The Century Club

 
In the adoption world, we have joined a very unpopular club.  As of today, we have joined the other families who have waited 100 days or more for their Letter of Acceptance from the Chinese government.  No one wants to join this club.  In fact, you are lucky if you don't have to be in it.  But here we are, and there is not anything we can do but be patient, wait, and pray for it to come soon.  I have tried to stay busy with projects, time with the girls, visiting with family and friends to keep my mind off of it.  Some days are better than others.  Today has been hard...I really didn't think we'd have to wait 100+ days.  Today I have wanted to do something for James, to focus on James, to think of James.  Inspired by another Mom, I decided to make a list of a 100 things I can't wait to do when James is home.  The rest of the family got in on the action too.

100 things I can't wait to do when James is home:

1.  Kissing his cheeks
2.  Snuggling him when he's sleepy
3.  Making him giggle
4.  Holding him for the first time
5.  Reading him books
6.  Singing him songs
7.  Bathing him
8.  Watching him play with his sisters in the bath
9.  Rolling a ball with him
10.  Watching Brad with his son
11.  Watching him sleep
12.  Watching him fall asleep
13.  Praying over him in my arms
14.  Listening to him laugh
15.  Feeding him
16.  Seeing him sleep in his crib
17.  Watching him crawling down our hall
18.  Feeling him fall asleep in my arms
19.  Soothing him when he cries
20.  Kissing his angel lips
21.  Feeling him kiss me
22.  Hearing him say MaMa
23.  Haring him laughing with his sisters
24.  Taking him on walks
25.  Watching him play with the dogs
26.  Seeing him 'see' things for the first time
27.  Rocking him in his rooms
28.  Giving him treats
29.  Tickling him
30.  Counting his piggy toes
31.  Waking up with him HERE
32.  Seeing him in the backseat of my car
33.  Seeing his sisters take care of him
34.  Watching him play with his new toys
35.  Teaching him new words
36.  Holding his little hands
37.  Seeing him grow up
38.  Celebrating his achievements - big and small
39.  Being the first one he sees after his surgeries
40.  Tucking him in at night
41.  Comforting him when he gets hurt
42.  Teaching him how to pray
43.  Seeing my children playing together
44.  Playing with him at the park
45.  Saying "my son"
46.  Family pictures with the 5 of us
47.  Watching him with his cousins
48.  Introducing him to friends
49.  Cuddling with him on the couch
50.  Introducing new foods to him
51.  Hearing him run down the hallway
52.  Seeing his sisters share with him
53.  Showing him unconditionally love
54.  Teaching him to ride a bike
55.  Butterfly kisses
56.  Eskimo kisses
57.  Ladybug kisses
58.  Sloth kisses
59.  Taking him to the movies
60.  Making him smoothies and milkshakes
61.  Playing with boy toys
62.  Seeing him play with his boy cousins
63.  Realizing he trusts me
64.  Celebrating the day he has been home 1 year
65.  Bed head
66.  Being exhausted from sleepless nights
67.  Seeing his grandparents fall in love with him
68.  Doing crafts with him
69.  Hearing him sing
--- from Lillianna:
70.  Giving him a very colorful stuffed animal
71.  Showing him the outside world, like a frog
72.  Giving him as much kisses and hugs as I can
73.  Letting him know we are his family
74.  Giving him his first bite of ice cream
---from Ellenie:
75.  Go to Build a Bear with him
76.  Bring him to the beach
77.  Show him how to draw a picture
78.  For him to see Boone and Belle (our dogs)
79.  Show him our house
--- from Brad:
80.  Show him our garden
81.  See him walk at the park and take family walks
82.  Watch Alabama football games with him
83.  Teach him how to swim
84.  Put him to bed in his room
85.  Take him to the hunting camp
86.  Ride in a golf cart
87.  Cut his hair
88.  Love on him
89.  Wrestle with him
90.  Take him for ice cream
--- back to me:
91.  Hearing him call for his sisters
92.  Seeing him run to me
93.  Knowing he is happy
94.  Taking him to see his grandparents
95.  Taking him to see Brad at work
96.  Taking his picture
97.  Knowing he is close by
98.  Knowing he is going to be with us forever
99.  Meeting his needs
100.  Thanking God he is home.

90 days

Today is the 90th day we have been waiting for a document from China.  The wait for this important piece of paper ranges from 30 to 100 days, usually.  So as looooooooooooong and difficult as this wait has felt, surely we are almost to the end.  This document, known as a LOA or Letter of Acceptance, is the next big step in our paper work dance to our son.  Knowing that its paper work, or governmental red tape, keeping us from him can be frustrating.  Especially when I think of how each day is so important, so vital, to his development.  But I'm trusting the timing of this journey to God and I know that one day soon I won't count how many days I had to wait to hold him but will be thankful for how many days I will hold him.

I also know God has used this time to create a deep love for him in all of our hearts and quite a deep longing for him in his Mama's heart.  The girls talk about him like he'll be here tomorrow, planning this activity to do with him or what they want to show him.  I think of him and pray for him what seems like unceasingly throughout each day, picturing how I'll do things once he's here, getting his room ready...just imagining life with him.  Then there are all the times I look at the clock and calculate instantly 13 hours ahead, picturing what he is doing at that moment.  I can't wait for him to be here, to be home.

It does make it better that it's Summertime and we've been busy having fun...

So blessed.

Sunshine

Oh these days.

Full of colorful dresses,

Imaginations running wild,

Stuffed animals,

flowers and rocks,

and puppy dogs.

Perfect.

Easter pictures

Easter morning.

