I'm sorry I've been MIA the past couple of weeks. Our life has suddenly turned into a whirlwind. Remember the graphic I shared in my last post? This one?
When I shared this picture on April 7, we were on Step #7: waiting not-so-patiently for Ch*na to issue our LOA. In the last two-and-a-half weeks, we have zoomed through Steps 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. If all goes well, Step #13 should happen tonight while we sleep. That means we should be waiting for approval to travel this week. We are hoping and praying that we can be on a plane May 7.
I can't tell you how ecstatic we are that we will be meeting our Li'l Bean in May!!! There's a good chance she will spend her second birthday at home. But, all this crazy flying along has meant the last couple of weeks have been a blur of paperwork, hours on hold with government offices, shopping, packing, and laying awake at night thinking about whether to pack footie pjs or nightgowns for Bean. (Can you believe Jeremy stays up thinking about crazy things like that?!?)
Although I have struggled to come up for air in the past two weeks, I cannot adequately express the deep sense of support and encouragement that has surrounded us during this time. It truly feels like a giant team of our family and friends is sharing in our excitement as they partner with us - through prayer, through finances, through encouraging words - to bring Bean home. We have friends who have watched our kids at a moment's notice, friends who have generously given of their finances, friends who have shared their Gymbucks to make sure Bean has the cutest wardrobe ever. I can't find the words to thank any of them enough.
In the middle of the whirlwind that has been April, we were able to complete our Both Hands Project. We had 51 people show up to give their Saturday serving Ms. Sherrill. We were blown away (and I think she was, too)! The video below was put together by one of our team members. He did an awesome job recapping the project in just three minutes. Please take a minute to check it out if you haven't already.
As of yesterday, our friends, family, and complete strangers have donated over $10,000 to our adoption through our Both Hands account. I don't even know what to say after typing that. We are humbled, overwhelmed, and so incredibly thankful. When we accepted Li'l Bean's file at the end of December, we committed to moving as quickly as possible to get her home. Now, less than four months later, we look back amazed at the way God has provided. Many, many of you have been part of that provision. Thank you. Thanks for being part of Bean's story. Thanks for loving our family in a big way.
So...what's coming next? We need to get past Steps 13, 14, and 15 before we can book our trip. We're hoping all three of those things happen this week. There's a holiday in Ch*na on Friday, so we're praying they decide to get all the files off their desks before their long weekend, and they issue our Travel Approval later this week. If that happens, we're planning to travel May 7-20. We'll be home just in time for Bean's birthday.
That's our crazy news. We're over-the-moon excited, amazed, and only slightly freaked out at the way things have come together. I will keep you updated on our progress this week, but right now I need to go pack some baby girl jammies.
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