And the Drama Continues......26 Days and Counting.....

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose " Romans 8:28

My life is many things but boring it is not. I have been busy working on travel plans, packing, and my usual day to day things. I received an e-mail from Ky (our agency) on Wednesday and was at work when I read it. I must tell you that I about fell out of my chair. She forwarded me an e-mail from Mr. Li (the coordinator) in China which stated that Abigail's orphanage was thinking about sending her and another child from New Day back to the the orphanage in early March. Chinese orphanages are very different than what Abigail has been used to for the past 3 years. She has been at New Day since she was 23 days old. She is treated liked a little princess. All the children are well taken care and loved by their nannies and the American folks that are there dedicating their lives to the children. I was shocked and very concerned for her to have to face leaving the only home that she has known for over 3 years, whisked away to a place she does not know, separated from the nannies that she loves, and then two weeks later taken from there and handed to strangers that she has only seen in a photo album that we sent her. I immediately e-mailed Ky back and asked her if we could do anything to stop this. I, then, e-mailed friends and family and asked them to start praying with us regarding this situation. I e-mailed Karen at New Day also. Long story, short, she will be staying at New Day until we arrive there to pick her up. Praise the Lord!!! And a huge, huge "thank you" to Karen as I know that it was her intervention that spared my little girl from this additional trauma in her life. I just can't say enough about what she and the other folks at New Day do for the children. For those that are not familiar with New Day, this is their web-site http://www.newdaycreations.com/foster/. The web-site is currently under construction but there are lots of pictures and even videos of my little sweetie pie.

So, I thanked the Lord, Karen, my agency, and breathed a sigh of relief. We were back on track and counting down the days! Sometimes the Lord gives us trials. I fear that I fail Him so many times when tested. On Friday, I received another e-mail from Ky. She had previously asked me to send her our airline itineraries as Mr. Li will be with us for most of the trip and he would book on the same flights we are on. Well........I booked our flight home for April 1st as our Consulate appointment is March 31st. I should have booked it for April 2nd as we won't get Abigail's Visa until sometime on April 1st, probably in the afternoon. To change our flights it is going to cost us at least $1,250. I have asked Ky if she can change our consulate appointment to a day sooner and she will try but the big issue is her Visa medical exam that needs to be done and it is scheduled for Monday, March 30th. We are trusting in the Lord to work this one out also. This adoption journey has been quite a journey but I know that when I hold my little girl in my arms for the first time, I will forget all the nightmares with the paperwork, delays, etc.

I spent the morning finalizing the packing of Shane and Abigail's clothes. What an exhausting task as there is so much to pack for the little ones! Beijing's weather is like our weather in Virginia, Urumqi is colder (today's temperature was 21 degrees, yikes!) and it was over 80 degrees in Guangzhou today. So.......I have to pack heavy winter clothes and light summer clothes. Shane is a true Mongolian and likes the cold so he will need to dress lightly in Guangzhou.

Mandy is getting excited about the trip and counting down the days with us. Shane acts excited but I can tell he is nervous as he has been very clingy to being home lately. He will turn 4 while we are in China and at New Day. I think it is nice that he will be celebrating his 4th birthday with the people that took so wonderful care of him from the time he was 7 months old until we brought him home at 19 months old. I need to start planning his birthday party for the weekend before we leave for China! He wants a Superman party this year.

I snapped a couple of pictures with new digital camera of Jeremy and Shane and am including them. I need a memory card so I can really take pictures!!