Would you PLEASE use your eyeballs and look at what we got TODAY??!!!!!
TWO new pictures and THREE videos. I can't even.......
Moving through the steps of an international adoption can sometimes feel like you're walking through quicksand. WAITING becomes your normal and it is NOT EASY. But then, there are times when things move LIGHTNING FAST and you're trying hard to keep up! I keep saying WAIT! I need to take a picture! or WAIT! I gotta write that date down! or WAIT! We gotta process what's happening here! I remember during Mary's process that I forced myself to BE IN THE MOMENT and document each thing as it happened.... but things are moving so fast around here that I'm struggling to detail the moments! WHAT A WONDERFUL STRUGGLE!
Here's a rundown of what's happened in just the last couple of weeks!
June 11: We receive PA (pre-approval) for our precious Lottie and begin to work on the next round of paperwork for USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services)
June 13: Once you receive PA, you're allowed to request an update. You can submit a few questions to the orphanage, but it is not guaranteed that they will be answered. Updates are completely voluntary for the orphanage and many folks don't get one at all. We decided on 12 questions (current measurements, illnesses/medications, soothing techniques, favorite toys, eating habits, etc.) and sent them to our agency for translation with fingers crossed that the orphanage would respond.
June 16: Jack Powell turns 19. He's still off doing Mission Serve stuff. I miss him and thinking about where he is and what he's doing makes it hard to concentrate sometimes.
June 17: Joe enjoys Father's Day thinking about the fact that he's got FOUR kids... ages 19, 16, 6, and 1. Sometimes that makes us laugh. Sometimes that makes us take a deep breath. Sometimes we shake our heads and wonder what in the WORLD is the Lord thinking. Sometimes we smile real big cause we realize how this is going to be SO GREAT. Sometimes we have to go lay down.
June 18: Max Powell turns 16 and gets his Driver's License. This is not adoption related, but it adds to the status of my BRAIN during these days.
(16 presents for your 16th birthday..... mostly silly stuff...... his favorite coffee creamers, a few gift cards to keep in his car, beef jerky, pajamas, car wash stuff...... you know: 16 year old boy stuff. Ha!)
June 20: Our paperwork for USCIS (now complete with the LOA) is sent to the "lockbox" in Texas. This step usually takes about 2 weeks.
June 24: Mary Powell's GOTCHA DAY! She's been with us for FIVE YEARS. As always, we watched the videos from that day over and over, ate Chinese food at Mr. Chen's, and pulled a gift from China from the stash of gifts we bought while in country. This year, it was a "province doll".... Shanghai, of course! It is absolutely CRAZY that Mary has been with us for five years! I can remember EVERY DETAIL of the day I met her..... the sounds, the smells, what the room looked like and how hot it was.... I fell in love with her before we even met! Oh my goodness, what would we do without Mary Powell???
June 25-29: Mary's swimming lessons. I could sit and watch Coach Anne teach kids to swim ALL DAY. It's like MAGIC.
June 25: We send off our stuff to get our Chinese Visas in our passports
June 26: Visa stuff is submitted to the Chicago consulate. It'll be picked up in about two weeks.
June 27: We sent a care package to Lottie! She'll get a sweet little photo album with all our pictures in it! HOPEFULLY, someone will show that book to her during the next couple of months and when we meet her for the first time, she'll think, "Hey. I know you. You're in my book. My nanny read me that book. You people are Mama, Baba, Sister, and Brother. I like you!" We also included some treats for the nannies and some things for the other kiddies in the foster care center.
June 28: UPDATE ANSWERED!!! The BEST EMAIL EVER comes through from our social worker saying that not only did the foster care center where Lottie is living respond to ALL of our questions, but they sent TWO new pictures and THREE new videos! I hadn't even had time to get worked up about having to WAIT for the update! They sent it before I could even worry about why they hadn't sent it yet!!! And getting PICTURES and VIDEOS along with it..... I CANNOT EVEN TELL YOU. In one of the videos, the nannies are trying to get her to take a few steps..... they're holding out a bottle to her and she's reaching for it.... but no steps...... and those women are just CACKLING around her..... she looks at them and grins and they just laugh and laugh..... We laugh a lot here in Powellville, so knowing that she's surrounded with laughter and joy means SO MUCH. I do not know these women, but just hearing them laugh makes me know that we could be the best of friends. I do so hope I get to hug their necks when I get to China. They are loving my baby and teaching her to laugh. The Lord knows us so well, doesn't he? He totally knows that folks in this family LAUGH..... and Lottie is going to fit right in.
One BIG answer to prayer came with the update. Lottie spent a bit of time in the hospital as an infant and left with a specific treatment regiment. Her file indicated a particular medicine that she was put on as she left the hospital. I had, of course, GOOGLED that medicine and learned that it's not necessarily something you want your baby on for an extended period of time. I was WORRIED about it. But the Lord constantly reminded me..... WORRY ABOUT NOTHING - instead, PRAY ABOUT IT. So, boy oh boy... have I been lifting that one up. I've prayed SO HARD that she would come home WITHOUT that medicine. I prayed that her current treatment be minimal. In the update, one of the questions we asked was "Is she on any current medications?"...... Because we were at Mary's SWIMMING LESSONS when the update came through (great timing, right?), Joe was reading the answers to me while I sat there and watched Mary learn the freestyle. When he got to the one about the medications, we were so thrilled to see "No" as the answer! Praise you, Lord! Now I'll move on to worry - I mean PRAY - about something else! Ha!
I've started googling things about her home province, joined Facebook groups for her orphanage, looked up flights, started my packingforChina shopping, made a list of things to do to get my school plans in order, and STARED AT HER PICTURE a whole lot. Lottie Gene Powell, I love you so much. You don't know us yet.... and I know the days ahead will be filled with unknowns. Things may be scary and confusing. We won't smell right and definitely won't be speaking words that you'll understand. But I'm praying so hard that the Lord prepares your heart to meet ours. I'm praying that you'll have SO MUCH COURAGE and SO MUCH TRUST and feel SO MUCH LOVE. You don't know it yet, but you have a mother who loves you SO MUCH. I think about you constantly. And although I haven't met you yet, I am SO VERY THANKFUL that I get to be your Mama. My cup overflows, sweet girl.
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