Correction from Yesterday's Post

We spent a lovely 2 1/2 hours standing at the Delta ticketing window yesterday afternoon so that they could process our tickets with the elusive adoption fare discount. After phone calls to supervisors and corporate we found out that tickets with the discount were $2,200 per person. We decided to go with the non discounted tickets with the regular fare of $923 per person. (Apparently the adoption fare included tickets that could be changed and/or cancelled at any time which is what makes them outrageously expensive.) All in all this experience was great practice for all the waiting we'll be doing in China - Jaden did a beautiful job of waiting without complaining! Maybe his parents will get a little better at it before the trip...

Strangely, when we left we walked away with tickets that depart and arrive a day later than our original plans. We are now leaving on Thursday, November 3rd and arrive back home on Monday evening, November 21st.

Can. Not. Wait!

We don't have near enough photos of little Lu, so we just keep manipulating them so that we feel as though we have more! Here she is yet again - can't get enough of this girl!

Travel Approval!

On March 11, 2006 we attended an orientation to begin the adoption process at Chinese Children Adoption Internation (CCAI). That was 67 months and 12 days ago. Since we began we have been waiting 2,048 days for Lucy. It has been the longest 2,048 days of my life! Turtles move faster.


However, since we received our match with little Lu it feels as though a jet plane has picked this little turtle up and is racing her around the world! My turtle eyes are bulging out of my head and my heart was beating a thousand times a minute for the first couple weeks. For some reason while I am trying to work at warp speed on adoption items, life has the audacity to go on as normal. After our visa applications were FedEx'd to the currier in Washington, DC and the documents CCAI needed had been signed, notarized and returned I began to feel like I was getting into more of a groove. I could just concentrate on slowly preparing for travel. We are working from three lists - "What to do before we leave", "What to pack", and "What to buy". (We've lost them twice now due to severe pregnancy brain on my part, but I think this third of lists is going to last.) CCAI told us we would probably travel 5-7 weeks from match. That would be anywhere from November 3-17. However, all of China was closed down for a week for National Day Holiday the week after we got our match, so I assumed we would travel toward the later end of the estimate.


In comes the surprise. We received word from CCAI last week that all of our appointments have been booked with the Chinese Government and the US Consulate and we will be traveling in a little over a week! Seriously?! The turtle has now strapped on a super powered jet pack and has shot out ahead of the jet plane! My heart is beating fast with the thought of snuggling little Lu in my arms so soon combined with the weight of all that needs to be done before travel.


The next 10 days we will be be a blur. We have to finish the nursery (finally found the bolts to the crib yesterday!); get our house sitter set to move in; get my sub all set; get our technology charged and loaded with movies, mp3s, books and games; figure out Skype; shop for last minute items; pick up prescriptions; notify the bank and postoffice and HR and schools and people to cover our ministries at church for us; pay bills that will accumulate while we're gone; blow out the sprinklers; pack for 4 people for 18 days; and, of course, get a pedicure and a haircut. Oh, and do life - work, soccer, homework, music class, parent/teacher conferences, church, a baby shower, Halloween parties, etc. Nothin' much.


But the biggy is done - we booked our airfare! (I love that I just typed that!) We fly out of Denver on Wednesday, November 2nd and will arrive back home on Sunday, November 20th. I am so excited I can't stand it! Whatever doesn't get done, doesn't get done - I'm getting on that airplane on the 2nd no matter what! The very best part of the trip will be on November 7th or 8th - Gotcha Day. The day they put little Lu in our arms and the Hill Family will be all together at last!


Here are 2 new pictures we received of our sweet girl just this week. She's gotten so big in the last month!  Can't wait to scoop her up and bring her home!

Has it really been 2 weeks since we first saw sweet Lucy's picture? We've carried her with us everywhere and shown off her sweet little face, sometimes to people we don't even know! Jaden is such a proud big brother sharing her picture with literally everyone at school. We are in love with our little girl already.


The past two weeks have been spent mucking through the last round of paperwork. Well, until we come home anyway. We've gotten more passport photos taken, more documents notarized, more documents photocopied and Fed-Xed. But knowing that we are so much closer and having Lucy's face etched in our minds makes this round so much easier than the rest!


