update: alyssa is here!!!

random photos of the last two days... her personality is precious! and like we thought, her teeth are very messed up. numerous cavities. she will probably push greg out of first place for most time spent in the dentist chair :)

organizing her crayons. again. :)

on the sidewalk out front. lots of decorations everywhere for the upcoming TET holiday.

a little glimpse of the attitude :)

skipping and hopping on one foot while waiting for her 'medical' exam.

praising God from the other side of the world! alyssa was allowed to be taken from the orphanage and her parents are over the moon! she weighs 9.5 lbs. at 1 year and although very little, she seems alert and inquisitive. they took her straight to the western clinic and she checked okay! some of the moms of babies are thinking that the babies have been fed rice water and not formula which could explain the lack of body weight. all the babies weigh between 9.5 and 13 lbs. and they are all right at one year old... i am grateful that God allowed these 10 kids to come to America because they were baring surviving, let alone thriving. most of the families are dealing with varying levels of intestinal parasites, pneumonia, ruptured eardrum, and EXTREME scabies....

phoebe is doing amazing still! she seems to like me....alot! she kisses both cheeks (no lips :) and last night i had tears from being homesick and she wiped my tears. she did not like seeing me sad. she seems to be happy, except for when it is time to leave. that is an awesome answer to honestly hundreds of prayers by me and you. she wraps her arms around me in bed. when i tell her to say hi to someone she says 'say hi'. and she throws trash out the hotel door. picks up trash, goes and opens the door, throws it out, shuts the door. she has done that at two other places we have been at...taken off, and she is throwing her trash on the sidewalk. another behavior we'll work on later :) she is still very organized! she lines her things on her little desk area. puts crayons away methodically, puts her hair paraphanelia in piles by type, folds her blanket and anything else she sees that needs folded. martha already has dibs on her if it doesn't work out with us :)

thank you so very much for all the prayers. to know friends are following along with us is so cool. it helps me feel connected to my little corner of the world. and thanks to all of you who have taken the time to also post comments! as many others have said, it is a highlight of my day! thank you from the bottom of my heart. i know it is cold and snowy at home....it is hot here so we will try and bring so of that home :)

.... xoxoxoxo