A Surprise From Rachel's Orphanage

Unexpectedly, we received another update from Rachel's orphanage. They gave us a one-page document detailing her growth and progress! Wow, sweet Jesus is so wonderful to bestow even the smallest things to greaten our hearts. Rachel since 10 months old is progressing nicely. She is now 14 months old. She now weighs over 16 pounds and is 28 inches tall. That means she is two pounds heavier and 3 inches taller. She likes to play with rag dolls, cars, and building blocks. She smiles, claps, watches TV, and dances. She goes to bed at 8:30 and wakes up at 6:30. Our adoption agency China director told us "When I look out and see all the trees budding and the daffodils blooming, I think God is tossing His confetti and celebrating with your family." I agree!

Easter Turned Out Pretty!

Well once the morning chill wore away, it turned out to be a pretty day. We celebrated Resurrection Day with Denise's Dad and Mom (aka Papa & Grammy). We then came home to play in the sun where the kids drew a chalk 'crosswalk' in front of our home. I couldn't resist taking an 'Abby Road' shot! Fun day!

Spring Break!

While we're waiting for Rachel, we find ourselves having as much fun as possible this spring break at home. Yesterday we found out the weather for Easter Sunday is more like winter! So we made the most of it yesterday and today!

Spring Cleaing from the outside in! Riding our bikes and scooters. Having a great egg hunt at the Frisco Roughriders Dr. Pepper Ballpark. And ending the day with a 3-mile walk to Bahama Buck's and Hollywood Video!

More Paperwork & A Rainy Meeting

Well we successfully sent off more paperwork! Seriously, I will have to post a pic of the mountain of paperwork we've completed for the government and agencies along these few years. For now, we sent off our travel letters and insurance, medical acknowledgments to our adoption agency today! FedEx is getting a work out I'm happy to say. I am grateful to work for a company that let's me take advantage of a good FedEx discount! Speaking of company, my friend and co-worker, Barb, was super kind to notarize our two large sets today. Between her and Debbie McDaniel, we have a few thank-you gifts to consider! It is a huge process. So, thanks girls.

Tuesday we drove down to Buckner, our adoption facilitator, to sign a few documents and just meet our case worker, Rachael, as it's been so long since our last meeting! With no referral for so long, there wasn't much point! She is so wonderful to work with and we are thankful for her prayers and support. It's also a bonus her name is Rachael.

But getting there in that torrential ran was unbelievable! Over 34 miles of downpour and half of it hydroplaning. Just ask Randy how well I handled that. :o) We're now ready to apply for visas. But since Randy is traveling to Malaysia, he'll be needing his passport...so we'll get those visas applied for in a few weeks!

Signed & Certified YES

Sunday, March 09, we signed our offical document that indicates the 'YES' box. This document along with a personal letter from us to the China Adoption office was sent out by Fed Ex Monday night. Our adoption agency received our express letter and redirected our group's letters to China. By now China has our 'YES" reply and are in process of taking next steps so we can make an appointment with the US Consulate's office in China. This will take about 2 more weeks. Once we have that appointment, we will know when to book our airline tickets. Yeah!



So, now we wait...again...much for not much longer. Tomorrow we go to meet with our local facilitator, Buckner, to sign another HUGE pile of documents!



We are so encouraged by everyone's great words of love and congratulations. This really is a journey of unconditional love and miracles.

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We Have Our Referral 27 Months of Waiting

As most everyone knows now, we have received our referral! What does that mean? It means we have been matched with a child in China. Her name is En Xiao Mei. We have named her Rachel XiaoMei. Prounounced 'shao-may'; this translates to little beauty. She is located in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong (near Hong Kong). She was born 25-Feb-2007 and is now one year old! At 10-months she weighed 14.1 pounds and was 25 inches long. She is reported to be healthy and easy to laugh! Her medical report looks wonderfully perfect. We are saying YES to our daughter.

By saying "YES" that means our acceptance letter will be sent back to China this week. The next step is making an appointment with the US Consulate's office in Guangzhou. This takes about 2-4 weeks. After that we will know when to travel. In all, we should travel to China within next 6-8 weeks. Meanwhile, Rachel Xiao Mei will be readied for her adoption into the Duncan Family! And we will be getting packed and readied ourselves to welcome Rachel.

There is much to write, but for now we are just thrilled to know this little girl. By no strength or will of our own is she ours. She is a gift from God; a true miracle. When I received our call telling us about our daughter, I couldn't help feeling such implausible joy and sadness all at once. That was unexpected. But the sadness stems from the realization that a mother in China is grieving. This daughter was loved but was forced to be abandoned. We accept and love this daughter.