Love to China

My oldest and I have a game. It usually starts off "mommy, I love you all the way to the clouds." Then I return with "I love you all the way to the stars!" This can go back and forth for a while. Since we've told her about her upcoming brother or sister, she always inserts in the conversation, "I love you all the way to China mommy." I love how early on China has been a part of her little heart. She started asking about China even before we told her we were thinking about adopting. God has been preparing all of us, she just has the faith to act more than her parents sometimes.

We received our final home study this week. Next week we'll send that off to immigration and wait a couple of months before their approval. Thank you for your prayers.

Some days I'm holding my two little girls, reading books with them and it just hits me. I have another child. Halfway around the world. And they are likely in a room full of metal cribs, with no one to snuggle with when they're having a rough day, rock them to sleep, or wipe their tears.  And I just feel so helpless. I pray for my child every day.  I  can't wait to hold them, sing to them, comfort them. I can't wait to be a family..

Home study and a weekend away

We finished our home study last week! Our social worker was wonderful, and really made the home study pretty easy. Just a couple visits in our home and we should hopefully have the completed study by December!
Also, I was so blessed to get to spend a weekend visiting my sister in NYC this weekend. It's been far too long since I've seen her and it was nice to have some time just the two of us.  It's a great place to visit during the fall, all the beautiful trees and seeing the city gear up for Christmas.

4 year old reflections

I talked to our 4 year old, Anna, about adoption today.  We start our home study this week so I wanted her to be prepared.  We have always talked about having more brothers and sisters, but I tried to introduce the idea of adoption to her today. After my husband came home I asked her to tell him about adoption to see how much she understood.

"Anna, what's adoption?"

"It's when a baby doesn't have a family and needs a family to love them!"

(Thinking I did a pretty good job)

"And if we forget and leave Nora at home she'll need a family too!"

Well, we'll get it eventually.  

Getting Started

1 John 4:19.  We love because He first loved us.

This has been the verse that my husband and I have focused our lives on.  God's love is so amazing.  So we love.  Our spouses.  Our children.  Our friends.  And those that we find hardest to love.  Who do nothing to deserve our love.  Because we have done nothing to deserve His.
It is focusing on that verse that as a family, we have decided to adopt.  We are adopting from China's waiting child program.  Here we will share this journey.  We covet your prayers, your encouragement, your love.