Lucy knows.

We have always wondered if Lucy knew that we were in the process of adopting her.  Well, this past Friday, Christy received an email that Lucy had finally been told.  In an email from Maggie, a young lady who had been teaching some English at the orphanage, we found out that Lucy "reacted very normally, just like any girl of her age."  This didn't tell us a whole lot, so the following day, Christy was able to chat with Maggie via Skype.  When asked about Lucy's feelings about our family adopting her, Maggie said, "I think complicated is the word for her mood now."

We can't imagine all of the thoughts and emotions that are going through Lucy's head now.  She's finally been told that an American family is going to adopt her.  She's seen our pictures and read the letter we sent her many months ago.  She also knows that Cindy, one of her best friends, has been adopted and is living about 15-20 minutes away from us.  She's leaving her country, her friends, and all she's ever known.  She's going to be moving to a vastly different country where she doesn't speak the language, becoming part of a family with a new mom and dad and 3 new sisters.  That's a lot for a 12-year old mind to process.  Please pray for her and us during the transition.

A week and a half!

Hard to believe that Lauren, Christy, her mom, and aunt will be flying to China in a week a half.  The journey to get Lucy is edging closer to reality.  We thank God for all He has done to get our family to this point.  We are also thankful for the many, many people who've come alongside us, given financially, helped out with fundraisers, offered words of encouragement, and prayed for us.  In many ways, we feel Lucy is coming to be part of a family that is a lot larger than our family of five.

There is still so much to do during this last week and a half.  Among other things, we realize that according to our calculations, we are still a bit short (approx. $7,000) of what we need to meet all of our financial obligations to finalize the adoption.  While we hate to appeal for help, realizing that so many of you have already helped in many ways, we also realize that the Body of Christ was divinely designed to meet needs just like ours.

If you are able to help us make this final financial push, you can do so in a couple of different ways.  First, you can give on this blog.  On the right side of the page, there is a button that says "click here to donate now!"  You can click on this button, and you will be given instructions on how to do so.  Second, you can simply send a check, made out to "Bring Lucy Home," to our address at 125 Cornel Lane, Hampstead, NC, 28443.  We wish we could tell you that your gift would be tax-deductible, but currently it is not.  However, Christy and some friends who are passionate about adoption are in the process of creating a ministry called A Sea of Hope (www.aseaofhope.org) that will soon have 501(c)(3) status and will offer grants to adoptive families and promote adoption awareness.  Above all, please lift our family, especially Lucy, up before the Lord in prayer.

We got our TA!

We're gonna leave to pick up Lucy on Friday, September 3! We are thrilled that this 2+ year journey is going to culminate in about 3 weeks when we meet our new daughter for the first time.

We were contacted by our adoption agency last week, and we were told that there was a 90% chance that we would be traveling on August 13 (which would be tomorrow). Christy began running around, making arrangements to leave in a week. But on the following day while she was in Raleigh getting a document authenticated at the secretary of state's office, she received a call that we wouldn't be able to travel on the 12th and that we would have to wait until the next group left the beginning of September. Needless to say, Christy was heartbroken, but now realizes that the extra time to pack and get the house ready is a blessing.

By the way, after a lot of prayer and discussion, we've decided that Christy and Lauren will travel to get Lucy. We feel that the smaller party will be less intimidating to Lucy. We also feel that having Lauren there will help with the transition, both for her and Lucy. And one more factor - having Tom stay back with Anna Claire and Lily will save at least $10,000 of adoption costs. When Tom explained this to Anna Claire, she asked if while Christy and Lauren were away, she and Lily could spend some of that money. ;)

Please continue to pray for us as Lauren and Christy (and her mom and aunt who will round out the travel party) as they prepare to leave. Also, please pray for Lucy as her life (and ours) is about to change forever.