Another Precious Reminder

Time seems to pass so quickly in many areas of our lives...except one, of course. But we are so thankful for each day that brings us closer to our baby girl/s in China. We are also grateful for the precious family we already have anxiously waiting for our new addition/s. Life is certainly blessed. Yet each new day brings thoughts of our little one/s. Is she born yet? How is her birthmom doing? How did she make it to the orphanage? What does she look like? Does she love music? Does she have sweet dreams at night of a family in central Kentucky who loves her and is moving closer to the day when we will finally be together?

Much like the time when our adult daughter will be away from home on a mission trip starting next week, my heart always aches as I hold my children close "from a distance" with love and prayers...no matter where they are in this world. I'm already counting the days until Rachel returns home...and she hasn't even left yet. I count the hours until our son returns home from school each day...or when my husband arrives home from work. So it's no surprise that my heart aches for the day we will unite with our baby girl and bring her home. It's a Mom's heart, I suppose. And there's a place for each loved one that can never be replaced by anyone or anything else. How amazing it will be when we are all together...finally.

The latest news is that we received word this week that our Dossier has been reviewed by the CCAA. This is standard procedure for all Dossiers in China's system and to know that we finally reached that level in the process is very exciting. I'm wondering about the other families with Dossiers logged in during the same time frame and how we are all moving forward in the process moment by moment...day after day...month after month...year after year. It will be exciting to meet them when we finally reach the time to travel to China. My prayers are certainly with each of their journeys, as well. We have once again been reminded that the journey continues and progress has been made. Yessssss!

Today brought yet another precious reminder of our little one/s to come. My dear friend, Judy, and I met for lunch and as usual, had an absolute blast. Oh, the stories I could tell about how we can turn a simple lunch date into an adventure! She's such an amazing woman of God and a tremendously faithful friend! Before I returned home, Judy handed me another gift...an adorable little set of booties for our JennaBeth. They are precious!!! But that's not all. Remember how she gave us Virginia Tech socks before? Well, she's also a very fair person. Knowing that Tim is from Ohio and there are some Ohio State Buckeye fans in this family...let's just say that those new booties are proudly displaying the Ohio State logo! How thoughtful and kind is that? One of these days we'll post pictures of JennaBeth wearing her amazing wardrobe! :) I can hardly wait to share those pics with you. Again, thank you, my dear friend Judy...for being you...for being so kind, generous, faithful, prayerful, loving and joyful in our journey! We are continually amazed by the faithful gifts of friendship we have been given in this lifetime. And we love each of you dearly!

So it's been another day of reminders of our progress, our baby girl/s, our friends...and a journey we could never have imagined. I look forward to the day we can share with our sweetie/s from China...just how many people, prayers and blessings accompanied our journey to her. The journey won't stop there, either. And we're cherishing each step ahead. May God bless you in your journeys. You are in our constant thoughts and prayers.
Cherishing another day...
Terri & Family