Here and There

I heard Ephesians 2:10 three different times/places yesterday. We taught it to our Sunday School kids, it was mentioned in the sermon, and then I read it in a book.  

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Eph. 2:10 

As I ponder that verse, I can't help but think of our sweet baby in China. Adopting her is something God prepared in advance for us to do. How special is that? As a little girl, I had random thoughts of adopting a baby from China. Those thoughts must have been God stirring my heart for such a time as this (I did not know anyone who had adopted from China in particular). I love realizing that God will equip us to be her mama and baba so that we can complete the work He prepared for us to do; we certainly don't feel "qualified" as parents.

Yes, we have to step out of our comfortable little life.
Yes, we face a lot of unknowns.
 But we are confident this is what God is asking of us.

Speaking of our Little Love in China, I have been comparing dates from our child's file and seeing what was going on here during those significant milestones (idea from here).

During the week Little One was born, I documented that Calla started "talking."

She must have been trying to tell us that her special sister was born in China. If only we could have understood Calla's message, right?

One month later, Little One was found abandoned by her birth mother and sent to live with a local resident. Sometimes children are abandoned in China because their families cannot afford the medical care they need. Sometimes it is because of the stigma attached to having a child with a special need. We will never know why our daughter was abandoned, and my heart hurts for her birth mama.

During that same week, we were struggling to figure out how I could continue to stay home with my kids financially. We tightened our budget more than I thought possible during that season and I was learning to be content and grateful, knowing how blessed we truly are. We are blessed . . . Calla received three months of intensive care after her birth; obtaining the special care and medical treatments she needed were easy to acquire because of health care system we have in place here. I very much took that for granted.

Two months later, our Little One was sent to the county orphanage. Her third home in three months. This fact crushes me.

Back in the good ol' United States, Calla was not meeting developmental benchmarks and I was struggling with becoming a "special needs" parent. Calla had been referred to several specialists and I had no idea which ones to pursue and how much of our life should be filled with appointments. (For example: I was pretty sure she was not autistic, but one specialist recommended her for testing; we did not do it.) Little did I know, God was preparing my heart for another "special" little one. I needed to learn to see the child, cheer her on to meet her potential, and stop comparing her to other children or to my "ideal". She was made to give God glory.

A few months later our sweet China-daughter was given a gift: She was moved to a group foster home and is now given the treatment, attention, and love every child needs. Her nanny loves her dearly (so we have been told) and takes care of her and one other child every day.

Back home, this was the month we announced our desire to pursue adoption! What a month of blessings for all of us!!

In December, our child was given a full medical evaluation. Her papers were prepared and she was later made available for adoption.

December was a month my heart longed for our child. It did not seem right to celebrate Christmas without her. Little did I know, those referral papers prepared just before Christmas would appear in my inbox three months later.

During the week of her first birthday, we were busy painting hearts and decorating.

I love that we made this heart garland the week of her birthday. I think we celebrated her in our hearts without being conscious of it. ;) It was also the week our dossier papers were mailed to the agency.

We are coming, Baby Girl! We love you dearly. Ori asks every day if summer is over. He knows that we get to bring you home "after summer" and "when the leaves start to fall."