Still traveling

Well I am still in Maryland. I'll be flying home on Thurs. I have really enjoyed being here. Tonight Pops and I are going to the Maryland Terps basketball game at the Comcast Center in College Park, MD. I am looking forward to my first Terps game. We had Maryland Crab soup last night for supper. Let me just say it was YUMMYYYYY! WHEW! Was it ever GREAT! Mom and I went to exchange some things yesterday. The lines weren't too terribly long. She has a hard time breathing so that was a blessing. We were able to go in and get out.
Well I hope you have a great and safe New Year's. Still no new updates on Gracie Mei. Still planning to hear when we travel in January. They still think we will be traveling in Feb. The more I look at her photo the cuter she gets. Those cheeks :D

Merry Christmas

Hope you all had a great Christmas. I was able to spend Christmas with family and it was wonderful. It was warm and rainy but at least we had some snow still on the ground. My family in Montana said it was also warm. They all had a great time. My Mom and aunt cooked dinner. I am sure the turkey and ham were wonderful. I talked to them aboout an hour ago and they were going to eat - round 2! They like to eat at lunch and then have left overs for dinner. They play games during the afternoon and then after dinner.
This time of year really makes me appreciate family and friends. I am thankful I have a picture of our daughter, Gracie Mei. I pray this coming year will be a good one. In Jan., we should find out the dates we will travel to China. They said we would probably be traveling mid to late Feb.
Merry Christmas! I pray that you had a Christ-filled Christmas! We even had a birthday cake for Jesus.

Maryland

I know it has been a rough year trying to keep up with my travel adventures. But it has been a great year and I am thankful that I was able to do some traveling. Being with family and friends has made this year fly by. I still can't believe Christmas is 4 days away. I am in Maryland with Lance's family. It will be a great Christmas. It will be a chilly one though. There is a little snow on the ground but has turned to ice and will take awhile to melt. On Thurs. we are heading to PA to go to the Sight & Sound Theatre to see The Miracle of Christmas. We went to see Noah's Ark a few years back and I still am in aaahhhh of that production. So I am really looking forward to see this. Sunday we will drive down to Lance's sisters for Christmas dinner. It will be great to see them and be with them for the day. I fly back to Nashville on the 29th.
I heard that we will find out our China travel dates in January. So I am trying to consolidate my lists into one so I can start to buy things for our trip. There is a lady who will be going to get her daughter at the same place Grace is. She is going soon and said she will take some photos of Gracie for me. I am excited to see how much she has grown and to see how she has changed. I'll post those when I receive them.
I pray you all have a very Merry Christmas. I pray for a Christ-filled Christmas for everyone. Blessings to you today and always.

God Bless My Soldier Too

This is touching. Click on the link below and scroll down to
God Bless My Soldier Too

www.erichorner.com

Please remember to pray for our troops and their families.

Gracie Mei

Well she is what is happening in my world. As I walk by her photo laying on my table, I wonder what she is doing. Is she thinking of me? Does she know I am longing to hold her and kiss her and provide for her every need? I love her already even though thousands of miles seperate us and we have never met. I look at the photo and cherish her dark eyes and dark hair. I wonder what her birth parents look like and whether they still think about her. I hope they know she will be loved and taken care of for the rest of her life. I wish I could fly today to pick her up. But February is when I will go. It will be the perfect time which God has set for us to go.
She is actually from the Chongqing region, which use to be part of the Sichuan province. Sichuan has more than 100 million (yes, million) people living in a land area of 185,000 square miles. That seems like a lot of people living there. I guess I won't be alone. The province is in the southwest part of China. It sounds beautiful. I am looking forward to seeing it. We will fly into Beijing & then fly to Chongqing to get her. People have told me to make sure I go to the Panda Preserve. So that will be interesting to see. Then we will travel to Guangzhou to legally adopt her and then we will be home.

Accepted Gracie

Well I went and mailed off our acceptance letter today. We had to tell China we would accept Gracie. I guess sometimes people don't accept the child that is sent to them. I can't imagine going through all this and saying no to a child. I found out what her given name means. Jiang means river, Mei means plum blossom and Shui means water. Her name is pronounced geeang may shoeway. We are going to call her Gracie Mei (pronounced may). Her health report seems to be normal. Her report is mostly in Chinese and our agency is translating it for us. But it also stated she weighs 7 kg which is 15.4 pounds, and is 65cm which is 25.5 inches. She holds her head up while lying on her stomach, rolls from supine to prone position by herself, locates the direction of sound/voice, visually follows moving toys, follows you with moving head from one side to the other, laughs aloud, active, fond of playing with toys, closest to her caretaker which is good because she may not have attachment issues. From her photos she is eating and gaining some weight. So that is a blessing. I just can't wait to kiss those cheeks. I am amazed how beautiful she is and how attached I am already to her. Our travel date to get her is mid to late Feb. I'll let you know as soon as I found out the exact date. Thank you for your prayers. Getting her picture and medical report has made all this waiting worth it.

Gracie's photo

Referral is here :)

I just got off the phone with our agency and we received our referral of our daughter. Her Chinese name is Jiang Mei Shui. She was born on April 9, 2005. She is 65 cm long and weighs 7 kg. They will overnight her photo and information to me. I will post as soon as I get them scanned in. WHOO HOO! I am so excited!

Where's the photo?

Yes. A lot of you have asked this simple question. But unfortunately I don't have an answer. It should be coming within a couple of weeks. As soon as I receive it, I will surely pass it on. Just please pray for patience on this end and pray for Gracie that she knows someone is already loving her thousands of miles away.

Blood Red, Pure White, True Blue

America's HeroesHe won't be home for Christmas,
'Cause he's far across the sea.
He won't be home for Christmas,
For he's there to keep us free.
He didn't ask to fight this war,
His country made the call.
He answered and not questioned why
For he saw the Towers fall.
He won't be home for New Years,
'Cause he has a job to do.
He won't be home for New Years,
'Cause he gives his all for you.
He proudly wears the uniform,
Like his father had before.
And he heard of how his grandpa,
Went marching off to war.
He may not be here for Easter,
Who knows how long he'll be.
This battle will go on and on,
We'll have to wait and see.
You can't put a price on freedom,
The cost you pay is high.
Some men pay with only scars,
While others have to die.
But those who fight to keep us free,
Are heroes, one and all.
They'll proudly serve and not complain,
Till all the terrorists fall.
When you see that uniform,
Worn by men and women too.
Step up and show how proud you are,
For what they've done for you.
They won't be home for Christmas,
And we'll miss them 'round the hearth.
Pray that they return, home soon.
And PEACE returns to earth.

Dear GOD I never ask for much,
But now I come to YOU.
Please bless all those who love their flag,
Blood RED, Pure WHITE, True BLUE!

Gardiner, MT Snow

SNOW...Let it snow

It snowed some while I have been in MT. Just a few inches. There is probably about 2 inches on the ground now. It is snowing slightly. So pretty! A lot of my friends got elk and deer so I'll be going home with some. YUMMY! Keri & Kenny's wedding was great. We all had a great time and I was able to see some friends I hadn't seen in a long time. Thanksgiving was wonderful too. We shopped and shopped as well the day after Thanksgiving. That is just craziness. It was fun though. Then that night was the Christmas parade in Billings. It was a nice parade. I'll be heading home tomorrow. So I hope the snow holds off until I leave. I'll post some photos when I get home. It is also Dec. 1 and we should be getting a photo of Gracie soon. We are praying that will happen soon so we can go and get her. Keep checking back to see her! Take care and blessings to you!