Introducing....

 We have Lynli Grace!  She is beautiful, sweet, tiny, and quite the busy girl!  I am posting pics first because I know that is what you want to see!!

Our last photo as a family of 5!

Meeting Lynli Grace!

The first few moments with Mama



Getting to know Baba (daddy)



Playing with Mam-maw



Keith getting all of the needed info from the orphanage representative, including the location of her town on a map.



Family of 6!!



Back at the room, coloring with big brother



Watching his sister - the MOST proud brother you will ever see!



Checking out new toys...



She is so sweet!  This is a cute little pose she did for us. :)



This is what we saw the most of today - laughs and giggles!

So, here is how it happened....

We spent the morning as usual - big, huge breakfast at the hotel buffet and a walk around the beautiful gardens and koi ponds at our hotel. And then there was a lot of waiting.  We didn't leave the hotel for her until 2:00pm , so there was lots of nervous time to pass. But, we managed to be completely prepared and ready before the appointed time, which is a small miracle itself. :)

So, off we headed to the adoption offices for this province.  This was the same place we met Mia, so it was a very familiar and helped to ease the nerves a little.  We arrived before Lynli so we sat and waited a little more.  I honestly didn't mind a few minutes wait.  Watching others meet there babies helps to settle you down a bit. :)  

Before we knew it she walked right in from the elevator... I couldn't see her face right away, but knew it was her from those crazy rainbow pants I had sent in a care package!  So funny!  I even thought when I bought them that these would probably be what they put her in instead of the super cute outfit #2 that I sent.  Of course it would be the crazy pants!  I digress...  Anyway, there she was!  We were thinking that, like Mia, she would be taken into a "holding room" while some paper work was done, but that was not the case.  Our guide just looked over and said, " Come on, you can come!"

Y'all, she is just precious.  She just looked at us, didn't cry, just kind of took it all in.  I picked her up to carry her to the area where we would speak to the orphanage staff and complete the paper work.  Still no crying.  She just sat with me and looked around.  I gave her a snack and water and she gave me some giggles.  The kids were just crazy for her!  It was a crazy half hour as the kids all vied for her attention.  It's so sweet how much they love her.

After we finished up the necessaries we headed back to the hotel.  She cried a little when we got in the elevator, but stopped as soon as we walked outside.  When we arrived back at the hotel, she and the kids just played and played. She is really silly.  I mean, really silly.  She laughed and giggled like crazy.  She explored and touched everything. So, so sweet.  

So far, so good.  She cried a little again when I first took her shoe off.  I was just trying to change her, so I put her shoe back on. :)  We actually felt she was doing well enough to go out for dinner and she did do great.  By the time we returned, we could tell she was pretty exhausted.  We gave her a quick shower (the staff told us she liked this better than a bath).  She screamed the entire time.  She did not like the shower. :)  We got her dressed for bed and within 10 minutes she fell asleep with me laying beside her.  She is a dream.  

Ok.  Lots more to come this week as we get to know our sweet girl.  This mama is pooped and heading to bed.  Thank you all for your notes of encouragement and prayers.  We have waited almost a year to meet Lynli.  And now I can hear her breathing heavily in a sound sleep, just a few feet away.

God is good. All the time.

Goodnight from the Jennings - party of 6  :)

Mia's Day

I'm up early again. This time it is a little on purpose.  I wanted to write about our day yesterday, but to be honest, last night it was still a little heavy on my heart and I just didn't quite have the words. Not sure I have them this morning either, but I will try.

Yesterday's trip to Mia's orphanage was incredible. Truly incredible.  We arrived in Heshan a little before 11:00am after about a 2 hour ride. You all know road travel in China is CRAZY.  We had tried our best to prepare Mia for this moment.  We knew the nannies would be so excited to see her, but what we didn't expect was for all of the children to be there!  On our last visit, we were only allowed to see one child, her special friend. So, this was a surprise - and a little overwhelming for Mia. She clung to me for about the first 30 minutes. We spent some time visiting in the gathering area. They were very thankful for the things we brought them, but most loved the photo album I had made of Mia's time with us. They just giggled and made comments about every picture. So sweet.

Mia's orphanage is small so there were only about 10 or so children there at that time to see us.  And the older ones definitely remembered her.  They were so excited to see her and just kept calling her name.  I knew the clinginess had to end and the best remedy would be the playground.  I politely asked if she could go play as this had been something she had been excited about from the pictures.  It took a little bit, but she did finally warm up. 

Can you imagine?  They remember you, but you don't remember them?  Overwhelming for sure. And heartbreaking too. 

