Adoption: LAST part of the China process!

We have waited a little over 3 years to get to this point.  It almost seems longer than that - in the waiting, the infertility, the sorrows and the joys!  Our log in date - when China put our information on their "list" - waiting an ever-increasing wait - was way back in the summer of 2008.  Little did we know, that our little girl was actually BORN at the end of that summer.  We just had to wait for her.

While we waited, the healthy referral for a China adoption went from 22 months (when we started) to 2 and a half years, to 3 years, to 4 & a half years.  Right now, it's at about 5 & a half years.  And that's not necessarily a bad thing.  The children are still being adopted - in European countries - and even within China.  The United States is one of the few countries that will adopt special needs and older children. So China focuses those children to the US.

While we waited, knowing that we were still called to an adoption in China, we had the opportunity and blessing to adopt domestically.  It's amazing how God worked the frustration, tears and heartbreak of waiting into building our family so perfectly.  TWO beautiful children will in our family by the end of November.  It's been amazing to see just how perfectly God has planned this for us.  For our family.

So we knew that we were still adopting from China.  We just didn't know how.  Our adoption agency has started working with a particular orphanage, including medical mission trips, to get some of the children there adopted.  Our social worker saw one of the little girls there and was led to send us the file.  Even though she was almost 3 years old.  And when we saw her picture - and read her file - we pretty much knew.  We said -YES - in July - and started on the paperwork.  And just a couple of weeks later we got our pre-approval.  Normally - or so I've heard and read - these next steps take about two to three months.  But we got our Letter of Acceptance in less than a month.  And then less than a month after that, we got our Travel Approval AND our travel DATES.  In a little over three month from when we first saw her picture, we are going to be traveling to get here!

We apparently like doing adoptions FAST.  We wait a long time, but then when it gets going...it goes FAST!  We are traveling the first two weeks of November to get our little girl!