Purple, Purple, Purple!  Can you tell that's Anslee's favorite color?!?  The girls will be sharing a room (at least initially) so we let Anslee lead the way with the decorating.  She wanted her walls purple, so that's exactly what Daddy did!!  He worked very hard painting the walls, trim, and the new bed. Thanks Daddy!  It's not completely finished, but it's as finished as it will be for now.  We can't wait to bring our Hannah home so she and her sister can share this newly decorated room!  Here are some pictures:

Another step in the right direction today.  We received the news that our Article 5 has reached the CCWA!  Next.....travel approval!!!!  We've been waiting to get to this point for so long and it almost seems unreal and a little overwhelming!  We're very thankful that we have had friends recently travel to China and more friends who are currently in China!  We know they'll be able to help us out with what we need to do.  We are also praying that we get to travel with some new found friends, the McDuffie's.  Erik has been working on the girls room.  He has painted walls, trim, doors, hung things on the wall, and put the baby bed together. I'll post pictures soon.  We are getting things ready for our newest little girl!  We so thankful for Jonah, Anslee, and Hannah and cannot wait to have them all together under one roof!  God has blessed us so much and we are thankful to Him!!

"No one is holy like the Lord,
for there is none besides You,
Nor is there any rock like our God."
1 Samuel 2:2

Good news!!  We got some awesome updates today!  Hannah will be 2 years old in March and we weren't sure if she was even walking.  We know now that she is!!!  She is walking everywhere!!!  It was so sweet to see her walking around the orphanage today.  She has the sweetest little face and chubby cheeks.  I can't wait to swoop her up in my arms and kiss, kiss, kiss her!  She is pretty small though.  I had been saving Anslee's clothes from about 12 months thinking she would not need clothes that small, but according to her measurements, she would be wearing 9-12 month clothes!  Wow!  I have got to dig back through my stuff to see what I've got that size if anything.  :)  We are so excited to be close to bringing our sweet girl home!  We love her already in a way that is hard to explain.  God has put a love for her in our hearts and we are honored to be chosen by God to be her parents! 

On Saturday, December 29 we got our 800 Approval!!  Yea....one step closer to bringing Hannah home!  This has been a VERY long process for us and at every turn it seems to get slower.  We seem to be delayed by one thing after another, but, we know our God is in control!  We have prayed through this whole process that we will be submissive to Him and His timing.  After all, He is the One who called us to this process.  We are only His vessels.  Now, I'm not going to say that is has not been hard to wait...but....we are learning to trust God more and more with each step.  Whenever I get discouraged, I look at my sweet Hannah's picture and KNOW that she is our daughter!  I know that no matter the timing, she will still come home and be a part of our family for the rest of her life!  Thank you God for calling us to be a part of this awesome adventure!  It's truly humbling!


This is the most updated picture of our sweet "Hannah Grace".  I can't wait to hold her in my arms and kiss her sweet chubby cheeks!  :)  Oh how my heart is being tugged to China!!