journey of a blessed family

Sorry to have not shared this sooner...like a couple days ago when we got 'the call', but Praise God...Travel Approval has arrived from China. Basically this means they sent a letter inviting us to come get our child, but then our agency had to request a US Consulate appointment and our travel dates all hinge on that appointment date. Well, the first few days they wanted are already full, so it's looking likely that our consulate appointment will be on Monday, March 16 which means we would need to leave for Beijing on Wednesday, March 4 and would get back home on Wednesday, March 18. These dates are tentative and won't be confirmed until at least Tuesday or possibly Wednesday as the US Consulate is closed on Monday for President's Day (Yes, even in China...go figure...but it IS a US holiday and they are a US office...) There's still a slim possibility that we may get a March 11 consulate appointment putting us on a plane to China on February 25, but I think this is less likely.

I want to thank you all for your continued prayers...this past month has been easy, peasy compared to the several months that preceded it and I have just felt the calm and peace of God knowing that things were finally progressing as they should and we will soon have G in our arms. If we travel on the dates I originally told you (3/4-18) we should have 'Gotcha Day' on March 8th or 9th...THAT MEANS WE WILL MEET OUR SON IN LESS THAN A MONTH FROM NOW!! I've been absolutely giddy with delight and joy knowing that it's almost time...I saw that precious face in a photo some 17 months ago and we've been actively pursuing him for more than 15...That's a LOOOONG pregnancy, let me tell ya...like nearly elephant gestation!!

But don't let me fool you...I'm also more than a little anxious even after planning and preparing for so many months, I'm thinking, "I'm not ready!!" "The house is a mess!" "I can't remember what to do with a 3 year old" "No more evenings curled up in bed watching 'House' and reading adoption blogs on the internet" "WHAT HAVE WE GOTTEN OURSELVES INTO!!" ?? :-) But, of course, I know exactly what we've gotten ourselves into...into just what God asked of us, that's what.

I spent the morning at church celebrating 'Orphan Awareness'...telling a brief bit of my motivation behind this adoption and singing a song that has quickly become a favorite (Sara Groves' I Saw What I Saw)...it was a precious morning...I spent this evening with my closest friend who is waiting for LOA for her 4th adoption (please joing me in praying that she gets news this week) and we lamented over the slowness of both of our processes this year, but also talked about things to come in just a few short weeks for both of us...it was a precious evening...Amidst the uncertainty of what our exact dates are or whether things will go smoothly as we finish out this process, I feel very calm and at peace. I can only attribute that to our faithful God who is holding me and to the prayers of the faithful lifting us up...it has been a precious weekend.

I'll be sure to let you know when we get the confirmation of our dates...blessings ~ D