TA TODAY!

Give me a "T"----Give me an "A"----what's that spell?

In the China adoption world, it spells....TRAVEL APPROVAL! We have to "go-ahead" to hop on a plane and get our baby!

Well, not quite that fast. We need an appointment at the US Consulate in China, first. That should be scheduled in a day or two. THEN we can buy our tickets and start packing! Our agency requested the CA (consulate appt.) so we would be leaving around DECEMBER 1st----just two short weeks away.

I can hardly breathe I'm so excited. You might think, after birthing four children, having a child (by any means) would be old hat by now.....

NOT SO! This precious new life the Lord is entrusting us with is a gift straight from HIM, just like our biological children are.

Think for just a minute the possible end results of Gabriella's adoption.....1) One orphan off the streets and LOVED unconditionally. 2) One child presented with the love of God and His salvation plan that she most certainly would NOT have learned in communist China. 3) Our bio children being exposed to, learning, and living the experience of adoption. 4) The incredible blessing of having a beautiful child to mold, train, love, guide, and share life's journey with.   I could go on and on, but I'll stop with Number 5-----Perhaps another family out there will have their hearts open to the millions of orphans in the world. They need a family, they need a chance, but most of all, they need the Saviour. Will you be the one to bring them HOPE?

I may be  most definitely WILL be very busy the next two weeks, but I have every intention of blogging frequently while we're on our trip. SO many have asked, listened, prayed, and encouraged us on this journey and I want EVERYONE to get to share in the blessings! So bookmark this page, and check in often for our updates.

Gabriella Mei Bergey, your days in the orphanage are truly numbered now. Sleep sweetly, tonight, little one, for very soon, where once you slept alone, you will sleep in our arms.

Our Last "WAIT"

Well, we're finally at the end of this adoption journey. All of our paperwork is complete, and we're just waiting on our TA (travel approval)....basically this is China's green-light for us to make our travel plans! We should receive our TA within the next couple of weeks, and then we'll purchase our tickets and head for China a couple of weeks after that!

It's funny to me, how very similar these last few weeks are to the final weeks of a pregnancy. I have so many of the same feelings and emotions....you know, the When will the baby come, What will she be like, How will our whole family adjust, Will the other children be okay while I'm "gone", etc. questions...I'm emotional, even more so than usual. I find myself very introspective, another trait that is typical for me in the third trimester. I'm daydreaming and planning ALL THE TIME now, and since those around me can't "see" the baby that's coming, they probably don't understand. Outside commitments are starting to overwhelm me as our family is getting ready to grow and stretch again. I'm quite sure that after we're home and settled, I'll feel better, but for now, I'm just trying to relax and enjoy each day as it comes, and not stress about all the little "what-ifs"!

It will never cease to amaze me how much love I feel for our little Gabbey Mei already. Oh, how I ache to hold her in my arms, to shower her with love and gentleness, to bring her home to her brothers and sister who love her already. So far away, yet such a big part of our family already.

Come on, China! We're ready and waiting! :)

Another update

We requested an agency update on Gabbey Mei and asked specifically for pictures of her "smiling". Of course, the orphanage is under no obligation to satisfy our desire to see a smile, but they took her outside for a little photo-shoot and here are the precious, priceless FIRST pictures of our daughter smiling:

My personal favorite is this last one. I love, love, love the interaction with her nanny! This particular nanny is her "favorite" and they said Gabbey will call out to get her attention so she will pick her up. If you look back at the last update, the same nanny is holding her then as well. This is a good sign as far as attachment is concerned. The more attached to a primary caregiver a baby becomes during the first year of life, the healthier their attachment is to others in the future.
The update said Gabbey Mei is saying a couple of words, crawling forward well but not pulling up or walking yet, easily comforted when upset, and weighing in around 17 pounds (although I have heard the measurements are often incorrect since they often weigh the babies fully clothed, including a diaper). She is 27 inches long, making her about the size of an average 9 month old.

Updated Picture!

A dear lady from the online adoption "community" traveled recently to adopt a four year old little girl from Gabriella's orphanage. She was able to get a couple of pictures of our little girl while they were there! Here's my favorite....

