Almost There!

I cannot believe I am actually writing this post saying that in just TWO short days my son and I will be flying to Beijing, China to bring a new son into our family!  Wow!  Wow wow wow!  Words cannot express the emotions and the excitement right now.  God has been so good to us.  Without Him none of this would have been possible.  He has carried us through the ups and downs, the uncertainties and the victories in this whole adventure and He has shown us every step of the way that He will provide a way for us to do His will if we just remain faithful!  He has used His people to aid us and encourage us every step of the way on this journey as well and it has been so uplifting!  I know He will guard and guide us and keep us safe as we step out into a foreign land to bring this child home.

There are so many things going through my mind right now it is hard to keep it all straight.  There are the logistics of it all-- making sure my bags are packed with everything we will need, making sure they don't weigh too much, thinking of all the necessities as well as some fun things to keep two teenage boys occupied for two weeks!  There is the paperwork we have still yet to receive from our agency but which is due to arrive today, the paperwork I need to remember to bring with us, the money I need to have and to top it all off a snowstorm which is hindering me from being able to get out and get some of my last minute errands done!!

 I tell ya, so many obstacles have come our way.....the house fire recently and now LOTS of snow.  But I am confident that God will overcome any of these obstacles.  He always does.  They might have made things more difficult for us-- being out of our home for two weeks, and now not having my regular computer or my printer and fax which I have relied on heavily, or ice covered roads preventing me from now going somewhere to make those copies I need to bring!!-- but maybe this is God's way of testing me, testing my resilience and endurance. No matter what things are put in my way, this adoption will get done! 

In addition now the NBC is saying they are behind on processing our paperwork, along with many other families' paperwork, because of the recent weather.  Our agency was hoping we would be a bit more ahead by now.  We still probably won't get our TA until we travel which means we won't know what day our consulate appointment is until after we get to China.  We are praying that it is one of the days we requested so that we don't have to wait until after the Chinese New Year.  That would make us stay in-country another 10 days!!  This would incur much more expense and also mean that I would be away from my family for a month!  Please pray for our appointment to be either the 25th or 26th as requested and that all our paperwork continues to move forward on time!!

As many others have told me, we would not have been enabled to come this far by He who sees all things, just to have it all end now.  We have to stay strong, believe and have faith, and move forward. 

I absolutely cannot wait for our Gotcha Day this Sunday January 16th!  To actually see my child's face for the first time and to be able to embrace him and introduce him to his new brother will certainly be one of the greatest moments of my life.  Just like a birth, it is looked forward to with much anticipation as well as anxiety.  But rather than worrying over labor pains, I will be worrying about adjustments, transitions and all the pains that come with him acclimating to a new family, a new language, a new culture and a new life. Right now my husband and I do not even know if he knows we are coming.  He might have been told by now or he might not have.  We worry about how he will feel about this news, if he will be excited that he is coming home to America, or perhaps not.  We know that the love and the bond will take time to form, we just can't wait to begin that process.  It is an exciting time for our whole family!

Please take a look at the video below and listen to the words.  I cannot wait for the day when I can put pictures of our family, complete with our newest son, to this video and KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that he is OURS and that he finally has a HOME!!!!!  All his fears will be relieved, his anxiety about not knowing what his future holds can come to an end, he will have a family to love him forever and a home to return to whenever he needs to feel love.  God will have finally given him a home. Keep us in your prayers!