T.J. is Excited About Jiliang

"I want her to come to live with us today. Can we get her today?" T.J. asked. It makes me so happy to hear that, because he was a little worried about how she was going to impact his life back in November.
In November, our adoption caseworker, Theresa Light, came over to update our homestudy. She asked him if he was excited about getting a little sister, and he responded, "No, I want a little brother." They he walked by and said, "I don't want a little sister. I don't want a little sister. I don't want a little sister." Luckily, we know her well, and she has a good sense of humor.

Each Day is a Gift

You've probably heard the phrase, "Don't sweat the small stuff"? It is so true. I remind myself constantly. Today was an emotional day returning to work. The principal of our school passed away on December 30th, after a short battle with cancer. She was an inspiration to myself and many people in our school community. She was very supportive of my decision to adopt and would have liked to have met Jiliang.
I have had so many losses this year that it is hard to ascertain how to deal with the losses. I feel like I can only tuck their memory away, be thankful for their role in my life, and appreciate how precious that life really is. I believe that is what they would want.
When I told my friend Lori that we had been matched with a child, I mentioned how scared I was that things were happening so fast. We were taking a huge leap of faith in switching programs and I feared that we would end up empty-handed. I knew I couldn't handle that kind of disappointment. I was so afraid that we couldn't make it work it that amount of time. Lori told me profoundly, "Life is too short Jill." She told me that I just needed to get her home as soon as possible, and not to hesitate. Those are words that I will never forget.
When we suffer a loss of a friend or loved one, we need to take an opportunity to be thankful and to truly embrace life and those who love and support us. Part of the Chinese New Year tradition is righting wrongs and for creating new beginnings. Life is too short, so don't hesitate in doing what is right in your heart. Spend time with the ones you hold dear to your heart and live without regrets.

God's Perfect Timing

It's funny how life works out. When we had the opportunity to switch to the Waiting Child program in November, we had been waiting for 4 years with no end in sight - no glimmer of hope in view. We had assumed that her homecoming would be years away, if at all, with the way that the Non-special needs list was moving. When we made the switch, we found her immediately! It's not usually that quick. In fact, Jiliang's file was the first file we looked at; and it was actually sent in place of another child we had requested that was no longer available for adoption - NOT a coincidence in my opinion.
After locking in her file, Amy at West Sands Adoptions in Utah, told us that the process would be approximately 3-6 months until she could come home to us. All I could think was that I needed more time to plan, more time to come up with funds to get her home, let alone get her room ready and prepare my son T.J. for a little sister that he probably thought was never going to be a reality. We were just not in prepared at that time, and I was hoping for the latter side of the timeframe to provide her with the best homecoming possible. I even recall telling Amy that if it happened right before my summer break, that would be perfect timing. I just thought that time will afford us the homecoming that we had always dreamed of having with our Chinese daughter.
Thus, everything has been moving faster than we had anticipated and I truly believe that everything happens for a reason. I believe that it is all part of God's Plan, and apparently HE had other plans for Jiliang AND us. Now, all I can think about is how much I just want her home with us, and that is pretty much the concensus for our entire household and extended family, for that matter.
She will need to see a cardiologist to recommend corrective heart surgery, and we managed to get her medical records reviewed by Dr. Ohye at U of M in record time. Her room is coming along. The upcoming fundraiser will help us attain the funds we need to give the required orphanage donation - one that has doubled since last summer. All in all, things are a little rushed, but details are falling into place. As far as my travel expenses, we should be fortunate enough to cover them with this year's tax return.
Blessings to all of you who have supported us along this journey! Please keep our little girl in your prayers, so she may enjoy comfort, joy, laughter, good health and find her way home to us soon.
Sincerely,
Jill :)

Fundraiser Poster

The T-Club is located over Basil Boys in Downtown Tecumseh.

Getting Jiliang's Room Ready and Prepping for the Fundraiser

Last night, I went through the bins of things that I have collected for Jiliang over these last four years. Today, I had a terrible time hunting down children's hangers. I finally found them at Family Dollar in Tecumseh. I was able to wash and hang up all of her clothes. That was a huge accomplishment. I have had bins and bins of things for her for years with the name "Kaitlyn" on them. Now, they are finally being hung in a closet. T.J. helped me fold, sort and hang everything. That makes her homecoming seem real.

I have been working on details for Jiliang's fundraiser on Saturday, and sending out some reminder emails. I wanted to thank Dave Dorian and Jeff Foulke for the wonderful email they sent out to their email contacts. That was very thoughtful. Thanks to my dad who also sent out mass invites. I am really looking forward to Saturday's fundraiser. Thanks to everyone who has been supportive to us. We really appreciate it. I will be uploading a copy of the Fundraiser Poster in the next blog entry.

Koeppe Fortunes

Just for fun, here are our Fortune Cookie reads for New Year's Eve. It's a positive way to start the New Year:

T.J.'s: "Stop searching forever. Happiness is just next to you." I jokingly said, "Hey, well I'm sitting next to you. It must be me." My five-year-old chimes in, "Well, no, Dad's on the other side of me. I think it's him." Then, he teasingly laughs.

T.J.'s: "Luck is coming your way."

Scott's: "Your present plans are going to succeed."

Jill's: "A cheerful letter or message is on it's way to you."

May all of our good fortunes come true. Have a good night everyone. Happy New Year! May you all be blessed with good fortune this New Year.
Jill :)

New Year's Eve

I enjoyed a relaxing evening at home tonight. I have attended my fair share of great New Year's parties in the past and will again in the future. However, tonight, I just wanted to relax at home, sip some Russian Tea, hang out with Scott and T.J. and watch the Ball drop at midnight. Some of my favorite memories as a child were ringing in the New Year with Leah. Mom was usually in bed way before midnight. Dad was usually doing a show, on his Birthday, nonetheless. :)

Scott, T.J. and I spent the entire day doing "spring" cleaning to make room for Jiliang. We are working on getting her room ready. Honestly, it doesn't seem real. It's all happening so fast. T.J. had a fun day of sledding on the hill in our back yard. Exciting day. Anyhow, we were all exhausted from the day and decided on Chinese take-out. Sort of befitting to end our year that way. :) We got some awesome fortunes.


I picked up some horns and hats and told T.J. that I would tape New Year's Eve and we would watch it in the morning and blow our horns after the ball dropped. I volunteered Scott to make breakfast. Scott and T.J. were both asleep by 9:00 p.m. Seriously, that is not how our pictured our first New Year's as a family. Ha ha.

Here's to a safe and Happy New Year!