I love how many "nannies" are pictured in the background. This wasn't a scheduled visit, and they weren't expecting the picture, so it is comforting to know there's people down at the babies' level, playing with them and holding them.

What's in a NAME?

Our dearest girl finally has a name. An American name, that is. China named her Wei Chun Yi, Wei being her last name, Chun her first, and Yi her middle.

You would think that after THREE boys, we'd have a girl's name, no problem. Nope. Took us quite a while to come up with this one. In the end, Brent chose her name. I loved it immediately! It fit all of my "requirements" LOL----feminine, good meaning, Hebrew, ending in an "a", and able to be shortened to two syllables. Our other four children's names are Hebrew, and we wanted our newest girl to share that with her siblings.

Anyway, I'll quit rambling and just share the name:

Gabriella Mei Bergey

Isn't it lovely? She's got a bunch of nicknames already---Gabbey, Gabbey Mei, and Mei Mei....

"Gabriella" means "God is my strength" and we know this will prove true for our little fighter. She's already overcome so much, and we know without a shadow of a doubt that God has been leading us to her, preparing us for her, for a long time.

Momma loves you, Gabriella Mei!

An Update!!!!

Every morning since our referral, I check my e-mail first thing upon wakening, hoping for an e-mail with updated information and new pictures of our precious little girl....

Well, this morning was that morning. I saw the e-mail but didn't open it. I ran into our bedroom and told Brent, "We got an update! We got an update!" I've never seen him jump out of bed so fast!

Not sure yet if there were pictures, I opened the e-mail.....and held my breath......

Then I saw it----SEVEN new pictures! Plus the answers to our questions! Only those who have or are currently adopting can understand how PRICELESS updated information on our children is.  It's the only connection we have to this little girl that's already stolen our hearts. We think of her day and night, wondering if she's okay, comfortable, hungry, wet or lonely.  We pray she's being loved on, stimulated, played with.  Our hearts wish we could go get her NOW but China says "wait".

This waiting period is very much like a pregnancy---we know we're getting a baby, we know about when she's coming, we know it's a girl, and we even know what she looks like.  But unlike a pregnancy, where the baby is with Momma at all times, safe and warm, our little one is in an orphanage. A decent orphanage, but an orphanage still.  Thousands of miles away.  Waiting for her Momma and Daddy to come get her!

I know I still need to answer alot of questions regarding our daughter, China, our timeline, etc. I keep writing and rewriting the post in my head, but for some reason, it hasn't gotten posted to my blog yet! Have patience---I think I'll get it done today or tomorrow. :)

Here's what we know about our sweet baby girl so far-----She'll be 11 months old on the 9th of August. She was born premature, weighing only 2lbs 12 oz at birth, and was abandoned outside a school when she was about a day old.  The police found her and took her to the Nanjing Social Welfare Institute, where she spent five months in special care and has "graduated" to the 0-1 year old room which she shares with about 40 babies.

She's now 14 pounds, 26 inches long, and has 5 teeth.  She is sitting up, rolling over, and crawling backwards.  She smiles and laughs "easily" and can hold her own bottle, although she has started eating rice now.  She loves noisy toys and her nanny. 

Not at all related to her develpment, but I asked the orphanage if they would let her hair grow (The orphanages shave the heads of babies, toddlers, and often even older children.. I imagine it makes it easier to take care of so many children.) They answered back that since the "family requested, we will let her hair grow."  This makes my happy, because I love hairbows and can't wait to do her hair!

Here's a couple of updated pictures. Can you see her little teeth?

She's dressed like a boy, but can't you just imagine her in a frilly dress, with little pink shoes and a huge hairbow in her hair? I can! 

I just want to kiss her little cheeks, pick her up and never let her go again.

We're coming little one. We're coming!

:

Referral---Here's our new daughter!!!

Name: Wei Chun Yi
Province: Jiangsu
Orphanage: Nanjing SWI
Age: 10 months



What you really wanted to see: PICTURES!!!

Isn't she just the most precious little baby?

 I want to tell the whole story of how we got the referral, and our decision process, but I'm tired.

And overwhelmed with love.

 And needing some sleep after several very sleepness nights. So for now, here she is. And very soon....the REST of the story......