Lots of people have been asking if it’s hard not being able to go get Gavin.  I use to say no, as I have built an emotional wall to protect myself.  I can’t go get him today, so why should I be sad about it?  That won’t change anything. But that wall is slowly crumbling as time goes on.  It will hit me that I’ll never have any baby pictures of him.  Or that we’re going to miss his birthday next week.  Or that in a few weeks I’ll be in Mexico taking care of orphans, while someone else is taking care of my child in an orphanage.  Last week, we found out that the Chicago consulate will no longer authenticate documents notarized a certain way, and 4 of our 13 documents were notarized this way.  This was after I had already mailed our dossier to our courier, so we had to intercept the package, redo a few things, then send it to the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC instead.  This set us back both money and time.  And it makes me sad.

But we recently learned that Gavin is at an amazing facility, where he’s getting more care, attention, and help than he would be at the orphanage.  This is an unbelievable gift, and once I’m able to share more about where he is and the organization that is taking care of him, you will understand why.  We’ve moved Noelle into her “big girl” room and are getting the nursery ready for him.  I want to do all the normal “nesting” things, but I have no idea what size of clothes to buy, or what else we’re going to need for him, so it will sit mostly empty for now.

Once our documents are back from the Embassy (assuming no problems), they will be off to our agency for critical review, then they will send them to China. Then we will official be DTC (Dossier to China) and then soon after LID (logged  in).  Next it will be in China’s hands, and an estimated 4-6 months before travel.

So yes, the waiting it hard.  But we trust in God’s perfect timing.  And we know we will so many more birthdays, holidays, and events with him than without.  We are so thankful for our friends and family that are praying, encouraging, and asking.  It means more than words can ever express.