Bags Are Packed!

As I finish packing the final things in the suitcase and struggle with leaving my five teenagers behind, I also think about a little 2 year old girl in China who has no real idea how her life is about to be changed. Everything she has ever known and all that is familiar she will be leaving behind. We have chosen her and she has been in our hearts and minds for nine months now. A photo of her has been in my wallet and on the refrigerator for nine months. And, if we are lucky someone has shown her the little photo album that we sent to her in a package a few months ago. How long will it take her to understand that we love her and that she is going to be with us forever. Will she be terrified of us or will her new 4 year old brother help her to warm up to us faster? Will she struggle with her adoption when she is a teenager and struggling to just figure out her identity or will her adoption help her to understand her adoption as a child of God, something even more confusing and mysterious. I cannot explain how very much I love this child that I have only seen in photos. But, I can tell you that it is only because of the love God has given me. I am blessed and privileged to participate in this journey of adoption once again. I am sure there are challenging days ahead where I will be sleep deprived and exhausted by the needs of my family. But, I will go to bed thankful that God has given me the opportunity to love one more child and call her my daughter. I have been overwhelmed by the love and support that I have felt in the past few weeks as we prepared for travel. Thank you so much to all of you who are praying for us and helping out with the kids left behind.
We will leave our home tomorrow afternoon and arrive in China about 36 hours later, on Sunday afternoon. We will meet our new daughter on Monday morning, so our next post will probably not be until Monday. Christmas Blessings!