Can you say...China?!

I can, as of 6:43 this morning...cuz I'll be there in 7 days!!!!!!

     I don't even know where to start.  I got the message at 6:43 this morning. Ran around the house crying & screaming. Called my mom. Hopped in the shower...forgot to wash my hair and only shaved one leg. Called my best friend while still wrapped in a towel (too much info, sorry. still too excited to edit). Cried & screamed some more.   Called my good friend. Called my little brother. Called my sister-in-law. Lots of crying & screaming. Got to work late...mostly because of the shower incident above. Struggled to get ANYTHING accomplished in the first 4 hours, because of the crying & the screaming & the barrage of confirmatory emails & the only one shaved leg (totally distracting by the way).  With all of that...here is what we know:

• God miraculously pushed the last piece of paperwork through the Chinese government in 7days, rather than the 2-4 weeks it was supposed to take.  (Praise you Lord. You move mountains!)
• Because of the quick turn around, we not only made the August travel window, we got the appointment at the US Consulate confirmed AND we get to travel with other Bethany families.
•  We'll be leaving Seattle Wednesday August 8th arriving in Beijing on the 9th.  Little One should be in my arms by the 13th. (Two weeks, honey. Just two more weeks!)
• We'll be in various parts of China for two weeks completing paperwork, attending VISA appointments, getting medical checks, poking my eye out with chopsticks, etc, arriving back home August 22nd.
• My God is a faithful, patient & loving Father who has ordained every step of this adoption road...and the journey is just starting.

     Internet access will be hit & miss while in China. I've made secondary arrangements for updates primarily through the blog. If you haven't already, or if you know someone who wants to receive updates, please make sure you check the right side of the blog to sign up for email updates.

     Time for more crying & screaming...



Last Update from China...?

I got an unexpected surprise today. 

An update email from China...with a photo of my Little One:

How stinking cute is he?!?!



     Four more photos and...as strange as it is to say...hopefully, the last update I will receive from my boy's foster family.  The FINAL piece of paperwork was released by the US Consulate last week and sent back to the Chinese authorities to issue the official Travel Invitation. It is my prayer that that little piece of paper is directed to the right hands QUICKLY so we can fly during the small open travel window in August.  (Please feel free to join in prayer!).  Until that time, I get to pour over the 12 photos I have of my little guy and see how he has grown.  One year has passed from the first photo to the most recent and I can see that he has been well cared for, hopefully well loved, and most certainly covered prayer...soon to be covered in smooches!  I'll see you SOON buddy, I promise.

9months old:
Rocking the pick pantaloons

16 months:
Trying a new haircut

20 months old:
Hi Mom!

Not Alone

     It's been a quite week...I've been reading up on China and attempting to internalize the culture that my son will always be a part of. Being a European girl myself, the clash of cultures is significant, but I'm learning A LOT...I just make NO promises in the chopstick arena. (I might actually poke my eye out).

     I learned today that along with Little One’s visa, passport, adoption certificates and health records, we will also be coming home with his "Abandonment Certificate". Ouch! Oh, that crushes me.  Forever on this earth there will be an official document declaring MY child, who has SO MANY people waiting for him to come home, as having been abandoned. I hadn’t given much thought to the moments or hours that my sweet boy was placed alone by his birth parents to be found by another. Was he cold? Did he cry? Was he hungry? How many passed him by before he was discovered? Whatever the situation, it must have been awful!! Then the Lord reminded me…”I will never leave or forsake you”; “When you cry, I will hear your call”; “You are surrounded by my angels” and then, “Desirée, Little One was never alone, I was with him”. Oh, what comfort to my heart!!  Thank you Lord for your gentle and protective hand!  You were there when Little One was being formed in his birth mother’s womb.  You knit him together perfectly with an extra chromosome of Your perfect love. You were there in the chaos of his ‘abandonment’.  You kept the wicked away from him & You were there to guide the right person to find my Little One. There was no place in which You were not a part of upholding Little One’s future.  In fact, You are there now in his laying down for naps, his crawling on the floor & in his first steps.  You are with him now, even though I am not, writing Your law on his heart; and You will remain with US as we seek You to lead our little family. Thank you, Lord for we are NOT abandoned.  We are FOUND perfectly in You.

The Nursery...

     Nurseries are fun.  A place to design & dream & hope...but let's be honest: the kid don't care. Nurseries are for the moms. Yeah baby!

     My best friend lives two thousand miles away, but we talk nearly every day so I it was through THE NURSERY that I 'surprised' her with the news of the adoption.

ME: Hey there.  When you come out next month, do you mind if we take a day to just putz around the house? I need help with a project or two.

BFF: Sure. Whatchya thinking?

ME: Can you help me decide where to put the crib...?
BFF: The crib?! What?! You're going to do it? You're going to do it!!

There was laughter & tears & lots of squealing, and her husband rolling his eyes...he, apparently doesn't "get" us.  (Love ya Scott!).   I emailed her a picture of what I had in mind within nanoseconds of our conversation and we declared "Let the nursery planning commence!"

     Sadly, I didn't take very many "before" pictures.  Below is the photo I had to send to the adoption agency proving that I didn't have a room full of knives waiting for my child.  You can see it was a semi-functional spare room, but that was about it...and no knives.

     This is the dresser I stole from my mother's guest room (don't tell).

   My good friend Jessie stepped in for the BFF to help with the crib.

  And...that would be me balancing the crib on my face while Jess ran to get our friend...the professional photographer at the front door.  She didn't even bother to say hello before she snapped this glamour shot! *wink*

And now the final product...

The letter wall--WAY fun to put together!

Dresser--after. I'm proud of how this turned out.

The bedding.

It's surprisingly hard to find teddy bear bedding for a boy. Who knew?!

I think we'll spend a lot of time here.

Decorations made for the baby shower by my sweet friends.

A bed to grow into.
(and probably the one I'll inhabit for the first few weeks)

Little One's baby pictures!

Because every boy needs a 6 foot bear.
(Probably not the bear's permanent home as the two year old cousin has declared it 'scahwee' during trial run nap times in the nursery)

     I've grown fond of Jesus's message of hope that He has gone to prepare a place for us (John 14:3). I wonder if MY room has red accents & the faint hint of jasmin? But, I suppose He knows what I like better than I do! I hope you like blues & browns & teddy bears, Little One.  Your room is ready...I'm coming to get you soon!