Welcome to our journey...

Welcome to "Bringing Home Anna Lin," our journal, our blog of our journey to bring a daughter into our family. By the way, blog is short for weblog, just a little info. for any who may not be familiar with a blog.

First a brief intro: Ric and I have three bio-boys: Zak, Spencer, and Noah. All of whom are in some stage of teenhood. You name it; we have it covered: just beginning (Tween - Attitude blossoms), in the thick of it (Best stage of it... Rrrright, if you like hormonal chaos that is), and return of some reasoning (still has some kick but mature reasoning emerges in spurts). Oh they can be a handful at times, but good guys in the end.

Zak likes playing the guitar, listening to music, playing video and online games (preferably strategy/quest-related) and Social Studies is his favorite subject. In fact I think he is signed up for at least three history classes next year. Zak enjoys learning about different cultures and never passes up the opportunity to try different types of food. Most recently was a buffalo burger at Smokey Bones. He is my quiet one. (God blessed me with a quiet first son, because he knew what was coming after Zak. ;-)

Spencer plays the guitar also, skateboards (can do some great tricks!), has a phone growing out of his ear, and works his best to be King of cool. (Yes, that is very important to him. We would like to see him put that much effort into his studies though.) He's a reading wiz, but don't tell anyone. It might effect his coolness. I would like to say that Spencer is also the King of cliches, but I think he & Zak are tied for that.

Noah is a ball of energy. When he was little we called Tigger because he was 'bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun...) Noah walked at 9 months and went to a run at 9 1/2 months. He radiates energy in everything he does. He is a creator, inventor, a worker. He must do and then do some more. He loves to create comic books, forts in his bedroom and outside, and many other things such as bows & arrows in mass production. (Yes, he could put Henry Ford to shame.) His artwork is always in vibrant colors. All the guys are artists in some form, visual and musical. They have all had artwork displayed with the school district. We are very proud of our guys.

But now it is time to add some girl-power to the family. Yes, our home is in testosterone overload and we are going to fix that hopefully this month or August at the latest! After we had number two son Spencer, we talked of adopting a little girl. Then Noah surprised us and the dream of a daughter was put on hold. I stayed home with them while I went to school at night to become a school librarian. Money was tight for years and none to spare for adoption expenses. We lived in a 1200 square foot house and we did fine. But then I graduated, the kids went off to school, I went off to work, and the dream was reborn.

Ric said, "We'll need a bigger house." I said, "That works for me." So, we found a bigger house. One with a room all ready for a little girl with flowers and lady bugs on the walls. (Lady bugs are a special lucky sign in the China adoption community.) Ric said, "We need to have money saved." I said, "No problem. We'll save it." And we did, but soon realized more was needed. We thought the dream was going to fade. However, a very sad event gave our dream wings. My father passed away last May from a long battle with cancer. (Will I ever be able to say that without tears welling up? Probably not...) He left us the exact amount we needed to bring home a daughter. I had no idea whatsoever about this blessing until after he passed. I knew what it was meant for and Ric agreed. By the end of June our application was mailed and received by Harrah's July 1st, I believe.

-Angi