Now that we finally know Lucy's age we are able to set up a nursery (instead of a toddler room) and we have a better idea of what we need. I couldn't wait to go through all the clothes we've gathered for her through the years - so many cute little dresses and pants and skirts! I can't wait to see her in them - several are laid out, ready to go with us to China. We were able to send her a care package, it should be there by now. We picked out a soft blanket, a stuffy that plays music, a rattle that Jaden picked out. We also sent a couple of disposable cameras hoping that the nannies would take some pictures of her for us. I've heard that once the orphanage receives our acceptance letter they mail updated pictures and information. What we originally received was from August 15th. Can't wait to see how much she's grown!


Bryan was able to reschedule his surgery for December 1st. It's the very last day the workman's comp doctor approved him for. I'm slightly concerned we won't be back by then. My understanding of the process is that our agency is waiting for our final appointments with the Chinese government in Nanchang to be scheduled. As soon as they receive that information they will email the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou for the soonest available appointment to get Lucy a visa to come home with us. Once that is scheduled we can make travel plans. I am really hoping we can leave around November 10th, which is about the timeframe of the previous travel groups. But there is a chance that we won't leave until later, which would put us back in the U.S. after Bryan's surgery date. True to Hill form, it's going to be a nail biter! 


Tonight I have an incredible need to have Lucy in my arms. I want her home safe and sound so badly! I want to kiss those sweet cheeks and hold her close. Please Lord, let this month go by quickly.

Introducing... Lucy!

Sixteen years ago today I woke up a new bride, in love and excited to begin a new phase of life side by side with Bryan. Here we are, sixteen years later waking up with the same feelings of love and excitement for the new addition to our family, Miss Lucy Rose. We are ready to welcome her home and start our life as a family of four!

After 65 months of "pregnancy" We'd love to introduce you to sweet little Lucy Rose...

Isn't she just about the sweetest thing ever?! I just want to squeeze those cheeks and love her up!

Other fun facts about our girl:

Lucy's Chinese name is Fu Ya Li. Fu is the surname, Ya means feminine, Li is beautiful. We are considering using Li, or YaLi or LiYa as a fourth middle name. We think it may mean beautiful girl, which is very fitting!

She was born on March 28, 2011 - 6 months old.

She lives in Fuzhou, Jiangxi. If you look at the map below Jiangxi is in blue in the southeast portion of China. (The city of Fuzhou, Jiangxi itself isn't listed on the map.)

We do not know when we'll travel yet, but it should be in about 5-7 weeks. We probably won't have exact dates for about a month. What we do know (mostly for sure) is that we will fly in to Hong Kong for a couple of days, then fly up to Nanchang, Jiangxi and Lucy will be brought to us from her orphanage in Fuzhou. We will stay in Nanchang for about a week while we do all of the paper work that China requires. Then the four of us (I love that I just typed that!) will fly to Guangzhou where we will complete all the paperwork that the US requires. After about a week in Guangzhou we will fly home sweet home!

What? You want to see a couple more pictures of our little beauty? No problem!

I am not sure what she is wearing, but she sure wears it well!

Look at those cute little toes!

We just can't wait to scoop her up and snuggle her. In her paperwork the nannies reported that she loves to be held - all the Grandmas and Grandpas were excited to hear that! They also reported that she laughs aloud - a must if you're going to be in any way related to the Schiavone family!

Thank you God for your overwhelming kindness!

"Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."

There is no doubt that God chose Lucy for the Hill family, and for that we are forever grateful! His timing wasn't in line with what we had hoped for, but He sees the bigger picture knows even better than we do what is good for us. We trust that His timing is perfect and embrace both these little ones that He's gifted to us!

Matches Have Been Mailed!

My heart is racing... China has mailed out matches and my log in date is included in this group! We have a match with little Lucy - her sweet little picture and all of her information is flying over the ocean to finally come home to us!

