What a busy Christmas, but so wonderful!!

After many takes, finally a decent family pic!!!  ;-)

Opening Aunt Randi, Uncle Joe, and Max's gift

She was sooo excited... thank you!!

Christmas morning.  Got used to opening gifts pretty quickly.  She cried when they ran out!!!

Stinker!

Our cat Jake loves cozy spots.

Christmas morning, after Mommy had put the train set together!

WOW, her new big girl kitchen from Nie Nie and Yea Yea!!

Thank you, she loves it!!

Grandpa and Nana got fun accessories for it too!!  ;-)

What a great year!  We got our confirmed travel dates to get our precious Leah on Dec. 24th, and the celebrations began.  We honor our Lord for the birth of his son, Jesus, and get to share that love and many blessings with family and friends.  God is so good!!

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and I hope the Lord blesses you beyond belief this year.  Thank you for sharing in our story and I look forward to sharing our journey to bring Leah home in UNDER 2 WEEKS!!!  I cannot believe it.  Please pray for us to be ready on time and that Leah's heart is prepared to have us as her forever family.  Also, please pray for continued healing for my ankle.  It is going to be quite the interesting trip.  Also, pray for my wonderful husband who is picking up a lot of slack for me while I heal.

Love and blessings, Dawn, Pete, Bekah and Leah!!!

CONCRETE TRAVEL DATES!!!

Rejoicing with the Lord today on Christmas Eve...

We just got word that we will be leaving on Jan. 8 and getting home on Jan 23rd!

We couldn't be happier.

Now we just wait for flight confirmations etc....  Although that is a challenge  for our agency now that it is Christmas Eve.  UGH... we have to wait yet again until Friday or Monday for final itineraries...  

God is so perfect and couldn't have shared this news with us at a better time.

Merry Christmas to you all, and Happy Birthday Jesus!!!

Love

the Dagenbachs

Thank you Lucy!!!

Thank Lucy for my great books about being a sister!!!!

They are just perfect!  It is going to teach me a lot about what a sister should be.

So thank you soooo much!  And, you can see I love cards too....

I Love opening cards!!!!

Visiting with the Lord today

As we wait for yet one last approval from China, I really felt I needed to spend a day visiting with God, and what a special week to do it.  We celebrate Jesus' birth and everything He stands for.   Today I give thanks for all my blessings and offer all the joy to Him since He is the one who gave it to me.

We are waiting for the consulate to approve our request for the final appt., and now we wait again.  Once that is set in stone, we will be able to book our flights.  They put the request in on Friday afternoon, and I pray God sends us word tomorrow.   Hang on sweet girl, we are coming very very soon.

While I was reading my bible today I came across a very powerful verse I wanted to share with you all.  I hope it hits your heart as it hit mine.  

"The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength in whom I will trust, my buckler (shield), and the horn of my salvation, and my hightower."  Psalm 18:2  KJV

God was so good to me today... giving me just what I was asking for.  Peace and grace in Him during this last part of the wait to get our Leah home.  And, with the ankle problems I am still having, I pray it heals completely before we leave, but only the Lord can take that on!!!  ;-)  

I pray for peace and joy for you all this Christmas and that we take time to pause and remember Jesus is the one to celebrate!!!  

Merry Christmas to you all!!!

TA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are overjoyed, overwhelmed, and over excited!!!!!!!!
Praise the Lord for his perfect timing. We should be leaving on Jan 8 or 9 to get our precious Leah.
Here we come baby and we couldn't be more excited. I am crying tears of joy and giving all thanks and praise to God.
I cannot wait to hold you in my arms for the first time Leah, and your Daddy and your sister are sooooo excited to have you home too.
Please Lord let everything go smoothly and fall into place from here on out.
Thank you all for your prayers and support. We couldn't go through this process without you all.
We love you sooooooo much!!!
Mommy, Daddy and Jie Jie Bekah

Waiting

I can't explain how my heart has felt over the past week or so.  My wanting and needing for our precious Leah to be home with us has grown soooo much stronger.  The "average" wait time for TA for us has come and gone and now I can only pray to God that He brings us TA soon.  With word from others that have gotten TA (I am soooo happy for them), my heart is heavy wanting ours.  I know the Lords time is perfect and it will all be clear soon enough, but our Leah need to come home to us!!!

I have been praying and hoping that we are able to leave on Dec. 26th, but if TA does not come on Monday or Tues, than I know God has other plans.

This is definitely the hardest part of the wait in my opinion... the CCAA has officially told us she is ours and now we just wait for them to tell us when we can come to get her!!  

Please God hear our prayer and if it is your will, let us be to our sweet girl by the end of this year!  I am trying so desperately to wait for you Lord, and follow your will for us, but my human heart is finally getting the best of me.  I pray also for patience and peace in knowing that your plan for us is perfect!!!

Hopefully not long now Leah.  We are coming soon sweetheart!!!

Love, Mama