Scratch That To-Do List!

In the past week I have had to scratch the title of my “To-Do” list and re-title it my “Priority List” because I was getting so confused by all the things that I felt must be done before we leave the country. It is a simple fact of time and math that we will not be able to accomplish everything on the aforementioned “to-do” list. It also goes back to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – many of the items on the list just don’t measure up to the need for our waiting children to have the most basic need for parents, clothing, and a permanent home. The other details on my list which were distracting me will have to remain at the bottom until I can cross off each priority one at a time. Once I got over being distracted by the wishful thinking of overzealous preparedness, I was able to relax and really celebrate our new children and the preparations we are making for our expanding family here at home.

It seems that in the past week we have rushed around working on paperwork or other practical household items that need attention before we leave. Last night we sat down and just stared at the picture of our new children. It was such a sweet moment to consider the children, their needs, their personalities, and how God is bringing our family together. We have received nearly thirty pages of information about the children, their health, their social-emotional-behavioral-academic development, but it is not the same as knowing them. We long to know them with their hurts, fears, joys, and all. It is hard to write about the children whom we know so very little about. It isn’t that we don’t have more details. It is that I don’t want to share the information we know about them yet, these details are all I have at this point that is just “mine” as their mom. So, I suspect I’ll share little bits of it here, when I’m ready, and in person when the time arises. It is amazing the fierce sense of attachment and protectiveness that has come over us regarding these children who we already love, but who are not in our care yet.

For those of you reading this who have already walked the road of adoption, and older-child adoption in particular, you may be understanding where these thoughts have come from. I knew deep within my heart and from my own personal experience of being adopted that a parent could love adopted children as fully as any child born biologically to them. It was my childhood experience to be loved this deeply by my own parents who adopted me. And now I know that the same instantaneous, deep, and full love is possible for the older adopted child. Does that mean that we will not have trials and a potentially tumultuous time of transition upon coming home and blending our family? Certainly not! But I rejoice in the love that God has given us for these children and I trust Him to bring us through that valley when we get to it.

We continue to prepare at home for the children, for the adventure we will have while we are gone, and for the final paperwork we need in order to leave the country. We are still waiting to receive an official presentation date from the ICBF office in the region where we will travel. Once we are assigned a presentation date we can apply for our visas and book our plane tickets to travel two to three days in advance of the presentation. Please pray for peace in the current phase of waiting, preparing, and eager anticipation