7-12 Weeks!

We got the excited call from Holt yesterday - prepare to travel in 7-12 weeks! The federal Ministry of Justice approved Hung's file on 2/27 - with in a day of receiving it!! This is REALLY happening!

This has been such an emotional week. After waiting for so long, it seems like it isn't true. We received new photos last week and new medical information this week that makes us realize we really need to revisit all the books on older child adoption and attachment. Its one thing to hope and dream for 2 years that a new child will join the family. It is another thing to have the family and the child ready to successfully make the transition.

The night before we adopted Lily, all the "What ifs" ran wild - "What if we can't comfort her? What if she and Marshall don't get along? What if we can't communicate? What if she won't bond with us? What if... what if.. what if...? I hate to admit it but I got a wild case of the what if's this week too. And, I think rightly so..the "what ifs" of this adoption seem much larger. For almost 2 years, Hung has been told we are coming. What if he he resents the heck out of the fact that it took so very long? What if the delay will make it very difficult for him to transition to English? What if Marshall and Lily don't readily accept him and they fight and don't share? What if he longs for the comfort of the familiar and his foster family and hates us for taking him away? What if..what if..what if...

I know - a lttile late to be thinking about this now! Yes, I've thought about these questions since the beginning but now they are at the forefront. Thankfully, God blessed me with the rock of a husband. He calmly looked at the new medical information I freaked out about and said "So what? We've known from the beginning there will be challenges. We have the resources, we have the love. We can do this. We WILL do this. God chose us to be his parents. Let's get ready. Calm down."

My dear friend Brenda, the mom to two handsome young men and two beautiful daughters from China gently reminded me - "this is you! Remember how you called me in a panic from Beijing the night before you received Lily? You need to ask these questions, you need to prepare, but you need to trust in yourselves, in God and that love can do all things." How many times over the last few years have I given this same advice to friends who are adopting? How many times over and over and over have I seen these children blossom in the love of their forever families?

So now, we no longer need to pray that this adoption will happen. It will! We are praying that God prepares Hung's heart for a new family, that he gives us and our children the ability and courage to meet the challenges ahead with grace, strength and a sense of humor. We also continue to pray that the other waiting families for Dong Nai hear similar good news about pending travel SOON!