Finally.

There's only ONE good reason for two blog posts in one day!!!!!

FINALLY!!!!!

That's right. It's finally here. On it's way to our home right now. To be signed (tearfully and joyfully!) and returned POSTHASTE to move us on to the next step. WITHOUT the clout or advocacy we anticipated that we'd need. When I contacted the agency earlier this morning to see where we were going to start with an intervention, the receptionist said our SW would call back as soon as she could get free. The whole two hours we waited, I really felt the tug of war going on in my spirit that I posted about earlier today. It was so exciting to hear her say, "I have a Christmas present for you guys."  It seems that a package of documents had arrived after my initial call and our Letter of Approval was FINALLY included in the delivery. We're all very relieved that it's here and that we didn't have to "pull out" the big guns 

And wanna hear some really cool "extra" news we discovered? We're already more than a week into our "wait" for the next step (for those who are counting) because our LOA was actually issued - on December 19th!!!!!

We may never know "where" it was, or why it was not showing up our agency tried multiple times to track it, but we are really glad it's here. The Boss has all the next-step-paperwork ready to go in tomorrow's mail. And I'm busy finishing up a care package to "introduce" our gang to our girl. I know. I know. You don't care about any of those "next step" details just now. Really. I don't either. I'm too darned excited to FINALLY be able to share her sweet-ness with you all.

Without further ado,

The Gang is pleased to present to you

Miss Brynna Rose RuiJuan.

Currently residing somewhere

in the huge city of Beijing.

Soon to be firmly entrenched in her loving home

in the good old U.S.of A!!!!!!! 

This is her royal cute-ness, likely when she was
about 6 months old or so.

This is THE picture that The Boss fell headlong over.

He said, "I think this is our daughter" with tears in his eyes.

And a smile on his face. 

This is the picture on her "official referral" form

in the original Chinese.

I really wish we had dates attached to the pictures. But we don't. Only guesses. In fact, this whole file represents a ton of guess-work and really, was such a leap of faith. Especially once The Boss decided she was "The One." But really, it's okay - we're trusting HIM together to give us the answers we need, when we need them. And now we are even in the "knowing" that a file given to us represented "The One." I was certain when we were researching about Li'l Empress's needs that she was "The One" in that journey. And look how great that has turned out for us!

Here she is, doing "tummy time" on the mats.

Again, I wish I had a firm grasp on her age here.

We think she's about 6 months old here, too.

You can see, she's a tiny peanut, regardless of her age.

Here she is, "cruising"  according to the updates

from mid-October.

She's 16 months old in these two pictures.

The file says she's "extroverted" and pleasant.

I think she might even look a little mischievous here.

Like, "hmmmmm, what will it take to totally wrap

this Daddy whom I am hearing about all around my fingers?"

Heh. Not much, sister. NOT. MUCH. AT. ALL.

And then today's email exchanges between us and our agency got even sweeter. I inquired about the next steps from signing and mailing out the I800 paperwork. An email came back with surprise attachments!

Can you believe those cheeks?

She's still a very tiny peanut.

She'll be 18 months old this weekend

and only weighs 18 lbs. and 11 oz.

She's only about 28" tall.

Really. A teeny little thing.

But she's gained some weight since

the last update and that's a good thing.

So, there you have it. Our little mei-mei in living color.

Finally!

We ask for your continued prayers. We will not be disclosing the nature of her need publicly on the blog. But we do need you to know that it is VERY important for this little one to stay strong and healthy throughout the cold Beijing winters. (The Boss checked Beijing weather this weekend and it got down to 7 degrees. SEVEN DEGREES! Oh, my heart!) She will be facing quite a few medical interventions in the months upon coming home to join our gang and it is vital that she continue to put on weight and have a strong immune system to face it all.

Aren't you glad you came by The Gang's place today?! Doesn't that little face just make you want to smile all day long?! Or is that just me? I'm thinking I'm already a little wrapped.  Mmmmm, yeah. just a little.

For those who are not "fluent in China adoption-ese"

this site is an EXCELLENT resource for understanding

the steps of the process from LOA to traveling to our girl!

For the more visual among us, 

there's always this post to help you understand

what we are working through.