 |  |
"I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him." 1 Samuel 1:27 (NIV)
We are thrilled to introduce you to our little girl, Hannah Grace Cooke. She was born in Jiang Xi province China on May 18, 2008; so, she is 20 months old now. Other than a cleft lip that can be corrected with surgery, she seems to be healthy. We have included photos that were taken a year ago in January 2009 when she was nine months old. They are the only photos we have for now. We have prayed daily that she will have enough to eat and that she will stay warm. It looks like God has answered those prayers! She looks like the Michelin man in all of those clothes, but that is the Chinese way of dressing infants in the winter especially in places that have little or no heat. We'll have to wait for warmer weather to see what her stature is really like.
We don't expect to see her until the weather is warmer. It will probably take four or five months to complete all of the necessary paperwork for us to be allowed to travel and bring her home. Our families have begun to pray that we will be able to be with her for her second birthday. Meanwhile, the paperwork continues. Our dossier is finished, but we must wait for our pre-approval from China. It usually takes around three weeks for this. We would like for it to be finished before Chinese New Year, which is on Febuary 14th this year, because the process will be put on hold as they take a week off to celebrate. Before we can get the pre-approval, we have to have another letter from out doctors saying that we have no medical conditions that affect our everyday living. We have contacted them about what we need and expect to have it early next week. Once we have the pre-approval, we can send our dossier to China and wait for the official letter of approval (LOA).
The waiting is not over yet, but it is so good to be able to look at a picture while we wait. It's also nice not to be jumping every time the phone rings. We have plenty to do while we wait. We are going to look at a house this afternoon.
Thank you all again for your prayers and encouragement. We will try to keep updates of the process on the blog.
7 comments:
Yes, I am proof that cleft lips that easily be corrected with surgery!!!! I had mine when I was 5 and kept the vitamin E oil on it and you can barely tell!!! She's beautiful and I am so thrilled for you both!!!! Praise Jesus!
We prayed with you and are rejoicing with you as well! It will be exciting having her around and McKenzie will be thrilled to have someone to play with.
I'm so excited for you! :) Prayers as you wait to have your daughter in your arms!
Congratulations! I am Kerry's Mama from the Ji'An Yahoo sight. I wanted to make sure I got in contact with you so I figured I'd leave you a message here as well as there. I would be more than happy to e-mail you all of the pictures I have of your beautiful girl. I have a couple more that I didn't post on that sight. You can e-mail me if you'd like at Gins2cats@aol.com so I know where to send them. I'll be praying for speedy TA for you.
Gin =)
Congratulations! I saw your post on jianswikids@yahoogroups.com listserv. We also adopted from your daughter's orphanage in 2008. I have all kinds of photos of her orphanage and pictures of our experience in Nanchang on our blog. Our daughter's SN need was a heart issue and extra thumb. Feel free to contact me anytime with questions about the Ji'an SWI. Here's our blog: http://kenward.blogspot.com
What a blessing!! She is beautiful! We will continue to pray for God's timing for you to be able to go and get her! We are rejoicing and praising God for such a special miracle! You and David will be great parents!
Congratulations, your daughter is beautiful!!!
God's blessings,
Sarah :D
Post a Comment