We received our I-800 back from the National Visa Center last week, and got our NVC Letter, as well as some confirmation numbers we needed in order to apply for Josiah and Judah's Visas.
If you are not in the "adoption world" you don't know what a GUZ number is...or an I800 and you wouldn't know to be excited, but all these things mean that we are moving along in the process and closer and closer to bringing our precious boys home!
Life right now seems like a whirlwind, and also like a very long wait. But we have waited before, and seen firsthand God's goodness in our little family, in very big ways. So we wait expectantly and with hope!
I keep telling myself that God's timing is perfect, and I just need to put one foot in front of the other and keep checking things off the to do list. And it feels like a mile long to-do list!
On my list: potty train (that is going well), order books for school that starts in a week (we will do a bit of 2nd grade so that when we come home we can take a longer break, and also just to keep in the habit of things), put the kids together in bunk beds (Joe made the bunk beds and we took turns painting them, and we are almost ready to go), buy a twin mattress, get a second crib,...pack, finish my vaccinations for China,...get a few more things notarized, apply for our Visas to China, get more passport photos taken (you have to bring a bunch with you for meetings in China), make freezer meals, clean the house, move the kids rooms around, make copies of documents for China....and about 20 more things. Some of which are not imperative, and I know some things will just not get done.
I gave up on a few projects...like painting the living room (but I am still hoping to paint our bedroom since I already have paint on one wall), running the Tough Mudder in mid-July with my girlfriends, and doing a gallery wall at church (I handed it off, praise the Lord).
Honestly, I can feel very anxious about my to-do list, and yet impatient about not leaving sooner...and I just have to stop and submit my days to the Lord.
My biggest to-do is to enjoy my kids, and be patient with them. I will not get this time back! and the same goes for my sweet husband. We are about to get a lot busier, and date nights might be non-existent for a while, so we need to enjoy this time--busy as it is--while it lasts.
I just need to trust in the Lord.
"In quietness and trust is your salvation."
I love that verse from psalms. I can rest even in this crazy time (that is about to get a lot crazier).
Our next steps for adoption are to pack, mail in our visas through a courier, and for our Article 5 to get picked up in China. We are expecting to have Travel Approval (TA) sometime at the end of July and to leave 10 days later...hopefully by August 2. It doesn't look likely that July 26 will be our travel time because of the 4th of July holiday and just how our paperwork is going.
Please keep praying for our sweet boys, and us. Pray for them to be healthy and for attachment ( I will post more on that topic to come), and for our current kids to bear all this change.
Thank you all for caring about us, and supporting us so faithfully!
My dear friend Karen had a garage sale for us two weekends ago and raised $180.00 for our adoption! A few of you have given online to our Lifesong for Orphans matching grant and that has been such a blessing. THANK YOU Jen and Sue!! Seriously, it amazes me how generous you are!!
If you would like to support our adoption financially you can go to: https://mystory.lifesongfororphans.org/stories/help-us-bring-josiah-judah-home-china/
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