LOA and Name Addendum

We received our LOA (Letter of Acceptance) on Monday. I feel like everything is happening so fast. Of course, with our LOA, comes a boat load of paperwork that needs to be filled out, signed, notarized and returned within 5 days. So, yesterday was filled with a lot of running around for me. Now we are working on applying for our visas. Mike and I have our paperwork filled out. Once my parents (who are traveling with us) have their paperwork filled out, we will ship our passports to Chicago to get that going. Then I can take a breather until our TA (Travel Approval) arrives and then the craziness will set in again.

Also, we have decided on Hope's official name. It will be Hope Elizabeth Qing. Qing is her current middle name and we found out that it means clear and sunny. Sounds kind of like a weather report, huh? Well, we think it goes well and that way she can have a piece of her Chinese heritage with her name.

It's crazy to think that we started this process 2 1/2 years ago and everything is finally coming together. I can't believe we may be able to meet Hope in a month!!!! Below is a picture of our family in October 2007, the same month we submitted our application to adopt:


















Below is a picture of our family in April 2010, the same month we received our referral and laid eyes on Hope for the first time:















We are so excited to add Hope's little face to our family photo!!!