Where Are We Now?

Some of you may be asking, "Do you really want to add more children to your family?" or "Aren't your lives chaotic enough?"  The answers are yes and yes!  The topic of adoption has never come up in our lives until now.  It was always one of those things that we thought was a great thing for other people to do, but probably not something for us.  Oh how God can change your heart!  A funny thing is.....after Sydney was born, people would ask if there would be anymore Dye babies for us and I would jokingly say, "Not unless we go to China and get one".  To that Kevin would quickly add, "I don't think so!".  Oh be careful what you say! 

To get everyone up to speed, we are waiting.  Waiting for referral acceptance (RA) which is basically the final approval on our dossier.  Typically this approval takes 2-4 months after dossier to China (DTC).  It's been 2 months, so literally it could be ANY day now that we get the phone call to say our agency has received our RA from the China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption (CCCWA).  Am I on pins and needles?  YES!!!  Until we have this approval, we are not allowed to post Maggie's photo on anything public like this blog, facebook, etc.  Once we have RA, her sweet face will be at the top of this page!  We received an update on her today (another answered prayer).  So happy to get it!  Right now she weighs 21 lbs. and is 30 inches tall.  She is starting to be enthusiastic about the company of other children (good thing) and spends most of her day walking around and playing with toys.  Her foster mama describes her as cute and shy.  She is now 20 months old and has only been walking since about 15 months.  We know that she likes rice paste (guess I'll need a recipe for that one), she loves bath time and likes to dance when she hears music.  She stays very close to her foster mama and is very trusting of her.  You don't know how blessed that makes me feel!  Before we even knew who Maggie was we prayed that she would be fed, loved, talked to and treated like a biological child by her caregivers.  At that point we assumed she would be in an orphanage.  When we got her referral it turned out that she is with a foster family. She has been with them since she was 5 days old.  The person who gets our monthly updates says she is the cleanest child in the area and that the foster family cares for her very much.  Isn't God AWESOME???!!!  Only He could answer my prayer like that!  Lots of little things like that have happened in this journey that just confirms to us that we are in the center of God's will and that she is handpicked for us!

Okay, so after RA comes TA (which is travel approval).  Typically that happens around 10 weeks after RA.  China has to give us the "OK" to come to their country to finalize everything.  In the meantime, we have more paperwork circling the globe for visas, passports,etc.  Our agency will make our travel arrangments for airline and hotel.  At some point after RA, Maggie will go back to the orphanage.  I have no idea why its done this way, but it is.  Please pray for me regarding that.  It makes me sick to my stomach thinking  about her going from her foster family (all she has known) to an institution where there are lots of other babies and very few nannies to give them the attention they need.  This is one of the times that I knew in my heart that she is my daughter.  My heart and everything in me grieved when I found this out.  All I know is that I want her here where we can love her, care for her and be a secure family for her.  Who can take someone's heart and tranform it from thinking adoption is okay for "some people" to making it ache for a child they didn't give physical birth to?  Only God!!! 

So as we wait, please pray for us.  This wait has been the hardest part.  I know the Lord's timing is perfect.  There is so much he has shown us in this process and so much more to be learned.  Every week on the calendar seems like a year.  Lord, help me to wait on your perfect plan!

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.
                                                                              Psalm 130:5

For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by.
                                                                              Psalm 90:4