We have prayed, waited, filled out forms, gotten things notarized, and prayed more. We announced recently to family and friends that we have officially been matched to our precious son!
Adoption #2 timeline:
7/27/15 - home study application approved
9/16/15 - home study approved
9/22/15 - referral!
9/24/15 - LOI (Letter of Intent) sent to China
9/26/15 - I800a sent
9/28/15 - PA (Pre-Approval given to us by China)
10/14/15 - I797 received
10/24/15 - We officially have all our dossier paperwork ready to be sent to China. (Happy birthday to me!)
God has been faithfully preparing all of us for each other. My constant prayer this time around has been that you are healthy and receiving loving care. Those two requests run through my heart and mind constantly. I have faith God hears my prayers, and for that I cannot even put my gratitude into words. I have experienced His answered prayers, and I can rely on my Savior once more. He will prove faithful!
I'm looking back on my personal journal right now. In August, Willow was often singing at night "He's got the brothers and the sisters in His hands; He's got the whole world in His hands!" Our troop of people began showing us support once more with a surprise grant from our church. What we have discovered is that if God calls us to something, He provides. Thank you for being His hands and feet in our lives, Church at the Cross.
We will fight. We will fight every day until we are with you, and we will fight for your best possible life every day after that!
In late September, we took Willow to preschool and Kyle decided to take a day to work from home. We had to go by the police station to get 'no arrest' letters, and we had a lot to get notarized. So, we started the day with brunch at Main Street Bakery, a special place to us that we discovered before moving to Grapevine. Kyle got a call from our agency saying they had information about a boy, a little boy who was not yet one. Kyle stood in the hall by the piano for long enough that I knew something was up, so I mouthed, "Is it referral?" His answer was a quick grin. I hovered around the phone trying to get any kind of information that I could, breakfast abandoned. We learned that this child also has transposition of great arteries; however, he has a different, more common variation of it than Willow.
After painstakingly waiting at the police station to take care of paperwork business that had to be done, we ran home to learn about our child. We looked at the medical and developmental information about this precious boy, quickly realizing that we understood the lingo much better this time, specifically regarding his CHD. We had two reactions to learning about our son's heart. We laughed, because we had thought we wanted a child with something a little easier to handle medically. We cried, because it doesn't matter how your child comes to you; you cry and grieve at any of their medical problems or physical struggles. The overwhelming feelings and thoughts we recognized as God's guidance, which led us to certainty that this boy is ours. We could not believe how quickly we got a referral. God shocked us with speed this time around, and it made the experience so joyous and fun, for us and for our families!
That shocking, beautiful moment:
My verse of the day was:
Willow's initial reaction when we showed her a picture of him on the computer was to slightly cock her head and say sweetly, "Awwww!" To watch her develop and express deep, true love for her baby brother before meeting him has been beautiful. The other day she watched a - get this- VIDEO CLIP we received in a recent update of our guy (swoon). I always kind of discreetly watch her reactions to him, and her reaction is always one of love. It baffled me in the beginning, because she is great with older kids but always highly jealous of babies or younger kiddos. Recently I taught Willow "Tomorrow" by Annie the Musical. At dinner one night she changed the words to "Tian Ze, Tian Ze, I love ya, Tian Ze! You're only a day away!" As a family, we all immediately felt intense love for our son, and we also instantly felt lonely for him.
"I run in the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart free."
Psalm 119:32
Here are some songs that encouraged my soul the day we made it official:
-'Glorious Unfolding' by Steven Curtis Chapman
-'Voice of Truth' by Casting Crowns
-'Cast My Cares' by Finding Favour
I had a hard time on my baby boy's first birthday, even though we made it special by sharing our news with some friends. It was a very weird, difficult day to be apart.
This time around, waiting for our sweet son has been heart wrenching. I think the last time we waited, I was so accustomed to it and things took a long time to feel real. This time, I know this is really happening. I also know how much each day matters. So much can happen- so much growth and change- very quickly. It has been challenging to accept that we will have to wait a while now that we've seen and understood more about our youngest.
We didn't really understand how our son got heart surgery in his position. We recently learned in an update that his facility has a preschool that he gets to participate in and has given the nannies quality training. Half the Sky, recently changing their name to One Sky, is an organization I had heard about and knew was wonderful. I never expected that our child would be receiving some extra attention and care through something like this, but he is! Just like Willow did through Show Hope! There are so many similarities to their stories. Because these good people made it a life calling to help and nurture orphans in China, our son reaps a massive benefit. This is a critical developmental time in his life that we can't get back. What beautiful relief to us; we are so helpless to go to our crying, hungry, or upset child. Please, God, continue to give him nannies who are willing to work hard in an effort to show love.
There have been many treasured moments God has given us post-'taking the leap' and making a decision on him that have confirmed this. The same thing happened the first time we adopted. Thank You, God, for Your goodness and kindness in affirming our family.
Expectant and proud and overjoyed!
Amber
P.S. We've named our boy Jonas!
