Yes, it is true. She is 17 months old and we think she is just precious! We have submitted our Letter of Intent to China to request her as our very on and, while we thought we could wait patiently on our Pre-Approval before telling all, time has gotten the best of us and today is the day!
The back story.....Pryce and I traveled to China on a mission trip in November 2015 and spent the majority of our time there in an orphanage. One of the many loves I have in adoption is the ability to advocate for children who wait. I had in my mind that the mission trip would allow me the opportunity to be a voice for the children who were waiting....I wanted to go in and give the ALL a chance, speak up for them to their director and show her that each and every one of those children has a worth and is a life worth fighting for, special needs and all. Harsh reality set in when we realized that many of those children would grow up surrounded by barren walls and with little hope of a life with a forever family.
It took time to process but I came home with a determination to advocate for waiting children and find homes for these kiddos. I sincerely love telling families about a child that could potentially become their own. One morning in December, I spied a three year old little girl and inquired about her. My thoughts were if I could find out more about her, I can share with families who are looking. The response I received to my inquiry was that she had been placed - AWESOME - and then the email read, "how about this little cutie?" Attached to the email was the file of our girl and pictures of her sweet little self! I knew the minute I saw her she was a Drafts. Never in my dreams have I thought one could tell, but, it is true, one can tell when they are looking into the eyes of their child even if they are on the other side of the world!
However, adoption was really not on our radar. We had discussed hosting and possibly hosting to adopt but really just tossing around different scenarios with no real commitment to any of our thoughts. We felt complete. Maryn makes a good little caboose - she is spunky, charms us all with her little antics, and she is still quite the baby to us all! We were just getting settled into a new little routine....school for some, part time work for me, the crazy schedules that surround us, etc. But, that face.....
We prayed and prayed and every.single.time, God answered very clearly. We even told the agency we could not proceed with her twice because of the lack of answers we were given in regards to her health....and still, He prevailed and showed us each step of the way that she was ours!
So, here we grow again!
We ask for prayers for her. She is currently residing in the province that borders where we traveled in November....we were SO close yet had no idea! She does have a need that we will likely know the extent of until she is home. Though her need looks fairly simple, we are fervently praying that she is protected from illness or injury while she waits. And please pray we get our Pre-Approval for her THIS week! (For you mommas who have experienced pregnancy, the Pre-Approval is the equivalent to seeing and/or hearing the heartbeat on the ultrasound monitor!) With CNY being celebrated this past week, we have had to already experience a bit of patience early on in this process while we wait for PA....and once it arrives, we can share her sweet face with all of you!
