This what it is all about

My two favorite girls!!!

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more pix

Finally at home and bonding

New pix

Here is what everyone has been waiting on!!

We have Kaia!!!

Hi all,
We have Kaia, she doing well. She cried off and on for the last 22 hours.
She slept.11 hours. WOW. She taking a bottle ok. She eats good. She doesn't
like baby food. Imagine that. She eats some fruit, loves cherrios. No juice
yet. She is very petite. Very small features and little feet. Her hair has
grown some. She loved David at first. But seems to like me better today.
I feel bad for him. Today when I left the room. I came back and she was balling tons
of crocidle tears. Sorry if I misspell. It's hard type when your so tired. All of
babies are doing good. We love this precious baby girl!!! It is finally over today
she became ours forever!!!! She still needs to boopie. So i'm hoping some more fruit and some warm h2o will help. I am still having problems uploading pictures.
So we will try later tonight. I just wanted to update everyone.

Love,
Nikki

Hi Makena,
We miss you. Kaia can't wait to meet you. I think you will have tons of fun
together. We will see you in 8 days. Can you believe how fast time is flying.
Know how much we LOVE you.

Love forever, hugs kisses!!!

Momma and Daddy

Today we get Kaia!!!!

Hi all, Hi Makena
We get Kaia today. Our computer is not working. So I will try to post pictures
using someone elses computer. If it does not work than I will just post an update
on how she is doing. Nanning is a beautiful city and the country side is beautiful
farms everywhere. Very green. Makena, we sure do miss you!!!! I hope all is well.
We will try and post on Wed.

Love to all,
WE LOVE YOU MAKENA!!!

Nikki and David

posting is difficult. Sometimes it cuts me off in the middle. So I will keep this short.
we miss everyone. We really miss you Makena. We love all of you. I post more
after we get kaia. I will also post some pictures. Makena, I hope you are ok
we love you so much. Please don't be sad. We will be home before you know it.
Penny, I hope you are not overwhelmed we will never be able to repay for taking
care our family.

Love to all
WE LOVE YOU MAKENA CASE

We are in China

Hi we made it. We are so tired. But so glad to be heere. We have been busy touring. Tomorrow
we go to the Great Wall and Summer Palace. Today we walked forever. We leave on the 9th
to get kaia. On the 10th we get Kaia. Which will be the 9th you guys

2 days until we leave

We leave in two days. We are excited, nervous, sad to leave our precious Makena. We both
know that she will be fine. But it's one of hardest things we have ever had to do. We know
Kaia is leaving all that she has ever known. We are sad for her. But happy to have family
complete. Please pray for our girls!!!! We know that in time Kaia will attach to us and her new
FOREVER FAMILY!!! Those are powerful words!!!! It makes our hearts ful of joy. This will
be our last post from the USA. We are hoping that our blog will work in China. If it doesn't
than we will try to e-mail everyone or at least call.

Love to all,
A special Love to Makena.

Hold Kaia peanut!!! We are on our way.

Nikki and David

Look I'm A Jie Jie

Makena holding Kaia's pix. You can barely

see Kaia's face. Makena was very excited

to finally have a pix of her mei mei.

16 More Days til We get to leave

only 16 more days until we leave for China. I have such mixed emotions about leaving.
I'm excited about seeing Kaia. But I hate leaving Makena. I know that I will ball my
eyes out on the day we leave. I'm going to try and not let Makena see me cry. Right
now we are writing Makena's letters for her to open every night and alittle present
to open everyday. So I hope that comforts her. I'm not trying to buy her Love but
I want her to feel secure and safe in our family. Hopefully, we can call her every
couple of days. I know that she will be in good hands with Grandma. The good
thing is. Makena and Grandma will be at our house most of time. We'll I better
close for now.

Hold Kaia baby. We are on our way.

