Package and letter #2

It has taken a LONG time to pull together another package in the business of life. I am starting to figure out why this wait time seems harder and longer than it did with Libi. We were so blessed with Libi to have direct contact with the foster home where she was. We were getting updates and new pictures constantly. With our little Haddie we don't even know if she has received our first package and letter yet. Does she even know that she has a family? So, we are sending this next package with FAITH that she will receive it. How we long to hear some sort of update about her.

We are finally DTC (Dossier to China). That simply means all of our paperwork is on it's way to China. Waiting for the Lord to say GO...the time is NOW.

"Not to us, Oh Lord, not to us but to Your Name be the glory, because of Your love and faithfulness."

Psalm 115:1

Pink headband to match the pink flower shirt, note pad with attached pen, Hello Kitty watch, Slinky, chocolate covered raisins, oreo sticks, rainbow twizzlers

Light up princess shirt, our letter, stickers

Our sweet neighbor girls modeling their matching shirts like the one we are sending to Haddie.

Dear Zhu Xiao Jie,

We hope that you are doing well. We are so excited to come to China to meet you and make you a part of our family forever. We have put your picture up in our house and look at it each day. You are a beautiful girl. We are so thankful that we get to be your family. I am so thankful that I get to be your mama.

I want to write you to tell you about things here in the United States that might be different than China.

Last month we celebrated your sister’s birthday. Libi Faith turned 3 years old. Grandparents and aunts and uncles came to our house and had cake and ice cream and we watched Libi open gifts. We cannot wait to celebrate your birthday. You have four grandparents, two aunts, two uncles, and five cousins who are very excited to meet you. There are also 3 little girls who live boy our house who were also adopted from China. They are excited to have you as a new friend to play with.

Your little sister Libi likes to look at your picture. You will share a room with her. I think you will be a good big sister to her. Libi will like to play with you. I bought you a nice warm fuzzy blanket yesterday for your bed. I think you will like it.

I am sure that our toys are different than what you have in China. We were told that you like to ride a scooter. We do have scooters here in the United States and we will have one waiting for you to ride.

Food in the United States will be different than the food you have in China. You will get to try lots of new things. When we come to China we will take you to a place called McDonald’s. I am not sure if you have ever heard of McDonald’s, but they have yummy hamburgers and fries. These are all things we think you will like very much.

In the United States we speak a different language than you do in China. We speak English. We are starting to learn how to speak some words in your language. We know that you might be sad that you cannot tell us things that you are thinking about or feeling. We will try very hard to understand. We can draw pictures and use our hands to help talk to each other. When we are in China with you we will have someone to help us talk. We know that you will learn English words very quickly because you are a very smart girl.

We know that sometimes it may feel like you are waiting for a long time for us to come to China. We will come and we hope it will be before it gets cold. I will write another letter to you very soon.

Your family loves you,
And I love you,
Mama

Waiting with HOPE

I have been resting in the TRUTHS of the Psalm below. It is not always easy to WAIT.

We have had a few "hitches" in our paperwork process.

We still do not have our paperwork in China yet.

Just when I think something is taking too long or it hasn't gone smoothly. I am reminded that it is all right on time. I believe and trust that my sweet little Haddie will not wait one moment past the time she is to be united with her family.

It is not hard for me to believe that God's time is always perfect down to the second. I have seen it and KNOW it to be true. It is just hard to wait on it. Does that make sense?

I recently learned in Beth Moore's study on Esther that if we didn't long for what we were waiting for, it would just be the passing of time. That longing piece of waiting is what makes it waiting. SO...our HOPE is in God and we trust that we will soon post with a LID (log in date). That will be the date that all of our papers are done and in China. Then...we wait! :) It will take about 3-5 months from there before we will leave for China to get our Haddie Hope and bring her home.

Psalm 146
1 Praise the Lord!

Let all that I am praise the Lord.
2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live.
I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.

3 Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
there is no help for you there.
4 When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,
and all their plans die with them.
5 But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He made heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them.
He keeps every promise forever.
7 He gives justice to the oppressed
and food to the hungry.
The Lord frees the prisoners.
8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down.
The Lord loves the godly.
9 The Lord protects the foreigners among us.
He cares for the orphans and widows,
but he frustrates the plans of the wicked.

10 The Lord will reign forever.
He will be your God, O Jerusalem, throughout the generations.

Praise the Lord!

There are things that happen that make that longing in my heart grow stronger, like seeing a little Asian face that is about the age of Haddie, or putting something away in her room for her. There are also those gifts that God sends in such loving timing. I received one of these gifts last week. I caught a glimpse of our Haddie in a picture on a blog. You know what I love most about this picture? I love her shoes and tiara! Look at those. Those are girly shoes if I ever saw them! These are the same items she had on in the pictures we received in our referral packet. I love that she has something so girly that she can put on and feel like the princess that she is! What a gift!