Zachary He Pin Kragel

I was just looking back at our first post on this blog and it doesn't seem possible that this day is here. It started on November 11, 2006 when we mailed our application to our agency. We were expecting to receive a referral at the end of '08 or beginning of '09 but--oh wait, that's what happened! There have been a few twists and turns along the way, but that's for another time.

Without further ado, we would like to introduce you to Zachary He Pin Kragel.

Zachary is in an orphanage in Datong City in Shanxi province in China. It's about three hours from Bejing.

He is just over 2.5' tall and weighs 24 lbs. Zach has a cleft lip and palate, so we will be doing a little surgery when we get back to the states.

Our agency is estimating that we will be traveling to get him in May. His birthday is Aug 3, 2007, so we'll get to celebrate his second birthday with him.

Zachary is a Hebrew name. It means "God has remembered." We couldn't think of a more appropriate name. His middle name, "He Pin" is his Chinese name. It's pronounced something like Hwuh' Peen. It means "peaceful quality."

Our agency received a letter of acceptance from the CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) today and informed up this afternoon. So we have been calling family all night.

I'm sure we'll think of more to post, but those are the basics.

Thank you all so much for your support and prayers the past 2+ years.