be still my heart

this week i received an answer to prayer that i had prayed for many times. you know about us. when we sent your package, i had little confidence that it would work its way to you from the orphanage to your foster home. but it did :) this is the message i had this morning (sara is with the adoption agency and ming is their representative):

"Sara,
The Guangzhou orphanage told me, Misty is very happy to have this family. She see their pictures everyday. She hope to see them ASAP. She love the doll who can change the cloths (babe doll). Please send to her if they send second package to her.
Ming"

so now i just try and figure out what baby doll you want.

and we also received a new picture of you! this was a completely unexpected and undeserved blessing. all thanks to your BFF's new mom! my guess is that you knew your picture was being taken for us :) thank you for smiling so perfectly!!!

Your dad was in germany (after being so close to you in china for three weeks....) and i sent him your picture. when he opened it up he told me. " i know she is my daughter."

the path to you...

early august -- saw you for first time

august 19 -- saw the 'mist'

august 21-- LOI

august 25 -- found out 'jenni', your BFF, was being adopted and lived 10 minutes away :)
sept. 3 -- PA from china
all of sept. -- home study (ugh)
oct. 7 -- mailed your birthday package
oct. 11 -- you turned 11!
oct. 18 --birthday package arrived :)
oct. 21 -- home study approved
oct. 26 -- 1800A sent to USCIS
oct. 28 -- packet arrived at USCIS

11/5 -- receipt notice #1 from homeland security

11/13 -- receipt notice #2 from homeland security

12/3 -- mailed second package to you :)

12/9 -- USCIS fingerprint appointment

12/18 -- I-800A approval

12/28 -- dossier to agency

12/29 -- DTC

1/8 -- LID

3/29 -- LOA!!!!

4/19 -- Provisional Approval

4/27 -- NVC letter

Article 5

TA

CA

-- travel dates :)

thinking of YOU!

do you know how many times someone has said "I can't wait until Abigail is here with us next year." Lord willing, of course :)

we are at the beach and have been for a good long time. it has been an incredibly great family time. we have done hardly anything and everyone is loving it. there's been swimming in the ocean everyday and the temperature is like bathtub. the shelling has been good, not great, but we have found some amazing shells. of course, i am making lots of little things with them which requires trips to michaels. and reading books, reading blogs, working puzzles, watching movies. the boys have played way too many computer games, the girls watched watch too much disney, and your dad and i have well done nothing...compared to home anyway.

and i am still attempting to wrap up our home study. the fingerprint nazi lady kicked out my prints, but those are hopefully wrapped up. brooke sent the first draft to diana for her review butg we haven't heard back yet. all the paperwork to file the 1-800A is ready to go. sandy (jenni's mom-to-be) and teri (hailee's mom-to-be) chat via email alot. i can't wait for the three of you to be friends. here, that is :)

tomorrow is your birthday and you will be 11 years old. we sent you a package and i am praying everyday that it finds its way to you soon. very soon. like this week. we included a letter which told you that you have a family. a forever family. and we sent a picture of all of us from the beach (your dad looks silly because he had to keep running back to get in the photo). and a neat, slinky dress. and matching headbands. and pajamas. and a stuffed cat. and some markers, colored pencils, and paper.

your dad is making a delicious asian dinner tonite. i hope you are proud of your country. we love it and we want you to as well. be proud of yourself, okay? you matter.

even though i don't post often, i think of you constantly and pray for your heart always.

xoxoxo, mom-to-be but already in my heart :)

a promise to nurture

on friday, sweet girl, we received an important document saying that your government is okay with us 'nurturing' you. i promise to nurture you. i wonder what kind of women have influenced you so far? i love that you will remember and one day be able to share it with me, if you choose.

