The day the music died....or did it?

Three years ago today, November 20th, we received word that our case was officially closed.  It was the day that the music finally died.  Today I find myself a nervous wreck, waiting on an answer again. Our paperwork was finally presented yesterday, and I talked to my attorney this morning as soon as I found out.  He will be on top of it from here.   I guess they were wrong when they declared three years ago that there was nothing else that could be done.

I e-mailed the lady that Julian lives with to let her know how close we finally are to an answer, and she let me know that her entire church has already been praying.  What a humbling feeling to know that prayers aren't just going out on our side.

Julian has always told me that he felt his whole purpose in our lives was to keep us connected with his brother because he believes with all of his heart that his brother is meant to be with us.  I hope this all ends with him seeing God answer his prayers in a mighty way, giving not only his brother a family, but by keeping them together, as well.  No matter what, God will get the glory--I'm just a nervous wreck waiting to find out how.

My current thoughts

A good friend of mine gave birth to her second child today, which was actually a few weeks earlier than her due date.  That's twice now that she hasn't even had to carry a child for a full nine-month pregnancy.  I found myself a little jealous, to be honest.  I feel like I've been pregnant for four years now, and I'm still wondering if a miscarriage is around the corner.  Just saying....

Here goes.....

FINALLY, despite unexpected delay after unexpected delay, our documents have been translated and will be presented to Colombia.  I told Julian, and he said, "Well, now we just wait and see what God has planned."  I'm so thankful to have the spiritual connection with him that I do.  Whatever the outcome this time, he has been involved in every single step and has witnessed just how much we've done and how hard we've fought for him and his brother.  No matter what, they know they are loved and were worth fighting for.

One step closer

We don't have all the answers we need yet to know if we're ever going to be bringing the boys home, but today we took a giant step closer to the possibility of it actually happening.  After getting our fingerprints done early last week, our agency called the Immigration offices to explain our time crunch and to see if things might be able to be pushed forward.  Getting an approval for this particular form can take up to 90 days, so we knew we were attempting an impossibilty when we filed it with only 45 days to make it happen.  As of Monday morning, we still hadn't even been assigned an officer to our case.  Between two phonecalls and two e-mails since Monday, we very surprisingly received our immigration approval via the phone and an e-mail today. There's still more to be gathered and submitted within the next 23 days before the month runs out, but getting that approval today was a huge miracle that we really needed to happen.  I'm still not assuming that this adoption is definitely going to happen, but God really showed His fingerprints all over it today--for that, we are grateful.

All This Time [Lyrics] - Britt Nicole

Feliz cumpleanos

Wishing a very special boy a very happy birthday today.  Three years ago this very day I thought I heard his voice for the last time.  I thought it was final when I said goodbye, told him I loved him, and hung up the phone.  I thought it was over, and all I could wonder was "why?".  Why did we ever have to meet, just so we could dream and hope and love, and then watch it all come crashing down?  God always knew, though, that our story wasn't even close to being over.  For reasons I couldn't understand, God just would not let me let that child go.  I never imagined that we'd be here, three years later, fighting for that boy all over again.  I still don't know what the future holds, nor have I even allowed myself to assume a certain outcome.  All I know is that God is working out all things for good and that He still has a purpose for that precious boy in our lives. I treasure those four days we had together in the summer because they were a gift that we didn't even know was coming.  

Progressing

A lot went on this week. Our paperwork finally made it to Colombia  and is currently being translated. (I'm not even going to begin to explain what held it up three extra weeks......I'm just thankful that it's finally there.) Our attorney has already gone ahead of us and talked with the people over our case to let them know it will be presented to them very soon.  He is eager to stay on top of things, to keep it moving, and to represent us.  What a nice feeling it is to know that he already knows us.  We're definitely not just a piece of paper this time around--to anyone involved.  We also got our fingerprint appointment for immigration scheduled for November 20th, and we were able to sidestep the appointment and get it done three weeks early.  We walked in on Wednesday afternoon to see if they would take us on a walk-in, and even though the lady very firmly said that they do NOT take walk-ins and that they ONLY reschedule appointments by mail, she made an exception to take us that afternoon because they weren't busy at all.  (Maybe she was being nice because it was Mike's birthday. :))  Every day this month brings us one day closer to the answers we have been waiting for over the last four months (or more like the last four years).

Isaiah 30:18

Yet the Lord LONGS to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion.  For the Lord is a God of justice.  Blessed are all who WAIT (or long) for Him.

(I learned today that the words long and wait here are actually the same Hebrew word.  Isn't is nice to know that as much as I long for an answer here, God is longing to give it to me?)