Saturday, March 28, 2015

Countdown to Capturing Joy

We are one week away. This time next week, our bags will be checked in and we will be waiting to board the first leg of an incredibly long journey to go get our girl. 
Tensions have been a little high and anxiety has taken its toll. That can happen when you feel like certain things are falling apart just weeks before travel.
Thursday I had a nice big breakdown as I contemplated leaving my precious 3 year old for 12 days. Don't get me wrong, I will miss my boys but she is so little however I have to remember she is also resilient. And, she will be in THE best care on the planet. 
The anxiety attack was also attached to my insane fear of flying. You know, being 38,000 feet in the air in a metal tube for 13 hours with no way out! Yeah, that!
BUT GOD. Did you know I would say that? Its kind of my mantra. We couldn't have gotten to this point...again without Him and all of you. Huge THANK YOU!!!

Quick fundraising update: we hosted a Cut-a Thon at the very end of February raising just over $1500!!! It was insane. People are amazing. We had four stylists that worked their butts off for three hours cutting away to bring this girl home. We also had handmade crafts donated and my friend, Laurie and I worked for 3 weeks making as much jewelry as we could. It was a HUGE success. 
Since then donations have still come in very regularly meeting us right when we need it. After buying our tickets, for instance, we had a friend of ours pay to upgrade us to economy plus on our long legs. There aren't enough words to say thank you for that blessing. 

The girls' room is just about finished. Today we will be adding the finishing touches and then the fun begins...packing! Can you hear the sarcasm?
I spent most of last night googling packing tips, traveling tips etc. I found things like "How to survive an international flight in coach" or "8 things you never pack but should" and even "How to pack 30 outfits into your carry on". They made me laugh but I did take away some little nuggets of wisdom. Like one recommendation to get a lot of exercise the day before an international flight. Makes total sense and I will definitely be doing that. Or another that said rolling your clothes takes less space than folding. Whatever works right?

About Joy. She is amazing. In the last 2 weeks we have received a host of new updates. Pictures and videos that have reinforced to us she does indeed know what is about to take place. And even though she is terribly sad she is also very ready to have, in her own words, "her own mama and baba". It truly warms and saddens my heart all at the same time. 
We also learned she has never called anyone mama...ever! She calls her foster mother moo-moo (not sure of spelling) which is Chinese for "older Auntie". My heart broke when I learned of this and I consider it a sacred thing if she chooses to call me "mama". 
Joy with her foster sister
Her foster family
 
Our sweet Joy.
Prayer requests. For our family in general. For the boys while we are gone. My Aunt Holly will be coming to stay with them which basically means one big party. She is amazing. So thankful for her presence in our lives. 
Our girl. She will be with her Nai Nai the first part and then with our really good family friends, The Teagues the second part. She will be loved and spoiled in both homes but just pray her little heart has the understanding she needs. 
For Brian: he has a lot of stress while preparing to leave for 12 days that just adds to his normal stress at his job in general. He bears the brunt of our adoption paperwork and now adding a 13 year old girl to his life. This is a man who has less knowledge than I do about girls, having been raised with 3 brothers.
For me: the anxiety I deal with is under control most of the time (thank you Jesus) but can be triggered when I least expect it (this is what happened on Thursday). I am thankful that through it I am leaning on Jesus and not myself and also thankful for people who pray. 
For the trip: Our travel time getting there is 35 hours with a 7 HOUR layover in Beijing. Please pray for smooth travel. But most of all that we can sleep on the long leg. We were unable to do so last time which made everything 100 times worse. Pray for our health, that it will remain intact and we will keep our joy throughout the journey no matter the trials we face. The JOY of the LORD WILL be our strength.
Please pray for our time in country, especially the time we will spend in her province. Joy has requested she be given the chance to go and say good bye once again to her foster family and to return to her school to take pictures and say good bye. Of course we will oblige her in whatever she wants. We recognize this is a massive undertaking and want to be sensitive to her needs. 
For Joy: her heart and mind. Pray that even now, God is preparing her heart to not only receive us and to bond with us but also to eventually receive His love and grace. Our biggest prayer is she be adopted a second time into His family. That is more important than anything we could ever do for her.

I think that is all for now. Once again, we want to say we are so thankful for all of your support and encouragement along the way. Please book mark this page and watch our journey unfold while we are there. 
Blessings.