What A Reminder

Well I was sitting down to post about Elliott's 3rd birthday (2 weeks ago!) or maybe our trip to Disney World this past week, and then I saw this video and all that changed...
This is a recent video of a little girl who was adopted in April, just days before she turned 14 and aged out of the orphanage system in China and would no longer be available to be adopted. She has severe scoliosis. All I can say is wow. This precious little girl speaks for every orphan out there. Those just waiting for moms and dads to love them. Waiting to know the love of Jesus. If adoption was ever even a fleeting thought in your mind, watch this video!
And now that she is home with her forever family, she is having a series of surgeries for her back. She is currently in the hospital and her family gave their address to send her pictures, cards, etc... So I'm going to have my boys do something this afternoon! But in case you want to join in, doing something fun or even praying for this little girl with such a loud voice, here is the address:



Evelyn (Xiaoyun) Willoughby
c/o Kosairs Children’s Hospital
231 E. Chestnut St.
Louisville, KY 40202

Hip Hip Hooray

We got our LOA!!!!
In English, non-adoption speak, this means we are one step closer to bringing home Mamie! And this is a big step, we waited approximately exactly 87 days, but whose counting? So now what? A few more steps called I800 approval, something about cabling and article 5's and then the big one, TA = Travel Approval. We are getting sooo very close. Thinking April? Which everyone says will be here before we know it... right?

We have been working on Mamie's room while we wait, so here are some not so great, pictures of it almost ready. Now we just need something on the walls, a rug... and Mamie ;)

Just Before Christmas...

We got a HUGE gift! An updated picture of Mamie and answers to many questions we had asked about her! We really didn't think we would get an update from her orphanage so needless to say, we were ecstatic! So without further ado...

Mamie Joy Zhuo Kown- 16months old

#1 We were told Mamie was walking- what does this mean? She can walk independently and freely (what a Praise!)

#2  What is she called in the orphanage?  The workers in the welfare institute always call her “zhuo zhuo”.

#3 How old was she in her referral photo? The child in photos which we send you is 8 months old.

#4 Does she sleep with anything? She likes to embrace the blanket when she is sleeping .

#5 Does she play well with others? She likes to play with the people who she familiar with. She doesn’t like to stay with strangers.

#6 What does she like to play with? She likes all kinds of fancy toys.(hahaha!!! we aren't sure what this means but hoping we have some!)

And our personal favorite that proves she is indeed our child through and through...

#7 What does she like to eat?  She likes sweet food, such as cake, bread, biscuits and candies. She doesn’t like sour food, bitter food, hot food, hard food and ice-cold food.

Merry Christmas from our gift to yours

A Sweet Wait

So since I haven't blogged in a good few weeks, here is what the Kown family has been up to... enjoying the Holidays while we wait and wait and wait for our next step to Mamie. But it has been a really sweet wait. And I know that all of these pictures next year will include Mamie!  Now all I want for Christmas... or New Years... or heck, even Elliott's Birthday in January... is our LOA!

Thanksgiving with my family- the first picture ever with all of the cousins looking at the camera and NO ONE is crying!

Thanksgiving with Charles' family. And yes everyone is wearing pilgrim hats. Enough said.

You would think Elliott didn't really enjoy it, but nope. He loved Santa. He just doesn't love pictures. Will make for a good mug shot though.

Maxwell's precious Christmas program at school. He was Joseph, or as my niece calls him, Jophus. Makes me laugh every time.

A cute family photo where Elliott is smiling! Rarely happens.