It's a Boy!

In May of 2008, Paul and I wrapped our arms around our (then) youngest child for the very first time.  She'd lived for the first 21/2 years of her life in China, and it was time for her to come home!  As we bonded with Claire, we grew attached to her country, her first home, her culture.  At one point during the trip, we both looked at each other and one of us said what we were both thinking....we will be back, there is another child here for us. It was kind of like feeling the air and knowing that rain is on the horizon. 

We just knew. 

I spent over a year imagining another little girl coming into our lives. A playmate for Claire.  But, God has made it clear that He has a different plan for our family. The Holy Spirit kept nudging me towards a boy.  It was little things.  And, one day a name popped into my head.  A boy's name. And try as I might, I could not come up with a girl's name! 

I am a girl that relies on my gut (Holy Spirit) feelings.  Things just turn out better when I do.  Go figure! Those feelings lead me to my career choice, my husband, my church, adoption and lead me to finding Claire in the last possible place I should have been looking! 

Most recently it lead me to looking around the waiting lists of agency we haven't used before. 

We first saw his face months ago on a waiting list.

We prayed about him and several other little guys that were waiting.   We sent medical records to doctors that might help predict what life with each child would be like.  My heart was broken for one little guy when a cardiologist revealed to us that he most certainly needed a heart transplant.  Even if we could handle that, we would never be able to get him home soon enough.  The little guy disappeared off the list within days of being placed on it.  Did he get a family?  We will never know.   

The other two waited.  And waited. 

We prayed.  And prayed.

Paul felt pulled in one direction, I in another. So I prayed that the child that was not meant to be ours would find his family and leave the list.  The next day I pulled up the list to find my son's face.  Only my son's face! 

The other boy was no longer on the list. We requested to know what had happened to him and were told he was locked for another family!  That was all the confirmation we needed to know that this guy was our son.  That and the fact that when we called the agency about those files months ago, they realized that they had two boys named Noah on their list and needed to change one of them.  Since they had us on the phone they asked us to pick a name for the boy and the only name that came to my mind was the name that had popped into my mind months before....Asher.  Name him Asher.  Little did I know that I'd just named my own son!

 

On March 8th, we sent a letter to Chin@ and asked that they allow us to be the parents to this beautiful baby boy.  On March 19th we received word that they had accepted our letter! 

We put the cart before the horse this time, so now we have to put a dossier together within 90 days!  To say it will be crazy around here for a few weeks is putting it mildly.  In fact, I have two packages to get off this morning so we can get the ball rolling.  And my kitchen table looks like a paper tornado!  But, I look at this sweet  face....

And know that I have to do this as fast as I can.  Because he's so totally worth it!