tonite your sisters and i read animal books, baked zucchini bread, and played barbies. i think you will like girl nights too. your brothers and dad stayed out at the farm and picked tomatoes, lots and lots of them, to make salsa. and then they shot rifles. they were very happy. will you be a barbie girl or a rifle-shooting girl? maybe you will be both :)

i was very relieved to get this pre-approval. this means someone, other than us, knows we are coming for you. right when God ordains it to be so.

misty, you aren't going to believe this.....

your best friend jenny is being adopted and her new family lives about 15 mins. from your new home!!!! out of all the places you two could have ended up and you will be within a stone's throw. i wish i could be there when you find this out. i stand in complete amazement at the Lord's hand. i introduced us to the MAA yahoo group as several of them were asking 'who is misty's mom? please tell us!

and one of the moms wrote me because she had read that her new daughter and you were best buds. so we chat back and forth and i saw i am from indiana. she says 'me too'. where exactly? i say 'monrovia' and she writes back 'nooooo way'.

and the Lord said...'yes, way' :)

the mist

so we went to our china reunion for sarah's travel group. perfect timing. being around all the other crazy for adoption families and throwing out that we were thinking about taking the plunge again. we left there pumped up and knowing it was going to happen. that was august 14-15.

the next week we wanted to get you and the other girl held for us while we had your medicals reviewed. you see you had a special need that we knew little about. and still don't, but that is okay for now.

MAA said they would hold both files and 'on hold' was put by your name :)

it was weds. afternoon and greg was home early from work with a stomach flu that was still holding on. he was on the couch and we were talking about both of you (the other girl was given the name natalie) and what we liked about each of you and we were going to have to pick and, and, and. we both were leaning toward you but didn't know exactly why (definitely could have been the smile :) and i needed to get ready for church so we didn't have time to finish the conversation. i went to take a shower and i prayed the whole time. prayed that God would show us which girl was ours. i needed to know. i didn't want to go through the process without a clear direction and peace that you were our daughter, not natalie. is it misty, Lord? make it very clear through the review of their medicals, through conversations, through circumstances, through something. and then i said or show me like with a mist. you know a mist for misty :)


i get dressed and was about ready to head out the door when sam comes running in the house telling me i have to come quick. i won't believe it. hurry. now. so i go outside and look to the basketball court where he is pointing. and there is the most amazing mist i've ever seen. sooo cool that sam had to get me to come see it. he had no idea i had just prayed that prayer. you see we had a thunderstorm go through. and then the sun had come out. and a huge beam of sunlight was spotlighting on the basketball court and a mist was coming up off the ground like you couldn't believe. i will never forget that image. i just started smiling. and i absolutely couldn't believe it. He does know the absolute desires of my heart. He knew i needed to know and so He showed me. that quickly. that completely.

and so now i have no doubts :)

i just knew...

misty - i am writing this for you. i don't want to forget how you came to us. it is our story for now. others will know soon.

i knew if we adopted again it would be an older girl. several years older than sarah so she could look up to her and not close enough to feel like they were competing. and phoebe needed to stay the baby. i hoped for someone between thomas and sam's ages. the boys i didn't think would be phased by having a 'girl' in the midst of them, just as long as their pecking order wasn't upset :)

and i never quit reading blogs. about adoption mainly. and then i found madison adoption associates on one that linked to their special needs site. i quickly filled out an application to be able to view their files. and i started praying in earnest that God would get hold on greg's heart. i knew he would have a harder time breaking away from the world's view of we are too old and have several kids anyway. and God did it again. He turned my king's heart just the way it needed to be.

one night i just kinda half-joking threw out that i was looking at some kids up for adoption. he came over to the computer and started asking questions :) always a good sign.

and then MAA posted pictures of you from the camp ox in july. your smile overwhelmed me. you radiate. when i talked with the agency coordinator, she described you as always smiling. wanting a big family with absolutely no fears of being adopted and coming to the united states. there was one other girl that we also carefully looked at. but greg and i both kept coming back to you. you were intriguing. and you seemed just right for our family.

how could we know for sure?