Leaving For Taiwan For Real

Praise JESUS!!!!!! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!!!!!!!  On our way to Memphis on January 16 at 5:20pm.
Tears of Joy tears of excitement!!!!  No way can words explain the way I feel right now!!!!! 
I will try to update our blog everyday if the Jet lag allows ha ha. I Love you all!!!!!!  Thank You for all your support and all your prayers you have sent our way.
Maybe next time I update our blog I will have pictures!!!!!!!
I'm dancing and singing and Praising all the way!!!!!!  Ok ok. And crying tears of JOY.
"Orphans are easier to forget until you see their faces and you know their name" -David Platt. Someone shared this with us that helped get this journey started. Ilove this and its so true.  Thank Bro Chad and Lenora!!!!!!

The Travel Date Has Arrived

On December 15 Monday morning. I am working away and I see a %ext message come up on my phone.  Its Amanda from New Beginnings!!!!!  My heart always skips a beat with joy every time her name pops up. 
The message says Call me as soon as you can :-)  smiley face is always a good sign.   So I go call her and she says. Well I have some very important dates. You are going to Taiwan You have to be there Jan 19th to spend all day with Fu Gui (David) and then she gave me some other dates and things we would do. After the first date she gave me I was crying with tears of JOY. This long long wait was over. We were going to get our little boy!!!!!!!!
Well Dec 30 we got our itiniary for our time in Taiwan!!!!!!!  We are to be in Taipei the 18th of Jan and we get Fu-Gui on the 19th that will be our official GOTCHA DAY!!!!!   I still cant believe the day is here. Tonight we will be talking to the lady that has translated our paper work. She will helping us with flights and hotel rooms, tours and other travel information. 
As we set and wait on our call, I keep trying not to fall asleep. This adopting thing will wear you out ha ha. Mike was thinking we were getting the call at 6 but no Mike zhe is 2 hours behind us so it will be 10. 
Ok just talked with our helper for the adoption. She was so awesome. She told us how to fill out more paper work. Ha. Thought we were done with that. It wasnt much.  We got lots of information I cried pretty much the entire time we were talking to her.  Please pray with us , this is going to be so difficult on Fu-Gui leaving the only family he has ever known and his country.  I know God has great plans for this little man. Just gonna be very hard for him.   God will be our strenght. God will be Fu-Gui's comforter, his peace, his helper, and most important his Savior.  Jeremiah 29:11
Please pray pray pray as its All going to take place in 20 days!!!!!!!!!

Skype Date # 2 Dec 5th Whoop Whoop

Not much sleep again ha it always happens after our skype date with our soon to be son David Fu-Gui Smith. We are so excited before and after its hard to get any sleep but its worth every sleepless moment. :-)  When we first answer the skype there David sits with a transformer shirt on we sent him.   They noticed I had on our adoption tshirt and they showed us the one we sent to him and they put that on over the transformed shirt.  He seemed to have really liked it.

First thing we did was let him pick out a Christmas stocking.  I bought a Rudolph and a Snoopy, he wanted the Rudolph so we hung it with others as he watched with a Big smile!!!!!!!!! 
We made another picture book for him and he loveslooking at those and asking us questions about each one. He really likes the ones of Josh acting goofy :-) 

After David picked out his stocking we showed him around the house so he could see all the Christmas decorations. He really liked the little tree in his room. We tried to go out side and show him the lights and Christmas inflatables but it was raining too much.

Next we showed him video of Ballard Park, our house , Mimi and Grandaddys house, the swimming pool and of course grandaddys birds ha ha. We showed him Josh and Kiersten riding around the yard in the golf cart. We just showed the video so he could see outside and things during the day since it is always night time when we skype. 

He showed us the items we sent in his package.  We had a lego in there and he showed us the finished project of the Lego he built.  He also showed us a picture he had painted of his new family.  It had mama Josh , Kiersten and daddy on it.  It was so good and sweet.  He showed us anothed picture he painted.  I think we may have a little artist on our hands.  The biggest and most proud moment of his was when he played the recorder, a flute like instrument.  He had learned to play Jingle Bells for us and then he played another song I didnt know but he did so good. We all clapped real big and he just smiled. So maybe he will enjoy music too.  We know he loves soccer which he calls football in Taiwan. So as soon as we can we told him we would get him signed up to play.

Mimi and Grandaddy were over here and David would see them in the back ground and wave to them and say hey grand paw and grand mother.  He also told Mimi she was very pretty. Then grandaddy says and grandaddys is handsome right?  They all laughed and said yes grand paw is handsome ha ha .  David doesnt know the craziness he is getting into but I think he will love it .

I guess the sweetest and the one time I could have cried last night was when it was time for us to go.  We were telling David bye and I said Wo ai ni that means I love you in Chinese . He smiled and said back to me I love you too in English.  Oh how I cant wait to get that little man in my arms and just show him how much we do love him!!!!!!!!   Show him the true Love of family and most of all the Love that Jesus has for him and what awesome plans he has for him. The first verse I want to share with him Is John 3:16 then. Jeremiah 29:11.  Please pray that we will show him
Gods love and that he will come to know him.  Oh what a day that will be!!!!!!!!

We are waiting on another skype date or either a travel date. Gods will and timing is perfect.  We can't wait to go get him though..until next blog

PRAYING PRAYING PRAYING. Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord , plans to give you a future and a hope

SKYPE DATE HAS ARRIVED!!!!!!!!!!

