hair day!

On Friday I took Iona to an AA salon for the first time to get her hair done. The appointment was during her naptime, so I was nervous about how it would go.

She did so well! She was almost falling asleep at times. The stylist showed me how to detangle her hair without her screaming. I was shocked that Iona only said once that it hurt.

I was so impressed! And I loved the atmosphere in the salon. The ladies were even sharing scripture with each other! I wish I got a picture of her hair all detangled and out, because it was amazing, but I'm sure I will see it again like that sometime. The stylist detangled and braided all in an hour and a half!

Iona fell asleep on the way home, and then as soon as we walked inside she woke up. I set her up with a video and got these photos. She was so tired.

A funny: She went to the bathroom while we were there, and while we were in the bathroom, Iona points to the garbage at the hair extensions and says, "Mom, someone left their hair in there."

timeline and travel

For those who care, this is our list of dates when we reached each step of the process of Brendan's adoption:

Dossier to China: 3/11/2011

Log-in date: 3/18/2011

Date of referral: 12/10/2010

Letter of Intent: 12/16/2010

Pre-approval: 12/27/2010

Referral acceptance: 5/7/2011

Travel approval: 7/12/2011

Travel dates: 8/4/2011 through 8/19/2011

We leave in 2.5 weeks! Crazy! We have a couple house projects we are trying to finish up, and otherwise we are checking travel things off the list. My computer was very sick this weekend and we had to buy a new one...while I'm happy with the new one, I wish it could have happened in a month or two!

I will try to post a little more in the coming days and weeks, and I'll try to post daily while we are in China.

Please pray:

--for protection around our family before, during, and after our trip.

--for our kiddos here at home.

--for peace for us that our kiddos are here at home.

--good travel...we had such a horrid experience getting to Ethiopia that I am dreading this trip.

--good relationships built with the two families we are traveling with. We don't know anything about them yet.

--for our first meeting with Brendan to be peaceful, and us to minister to him well if it is not.

--for Brendan to be mentally and emotionally prepared for all the changes about to take place in his life.

--for God to heal his eyes, whether supernaturally or through the doctors here in the states.

--for us to be able to communicate with Brendan and vice versa.

--for our trip home with Brendan (and no translators!) to be smooth and fun.

--for Aidan and Iona to bond well with Brendan.

--for our first days, weeks, and months home to go well.

--for me to finish preparing for our homeschooling year and to know when we are ready to begin.

--anything else the Lord brings to your mind!