While the kids were playing, our guide told us that the director wanted us to see the inside. What?!  Again, something not allowed last time.  We were so touched that they would allow us to see where Mia had spent her days.  We were able to see the room she slept in and where she ate her meals. There is a little play space upstairs where we saw a cutie walking around in a walker (after we woke him from his nap). Oops.  We were able to see where the older kids stay also.  I was pleased to hear that there are older girls that go out and work during the day, but are allowed to come back in the evening to live. There is an indoor play area also.  

Now for the most awesome part?  We were invited to lunch. Yep. And we didn't know what to do!  This is the funny part where we had an ongoing crazy conversation between me, Keith, the assistant director and our translator. Should we accept?  Of course we wanted to, but we didn't want to be a burden either. We are a party of 7 on this trip when you include our guide, Lily.  A lot of extra mouths to feed.  And it would be completely rude for us to offer to pay as I was told quickly by Lily when I asked her.  "No, No, No!", she said. "You no buy". They happy you come. They buy."  Well, ok then. And after saying goodbye to the littles, who were going in to have their own lunch, we headed out to a restaurant.  

Honestly, we were just completely thrilled to have the additional time with them.   I was also so happy that Ms. Huang, Mia's main nanny was able to join us.  Mia sat between the two of us. It was a beautiful, very traditional meal.  Lily had asked them to just do a small "rice and noodle" lunch. They obviously ignored her. :) The food kept coming, plate by plate.  I think we ended up with at least 7 different delicious dishes. It was nice to get to know them better. The best you can with everything being translated. We just ate and talked and laughed. It was really great. 

 Ms. Huang so sweetly cared for Mia. I loved that for the first, and probably only time in her life, her two "mommies" were there, together, both helping her with her meal. I can't even put into words what that means to me.  You see, we don't know anything about Mia's birth family. Nothing. We probably never will.  But, Ms. Huang was the one that held my baby and cared for her before me. I saw genuine love for my child from her.  She loved Mia. They all did. 

There are still those big gaping holes in her beginnings.  I don't know what her first moments were like. I don't know what her infant cry sounded like, or when she rolled over, crawled or walked for the first time. I don't have pictures of her as a baby. But, I do know this. They loved her enough to give her a better life. They told us that they had her lip repaired, but didn't have her palate repaired because they were afraid it would not be good enough. They wanted the best for her. They are so excited for her to have a "good family" as they kept telling Lily. They giggled so much at Mia playing with Tucker and Tate.  They said,"the boys love her very much".  Yes, they do.

So. That was our day back at Mia's first home. There are more stories to tell, but it is way too much to write. :)  I am just so thankful for more stories to tell her.  When she is ready and asks us, we just have more to give her.  Not all. I don't have the whole story.  But, I do have more.  And for that I will be forever grateful. 

A little bit of Heshan City

Seeing the children

Warming up in one of the play areas

The inside crib and meal area

Where the babies sleep

The indoor play area

A sweet friend so excited to see Mia

The lunch crew

At the restaurant

Ms. Huang watching Mia open her peanuts. :)

First Morning Back in China

I'm up super early this morning.  My heart is a little heavy and I just can't get back to sleep..

Today is a big day for one of my girls.  I'm so happy for Mia. This whole process has been so much about bringing Lynli home, but over the past couple of weeks, I have been reminded how important this trip is for Mia.  And she is the one who reminded me.

She has been looking at a photo album I made for her that contains pictures of her when she was "a baby" here. It also has pictures of the orphanage and her nannies.  These past few weeks we have talked more about her beginnings than before. She's curious, but from a 4 year old's eyes.  She knows she was born here and questions why she wasn't in my tummy, but it is more like a "birthing" type question than a birth family question.  She just doesn't grasp that yet.  BUT, she is super exited to be back in "MY China", as she calls it.

I can't wait for today.  I am excited for her to be gushed over by her nannies.  I really am.  But, it is hard too. See, last time we visited, we were just getting to know Mia.  She was still "theirs" in a way.  It was exciting to see where she lived and how she interacted with them. This time we know Mia in a different way.  She is ours. Our daughter.  And there is still a gaping hole of two years that is missing. We look at her early year pictures, we don't have many, and it is so hard to imagine her being away from us.  It seems like we have had her forever, but she was a toddler when she left here.  There are lots of moments and time that we know nothing about.  And it is just a strange feeling. I can't wait to see what today unfolds....

My heart is also quite heavy today because I know by this time, Lynli has been moved back to the orphanage while she waits for us.  She was in foster care with a family for almost 2 years.  I can't even imagine her sadness and heartbreak.  We are so happy and excited, yet my little peanut has just been taken from a family she has known for 2 years and is waiting to be placed with a family of strangers.  That is hard. We just hope and pray that she is safe and has some understanding of what is happening. I  feel confident that her foster mother has shown her pictures of us and talked to her about it.