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

26 days UNTIL WE LEAVE

We are so excited. I can't believe we are leaving on Nov. 5th. I believe Gotcha Day will
be Nov.9th. I pray for Kaia's safety and well being. I hope that she has an easy adjustment
peroid attaching to us. Please pray for her. We will miss Makena so much. I hope that she
does ok while we are gone. We pray for her stay with out us to be as easy as possible.

Love,
Nikki

Hold on Kaia, we are coming!!!!

Measurements On Kaia

Kaia is:: 18.9 lb
28.8 inches tall
11cm in foot length
43 cm in head circumference

Sounds perfect to us. But we think that she is a peanut. We can't wait to hold and kiss
her pieces.

Love to All,
Love to Kaia Li Na

Mommy and Daddy

Just a Little Reminder

Here is our daughter and new baby sister

KAIA Li Na Case

Hold on baby we are coming.

Makena's first day of Kindergarten. All dressed in her new

school shirt. A new back pack to go along. And some new

tennis shoes too. She was so excited about her first day

of school.. Her teacher's name is Mrs.Paxson. She is pretty

and young. We are so Happy that Makena loves school.

Makena's first day of Kindergarten. Her first time on the Bus. Mommy was crying after the
bus left. I am so proud of her.

Makena's 5th Birthday party!!!!

and her pretty pink cake.

We have Travel Approval

Yahooooooooo, we have travel approval to go to China and meet our daughter. We are so ready
to leave. Betty left us a message today. At the same time I had called her to ask about TA. Isn't
that funny. We are thinking that we would leave either Oct.29th or Nov.5th. The sooner the
better for her and us. I'm sorry that we may miss Halloween with Makena. But I'm hoping she
can get dressed up before we go. So her crazy Mommy can take some pictures. We can't wait
to see the girls playing together and loving on each other. It brings tears to my eyes. I'm sure
we will see some not so fun tears from the girls eyes. Especially once they get use to each other.
Ha Ha!!!! Fighting over the same toy. That's it for now.

Hold Baby girl maybe 4 more weeks.!!!!!!!
Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Update info on kaia

Hi everyone,
Kaia is still crawling and walking. It seems that she gets upset easy. As soon as she crys
her eye swell up. So we are totally ready to go and get her. I hate it for her that her first day
with us will be a sad one. When we will be so happy. But at the same time we will be sad.
Sad that she will have such a life changing event. We will do our best to sooth her and try to
not overwhelm her. I am going to get some books on attachment this week. I'm hoping to have
them read before we leave. Please pray for Kaia's well being and for
the orphange staff.

We getting closer Kaia,
Love Momma and Baba

Formula Scare

We had a big scare with the news of tainted formula. It had been making lots of kiddos sick and
some have died. David woke me up at 6 am to tell me he saw it on the news. So we called our
agency asap. Luckily our daughter is not on it. We will be able to put on the same brand that
she is on now. Nestle. We will just have to transition her slowly. Our agency said that if
something was wrong with kaia they would call. So that was a huge relief to us. On a lighter
note Makena has been making pictures and letters for Kaia. It is so sweet. Sisterly Love.
Can't wait to hold both my girls at the same time.

Love,
Nikki
Hold Kaia baby where coming soon.

Part 2 of the Call

Hi,
There where some important details of Sept.2, 2008 that I forgot to add. After I
talked with Betty about Kaia. ( I love writing her name.) I called her Daddy and
he was in shock that it was actually happening. He was excited that Kaia was
a older baby. He and I both think that Makena and Kaia will be perfect together.
The next people we called was Grandma Penny and Pappaw Henson. They too
couldn't believe that it was happening. Pappaw Henson said so how soon can we
get her?? Grandma Penny couldn't wait to see her pictures. Then of course everyone
at my work knew about it with in seconds. It was such a blessed and Happy day.
I will never forget.

