After a LONG 4.5 month wait, we finally received our LOA (Letter of Acceptance) from China.  We are SO thankful!  I had just finished making lunch for Seth and Ethan on Monday when I checked my email (which I was doing a hundred times a day looking for this email). I had sent an email about an hour early to our agency to see if they had any update.  When we received our referral at the end of December they estimated our wait time for our LOA to be 1-4 months.  Unfortunately, we were on the extreme long end of the time frame, but we believe God’s timing is perfect and we know HE is in control.  So, back to the email.  I had sent an email to our agency (which I LOVE) and knew I would receive a reply quickly. I was expecting the standard, “We haven’t heard anything. We know it is hard to wait.  We are doing everything we can.”  But when I checked around noon, an email popped up with the subject line, “LOA!!!!”  I knew this was different. After a small scream and a few tears, Seth came running over wondering what was wrong.  I assured him everything was fine, but we were SO much closer to getting our little girl!

I cannot begin to describe the feelings I have experienced throughout this adoption process.  I have written before about my hesitation to say yes in the beginning but how God completely gave me peace once I submitted and said yes.  From that moment, I have felt such PEACE about our decision. Have I been impatient at times? YES!  Have I ever doubted our decision?  NEVER.  I look at that little girl’s picture and can honestly say that I already feel such a connection with her.  She is as much my daughter as my three sweet boys sleeping upstairs right now.  I know things will not be easy at first, but I know God has given me such a love for her already so that we can get through those rough first few days and weeks together.

We have already mailed off our next set of paperwork.  We have three steps left and they are all done in the United States and are MUCH more predictable than the LOA wait.  Our agency expects us to travel in 10-14 weeks so we hope to be in China sometime during the month of July.  We are SO excited and ready to go!