Looking for that "Flourishing Finish!"

We're trucking right along with our adoption journey to our Brynna Rose. In the last few weeks, we've received our USCIS approvals and we are now waiting for state seals and notaries from the Chinese Consulate. Our agency takes care of all that for us, which is a good thing considering the crazy schedule around here. I don't even know how we'd squeeze trips to the state capital and New York City in this month's calendar.

Once those seals are affixed to our dossier (that's the name for the big huge pile of paperwork that tells China's adoption program all about The Gang, inside and out!), then we will get a notification from our agency that we are "DTC." We can expect that notice in about two weeks. DTC (Dossier to China) means just that: our dossier will be winging its way to the governmental offices called the China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption (CCWA). Within two to four weeks of our "DTC" date, we should be given an "LID" date. That means that the CCWA has received our dossier and has placed it officially in the waiting line for being matched. When we have an LID, we will be eligible to start poring over files from the Shared List. The Shared List has over 1900 children with varying ages and levels of special needs. This is the "pool" from which our agency will be searching for our match.

This link is an excellent resource for those of you who are unfamiliar

with the process of Chinese adoption. A couple of you have asked

for the "steps" we are taking and this site should help you

understand it far better than I usually can word it to you!

For now, we are looking at the smattering of files that are on our agency's site and checking out advocacy groups like Love Without Boundaries and An Orphan's Wish. We're not certain that our daughter is waiting on any of those sites, but it is helpful to get a working knowledge of the needs that are populating the lists and the exposure that the children are getting by these advocacy groups is phenomenal toward the cause of uniting them to their families. If you can handle looking at all those pictures of sweet little ones waiting for mommas and daddies, that is. Which, I usually can't. Sigh.

We are fairly certain that if we find a child on a site like one of these and we sense strongly that she could be our Brynna, our agency will work with us on the ins and outs of the process that would require. However, we also strongly feel that finding our girl will be all in His timing and His plan so we are trying to balance that as we do our research and look at all the sweet little faces out there.

Your prayers for wisdom, patience, and great discernment would be so appreciated. We want, more than anything else in this whole process, to be confident that He is leading the way to the final steps of this adventure. We want to remain submitted and alert to His nudges and His call in the search for our girl.

On Monday, I sent off a big check for the dossier fee and the balance in the adoption account dipped really low. I don't mind admitting that my faith wiggled and wavered a little bit when I saw that reduced balance. I mean, by far the biggest expense of this journey is still ahead of us. I know He has His hands all over this adventure we are on, so I threw back my shoulders, spoke The Word over my doubt that a dear friend suggested several weeks ago and moved on with my day.

"Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God.

Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart.

I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us,

believing and proclaiming God's Message,

from the day you heard it right up to the present.

There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind

that the God who started this great work in you

would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing

finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears." ~ Phil. 1:3-6

We're so grateful for opportunities like this to build it back up. Please, feel free to share the site with your F@ceb00k friends and blogging community. It's a darling little book and I am proud to be connected with its mission.

You can get to the book's home site by clicking on the link on my sidebar, also. When ordering, and to make sure our adoption account gets the credit for your support, be sure to click on the "Personalize? How did you hear" link on the Shipping Address page. Enter "Whitney Family Adoption" and we'll get $5 for every book ordered.