A Couple of milestones......

The past couple of weeks have marked a couple of huge milestones for us. We sent off our packet of papers to the adoption agency. This packet has been in process since last June. Many hands have touched it, many dollars were spent to create it, many miles were driven in the process and even a plane trip. We find it amusing that the Fed Ex folks now know Michael and why he is in there office.  Our Dossier is what gets sent to China for us to get our little girl.

Then yesterday, we got an email from the adoption agency that our dossier was on its way to China. And so the waiting begins. We are waiting to hear that we got a Log In Date or LID. Once we have a LID we are eligible for a match. They search will begin for our baby.

It is an odd thought to think about the fact that people, humans are seeking out our child. They are seeking the one that God has chosen to be in our family. Seeking the next Bowden. We expect and have been told that more than likely we will not have a match until April or May. Partly due to the time it takes to get the LID and the look for the match. It is also financial reasons.

The ox of papers in her room. 

We praise our Father for the fact that we had our first big payment in the bank. That came from people who donated to our adoption, things that we have been selling, and the mere fact that we are saving every single penny we can. We do not go out very much any more, the more we look the more we are finding ways to cut our budget at home and by HIS grace we had it in the bank. Our next payment is huge, double of what we just paid and within four months of that we need to be able to travel. Please be in prayer in regards to this. We are applying for scholarships like crazy, saving everything we can and in the spring we will be having a fun event to help raise money for the adoption.

Our hearts long to get her home. The Christmas season has been a bit hard for this Mama. I put up our stockings this year with the thought that  (Hopefully) next year we will have one more to add. It is hard when you know your child is out there and not here.

As you prepare to spend Christmas, we hope and pray that it is one that is filled with Love, Joy and Peace from the King. We are excited to be spending Jesus’ birthday in sunny South Florida this year. It will probably be the last year that we travel for Christmas for a couple of years.

Merry Merry,

Jennifer

The 3rd Trimester

Being paper pregnant there are certain milestones that take longer than others. Unlike a normal pregnancy, The “trimesters” do not move along in specific  increments. . But next week we will take another step in the journey and hit our third trimester. Our Dossier packet is done. (I talked to the courier in New York today and they were picking up my birth certificate) this is the last piece to the puzzle of 20 documents that took us over 5 months to put together. Our Dossier packet is what we need to get a LID date. (LID is Log in Date) We need a LID date to get matched.

We will send it out on Tuesday and then wait. We should have a LID date sometime in February and then we wait some more.

The thought occurred to me…… WOW this time next year I could be a mom. This time next year, we could be putting up a Christmas tree with our daughter. And that is where the emotions of this “pregnancy” comes into play.

At this point, I would need all my fingers and toes to count how many people I know who are having a baby in the coming year. I love to hear of new life, we pray for these unborn little ones daily. But there are times where it is hard as well. When you are pregnant there is a due date. By all accounts you know when you are going to be able to hold that little one. But when you are “paper pregnant” there is no due date. There is only an estimated time line. We have been at this process 1.5 years now, and I honestly struggle with hearing that people are pregnant knowing that they will more than likely see their child before I see mine, is a sobering thought. And yet, I feel lucky in a sense that I get to adopt. Having a baby is a gift, and I do not have the opportunity to feel entitled to or take for granted.

So I guess you could say I am grieving right now. I grieve the fact that she is spending another Christmas in an orphanage. I grieve the fact that she is not here to decorate or participate in Christmas. I grieve the fact that we will go to FL without her this year. It is an odd feeling to know that your child is out there, you are charged to care for them, and yet they are not within reach. I relish the day when that comes.

In the meantime we celebrate the little victories that we have. We celebrate that the paper work process for now will be at a lull. We celebrate that we are working on our house to bring her home.  We celebrate that we will make our first HUGE adoption payment on Monday (And the money is in the bank for that) We celebrate that we bought her first set of books. We celebrate that we have family and friends who are itching to love on her. We celebrate that we have a contingency of people praying for our little girl across the world. We celebrate that we have a Savior that we can put all our hope and trust in. And because of all of this, through the tears I  am able to celebrate.

I have a totally cool God story to share at a later time…..

Jennifer