A thought or two from Kevin

Logistics update…

Homestudy…check.

US Immigration…check.

Next up…China Dossier. 

I find a certain amount of satisfaction from a daily dose of the US mail.  Enough satisfaction that it is not uncommon for me to ask Courtney on my commute home, “was there any good mail today?”  So when Courtney beat me to the topic, I knew there was news.  Just four days after being fingerprinted as part of our submission to US Immigration (USCIS), we received a letter in the mail stating that we were approved to bring a child into this country!

In case all the logistics are fuzzy, this is the approval that we were told could take up to 90 days and things went through for us in a little over 30 days.  Our social worker told us that after fingerprinting, it often only takes a few weeks to get approval.  We thought that was pretty good.  So, when the approval came 4 days later, we were impressed.

Our next step in the process is for our Social Worker to submit our dossier to China in the next week or so.  We’ve been told that this portion of the process is fairly efficient, so it may only takes a few weeks for them to approve us.  While there is still more paperwork that will need to change hands in the months ahead of us, it certainly feels like there is a fair amount of positive momentum. 

If that news is not big enough, just wait, there’s more.  The director of the agency we are working with will be travelling to China from May 13^th to 26^th.  There are two orphanages that she will be visiting.  She will be interacting with the kids and learning a bit of their stories, taking videos to be able to share, and reviewing files with available background on the children.  There is a very real possibility that she will find a little one for us to welcome into our family.  Please join us in praying for her journey.

On the eve of Mother’s Day, there is a mix of bitter and sweet.  The sweetness is me cherishing the season of life that our kids are enjoying with their mom.  It is a blessing for me to watch them soak up all that Courtney pours into them.  Just the other day, Jude was wearing a shirt that said ‘my mom rocks’, and I smiled when he made sure to remind her that he thinks she rocks.  Courtney is preparing herself to be a mom for a little one that we have not met yet, but we will…and it will before we know it!  On the bitter side of things, that same little one is experiencing the early season of life without a mom guiding her through it.  That is disheartening.  I grieve the loss of my mom too.  Her imprint on me is still real.  It has been nearly 21 years since she died, but I do imagine how she would integrate into this little life of mine…and that makes me sad and happy all at the same time.  Moms are truly an amazing gift.          

So we continue to wait patiently…at least most days.  We continually release the elements of this journey that we cannot control into the hands of a God that is known for making beautiful things.  There is a story He is piecing together, and we thank you for encouraging us and praying for us as we experience the highs and lows of the story as it is written.