Can you say EXCITED!!!!!!  There are really no words to express the anticipation we had on this day Tuesday Nov 4th 2014. 8:00pm our time 10:00am in Taiwan.  Our 1st Skype session was AMAZING!!!!!!  We were all setting around waiting on the call.  It was Me, Mike, KP, Josh, Mimi and Grandaddy.  The IPAD rings and we are all on the couch waiting to get the first look at our son/brother/grandson.  Wow, we answer and there he is, SO PRECIOUS!!!!!!!
I compared it to getting a sonogram the way you can see your baby while your pregnant.  Well its much better than a sonogram ha!!!!!  I'm just lost for words to tell you because it was so AMAZING. We cant wait until our next Skype.

Mike and I were talking the other night about how exciting it was.  He said its like when we first started our journey of adoption thats all we could think about.  Then you get lost in the paperwork and the waiting and waiting.  Now a year later we get to see our precious young boy talking and moving and waving to us it just brings that Awesome Excitment right back even after all that waiting. That made the waiting all worth it :-)

There are some many things to share so I will just share a few.  The first thing we saw was his smiling face when we opened the Skype.  All I could do was smile and say awe awe awe.  He was so sweet. 

One of the other things was about his American name.  Alot of children give themself American names.    He had already been given the name David. We love David but thought about using Sameul and  call him Sam, Because we prayed for him like Hannah in the Bible prayed for her son named Samuel.  Well Mike ask him how would you like the name Samuel and with NO hesitation he shook his head and put his hands oved his ears.  Immediately we laughed and said ok ok David is it. We Love David its a great name lol

I think his most favorite time was when Josh introduced David to our 4 dogs and then lots of toys.  Josh did such a great job with David.  He would show him each Lego and tell him all about them one by one.  He loved our dogs too.  He said his favorite movies were Captan America and Transformers

Kiersten was in the room but not always in the picture of the skype and when she would come ba k into the picture he would wave at her and say Hey Kiersten.  Later during the skype he told us he thought Kiersten was pretty. Now you know who her favorite brother is. Ha ha naw just kidding. She will love them the same. She cant wait to take them shopping.  Boys dont like shopping for clothes but she loves taking Josh and now will have 2 to take.  Fun times coming.

Davie told us Yellow was his favorite color. His favorite subject in school is art.  He even had a picture he had painted and showed us. He was so proud of it. 

I dont know how long most skypes go buf ours lasted a little over an hour. Ut it sure didnt seem like an hour. 

Our next big date is Nov 17 next monday.  That is our first court date in Taiwan.  We do not have to be there for that one.  Not sure what all happens then but its just 1 step closer.  We are waiting for them to give us our travel date and more skype dates. So until then please just keep praying for David as he is going a Hugh transitioning time getting ready to become a part of our family forever.

Praying Praying Praying for our little man David until next blog
God Bless you guys

The picture is of things we are sending him in one of our packages to him

Important Dates

We have received our 1st court date, it is Nov 18 in Taiwan so it will be Monday Nov 17th here in America.  We are so excited.  Just knowing things are begjnning to happen is Amazing!!!!!!  Our next date we received was about our Skype Session with our son.  We are waiting and counting down the days when we will finally be able to see him.  Tears of Joy start to come to my eyes as I just think about it.
Until next time Praying and Waiting for SKYPING WITH OUR YOUNG MAN.

One More Step Of Being Closer To Traveling!!!!!!!

Got a text today from Amanda at New Beginnings.  Every time I see her name pop up on my phone it really takes my breath away.  She will never know how excited one person me can get just seeing her name.  Her text today was. Your Dossier is in the Courts in Taiwan!!!!!!  You would have thought I had won a million dollars after I read that.  We still have a bit to go.  The average time frame once the dossier is in the courts is 1 to 6 months to we get a travel date. We are praying and believing earlier than 6 hoping by the end of the year!!!!!  But if not we are good with that because in Gods timing we will go. 
We have a new Red Adoption TShirts if you can help us out by purchasing one we would appreciate it SOooooooo much. Go to Teesprings.com/smithadoption3. Order a short or long sleeve TShirt or we have hoodies too. 
In the mean time we will be waiting on a Skype Date with our little man.  I guess so crazy excited every time I think about skyping. My kids say I will scare him with my excitement and tears of Joy ha.
Keep checking for new information on our blog as things take place.
Until then pray pray praying him home!!!!!

HOPE PRAY & WAIT

Well it's been almost 11 months since we started our journey.   Lots of exciting times, lots of paperwork times, lots of raising money times but now the most and longest time seems to be the WAITING TIME. HA  That is the time you just Hope, Pray, Hope, Pray and stay busy Hoping and Praying and that time flies.  That's where we are right now.

Our dossier has been translated and sent to the Orphanage Chung Yi in Taiwan, after 3 or 4 weeks there, it goes to the court system.  We are in our 5th week of it being in Taiwan but not sure if its at the courts or still at Chung Yi.  Once it gets to the courts it can be 1 to 6 months before our travel date is scheduled.  So we are not sure if we will have our son for Christmas or not.

We just have to keep on waiting hoping and praying, knowing that in Gods timing is when we will travel to get our little man.  I get so excited just thinking  about it!!!!!!!!

So until then please keep praying with us.  Remember James 1:27

I'll try to blog more often as things happen.  Love you guys for your Prayer

Until next time.  HOPE PRAY & WAIT