One Daughter's Birthday...And Another Daughter On The Way!

It's an exciting time in our home right now. Tomorrow is our daughter, Rachel's 21st birthday! It doesn't seem possible that it's been that long ago since her Dad and I traveled to the hospital to give birth to our firstborn. But since then, she has graduated from high school, enjoyed a mission trip to Haiti, traveled to many states here in the USA to sing with high school and college choirs...and is presently a junior in college majoring in nursing. Wow!

The past twenty-one years have been a blessing beyond words. But there have been realistic moments of uncertainty, patience-building, concerns and sadness. Yet as we observe our family now, we know that nothing will ever change the love for our children and there are no regrets in this journey called parenthood. Life is a gift. Children are a gift. Family is a gift. And that surpasses all other twists and turns along life's road.

Likewise...our journey to our baby girl/s in China is also a tremendous blessing. The paperwork has been overwhelming...repeatedly. The concerns, the wait, the uncertainty and the challenges in patience have not been easy. But we know that our love for our little daughter/s in China is worth every moment, every tear, every concern and every challenge. Bringing JennaBeth (EmmaKate?) into our family will be an amazing blessing that makes this journey absolutely worthwhile.

I never imagined that we would wait so long. We knew the waiting time could fluctuate, of course. But when we logged-in, the wait was 18 months. We will soon be logged-in thirty months with no end in sight. It's hard to miss our baby girl/s so deeply for so long! However, every adoptive parent I know has told us that when we hold our baby daughter/s in our arms, we will understand why it worked out this way. God has allowed this wait in order for His plan, His timing, His glory and His honor to be known. He knew before we ever began this journey what child He planned for us to bring home from China. He knows her name, her birthdate, her everything! So we continue to trust in Him...and His design for our little daughter/s...and for our family.

We never anticipated the long wait but along with it comes unexpected surprises. We thought that our baby girl/s would arrive home before our older children finished high school or college. However, it now seems that our oldest daughter will be out of college and our son will be in college by the time our baby girl/s arrive. Along with that realization comes the possibility that our little daughter/s may easily grow up with any grandchildren that we may someday have. Now that would be exciting! I've seen this happen in several families and it is a blast! So, we're already seeing wonderful possibilities in this design and timeframe. It may not be the way we expected it to be...but it will be awesome in its own way! What a sight to see as our little one/s play with their niece/nephew at similar ages. Awesome!

So...we celebrate now...and look forward to the future. We are blessed today. We were blessed 21 years ago. And we trust that God will bless us with our little one/s someday soon. It just doesn't get any better than this. Thank you, God, for the family we are today, the family we became years ago, and the family we anticipate in the years to come. Happy Birthday, Rachel! We love you. And hold on, little one/s in China. We can hardly wait until we are all home together. We love our family...and all the friends we've met along the way.
Cherishing our family and friends today, yesterday and tomorrow....
Terri & family