Once our agency receives the information it takes them about a day to look everything over and translate it and then they will call us the next day to come meet little Lucy! There is a slight chance the call will come today, but since it doesn't appear that they received the matches yesterday it's more likely that it will come tomorrow. There also is a chance it won't come until Monday... waiting the whole weekend knowing we have a match and not seeing her face will be sheer torture! None of my "sisters" in my yahoo group have had to wait over a weekend to see their little ones, so I'm hopeful that we won't either.

Tomorrow is our anniversary. Meeting little Lucy would be a fabulous way to celebrate 16 years together!

Keep checking back... we'll post her picture as soon as we get it!

Surgery Date

Bryan was able to get a tentative date of October 6th for his ankle surgery. We were hoping for sooner, but after some thought this seems like really good timing. (What a surprise the God provided a date that is good timing - lol!) If, by chance, we happen to get our match this month Bryan can cancel the October 6th date and go back to the December date when we arrive home from China. If we don't get a match this month he can go forward with surgery on October 6th and hopefully have a good 8 weeks to heal before we travel to get sweet Lucy. In theory it sounds pretty good!

If China stays consistent to what has been happening the past few months matches should come out around September 30th. Two weeks. Wow. It's hard to believe there is a possibility we will get to see Lucy's face in two short weeks!

Joy and Disappointment

My heart is a mixed bag of emotion. China sent matches of precious little girls this week - joy! I was able to  watch many friends get the first picture of their daughter and see those sweet little faces! Complete joy! One friend received twins - two beautiful, beautiful girls. My heart is full of happiness for them all - a few I've known since we began this process back in 2006. I love getting to see my girls united with their sweet daughters and share in their elation!

Unfortunately, China only handed out matches for two more days. They were at July 12, 2006 and it seems as though they've given matches to people who had their paperwork logged in on July 13 and 14, 2006. Two days. They matched two itty bitty days. Our log in date is July 22, 2006 so in order to get to us in the next round China will have to match 8 more log in dates. That many days generally don't get matched in one month. It has happened, but only very rarely. Stink. So it's looking more like we may get a match towards the end of October (barring any unforeseen setbacks).

I have to admit, I was extremely disappointed when we realized only two days had been matched. I was really hoping for an end of September referral. Knowing Lucy has been born and is waiting for us in an orphanage makes me want to go now and snuggle her in my arms! Knowing I will probably have to wait another month to do that is so discouraging. But, in true perky form, I have been looking for the silver lining. Nothing can trump having Lucy here with us, but if there are any silver linings to be found they would be: 

1) We will most likely travel in December. If travel assignments continue to be given has they have with the past two groups we will be traveling from mid December to the end of the month. Now, I am definitely not crazy about being in China for Christmas, but it would be nice if Jaden didn't have to take 2 weeks off of school and have to make up all that work. If we travel over Christmas break it may make for an easier transition back home for Jaden. He doesn't go back to school until January 5th, so we'll even have some time to recover from jet lag and spend some time together as a family of 4 before he heads back to school. 

2) I will get a whole semester with my new little group of 1st graders, which I think will be a much easier transition for them and for me before I go on maternity leave. 

3) Bryan will use up the rest of his vacation time for this year in China, but he gets new vacation weeks at the first of the year. He can use some of his new weeks to makeshift a little paternity leave before heading back to work.

There is one major downfall. Bryan hurt his ankle at work and needs surgery. It's under workman's comp which is good, but instead of being able to schedule it at a time that works best for our family, Bryan is pretty much at their mercy. He did get the workman's comp doc to put it off until Dec. 1st (when we thought we'd travel in Nov.), but now we need to bump it out another month and the doc won't schedule it in the new year. He either has to go in for surgery ASAP so he'll heal in time to travel to China or get the surgery when we return and pay for it ourselves. Please pray that he can get scheduled for surgery soon and that he heals quickly.

Ultimately I know that God is sovereign. He is in control of all things and He is taking good care of our family. He has known the day that Lucy will be placed in our arms from the beginning and that timing will be perfect! I love looking back at how he brought Bryan and I together, how he brought Jaden to us and now how he is bringing Lucy to us and us to Lucy. This wait is no surprise to Him, the awesome God who holds the oceans in the palm of his hands and measures the mountains on a scale. He always has been and will continue to shower his children with mercy and love - we are so grateful for his kindness!