bringing the little one home

I sit here on the back porch, a mild breeze blowing just enough to keep me out here, as it is quite warm today. The swirling thoughts in my mind are somewhat calmed by the drone of the lawn mower, as my 17-yr. old son works his way around our yard. Birds are chatting, squirrels scurrying. Sights and sounds that bring quiet to the soul.

My soul needs quieting today. A journey of nearly 3 years may take a drastic turn this week, possibly even today, as we await an impending phone call from our adoption agency, letting us know of the child we have been "matched" with. Our story, I will delve into more in later posts, but this is where we are now.

After months of paperwork gathering, our official dossier was logged into the Chinese Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) on January 13, 2006. Also known as LID (Log-In-Date). That means that at that time, our family was fully approved to adopt a baby from China. So, almost two and a half years later, it is finally "our turn" to get a phone call. Mind-boggling. It has been a long wait.

What now? Our call will come from our Family Coordinator at the agency, and she will give us basic information about the child that has been chosen for us. As part of our requirement, we requested a child "as young as possible," but that doesn't necessarily mean we'll be adopting a baby. She (he) could be as young as 7 months old, or she could be 3 years old. Once we receive "The Call," we will then respond back to our agency with our LOA (Letter of Acceptance), which will be forwarded to the CCAA. Then a few weeks pass and we receive Travel Approval (TA), and after that travel plans can be made, etc. We are praying for travel before the Olympics, so around mid-July. Trusting in God to bring that to pass.... we want to bring her home!