We began looking into adoption during the Fall of 2007. In January of '08, our friend Amy let us know of an adoption agency in Alabama (Villa Hope, who we would totally recommend to anyone considering adoption) that had the paper work of a chinese girl, Gong Pingqiao; which was about to be sent back to China. In a matter of only a few hours, Valerie had gotten in contact with the agency and Gong Pingqiao (soon to be Imerie) was "on hold" for us pending our approval with the adoption process. We have been able to keep in touch with the orphanage and her foster family with letters and sending pictures. I've included a few pictures of her from the past two years. Imerie was born with a cleft lip and cleft palate. "Love without Boundaries" did the operation on her lip, which is the before and after picture. The older picture is with her foster family at the playground. I can't wait to see a smile on that face.
