In God's Timing....

Today we got a call alright...but not the call we wanted....We got the call that our dossier looks perfect EXCEPT two of my blood tests were dated last March and that is too long ago for China. Sooooo, now I have to get some more blood work done. It's a long story and there are more emotions to it then that but I'll spare you the details.

I was sooooooooo bummed today when that call came. But luckily it came at a moment when all of my children were there and watching me....watching every detail of how I responded and dealt with this news. After Jorie watched me for a few moments of disappointment she said, "give God the glory, mom."

Tonight, after I have had a few hours to process, I am thinking of how God's timing is ALWAYS perfect and how thankful I am for my sweet daughter to remind me of the bigger picture. When it comes down to it, we are all here on this earth to give glory to God, when things go our way and when they don't. Because we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, whether we understand it at the time or not. He is in control of everything and He allowed this minor set-back to happen. I am so thankful for His sovereignty and the gift of a daughter to remind me of that when I most need it. I give God all praise and all glory for His perfect ways and perfect timing....even though my dossier is still sitting in Eugene.

On a lighter note, tonight we took the kids bowling for the first time. We like to reserve Friday nights for just the 5 of us and do something fun and totally focused on the kids. Of course I had to take the camera along for their first time......

Safety first.

okay, seriously this ball took a minute, maybe hours, to make it this far and then...

..it started rolling backwards. that would be Caleb's ball. it was so funny.

and then the little rascal goes and gets a spare...are you kidding me?

Luke celebrating not getting a gutter ball.

the granny shot.





This may not be his sport.

....or her sport....

CALEB.....get back here!!!!!!!

momma's baby

Let me tell ya, our family was quite a sight....

Entering the next phase....."Waiting".....

Today was a very big day of our adoption journey. Marc and I and the boys took our official dossier down to our agency's headquarters in Eugene and handed it off to the wonderful people who have been helping us with this whole process.

We handed over a pack of paperwork that has taken 6 months to compile. I felt like I was handing them a million dollars. Yes, we still have to wait for their phone call to tell us that our dossier looks good enough (in other words, perfect) to send to China. (I am very optimistic about this.) But in the meantime I am celebrating. Celebrating the fact that for the first time in 6 months I have nothing to work on, no paperwork to think or fret about. We have handed it off and now it lays in the hands of our agency and hopefully very soon in the hands of the Chinese government. No more paperwork to do but still much to pray about!

The other blessing of the day was meeting 6 of the people that work on the "China Team" at our agency. What a beautiful happy group of people. It was obvious that they love their job. They kept saying what a blessing it was to them too to get to meet us because they so often are just dealing with a bunch of paper. Ya know, matching one family on paper to a baby only known to them on paper. They made us promise to come visit again with our Chinese baby. I definitely plan on doing this and taking them all lunch too! I was fighting back the tears when talking to them today. I am sooooo thankful for the support and help they have been to us in this process. We couldn't have done any of this without them.

Now we sit and pray and wait. We are waiting for two phone calls. One should come in a few days telling us that our dossier is on it's way to China. The other phone call could come at any time telling us that they have matched our family with a sweet baby girl. We also wait for China to send us our "Letter of Approval" which should come in 3-5 months.

My heart/mind/emotions: Perfect peace and totally excited!

Quote of the day:

(from Caleb as he was looking at the pictures of Chinese babies at the agency.)

"Is this the kid we're going to buy?"

A Warm February Afternoon

What it feels like.....

Quote from a book, The Strength of Mercy, describing the real feeling of expecting a child....

"From that moment a child began to grow in our hearts. Just as physical conception is necessary to bring a child into this world, so a conception has to take place in the heart if two people are going to bring a child into their lives through adoption. We didn't have a blood test to prove her existence. I couldn't hold a piece of paper in my hand to verify her reality by the latest ultrasound. But God's promise of a child was as real as any physical pregnancy. A daughter was conceived in our hearts just as surely as if she had been conceived in my own body."

I am totally amazed at the wild and wide range of emotions and feelings and experiences that come with the adoption process. This week I have been overwhelmed with the reality of it all and how my mother-instincts are so strong for my Chinese baby. I found this above quote and it was nice to read what I was feeling. It is so real. Something that no one could fully understand unless you've been there.

February Adoption Update

Well, basically the "January Adoption Memories" went something like this: "...waiting...waiting....waiting....."

I sort of emotionally disengaged because nothing was happening and the whole process seemed not real and never ending. We had completed a lot of paperwork and I didn't even have the emotional energy to apply for any grants, except one, that we haven't heard back from.

Blah, blah, blah.

But, folks, it is a new month! February is bringing a bit more excitement. On Saturday we received our US immigration form that was suppose to take between 90-120 days to receive back. For us, the form took only 52 days to get back. (yes, I was counting.) So today Marcus and I worked diligently at finishing up the last two forms needed for our dossier and as we speak (or as I write this) they are en route to the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco to be authenticated. Woooo hoooo. I realize this means nothing to you. But it means soooooooo much to us. Lord willing we should receive those last two forms back in the mail in a couple weeks and will then drive them down to our agency's headquarters in Eugene and hand deliver our dossier. They will carefully go over all of our documents that we have been working on and gathering for the last 6 months and then mail our dossier to China for us. It'll be tight but there is a possibility that our dossier will be in China by the end of February.

Gotta love February!

As for my "emotional engagement"? I am back in it and ready to bring my daughter home! This month it is feeling more real. As for Marcus, steady as always. He has been excited and ready since day one.

Happy Birthday to Marcus!!!!

Yesterday was Marc's birthday. He worked so me and the kids gathered our presents, made a cake, and headed up to pour on our birthday love to the man of the family!The kids ALWAYS enjoy visiting their dad at work and I think Marc appreciated us coming up to remind him of how much we do love him.

As we were arriving at the fire station I reminded the kids that we were there to be with dad, not necessarily "play".....at which point Luke belted out, "I'm here for cake!!!!"