Crazier things have happened, but not to us

Remember when I said this (in my last post)?:  It is our sincere desire that this lovely boy finds his forever family; we hope he already has. 

Yes, he has.  And it's US!  (It's WE?)  We have a new son!

Are you as surprised as I am???

On Monday, January 3, our adoption agency emailed with the updates I had requested, even though the boy's file was still "missing."  They told us if we were still interested, they could try to locate the child's file and attempt to "get it back" (from where?...I still don't know).  Baffled, I said "Sure, why not?"  At least we'd know for sure if he had a family planning to adopt  him.  I heard nothing the rest of the day or the next day.  We continued to pray for this little boy, for our family, for God's will to be beautifully accomplished.

At some point prior to this, probably after I wrote my last blog post, thinking this was a closed chapter, I snuck a peek at the photos in this child's referral file.  Can you believe my self-control in NOT looking up to this point?  I amaze myself.  I had come to such a place of peace and relative objectivity that his photos didn't even tug at my heart!  And not because I didn't find him cute.  I just thought, "Well, there he is.  And he's not our son." In the days following I could hardly recall his appearance in my mind. 

The January 3rd email I received also contained three updated photos of this boy.  Well, there they were, right in the email!  I wasn't NOT going to look this time.  Hmmm, quite a bit of tugging at the heart.  Was he this cute in the first photos? I wondered.  You see, somewhere along the way, the fear and indecision began to dissipate, and we began to feel a true, peaceful openness to whichever outcome God brought about.  And I began to suspect that, after all our inquiry and praying and scrambling for information, this little one might actually be intended for our family.

On Wednesday morning, January 5, my birthday, I got an email from our agency stating they had the boy's file back and had locked it in for us (whew...no more gambling) until Friday noon. My husband and I emailed throughout the day, and though we didn't say the words aloud, I think we both knew what was going to happen--we were going to adopt this child!  By the time he came home from work, I was ready to celebrate.  After all, it was my birthday, and who wants to cook dinner on her birthday???  We never go out to eat with our children, but we had a gift card to Jason's Deli, and kids ate free that night.  As we parked the car, we heard people calling to us out their car window.  It was our dear friends (whom we see less often than we'd like) along with their daughter--who was adopted from China in 2005.  We were able to eat dinner together at a big table while we shared our story with them.  Later my husband suggested this "coincidence" was one further sign from God, along with the file being rediscovered and locked on my birthday...just the sort of thing God would do.  Yes, I think so too.  

So that's our long story.  And our announcement!  I don't know if I'm allowed to post pictures on my blog yet.  You'll just have to check back in a few days for all the wonderful details.  I'll leave you with these song lyrics (from Steven Curtis Chapman's song "Dive") which have some special significance for us.  We're diving in!

The long awaited rains

Have fallen hard upon the thirsty ground

And carved their way to where

The wild and rushing river can be found.

And like the rains,

I have been carried here to where the river flows.

My heart is racing and my knees are weak;

As I walk to the edge

I know there is no turning back

Once my feet have left the ledge.

And in the rush I hear a voice

That's telling me it's time to take the leap of faith

So here I go...