All we can do at this point is pray for her little heart.  Will you join us?  Please keep Lynli Grace in your prayers the next few days as she waits for us.  Please pray not only for her health and safety, but for God to give her peace and comfort. That He will wrap his arms around her like only He can and love her through her grief.  I ask also that you pray for her foster family.  They have done a wonderful thing for our sweet girl. And I know their hearts must be breaking too. Please pray for them to be comforted and for the knowledge that we love her so much already. And that she is going to be ok.

Alright, y'all.  I hear my little bit waking up in the other room.  The day has started!  I can not wait!!!

Finally here!!!

After a travel marathon - we made it!!  We are finally here in Guangzhou getting settled down for the night.  The kids did great - no fussing or whining - they are just troopers!

We arrived to our hotel at about 2:00 this afternoon.  I took a quick trip to the "grocery" store with our guide.  We had a quick bite to eat at Pizza Hut - honestly just too tired to be creative with our food options tonight. :)

Tomorrow morning we are up and at 'em quite early to visit Mia's orphanage.  We are all super excited about that and I was able to purchase some diapers, cookies and candies for the kids while at the store earlier.

I'll post after our trip tomorrow - I have major brain fog and don't even know if what I am typing makes sense. :)  Time to sleep!!!

Thank you all for your prayers for safe travel!

Soon, Very soon!

Hi all!

It's been awhile, hasn't it?  I think I have officially earned the title of "worst blogger ever".  I left you in September with the announcement that we were adopting again and I haven't written since.  Bad, I know. :)

Let me just say that things have progressed and we are almost ready to head to China to bring home Lynli Grace!  The process has been fairly smooth with not much drama. Yay for that!  After submitting our Letter of Intent in September, we worked hard to complete our dossier and had everything submitted in January.  We were logged in with the China "adoption people" soon after and received our Letter of Acceptance in April. Since then, we had a few more paperwork steps that ended with our official Travel Approval coming last Monday.  And as you can only imagine, once the TA is issued, life seems to start going at warp speed!  So, I sit here tonight with airline tickets purchased, hotel reservations made and our "packing station" set up in our foyer.  And the station keeps growing...


So, I'm betting you guys might want an update on Lynli and some pics too? :)  Lynli will turn 3 years old on July 13th.  We are so excited to get to spend that day with her!   She has been in foster care for the past 2 years and seems to be thriving.  I have loved getting pictures of her - she is growing so fast!  At this point, her updates indicate that she is doing well developmentally and socially. It seems like she has also been healthy with few "colds or illnesses" along the way.  

One of the first pictures we saw of her after the referral pictures.

This is the most recent picture that we received the first week of June.

This is my favorite picture of all!  This was taken when the Love Without Boundaries staff visited Lynli's orphanage in February.  We sent her a photo album with our pictures in it.  This is her seeing us for the first time.

So, very soon we will be heading across the ocean to bring our sweet girl home.  We are over the top excited and this week will fly by with all of the preparation!

We will be blogging the entire trip and posting smaller updates to Facebook too. If you want to receive our updates by email, just click the tab above to join the feed!

Exciting News!

I know!  It's been a long time since I've blogged about what's happening in the Jennings' family.

But we've been up to something!  And we're excited to share it with you.

We are headed back to China!

And we can't wait for this little cutie to join our family...

We've chosen the name Lynli Grace Jiyi Jennings. 

Lynli is two years old and currently living in Shantou City, China.

At this point, we are still in the throws of paperwork.  We hope to have Lynli home early next summer.
We'll be using the blog to keep you up to date during the process.

For now, we wanted to share our exciting news and ask for your prayers for Lynli and our family.

Three!

Yesterday our sweet princess turned 3. It seems like such a short time ago that I was writing about her turning two.

We had a full day with a gymnastics birthday party, presents and a precious cake from Auntie Jill.

Here's just some of our fun.

Spring has sprung!

And you know what that means for the Jennings....

Soccer



Baseball


Tucker pitched for the first time today! He was nervous, but he did so good. We are very proud of him! He was quite proud of himself too. :)

Celebrating One Year

Spaghetti. That was our first meal with Mia just over one year ago, March 8, 2010. And that was what we had for dinner last night to honor and celebrate this day with Mia.

Keith and I put together a video of Mia's first year with us. You can see the video below, however, you will need to pause the blog music by scrolling down to the play list icon and pressing "pause". If you are reading this post by email, you will need to click here to watch the video on YouTube.

This first year with Mia has been amazing. She is a sweet, strong little girl. My favorite and most accurate description is "spitfire". She has been such a blessing to our family.

Enjoy the video!

Merry Christmas!

Wow! I can't believe 2010 is almost over. I looked back at the last post and realized it was in October! I think I have some blog catching up to do. :)

I can't wait to share some fun things with you from the past couple of months. We also have some excitement coming the first week of January - Keith's 40th birthday and a big trip to Disney World!

For now I'll leave you with a picture from our visit with Santa. This was my favorite one of all.