We Love You Kaia,
See real Soon,
Momma

Two weeks ago today

Two weeks ago today. We got the most wonderful phone call from Betty at FTIA. We became
parents again. My head was spinning that morning and still is. Here are the details of that
day. I was at work and I was in ICU picking up a patient. I brought my cell phone with me
just in case we did get the call. Honesty I didn't think it would be that day at all. My phone
rings and it's FTIA. OMG!!! My hands where shaking and My heart was racing. I anwsered
Hi Betty, I was so nervous. She said how was your Holiday. I said fine rather so casually. When
deep down inside I wanted to scream, cry, shout FINALLY!! I knew what was about to Happen.
So I asked if I could call her back.. I wanted to video tape the call. That was so hard to say.
So with in 10 minutes I called her back. Of course she was talking to another parent. So I
waited about 15 more minutes. The phone rang in my department. It was Betty, OMG
here we go the tears started. It was 9:27 am exactly. She said and I quote " She is apsolutely
beautiful" and again I felt like the world was ours. That is the same exact feeling on the day we
the call about Makena. Next, she said that our baby is 16 months old. She was born on 4-9-2007. The tears and all of the racing of heart. I could barely control my emotions. There
was many more details about that call. But that will be for Kaia to hear one day when she
is old enough to understand. I just thought that it will so important to journal my thoughts
on this wonderful day.

Love to you Kaia Li Na Case,
Mommy

Where are Momma and Babba?

Come and get me already!!!! Momma, here are your flowers!! She

is apsolutely perfect for us. We can't wait to meet her. We love

you Kaia Li Na Case.

Love

Momma, Babba, and Makena

Where's My Hair????

We got this updated pix today. I Love her face. Isn't she the cutest baby you've ever

seen? Well, besides Makena!!! Look at those lips. I can't wait to kiss those cheeks.

Her hair is gone. I think that it was shaved for summer. It gets so hot where she

lives. They have no air. Hold ON KAIA. Mommy's on her way>>>>

Surprise!!!!!!!!!! Are you guys coming yet?? I love this picture.
She will fit right in with our family. I can't wait to kiss those cheeks.


Love,
Nikki

We got the Call!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She is adoreable. I can't post any pictures yet. We will get the real pictures on Thursday.
So I will try it then. Well here is what we know. She is 16 months, has tons of hair,
is from Guangxi Province. She resides at Yingyexian SWI. We are thrilled beyond words.
Take it from her Mommy she is so bueatiful. Until Thursday.

Blessings,
Nikki

Are We There Yet???

Hi,
Ok so it is Sunday and will we here anything concrete this next week? I have feeling
we may. It sure does seem like we are in a dream. I can hardly believe that we are
going to find out who our child is. Maybe with in the next week or so. I'm still gaurding
my heart. I haven't told as many people. I'm going to wait until we actually get the call.
So for now, it's off to work. We have so many things to finish before we go to China.
Hopefully on Tuesday I will have more to tell.

Love,
Nikki

Getting nervous and sad abouth the Quake

Hi,
I just read on RQ that there was another Quake in China. It saddens me that 3 lives have
been taken. Many lives have been affected. But at the same time I am excited and nervous
about our referral. I hate to be selfish. Especially in China's time of need and sorrow. I will
pray for these families. I will pray for our Daughter's safety. Maybe there will be no more
tragedy for China' people as the after affects from the earth quake. As we inch closer to our
daughter I hope that she is safe, loved, and comforted.

Love,
Nikki
One lucky Mommy to Joel, Makena, and soon to be another.

So we are not in for August

Ok so we didn't make it to the cut off this month. The CCAA only did til the 31st of Jan. But
really only 2 days worth. We are techinically the next lid 2-6-06. The question is will be in
September. I sure do hope so. This month was so hard. But at least I know that we are on
the bubble for next month.. Makena started kindergarden last Tuesday and it has not been
easy for any of us. She didn't do well at her after school day care. So I switch her to another
and today was her first day there. She cried today but did eat her lunch. That is an improvement from the other place. That's a story all of it's own. It' hard letting go of child.
To allow try to trust others to educate and care for them. I have cried so much. I don't let
her see me. But it is not easy to put on a smile and tell her she'll be ok there. She loves her
kindergarden class. So that helps alot. For now I will enjoy the days we do have together until
she is gone all day to school. I will encourage her to like daycare. I will pray for the safety and
love for our next little precious girl.

