And the Winner is....

Congratulations Kelly for winning the beach vacation!!

Thanks to each of you who helped to make this fundraiser a success.

Special thanks to the following for helping with the cookout:

Reba Harper- my mom
Peggy Finley- my aunt
Denny & Carol Gray- Chad's parents
Don Cornelius- for donating the bread

Special Thanks to the businesses that proudly support adoption:
Peoples Bank of North Alabama
St. Paul's Lutheran School
Don Cornelius' bread route

Special Thanks to each of you who bought a ticket, made a donation, and/or showed your love and support by attending the cookout. We are blessed to have each of you in our lives.

We would also like to acknowledge the random acts of kindness we received from complete strangers. What a blessing! We thank you and plan to pay it forward!

God bless you all!!

Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we prepare to travel.

4 MORE WEEKS to go!!!!!! Yippie!!!

Change of Plans

Just a small change in travel plans. We will actually be leaving July 23rd- a day early to help give us time to recover from jet lag and more time to sight see. Only 4 more weeks to go!!

TRAVEL APPROVED!!!

It's official!! We will be traveling to China July 24th and returning August 7th.

Thursday July 24: Leave US (flight leaves at 10:50am)

Friday July 25: Arrive in Beijing

Saturday July 26: Sightseeing: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, and the Great Wall
(Juyongguan). We will also have orientation.

Sunday July 27: Fly to our Yang Li in Xining City, Qinghai

Monday July 28: Meet our precious daughter

Tuesday July 29:We go through the adoption process (registration and notary)

Wednesday July 30: Sightseeing in Xining City

Thursday July 31: Spend time with Yang Li

Friday August 1: more sightseeing in Xining City

Saturday August 2: Fly to Guangzhou and meet other CHI groups

Sunday August 3: Free day

Monday August 4: Medical exam for Yang Li

Tuesday August 5:ACS appointment and farewell dinner

Wednesday August 6: Go to ACS for oath and get visa in the afternoon (around 6pm)

Thursday August 7: Departure to US! We are finally bring our baby home!! (arrive home at
10:50pm)

Hiking in Vestavia

What we thought was going to be a trip to the zoo turned into a hiking trip! The day we planned to visit the Birmingham zoo turned out to be a free day at the zoo. Traffic was backed up for miles. We were stuck in traffic for 1.5 hours and would have waited another hour but decided to take a detour and head to Chucky Cheese. On our way, we ran into a hiking trail and decided to go explore. It was a really nice trail and we hope to go back soon. The kids were disappointed they missed the zoo, but they had fun hiking and a blast at Chucky Cheese. The lesson for the day: When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!!