It took about 2 seconds.

At 4:57 today, I was feeling pretty sorry for myself.  I was STILL at school trying to work through the massive to-do list that has been growing since the first day of school.  The pile of ungraded-papers-that-must-go-home-on-Tuesday was not small and had already been shoved into the "gonna have to be done this weekend" pile.  I was frantically studying up for next week's math lessons cause this new math program we've adopted is asking me to teach kids in a way that sometimes I don't even understand myself. Something smelled funny in my classroom and I couldn't seem to find the source of the stench. And SOMEBODY had consumed the last caffeinated drink in my school fridge and I was staring at the three little bottles of water that were left.


THEN, my phone rang.  It was Joe.....and the first words out of his mouth were.."We are DTC!!!!!!"

In adoption-speak, that means "Dossier To China"......
In Mikki Powell speak, that means WOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

This is a HUGE milestone in the adoption process.  It means that our very large stack of paperwork that we've been working on since APRIL (diligently working, mind you.....it just takes a LONG time).... is right about here:

That precious pack of paperwork is on its way to CHINA!

What's next?  LID........ which officially means "Log-In Date"...... but unofficially means "China knows the Powells exist and that they have the paperwork to prove it."

LID should take about three weeks.

What's next after THAT?  Matching.

What a precious word.  MATCHING.

That's when the Lord will reveal to someone in China that they should reveal to someone at Lifeline that they should reveal to US who our Mary is....... we'll see her face and learn her story, her needs, her location, her age...... we'll meet our daughter..... on paper.

She won't know us yet, but that's okay.  Cause we've already started praying for her.  And if you'd like to join in, here are specific prayer requests:

1.  Pray for Mary.  Pray for health and happiness.
2.  Pray for Mary's birth mom.  I still think about her ALL the time.  Pray for her to have peace in knowing that this child will be SO taken care of..... and pray that she will know Christ.... cause I sure would love to meet her in Heaven some day.
3.  Pray for the orphanage workers.  Pray for patience and compassion.
4.  Pray for the workers at Lifeline as they begin our matching process.  Pray that they will receive direct guidance from the Lord and follow His will for us and for Mary.  Pray for safety as the China Team travels to China.
5.  Pray for Joe and me.  Pray that we'll have patience as we wait, wisdom as we make decisions, and joy through the waiting.
6.  Pray for the boys.  Pray that they will adjust well to our new normal.
7.  And pray for that stack of paperwork.  Pray that it finds its way to the right person and pray that the person who handles our file will be compassionate and diligent.

At 4:57 today, I was grumpy, stressed, and burdened.  I'm all better now.  It took about 2 seconds.... DTC, baby!!!!!