Love,
Nikki

Mamaw and cousin Sophia and Makena

No News yet tihis week????

Well, there is really no update from our agency yet. But we are hoping something will happen
next week. I go back and forth with are we in or not. I have a deep feeling that we are. I can't
stand it. I want to know who she is. This is just to exciting. Makena is asking more often "when
is she coming home"? I tell her soon maybe in 10 weeks. She carries on after that. We are
putting the baby bed together this weekend. I'm hoping to bring home some toys from Dad's.
I have been working a second job at a retirement home. I do enjoy it. It' relaxing but at times
can be very busy. It is definitley a different kind of nursing. That's it for now.

Love,
Nikki

Blogging is hard

Hi all,
I am having a hard time trying to view our blog without signing in. So I am hoping to
to get it right by the time we have our referral. This blog will not be a public blog.
Only for family and friends. Especially for Makena to be able to see pix of her new
sister. I am hoping to send her messages everyday. Of course we will call her as often
as we can. I will continue to work on this blog thing. I know it's not very creative but
it's all I can do for now.

Nikki

New picture

Hi,
I had a picture of Joel and Makena on her orginally. But it was moved for some reason.
So I just added another at the end of the Blog. Make sure you check it out.

Nikki

No Rumors Yet??

Hi,
Just thought I would post a quick one. There are no rumors yet. But I'm hoping
for next week. This is a nervous and exciting time in our life. It is so surreal. Some
where in China our child is sleeping and we are 6000 miles away thinking of her.

Nikki

Can I say that we are NEXT>???

I want to believe that we are next. But I'm alittle scared to put 100% on it.
Spoke with Betty today from our agency and She feels that we will have
our referral in August. But i'm not putting all of my heart out there to
be crushed. Believe me, it has been crused a thousand times over.
This has been alot harder wait then it was for Makena. Her adoption
was so fast. For now we will continue to enjoy our lives and get ready
for our newest litttle member. Love to all,

Nikki

Are We Next Next???

It is now June and I can say that we maybe next next. That will put us with an August referral.
There is so much excitement in this house. Makena is finally going to have another sibling. We will finally have our child and family will be complete. We have been very busy trying to finish
the windows and getting the bedroom ready. So hopefully the next time I post we will be one
month out from our child. Yaaaaaaaaaaaahooooooooooooo!!!!

Nikki

Mommy and her Girl

Dave and Makena

Makena and her Daddy. No words can describe

the Love between them.

I Love this little girl

I love this picture of makena's little hands

and mine. she is apsolutely precious. this was taken in 2007 not 2003. i don't know why my

camera keeps posting 2003.

It's still going

March 29,2008
Just time for a quick update. So far the CCAA has gotten to 1-4-06 for March and I can't even
remember what Feb. was. At least we are finally moving up. We are hoping for a referral no later then June. It would be nice to have the kids together before Makena starts kindergarten.
For now we are trying to get the house in order. Here are a few more random pictures.

Love,
Nikki

The wait goes on and on

Is it ever going to end?? I do wonder sometimes if we will ever get our referral. They have only placed children up to Dec.19th, 2oo5. That is not much improvement since last month. We are still looking at least 6 more months or more. That's even pushing it. Life does go on. But I sure
do want our baby home. Today I was looking at videos of Makena's adoption journey. Bitter sweet and complete joy are the words that come to mind. You never forget the feeling you have the first time that you hold your child. Today just reminded me how lucky we are to have her.
She was the sweetest baby. Now, she is the ironist but still sweet, even at 4 years of age. For now we will continue on our long journey and be grateful for the things that we do have.

Love,
Nikki