We have a baby!!

I am so pleased and happy to announce that we were matched with our sweet baby girl in China yesterday!!

She is 13 months old and BEAUTIFUL!!!

It was 3 years and 1 month ago that we began our adoption journey. It was a long 3 years of waiting. Sometimes we waited well. Sometimes it was ugly.

But in the end... Just like we suspected... She was worth the wait.

I still feel like it's not real. Like I'm dreaming. To think that this waiting-to see her face-phase of life is finally over just seems to good to be true.

God is so good. He is faithful. His timing is perfect.

When we first started this adoption journey, the first country we inquired about was China. I just knew thats where we needed to be. We were sad to find out that we didn't qualify for the program because we were too young and did not meet the income requirements.

So, we found a program that we did qualify for and began the process to adopt from Ethiopia- A process that was "supposed" to take 15-18 months. Over 2 years later as we were still waiting with no end in sight we felt like we were not supposed to wait anymore. It took a few months for us to follow through with what we felt like we needed to do because we had already become so emotionally invested in the Ethiopia program. We were very much looking forward to adopting a child from Ethiopia for a long time.

Through a very neat series of events in those months, God just kept confirming to us that our child was not in Ethiopia, but a child with special needs in China.

When we remembered that initially we felt like China was right those years before, it was a sweet moment.

You see, God had to keep us "occupied" somewhere else to get us to the China program at just the right time.

6 months ago, we began the paperwork for our China dossier. Yes, we now met all the necessary requirements that we didn't meet before.

Then we finally saw her face. She wasn't even alive for the first 2 years of our adoption journey! When we started our dossier she was 7 months old. We got our log in date the end of October. She showed up on the list in December. Whew! The timing had to be pretty perfect for us to be united, huh?!?!

See, I told you God is good!!

I can't say that I was free from fear, doubt, depression, worry, anger, and anxiety in the last 3 years. I wish that I could, but it's just not true. There were certainly sweet times when I was totally ok and truly realized that God was in control and everything would be ok. But there were certainly dark days of doubt and feeling like God was ignoring my honest pleas. He wasn't ignoring me. He was right there holding me up and getting me through all of those emotions. He knew the wait was hard. He knew how badly I wanted another child to love and raise and call my own. But he knew what was best. He knew who my daughter was. And he was working things together for our good to bring us together at the right moment.
And the week of Christmas? Well, I couldn't think of a more special time to receive such happy, long awaited good news.
I don't take for granted how blessed we are. And as I suspected I would feel at this point, I wouldn't undo the last few years. I have learned so much and have a much stronger relationship with the Lord through it all.

We can't wait to get our hands on her and smother her in snuggles, hugs and kisses. She's had to wait far too long to have a family to love her and care for her. I know that in a perfect world, she would have never been left alone and in need of a family. But this world is far from perfect and we are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the world. God called us to adopt and this was part of his plan for us.
Yes, we've had to wait to fulfill the calling that He placed on us and she's had to live in an orphanage and wait for a family-- and neither seems fair. But the wait is almost over!! She has had a Mamma, Daddy, 2 brothers, a sister, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and countless close friends that have longed for her and loved her since before she was born!
She has a new bed, toys of her own and a closet full of clothes already ready for her too. (Don't judge-- I've had 3 years to accumulate stuff that I just couldn't resist! And now that I know all about her-- almost everything I bought is going to fit!!!)
We pray that the remaining paperwork would go smoothly and swiftly and we will be bringing her home soon!!! (average is 4-6 months)
I will share more information and pictures here when I can (probably in a few months).
But just trust me-- she is beautiful. Wonderfully and perfectly made. And somehow actually resembles our biological children in many ways.
I can't wait to introduce myself to her...tell her I'm her Mamma...and tell her how much I love her....tell her how much Jesus loves her...

Oh, if they'd let us, we'd have been on the first plane to China today!! :)

Thank you to all of you who have followed along on this journey and have supported us unconditionally. Thank you for your prayers. Please keep praying her home!