Introducing Our Daughter

Many months ago, we told you about our heart for China and today we are excited to introduce you to the daughter God has given us through adoption.  Here she is, the newest member of our family...we proudly introduce Emalyn Mae Qing.

 Our first unofficial family picture

Emalyn with her big sister

 

Emalyn is 15 months old and has a first degree cleft lip.  She is tiny for her age, but seems very healthy.  Her cleft lip seems to be mostly cosmetic and doesn't seem to interfere with her eating or babbling.  Her file says she is well liked and fairly on target for her age, developmentally.  Qing is part of her Chinese name and it means "celebrate".  Which we will do for the rest of her life! 

 

It is surreal not knowing every detail of her life and growth and needs and likes/dislikes.  Everyday I try to imagine what she is doing, if she is eating well, sleeping well, well loved, played with...it is hard not knowing much for sure.  Please pray with us that God would prepare her heart to meet us and that He would prepare our hearts, too.  A friend who has an adopted sister told me that her mom always prayed that someone would cry when they took their daughter from her orphanage.  I love that, because it says that someone loved her enough to shed tears because they wanted what was best for her, a forever family, but they would miss her.  I want that to be my prayer for Emalyn.  I pray that someone with her now loves her enough to cry when she meets her forever family.

We are so thankful to be at this point so quickly and we pray that the next steps move along as quickly as the ones before them.  We can't wait to hold our daughter in our arms...to love her up close instead of a world away.

If you would like to read our full referral story or follow along as we make our way to China, visit our adoption blog at http://www.alongroadtomeetyou.blogspot.com/.

So Close, but Yet So Far Away

Many months ago, before we even turned in the first piece (of many, many pieces) of paperwork, I announced that we were beginning the adoption process to bring our second daughter home from China.  God has been so faithful during this journey and has continuously reconfirmed His call for us to adopt.  We know that our daughter is waiting somewhere in China to join her for ever family, our family.  We anxiously awaiting the day that we will see her sweet face for the first time and, even more so, the day we will finally hold her in our arms. 

We are one big step closer to these big moments today!  We are officially DTC!  For those of you who are unfamiliar with the adoption lingo, DTC stands for "dossier to China".  Our plea to adopt and all of our paperwork is on its way to China.  Once it arrives, we will wait 3-4 weeks for a log in date (LID) and then we are officially waiting on a referral.

We covet your prayers during this time.  These are the things we are praying for specifically.

-Wisdom for Lifeline (our agency) and Lily who will be matching us with our daughter.
-Clarity upon referral; that we would know without a doubt if we are staring at the face of our daughter.
-That God would provide a special person to love our daughter and comfort her while she waits.
-That God would prepare her heart to be adopted and provide a supernatural peace through the transition.
-That God would prepare our hearts and the hearts of our families and friends, to love her, accept her and grow her up in the Lord.
-That this process would continue smoothly and quickly.

Thank you for supporting us and praying with us during this process.  If you want to follow all of the details of our adoption visit us at www.alongroadtomeetyou.blogspot.com.