Bringing Anna Home

On Feb. 14, 2011 we filled out an application to adopt internationally and sent it off to AGCI. A week later we made the final decision to adopt from Bulgaria, and with that, the great adoption paper chase began. Almost exactly six months later, we submitted our dossier, a huge stack of documents containing pretty much every personal detail of our lives, background checks, etc., to the Bulgarian Government and started officially waiting for our referral.

If you've followed my blog you know these four plus years have been filled with joy, anticipation, impatience, immense heartbreak, deep healing, and ultimately joy again. A week from today Anna Gayle will be forever in our arms. If you ask me how I'm feeling, I think the short answer would be, "It's complicated!" Am I excited? You have no idea. I cannot wait. And I feel like God moved mountains and worked miracles to move us along so very quickly. It will be less than five months from referral to pick up and exactly three months from the day we told Anna "ciao, ciao" to the day we pick her up. That is almost unheard of.

But what else am I feeling? Anxious, nervous, lots of anticipation, lots of uncertainty, some fear. Anna doesn't know that her world is about to be turned upside down. The orphanage and the children and caretakers she is with are the only home and family she's ever known. And while an orphanage is absolutely no place for a child to grow up, Anna doesn't know or understand that. We are not rescuing her. We are adding her to our family. But she's likely to think we're kidnapping her.

A friend told me the other day to trust God and let Him fill in the gaps, and that is some of the most beautiful and valuable advice I've gotten. We are not Anna's healers. God is. We are her family. She is our daughter and sister.

Having said all that, here are our prayer requests:

• Complete health, both physically and emotionally, for all four of us. Not just on pick up trip but continuing once we're home. The travel, the transition, the whole process can be physically and emotionally draining. Pray for God's supernatural healing and peace for all of us!
• Amazing attachment and transition time. Do not get me wrong, I know it is work. I know there will be tears and tantrums and grief, but I'm asking God to redeem the time we lost with Anna. Pray that bonding goes well from all angles! 
• Good sleep and appetites for all, especially our girl.
• Safe and smooth travel. Enough said.
• Beautiful, warmish weather in Bulgaria. 
• For our families and friends as we adjust. Pray for them to understand our need to keep Anna's world small for a while. And please know keeping her world small does not mean isolation. Calls, texts, and short visits from close family and friends are welcome as long as everyone is up to it. Just please understand that for a while we will ask you not to hold or hug on Anna, but you can certainly talk to her, laugh with her, hold her hands, and let her become familiar with you. 
• Pray for Patrick and I to have wisdom every step of the way. 

Thank you once again for all your support and your prayers!

We love you!

Happy Thanksgiving!!! We have so much for which to be thankful! 

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭100:4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