Thought we might be out of town but at the last minute we weren't.

So we got dressed and went to church in the pouring rain.

After Church the rain stopped.

Perfect time for pictures!  Now we need a perfect spot.

That bank parking lot looks good.

May I present....

Easter pics 2013:

Such a sweet smile!

Why yes, I'd  be happy to pose.

IT's TOO BRIGHT TO OPEN MY EYES!

That's better.

Now for a sister shot:

Good.

But I think we can do better.

Um.  Okay.

Could you maybe just try to open your eyes a teeny bit for a tiny second?

Yes!  Like that.

Now if I could just see your smile..

Yes.  Your grimacing smile.

I'll take it!

Our Son.

Everyone has moments in their life that happen and change their life significantly in just one second.

  We had one recently.  It was a phone call.

We knew we were going to get the phone call.

  Brad came home for lunch just to be there when our adoption agency was supposed to call.

  It was a scheduled call to talk about our next few steps in our adoption journey.

  It went well.  Lots of questions and lots of answers.

Then, everything changed.

We weren't expecting it and looking back, I'm not sure we were prepared.

They introduced us to our son.

Our precious, beautiful, baby boy.

We saw pictures and read his file.

It was overwhelming how little we knew about him.

I wanted to know EVERYTHING about him.  Every tiny detail.

Adoption is hard.  It hurts my heart not to know so much and to know I've missed so much.

Yet we were tremendously blessed that our own social worker has SEEN him and held him.

Our awesome agency sends teams of staff and UAB doctors to visit partnership orphanages each year.

She described him as curious and active.  I told her to tell me everything she could about him.

Then we got to talk with the doctor from UAB who had seen and assessed him.

She, too, remembered him being curious and interested in everything around him.

We had other questions for her and she had lots to tell us.

Brad and I talked and prayed.  And prayed.  And prayed.

And then we knew, without a doubt, that he was our son.

Once we knew, I have never known such a peace about something.

That's not true.  I had the same peace when I said yes to Brad's marriage proposal.

Almost eleven wonderful years later, I pray this peace will be as successful.

When I look at my son's picture, I am overcome with how blessed and how thankful I am.

James

We are in love.

Happiest Days

"When Spring came, even the false Spring, there were no problems except where to be happiest."

- Ernest Hemingway

We have days this week of "false Spring" where for a few hours in the afternoon, the sun has warmed up the day enough to feel like Spring.  It's been just warm enough to give us hope that Spring is almost here.

I can't wait for warm days.

I can't wait for playing outside days.

I can't wait for going to the park days.

I really can't wait for 'no problems except where to be happiest days."

DTC!

WE ARE DTC!

DTC?

Darling Tapping Cats?

Deeply Thoughtful Cookies?

Dark Tan Coats?

No!

DANCING TOWARDS CHINA!!

just kidding.

Last Monday night we celebrated another big step in the adoption of our son...

being Dossier To China (or DTC).

It means that all our paperwork (our Dossier), being certified and authenticated, was finally sent to China to be reviewed and approved.  YAY!  What's next?  Well, once approved, we are logged in to their system as being eligible to being matched with a child. 

 Then we wait (some more) to be matched with our son.

Once we are matched, it takes about 4-6 months for more paperwork to be completed and then we travel to China to bring him home.  Hooray!  So right now we can estimate that he will be home this Fall but no more specific than that.

We appreciate all the support, prayers, questions, and encouragement

 we've received from family and friends!

It's hard to believe we started this long process nearly a year ago.

  And we want to keep you informed and involved as we continue this wonderful journey

 to begin life with our son.

At this time, we'd be very grateful for your prayers for us as we wait.

We have had such a peace during this entire process even when we've faced unexpected delays, knowing that it was all part of our story and part of God's timing.  I know the waiting will be much harder once we've seen his sweet face and know who it is that is waiting for us too.

Please also pray for him, our son, and his heart.  We pray each night that we would know that he is loved deeply and that his heart is being prepared to be loved by us.  We also pray that he is being loved, right now, by his orphanage nannies and that he is experiencing love and joy each day. 

I can't wait to tell him one day about all the prayers and all the love that he received before he was even known to us.  

Thank you!

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.  In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious grace, which he freely gives us in the One he loves. Ephesians 1:4-6

2012 Review

I have no reason why I stopped blogging.

I just did.

After six years I guess I needed a break.

But I've really missed it.

Especially the sense of chronically our life.  

All the little stuff.  The mundane.  The details.

They all add up to be our life and I want to look back and remember it when I can't.

So I regret taking 2012 off and want to re-cap.

We had a busy year.

Lots of change and lots of growth.

  Lots of laughs and lots of tears.

Lots of excitement and lots of fear. (hey, that rhymed!)

Lillianna finished kindergarten and started first grade.

We started the process to adopt our son from China!!

Brad and I celebrated 10 years of wedded bliss in California.

We moved from Tennessee to Arkansas.

Brad started a new job.

We said goodbye to old friends and said hello to new ones.

We started the adoption process over in Arkansas.

Lillianna turned 7 and Ellenie turned 5.

We went to the mountains for Easter and the beach for summer vacation.

Ellenie started pre-k two days a week and has loved it. (most of the time)

L lost her front tooth and learned to ride a bicycle and to read.

We settled in to our new house and new community.

We've enjoyed visits from family and friends.

We celebrated the holidays in our new home.

We played in the big snow.

It was a great year.

We are blessed:

So here's to 2012

and Cheers to 2013!

We are starting this year with high hopes and big plans

 for another blessed year full of memories and love.