Update...

So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:34 (AMP)


I have been trying to remember this but as time passes, boy is it hard! I am a planner, especially for the big things. Little things, I tend to lose all thoughts of planning and then I get myself into trouble. Big things, however, I am a major planner. I like to have detailed lists and agendas and schedules. I like routines and have a hard time shifting out of a known routine. God have been proving time and time again that yes, schedules are great, but you need to be able to roll with the changes.


We got an update for Man Ting last week where they mentioned possible Autism along with the newly diagnosed ADHD and his previous condition of Mild MR. Yey! Of course, I don't know whether to believe it or not. I know enough from all the training and schooling that Nick and I have gone through that most of his ADHD and developmental issues come from addicted parents. He was born addicted to drugs and then ended up in an institution for all but the last year or so of his life. I would have issues too! I am finding it really difficult to hear or read all these medical reports, counselor reports, etc because I am not there. This is MY child and I am half way around the world waiting on paperwork. I can't be there to advocate for him or demand a second opinion or prove them wrong.


I know he is more than just a series of reports. I love the PLK caseworkers updates so much more than the medical updates. She sends pictures and notes on how he is feeling about us and the move here. He is learning some basic English so with my really basic Cantonese, hopefully we can talk to each other. He really wants to race a pinewood derby car with his brother and go to Disney world with us. He loves looking at the photo album of us and all his cousins and grandparents but asked in a quiet voice if he was in the book. His caseworker was then able to show him the back page where we included pictures of him and notes about how much we want to meet him and bring him home. His caseworker said he smiled at that. :) (Makes this momma cry!)


He turned 8 on the 27^th and we weren't together. That was pretty hard for me and I know the kiddos asked about him. The upside was that the kids had a ½ day of school so we stayed busy. We had been hoping to bring him home before then but knew it wouldn't be easy. Now we are praying for April. Of course, April is in a few short weeks and with Easter about 6 weeks away, April will be tricky. If you are a praying person, please pray that we can travel soon and be home before Easter. My kitchen table has an empty seat waiting for him and there is an empty bed in the boy's room that is begging to be slept in.



Here are some updated pics of Man Ting coloring in the coloring book we sent him for Christmas.

1 step closer...

I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:13-14

I just wanted to give everyone an update on our situation. There hasn't been much to tell honestly until just recently. We are living our life with our kids and waiting to be able to bring our son home and complete our family. It is surreal some days. We are running from one activity to another and having fun but both Nick and I know, in the back of our minds, that we have a missing part of us out there half way around the world. In the quiet times, I find myself wondering if he is having fun. Does he know us? Are we as abstract to him as he is to us sometimes? We know him based on his medical records, some school records, a case worker's write-up, and pictures but we don't know if he is afraid of the dark, or if he likes peanut butter and jelly, or if he loves Legos. So many holes, so many things we have to wait to learn. The waiting is the hard part. I have mentioned it time and again, but waiting is really hard. I know that God is using this time to teach us patience and dependence on him but wowsa, 2 1/2 years is a long time to wait. We got new pictures of him visiting the airport in Hong Kong and he looks so big now! Again, we know on paper that he will be 8 next month but now he is actually looking like it and that's hard. Everyone thinks about adoption as somethign that happens to infants and toddlers but there is such a need for older children. Everyone deserves the love and affection that parents can give.

When I am surrounded by "What-If"s and unknowns that can cause some anxiety and worry, I need to take comfort in the concrete things that we do know. We know that we should be traveling in April. (YAY!!!) We know that we have provisional approval to bring him into the US. (Another YAY!!!) We know that he is starting to learn English. We know that our waiting will be ending soon. We know we have an amazing God who will use this entire journey for His glory! It always comes back to trusting in a mighty God who knows what He is doing and what the eventual outcome will be!