when her diaper is dirty!! We are all excited and all our friends and church family and oh my, our FAMILY are just bursting at the seams to get her here. Pray for fast TA's! I really would like to travel the middle of August!
Well, that's all for now. Oh, one more thing. A lady that went to the Chenzhou orphanage in June 2007 took pictures of the babies and I think I see Olivia in one. I have written her and ask her if she had anymore. I hope she does. It would be such a blessing to see her last month. If it is the one I think it is....she still doesn't have hair!! :( Oh well, maybe it'll grow quickly when she gets here. I have bought head bands until then. If she does have some pictures, I will post them.
Blessings!!

It's been 2 days!

We can't believe that it has only been two days since we saw our precious little girl for the first time. You know...it's funny, once we saw her face it was like we had known her the whole time. Anthony and I were saying that there was just such a peace when we finally saw her and that is really what it was. It's hard to explain the feeling of knowing someone that you knew nothing about, not what she looked like, where she was from, how old she was...nothing, but even though we didn't know all of that..we knew her. It's like she's been here with us these 2 LONG years. I personally think that it just shows that God had her in our hearts the whole time and He showed her to us...that sweet little girl... she's been ours the whole time, just not here physically with us.

We can't stop looking at her. Anthony announced from the pulpit at both services Sunday that we had a picture of our daughter. EVERYONE was soo excited. They all came and looked at her pictures. They all said that she was just so small and so beautiful, just like our family. Our church is our family and we were so excited to be able to share her with them. I know already she is going to be spoiled. People are wanting a picture of her, and we are glad to give them one. Anthony carries a copy of her picture in his pocket and pulls it out and says, "Have you seen my daughter??" even to people who have seen it 50 times!!! He's such a proud daddy. Oh, and all the boys want a copy. Cameron and Chase went to camp this week and we had to make a copy for each of them to take because they said that they wouldn't be able to see her all week!!! I am so glad that they too already love her...they really do!

We are waiting on the translation of all of her records this week. We hope they come and I will let you know what new things we find out. It looks like she was probably born on the 20th, within hours of it atleast, because they say she was in the orphanage on the 21st. I think I made out that she weighed 6 lbs 1 oz at birth and was 18 inches long. Little baby girl. I am hoping to find out all they know about her. She needs to know all she can about her beginning, we feel!!

Above is a map of China. The red highlighted part is where Baby girl Olivia is, Hunan. Just thought some of you might want to see that. (Anthony wants it on there :)
Til later...please keep praying for her safety while we aren't with her and pray for fast travel arrangements so that we can get to her quickly!!!
We love you all!!!