Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."
Many of you know that I have been praying some specific prayer requests regarding the adoption of our two boys. One prayer I was praying was that we would be in China on December 10th (Shan Chen's birthday). I knew that anything was possible with God, even though I was told by people that it wouldn't happen. Although I was praying for this crazy miracle, I also trusted that God's timing would be best.
Back in October, when our dossier got logged into China's system, another family with our agency had their dossier logged in as well. Two weeks after we were both logged in, she emailed me and told me that she had already received her approval letter (which is unheard of unless you have a medical expedite). I was excited for her and hopeful that maybe ours would come as well. Two weeks turned to a month, which turned to 5 weeks, which is now at day 50...still no LOA for us (and many others). Tuesday morning of last week, I heard from the same lady that they will be most likely going to China 12-10!! I had to just laugh because she had received answers to both of my prayer requests (a quick turn around on our acceptance letter and travel to China by 12-10). Although I was super excited for her, I was trying not let disappointment cloud my view of what God had planned for us.
That same evening (Tuesday of last week), I was reading a Facebook post from a family who was supposed to host a 12 year old boy during the winter. They were sharing that they were no longer able to host him and they needed to find another family (all the expenses had been paid). As soon as I read it out loud to Wayne, the girls all said, "WE need to host him!!" They then went on to explain all the reasons why: "We have a bed, we have a room, we have clothes, we've been taking Chinese - this will be a great way to practice, we are just waiting for the boys, we loved hosting Shan Chen...". It was amazing to see their hearts just ready to embrace another child in our home. We sat down as a family that night and prayed about the possibility of hosting again. Wayne and I prayed together later that night. The next morning (Wednesday), after praying, we decided to contact our agency and tell them that we were willing to host. We figured it would be up to God to either open or close the door from there. Within five minutes of emailing, we received and email back saying that they were excited that we were willing to help out and it seemed like the perfect answer. We had to wait until Monday to talk to Shannon to find out for sure if this was possible. The girls were sitting on egg shells waiting to hear the answer. As of yesterday afternoon (Monday), it was official, we will be hosting another boy.
Our crazy Christmas adventure starts December 15th when we pick him up at O'Hare airport! He will stay with us until January 13th.
The best part about this whole story is seeing God's hand in it all. He showed me that if He wanted me in China on 12-10, it would have been possible. Instead of answering the way I thought He should, He is allowing this other sweet couple to go pick up their very first child in China. And instead of us being in China in December, He is having us open our home to another boy. We can't wait to see what God has in store for this precious boy. God has orchestrated so many things in such a short time to get us to this point. 7 days ago we found about him, and in only 16 days we get to meet him! We will be posting a ton of pictures and information about him over the next few weeks, so make sure you come follow our next family adventure!!
"The Skater" - 12 years old: winner of a gold medal in skating (I see rollerblades and many trips to a roller rink while he is here).
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In light of this new development, I am taking fudge and cinnamon roll orders only until 12-13 (so that we can focus our energy and attention on him while he is here). All fudge and cinnamon rolls will need to be picked up (or arrange delivery) by 12-14. The cinnamon rolls freeze well, so you can always order your Christmas rolls, freeze them, and have them Christmas morning.