DTC

As of 11-5-10 our dossier is on it's way to China!

Yippeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

Our final peice of paper is at our agency with the rest of our dossier!! We have completed our "paper chase" for now! Now we wait for our dossier to be sent to China (should be soon), wait for our dossier to be logged in in china, wait to receive approval, then there is some more paperwork before we buy our plane tickets and travel. We are thinking April now. In the mean time we pray!

Not "meant to be".

I'm not sure how to word this post. I've heard people use the words "meant to be" when describing an adoptive family. "They were meant to be yours." However I don't believe adoption was ever really meant to be. Death, sin, abandonment, loss, poverty, disease, starvation; none of these things were authored by God, or present before the fall of man. There is no adoption without circumstances that cause me to tremble when I, as a mother, think about them. I believe a better term would be beauty from ashes. Grace. God proving to us again and again that he restores what the locust have eaten. Thank you God for my children and the humbling and awesome privilege of being their mother.

For anyone who is interested in the birth cert. issue. A new bump in the road.

My second birth certificate was hand delivered to the Houston Consulate today and they are now asking to have a copy of my marriage liscense before they'll authenticate it. I am thanking God that we used a courrier to deliver it, otherwise it is likely we would never have seen this birth certificate again either. I hope the copy of my marriage cert. I emailed to her is good enough. It frankly looks like a cerificate someone printed off of their own computer. I know in the grand scheme of things this isn't a big deal, but to me in this moment it is. I want to bring Grace home soon, and I HATE counting the weeks that our trip is being pushed back due to a perfectly good birth certificate. :(

Paperwork Complete!! (almost)

I mailed our (almost) complete dossier to our agency this morning. I would have liked to have mailed it a week ago, but I was thrilled to be finished and sending it on. I just hope it doesn't get lost in the mail. (biting my nails) The birth certificate is still m.i.a. Our agency is trying to reach the consolate in Hous. to find out what is going on. In the mean time I sent a new B.C. out the the Sec. of State in Texas and will send it on to the Consulate a 2nd time (this time using a courrier service) if we don't see our other one in the mail. This could take a week or two or three, even if we pay to expidite it- further delaying our dossier being sent to China. I am grateful that God goes before us and loves Grace more than we do. He knows the perfect time for her to come home, even though our desire is to get her here SOON!

Unusual around here...

It was surreal to find this among the laundry today.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl

Happy Birthday Grace!

It's 11:00 am on 10-9 in China. Grace is two years old today! We love you and are doing ALL we can to bring you home! Praying you have a special day today.