WE ARE MATCHED!!

On Monday, we received Pre-Approval from China for our precious daughter!! 

Introducing...Lexa Joeley Lloyd!

We received her file to look at on November 9, after inquiring about her from our Adoption Agency.  When we saw those chubby cheeks, and that precious face, we knew she was a Lloyd.  There was just something about the look on her face...and we just knew.  As we read her file, and conferred with doctors it was hard.  They really couldn't give us a lot of information about her condition without seeing her.  Despite that, we just felt in our hearts that she was ours.  She is 2 1/2 years old and we are still unsure to the extent of her special need.  As with any adoption, it is a step of faith.  We know that she had low-birth weight and possible mild cp, but we really won't know much until she is home and seen by specialists.  We are so excited and the waiting is so very hard.  It is so difficult to feel in your heart that you have a child that is half the world away.

We chose the name Lexa, meaning defender of mankind.  We thought we had a middle name picked out, but after talking with a friend who has 3 adopted girls, she recommended using a special family name for the middle name.  She said it means so much to her girls that they have that special family name. After losing my brother this year, his name was the obvious one to us.  (see previous post)  We took part of his first name and part of his middle name to get Joeley (Joel Wesley).  And it actually sounds awesome together!! Lexa Joeley. 

I pray for her all the time.  Praying that someone is showing her love.  Praying for the very difficult transition that lies ahead of her.  Praying for her to continue progressing physically and academically.  Praying that the spirit of abandonment and rejection would be broken from her life forever. 

While we are getting closer to the adoption, the truth is, we have some mountains to jump.  While we have been able to pay each step of the way so far, we still need about $15,000 to $18,000 to bring her home.  This includes all kinds of government fees and travel.  If you feel lead to help with the adoption costs, and would like to send a tax deductible donation, please sent your donation to:

Dove Christian Fellowship Elizabethtown
5 East Park St., Elizabethtown, PA 17022
(please write "adoption fund" on the memo line and do not write our names)

You can also donate by clicking on the chip-in box to the right of this post.  The next step of this process costs about $6,000 (authentication/dossier fees).  We would like to get this done asap, but need about $1500 more to do it.  The chip-in box goes directly to help with this.

We appreciate all of the prayers and encouragement that many of you have given along the way.  We will continue to keep you updated!!  Thank you!