Home, sweet home

This post comes almost 2 weeks after being home, yet China and the memories are still very fresh. our time in China is like a wound, some had a spectacular time there we went we saw we came home with the most precious boy. BUT our time there was not glamorous, not spectaular, or wonderful it was hard, it was all very deep and dark. It was a time of loss for our son, grieving, trauma, and heartache. It was a time of real insight into our faith our commitment and our calling to adopt. It was a time to seek guidence, be in prayer, and to just pour love on to a child that was "unloveable". We flew to China on Friday December 12. I did not get to say goodbye to my babies that day. It was one of the hardest days I thought I was going to have. We arrived in China Saturday December 13 around midnight. It was long and tomorrow we are to meet the face we waited 18 months for. The night came and went as it always does thankfully and we loaded a bus Sunday afternoon to go to the civil affairs building, there 3 other families besides our self were ushered into a dark hallway and finally into a little room where a nanny was holding our sweet boy. There he was. There was Micah. There was KaiLe. I reached out to hold him so awkward yet natural. He leaned away. I leaned in closer and took him from his nanny, his only security there. He arched his back and made a little noise but never shed a tear. I held him close, whispered I am your momma. Momma is here now. That means nothing to him but it meant everything to me. I hold very dear the 12 days we spent in China, it was something that will never be completly exposed. There were very raw moments with our son, with each other, with my babies back home. There were moments filled with giggles and moments of shear screams of pain. To watch an orphan unfold into your son is the most amazing, terrifying thing.

The first photo was the first time we ever saw his sweet little face...those cheeks don't you just want to kiss em! He was one years old when that photo was taken by a missions team that visited his orphanage. It was so nice to hear from ladies that actually got to meet my little guy. After we received our Referral Acceptance we were able to ask for an update and when we did we were just shocked how much he had grown. Now 16 months old walking and saying "mama" it breaks my heart to see him hitting milestone with out me but so thankful he is healthy and developing. Now the fun stuff of buying him clothes guessing between 12-24 months he is a short little guy and buying him toys. They said he loves toys that play music. Well our plane ride home with him should be noisy, I mean fun: ) His update report says he loves food and his favorite is CAKE and bananas, boy this boy will fit right in with his momma and big brother. We are now waiting on approval from immigration, form I-800 which means the United States has acknowledge him as our immediate relative. How crazy right? We are also in the process of obtaining our visas and updating our home study.

And We Have.....

Wait for it......yes lots of waiting.....a BABY.....in CHINA.....waiting for US, like we have been waiting for HIM! Yes a BOY!!! OH BOY! WE will share his photo after China sends us Referral Acceptance Letter, this could be weeks or months. More waiting. But now we have a beautiful face to be praying for.

This is late, very late but it's official we officially have our Log In Date! This means we can be matched at any time or we can choose from the waiting child list at any time. This is the news we have waited for since we started our paper chase in July 2013. The paperwork was equivalent to a small forest but it made it to China safely and now we wait and wait and wait. We are expecting a time from of 6-8 months till our match but we know God has the perfect baby waiting for us at the perfect time.

Express Mail

We are DTC (Dossier To China). Our dossier was sent on Friday March 14, 2014. It should arrive in China within 3-5 days and then we will be LID (Log In Date) and we can be matched!!!! Yay!!! Thank goodness for express mail!

Oh Happy Day

Our USCIS approval came yesterday making February 4 a very special date in our book. Receiving this document from the government is allowing us to adopt 1 child from China, yes we are approved!!! This is the last document we had to receive in order to complete our dossier, which is just a fancy word for tons and tons of paperwork that will all go to CHINA!!! I can hardly believe it! We waited 86 loooong days for this document, here we come baby cakes!

Can I Say...

Homestudy completed!!!! Our last and final visit was Saturday October 26 it has since been turned in, a 16 page "report" on Mike, I , and the babies! We have been through 2 homestudies prior to this and all have been so different. I have to say this homestudy and social worker were excellent. We learned so much on our next child I feel as if I'm already ready for her. We have a long road to her and a long road once she enters our arms. Tonight is trick or treating! Can't wait to dress up my littles in their costumes. L is little red riding hood and mr n is the big bad wolf. Yes, I will post pictures! Happy Halloween y'all!!!!