Angels

And now for an update....We are still waiting for our LOA.  Once we get that we need to go through three brief US government steps with the Immigrations department, the Visa Center, and the US Consulate in China.  Then we will wait for China to give us travel approval and leave!  We have been waiting for our LOA for 24 days and it has been 38 days since our documents went to China...not that I am counting:)

Our last fundraiser has a few more days left, it ends on Thursday,...the Thirty-one link on the side of the blog is a link to order cute purses, bags, organizers, etc.  We are under events and you can just click on ours.  All of the commission is being donated to our adoption fund, which is really really great.  Thanks Anne!!!

At the risk of sounding like a hokey late night infomercial, I believe there are angels among us.  I truly do.  I'm not talking about unseen heavenly messengers, though I do believe in those as well.  I'm talking about people who share God's love through what they say or do.  Many of my friends are angels to me.  They touch my life and make it better or help me when I need it or say the right thing that answers a prayer that I have had.  Sometimes it is acquaintances who maybe are not close personal friend but who bless my life in amazing ways.  When I was pregnant and on partial bed rest with my third pregnancy, my husband had to go out of town for work so I had two little boys under three and was in my third trimester and having some problems with the pregnancy.  I prayed and prayed but could not feel an answer.  I worried and was a nervous wreck.  A wonderful woman stopped by my house one evening.  She and I had never done anything socially, but we went to church together.  She had felt like she should stop by on the way home from work.  She came in and changed a diaper and sat and talked with me.  I don't remember a thing she said.  But she was an answer to my prayers.  I felt the peace I had been searching for because of her.  That son is 8 now but I still feel the same way about this woman.  She is an angel to me.

This adoption has been that way to me.  I have felt surrounded by angels.  Some of you are close friends of mine.  Some are not.  Some are people I may never meet, but who were willing to help and support my family financially, or through prayers.  I have been so very humbled through this process.  When we started I never though that we would need to ask for help.  We planned on travel sometime in December hopefully, that totally changed when we found Min.  We could not have gotten to this point in our adoption on our own.  And I am grateful for the many, many angels who have made that happen.  I am  grateful for Ann, Teresa's mom, for advocating for Min.  She gave us pictures, video, and encouragement.  She helped us find a doctor to review the file, and helped us with paperwork questions.  She also has set an amazing example for me and given me peace about all of the what ifs.  She is an angel in my life.

I am grateful for W.  She watched the video of Min with me and cried alongside me.  I can't tell you how much that meant to have someone be as moved as I was.  She has brought coloring books and nail polish for Min's suitcase.  She has supported us in our fundraisers and asked for updates at least weekly.  She has been a huge blessing to me and is an angel in my life.

I am grateful to D.  During our 10-10-10 fundraiser she organized an effort at work and passed an envelope.  We were floored and so very appreciative that someone would take the extra effort to do that.  She is an angel to me.

I am grateful to D. for being supportive of every single fundraiser there is and being so excited to meet Min.  She tells everyone that meets me that I am adopting a beautiful girl, it is nice to know that it is always very real to her.

I am thankful to K.  who spoils my other kiddos and has already started to spoil Min.  She is willing to help me with some sewing projects, knowing that it is important to me, and also making her own, knowing that mine probably won't turn out as amazing as they look in my mind:)  She lets me be upset when things don't go as fast as I want and reminds me without condescending that it is all going to work out and God knows me and Min.  She is an angel to me.

I am grateful to J.  who was a huge blessing in our fundraiser and who is always so excited and encouraging about our adoption.  She is an angel to me.

This blog could go on forever with Melissa, who designed a necklace for Min, Tina who sent me pictures from her visit to the orphanage, Miss Courtney who has emailed and been so helpful with paperwork, X who returns every email quickly, my sisters, my friends, my family and the many, many people that I know have upheld us with their prayers, words, and actions.  I cannot truly thank you enough for the impact you have had on my life.  If angels could be defined as beings that share God's love I think that there are many who qualify and I am so very very grateful for all of you in my life.

And I hope that I can be an angel in the life of someone else.