We are officially MATCHED!!!!

We finally received the amazing news that we are matched by the CCCWA!!!!  That means that he is ours and we can start the process to go get our boy!

I can't describe how my heart physically hurts to not be able to hold him.  Pray for a quick and smooth process so we are boarding a plane to China very soon.  His adorable but serious face needs to smile!

Okay God...you've got this.

If you have talked to me in the past few months I have more than likely complained about the set back of having to do a Home Study Update.  The update set us back several months and my impatient self just could not handle it!  Well, again, God showed me that He knows a bit more than I do.  To be matched with a child, you have to be dossier ready.  So because we were not dossier ready we have not be able to be matched.  Our agency typically works with an orphanage for 2 weeks.  In those two weeks they try to match children to dossier ready families.  We became Dossier ready the same day that our agency took over our son's file.  How amazing is that?!  

Tonight, our dossier is heading to Beijing, then CCCWA will issued our Log In Date.  Once this takes place, Leta can formally submit our request to match our son to our family.

We are getting closer!!

Best email ever...

Today I received a call followed by an email with the most amazing news.  We have a potential match!

I opened my email and was in awe of this precious boy.  I immediately took a picture with my phone to send to Jeremy.

I just knew that I was looking at my boy.  It is amazing how you can feel so much love for someone that you've never met.  

We have to go through the motions of having a doctor review his file but I know that it doesn't matter what they say because this precious baby is our son.  

Pathways Training...

We were so excited to be able to attend Pathways Training.  We have been so impressed with Gladney and how they handle every step of the way.  This training is something they do that most adoption agencies don't.  It was 2 days of training on every imaginable scenario.  We learned some great techniques to use with our girls too!  They trained alot on Purvis and so much of it makes total sense.  We are excited to implement this with our daughters and son!

We also were able to meet other families going through the adoption process and it was so cool to hear their stories.  3 of us were adopting from China so it was really nice talking with them.  We were also able to tour the campus and have lunch with the President of Gladney.  It was a really incredible experience.  

One of the things on display....

wow...adoption sure has changed!

all the feels...

You know those songs that just speak to you?  You can't help but be overcome with emotions when you hear them? There is one that get me every single time.  If I hear it in church - tears.  The car - tears.  A run - tears.  There is just so much meaning behind it and I can't help but relate it to the call of adoption.

Oceans

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now

So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine


Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

(This specifically speaks to me.  I truly believe that God laid International adoption on my heart many many years ago.  If it were my doing I would probably stay in my nice safe normal bubble.  I am so thankful that He is leading us way outside our comfort zones.)

Oh, Jesus, you're my God!

I will call upon Your name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine

Probably the first of many...

One cool thing about moving to the Houston area is the Consulate is only 45 minutes.  No courier fees...woohoo!  However, after going I think they earn every cent!  We waited in line for over an hour and then once it was our turn I found out I needed to have brought copies of everything.  They had a copy machine there, but it was currently not working.  So, we left...and I may or may not have had a minor meltdown in the car.  But we rallied, and ended up hitting a park and making the most of it. 

Later I saw that Reese had snuck a picture of me!  It's funny now, but at this moment I was trying to figure out why he just kept handing papers back to me!  

We had to document our first trip to the Consulate, even if we didn't accomplish anything!  ;)

Goodbye Yukon...

The Francis 4 are saying goodbye to Yukon...

 and hello to Conroe, TX...

So cool that this is where we will become a family of 5!  It is bittersweet leaving Oklahoma, but we know that everything happens for a reason.  We are excited for this next chapter!

Adoption wise - this will cause a bit of a delay because we will have to have a Home Study Update.  Hopefully that will happen fairly quickly and we will be back on track to meet and bring home our son!

We're approved!

The past 4 Fridays were spent with our sweet caseworker - Andrea.  Andrea was so amazing to work with during our home study.  She was super sweet and patient with our girls. She had a way with words, like she would say "It was obvious that the girls are very comfortable in asking for their needs to be met" as opposed to "The girls interrupted the interview every 3 minutes".  See, doesn't that sound way better?!  We were pretty nervous about the home study and weren't really sure how to prepare for it.  Andrea made everyone so comfortable and it really seemed like we were just hanging out with a friend!  

So 4 weeks, 4 Fridays, and about 12 hours we are...

Just in time to pack up our house and move to Conroe!  God definitely has a sense of humor!  ;)

10 hours down...

See this?????


That means that 10 hours were spent in front of a computer screen getting trained up!  We are able attend "Pathways" in October,  which we are super excited about, and then we will be educated enough to bring home our son!  ;)

Let the paperwork begin...

We are working with a pretty amazing adoption agency.  I have our caseworker, Leta, on speed dial and she is always so helpful with my many questions.  She recommended printing off everything from the first batch, separating, filing out, and then filing copies.  It took over an hour just to print!  

It did seem way more manageable once everything was in order.  I woke up at 5am to work on it, used Reese nap time, and stayed up crazy late.  It was so worth it when this nice pile was ready to be mailed to New York!

I was super excited to drop it by USPS.  Reese was a little tired from her nap and refused to smile.  I'm sure that is not at all an indication about how she feels about getting a baby brother!

Next step - Home Study!

How did we get here?

Meagan-Marie's story...

Have you ever felt like you were called to do something?  Something big and life changing?  For the better part of my life I have felt called to adopt internationally.  I'm not quite sure when it first happened, but it has always seemed like the right path for me.  I knew that I wanted to have 2-3 biological children, and then adopt.  It is something that I would bring up from time to time to see if Jeremy's desires had changed to include adoption.  For the longest time we did not agree on the desires of our hearts!  So, I prayed alot and nagged encouraged Jeremy to do the same.  My prayer was simply for whatever was God's will.  I asked that He either change Jeremy's heart, or my own, but just to get us on the same page!  Thankfully our prayers were answered in a pretty cool moment for Jeremy (he can tell you about that!), so NOW we start the adoption process!

Life Church encourages everyone to have a word of the year.  I think it is no coincidence that the word I picked was "Brave".  Starting this process is scary! So many unknowns lay ahead but we know that God has gone before us and He will perfect every imperfect step along the way.

Jeremy's story...

I was not called to adopt...at first.  I always knew MM wanted to adopt, but quit frankly, I thought that burning desire would go away after we had our two beautiful girls.  I was wrong, it did not go away!  After having our two beautiful girls, the talk began from MM again about adopting.  I still wasn't sure if I wanted to, or was even being led to (which I was ridiculous for even thinking that).  MM would ask me if I had been praying about, and since you shouldn't lie, especially about praying, I admittedly said "No," but promised I would.  I had been praying for God to change my heart about this if it was His will, because I refused to enter the adoption process half-hearted.  After several weeks of prayer, I was driving one day and listening to the song "Yours" by Steven Curtis Chapman.  I had heard this song at least 20-30 times before, but this time was different.  The lyrics of this song are "Every street and London...and every child in Africa, they're all Yours!"  At that moment, you would have thought that the roof was ripped off the top of my car, and God reached directly down and slapped me in the back of the head with His Holy hand.  Tears of sadness, joy, and clarity were streaming down my face, and right then, my heart and mind would be changed forever!