Our Sweet Little Boy

That is how all the people who have met our little boy describe him... sweet. We can't wait to meet the sweet little boy.

I have looked at his photos so much I have them memorized. The smiles and the inquisitive looks. The interest in his toy that he is playing with. His long fingers and cute little chin. Someday soon we will be able to share these photos, but until we get the official referral, they are all ours... our secret treasure.

That he is "sweet" is one of the few things we do know about him. We know so little about him... and so much of what we do know seems not very definite. If you had a scale and were weighing what we know against what we don't, it would seem that the "we don't knows" would far outweigh the "we knows" - except for one tiny little fact that outweighs everything:

He is ours!

I have never known anything so certainly in my life. He is my son, and my heart rejoices to see his face. My arms long to hold him close.

We are so looking forward to discovering our little boy... is he really sweet? Or is he wild and full of life? I hope that he is both. We probably get to visit him this fall! It is then that we will sign the final paperwork and our case goes before the courts. We may have him home by Christmas! Maybe sooner, maybe later... but soon!

The first response of many of my dear friends and sisters was... shopping! This is the natural celebratory response of many, I know. As of now, we are not buying him anything until see him. We don't know his size or his abilities - not for certain anyway. After we visit him, we will come back with a long shopping list, I am sure, and all the aunties can shop to their heart's content.

What we need now are prayers and finances.

Prayers

Our little boy needs healing... his lungs are damaged and weak. His eyes need sight. His legs need strength. I know from first hand experience that our God is a healing God - pray that the healing starts now.

He also needs to come home soon and get better medical care... he has doctors there... but we were not too impressed with their care of him, to say the least. He needs more nutrition than the orphanage is able to give him. He needs love and home cooking and a team of doctors to sort out a plan to get him healthy. Pray that the process moves quickly and that we get to bring him home sooner than later.

Our little boy has been alone in the world for almost three years... since birth. He doesn't even know what a mommy and daddy are. He probably has never seen a parent/child relationship. Ever. All he knows are the other orphans and the orphanage workers. Pray for his heart to be prepared for us to be his mommy and daddy. He doesn't know he needs us... he does even know about us yet... but pray that his heart will welcome us when we come for him.

Finances

The good news is that the issue with my paycheck that I blogged about two weeks ago is almost completely resolved!! Whoever heard of a pay cut being reversed?!!? God is definitely on the move.

More good news is that we received a $2000 grant and are being considered for another grant for the amount of $1500!

If we get the $1500 grant, we are still needing to raise about $3000 for the remainder of the international fees. And we will also need travel funds for the visit and the "gotcha" trip. Tickets to Bulgaria are expensive - and we have to make two trips! I will check with the adoption agency as to the average cost of the trip with housing and transportation included and then let everyone know. Then there will be lots of miscellaneous fees for our little boy's visa, passport, etc. All of this seems to be a mountain in my eyes, but God (and our dear friends) have brought us over so many mountains recently, it seems foolish to doubt.

We will be applying for more grants and trusting in God's provision, but if you would to take part in bringing our little boy home, here are a few ways you can contribute.

The process of the adoption has been long and arduous but we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel... we know who our son is and now can work on bringing him home. It is still a difficult road... but now it is also fun and exciting!

We have a son! We have a son! Hurrah, we have a son!