The Excellence of Love

Love is patient; love is kind and envies no one.
Love is never boastful, nor conceited, nor rude;
never selfish, not quick to take offense.
There is nothing love cannot face;
there is no limit to its faith,
its hope, and endurance.
In a word, there are three things
that last forever: faith, hope, and love;
but the greatest of them all is love.
1 Corinthians 13:4



Ila made the perfect Valentine date since Scott is in Los Angeles. We went to dance class, had lunch with Grandma and rode the merry go round at the Mall of America. Ila wore her t-shirt that says "love" in Chinese. We had such a great day! She is the sunshine of my life, my peanut, my Ila Marie -- and I couldn't love her more. The other day she asked why pictures of her baby sister's room were on the computer and there wasn't one of hers...here's my response:



We are really missing Ya-Ya and just found out that we most likely won't be getting an update on her this month. With Chinese New Year happening, it looks like updates won't go out until March. We are so bummed! We picked out a special teddy bear for her today and will be shipping a care package to her soon. The good news is that our dossier was sent to Taiwan on February 1st! Yippee!! TECO is done. Legal paperwork is done. So now we are literally just waiting for some news... February isn't the best month to be bored in Minnesota especially with temps below zero. We may have to plan a vacation to help pass the time!

Peace, Lani

Ya-Ya's Room

"Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish." -- John Quincy Adams

Today Ya-Ya is 20 months old. It is becoming increasingly difficult not to be with her. I am grateful that time seems to be moving along but patience is something I need more of. On Monday, I finished all the legal paperwork, had everything authenticated by the Secretary of State and then sent it all to TECO (Taipei Economic and Cultural Office) in Chicago. So we are finally done with paperwork! We wait now to enter the court process. And wait to get word that we've had a first hearing (although I hear that St. Lucy's often skips this step!) or possibly move right to the first ruling.



I am almost finished with her room -- complete with her Ling doll that speaks Mandarin and English! From time to time, Ila wanders in there and finds a toy that she hasn't seen in a year and decides it is her new favorite. The closet needs to be filled but I am waiting to get an update on Ya-Ya to better guess what size she will be wearing. I hope to get more pictures of her in the next couple of weeks. I want to get the girls some of the same outifts too and hope that will help the two of them bond. My friend Joan already help start the project by sending us two adorable dresses! (Thanks Joan -- SO cute!!) I am also waiting to find out if Ya-Ya is in a bed already. Most likely she is in some sort of family bed situation which we definitely will be doing with her at home as well. So the crib may never get used! And since the windchill here in Minnesota is -24, it will be a while until the dresses get used too!

Peace, Lani