And Then There Were Two

Well God is answering our prayers with moving the process along. Today at lunch I received a call from Tiffany that it's between us and one other family!!! Crazy!!! All God's Children partners with Gladney Center for Adoption in China. Apparently they are a huge adoption agency that has been around forever. Anyway, the director of Gladney has been in Beijing and heard about our request to be submitted to the CCCWA. He "just so happens" to be friends with some big wig at the CCCWA (Tiffany referred to him as "the director" but I'm unsure if he's the director of a certain department or the whole shebang), so he offered to personally make the request for our agency. How merciful of God to do that for us?! When he makes the request, the CCCWA director says that the girls paperwork came with a note on it stating that the files should be locked for another agency!! What!!!???? CCCWA director says that the family with the other agency has been sponsoring the twins. Gladney director tells the CCCWA director that his family (meaning me and Nathan) are also sponsoring the girls. So the director requested both families' dossiers and he'll make a decision between the two!!! Can you believe that??? I feel like we're in a soap opera. So we have a 50/50 chance at this point.

We're so grateful to know how to pray specifically! The part that is hard is that now we know another family is in the same boat as us. They are hoping to get to parent these sweet little ones too!

We know there is nothing else we could have done, our files are before the eyes of the guy with the power to make the decision. Now we just pray and wait on God to reveal to us His plan.

p.s. A good friend just mentioned Psalm 30 to me. What great Truth to cling to during this time of waiting. Just wanted to say that I'm SO THANKFUL for this excitement! God is so good to give us such a fun time in life, even if it is nerve racking. :) I don't want to forget to be grateful for this even if His plan is not for us to parent these girls. 

Psalm 130

¹ Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;
²     Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
    to my cry for mercy.

³ If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,
    Lord, who could stand?
⁴ But with you there is forgiveness,
    so that we can, with reverence, serve you.

⁵ I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
    and in his word I put my hope.
⁶ I wait for the Lord
    more than watchmen wait for the morning,
    more than watchmen wait for the morning.

⁷ Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
    for with the Lord is unfailing love
    and with him is full redemption.
⁸ He himself will redeem Israel
    from all their sins.

Paper Chain

One of my co-workers suggested I make a paper chain with each link representing a day until the shared list. At first I honestly thought, "no need for that, we're going to hear something tomorrow. " :) After 6 days of waiting, I decided it was time.

The top white link is for January 28th, the day the shared list is released! We're so hoping we hear something before this thing gets much shorter. I joked with Nathan last night that I need a link for every hour. It's torturous to only be able to remove one link for a whole 24 hours of waiting. Over the last few days, I've been reminded twice that God isn't about the end result but about the process. This is definitely making us depend on Him so I'm going to sit in gratitude today for Him taking my eyes off of myself  to search Him!

WE'RE SO CLOSE

At the Currie/Henderson annual "fireball party".

Yesterday, January 10th, we found out the girls paperwork went from the local government to the CCCWA! It's both nice and nerve racking to get the play by play of the process at this point. Our agency is working on a request to lock their files. We are on pins and needles while waiting to hear their response. Last night I told Nathan that I feel there are very few times in life that we can so clearly anticipate knowing God's will for us in such a tangible way as we are experiencing now. I might have a heart attack while I wait. :) 

One Step Closer!!

Yay! We're one step closer to knowing God's plan for us and for the sweet twins!!! Today we found out the girls' paperwork made it to the local government!! Praise the Lord for His Mercy!!

Sweet gift from Anne Marie...Truth I need in front of my face each day!

Tiffany, our caseworker, predicts that the process should move more quickly now. Hopefully we'll know more of God's plan by the end of January.

Our handsome nephew, Rob, at Christmas lunch. Pardon the poor quality of the iPhone.

At this point our agency tracks the girls files to the CCCWA. Once there, they will submit a request to allow our agency, All God's Children International, to lock their files. If they say "yes" we know God's plan is for us to parent these girls! If they say "no" the chances of being matched with them are pretty slim.Will you join us in praying that the CCCWA would show favor to our agency?

Great BBQ place in Franklin- Trip with Nathan's family.

 Either way, we know God's plan will prevail and His plan is BEST! We can have confidence He's working all things for His Glory and our Good. - Good not necessarily being what we want - Good may mean lots of heartache on earth (us grieving that we love these girls but they aren't ours), but He is bringing us Holiness which is a Joy that cannot be matched!

Good News!

* I learned from my friend Anne Marie that a good blog post is never without pictures, even if they are unrelated to the content. :) So here are some super random photos.
* Also, the girls turned 17 months yesterday on my mom's birthday!!! Happy Birthday to a Godly, Amazing Mother and Friend!!

Dinner with Anne Marie a few weeks ago- such a treat!

On Friday, December 7th we received word that the girls' paperwork should be going to the local government in the next two weeks! We're so thrilled that God seems to be moving the girls closer to their forever family and us closer to knowing His will for us! We're just beyond grateful that He is so good to us.

Waterfall near Franklin, NC- trip with Nathan's family

So this coming Friday, December 21st should be the end of the two weeks. We don't know if the date will actually be that firm, but we're hopeful. Once the paperwork is at the local government, it then goes to the CCCWA where they will make a decision on allowing our agency to lock their files for us or if they'll be put on the shared list. Would you join us in praying that the paperwork would go to the CCCWA and they would make a decision before the Chinese New Year? 2013 Chinese New Year is February 10th but offices close before that...usually they have a month holiday.

With out sweet nieces, Makenzie & Maddie Grace

Praise be to the Lord, for He has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and He helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise Him. - Psalm 28:6-7

Hi There!

 Just checking in to say there is still no news on the twins. We did hear that their original orphanage doesn't have the greatest track record with paperwork. That wasn't really a shocker but not exactly encouraging news. I'm praying for the worker to have dreams about the girls to prompt them to complete their paperwork. I'm having a hard time waiting on God to tell us if He's chosen us as their parents. My short prayer that I'm hoping will penetrate my heart is "Help me to make YOU my trust. 'Blessed is the man who makes the Lord His trust'- Ps 40:4"
  I am really thankful that God gave me the sweet gift of a great birthday. My husband is amazing! I woke up to breakfast he prepared and flowers, then a thoughtful gift, he took off work when I got off to celebrate and took me to a great birthday dinner. He's so good at loving me uniquely in the way I will receive it best. As if that wasn't enough, God has blessed me with the sweetest family and friends who went out of their way to express their love for me! I felt so cherished!!! Thank you Lord for your sweet mercy.

15 months and 3 days

  That's as precise as I can get on the twins age today, considering we weren't present on the day of their birth to know the hours and seconds. Actually, I guess no one but their dear birth mom (and possibly father) will ever hold that information. While I grieve that the girls will never hear "I remember the day you were born....", I grieve even more for the loss their birth mother must feel. What were those months like carrying twins? Did she know there would be two? Did she have to be on bed rest? Would her job even permit that? How many weeks were they able to form in her womb? What was giving birth to them like for her? What happened in the hours after birth? So many questions that will probably never be answered. As I grieve another month of their lives passing without us being with them, I can only imagine what her heart must feel as the 16th of each month rolls around.
   God has given us the sweetest gift of allowing us to send a package to the girls! It's so fun to be able to shop for them and love on them from afar. We covet your prayers for us and these little ones. Currently,we're waiting on their orphanage to complete and submit their paperwork to the civil affairs office. Please pray that God would put an urgency on the heart of the one responsible for the paperwork. Thanks so much!!!