FINALLY!!!!!!!

At Last!!

Last Tuesday, around 11:00, Holt (our agency) called us. It was Beth, one of the China program social workers. She said "Michelle, we have a little boy for you. First of all, he is beautiful. He is one year and a half. He had a congenital heart defect but it has been repaired and he is very healthy!". I was in shock and stumbled on my words as I tried to write down everything I heard. I quickly got off the phone, called Nathan, and waited for the email packet with his pictures and information to review. When you get a referral, at least through our agencies "China Child of Promise" program, you are given approximately twenty four hours to lock in the child's file. Locking in a file simply means you want to further explore their file and request any additional information that might be needed to make a choice. I got the email, found his pictures, and his pictures pierced my heart immediately. To say he was born to be a Sherer baby is an understatement :). He is beautiful, in my humble opinion. I'm a very THANKFUL mama!

We started looking at his file and realized he was not a year and a half but actually two and a half. Needless to say, this caused quite a stir for us because we were not, at that point, approved for a child that "old". We put it in the Lord's hand, asking that He would open the doors if he was supposed to be part of our family and close the doors if he wasn't. An hour or so later, we spoke with Beth about the mistake (I had emailed her after we discovered the discrepancy). She apologized profusely and explained they didn't ever make those types of mistakes. We shared with her that we felt as though what looked like a "human error" was really "God's perfect timing and will". They discussed our situation among the China team and agreed to allow us to addendum our home study. At that point, Holt told us we would face a $300.00 fee for our home study change and a $340.00 change for our immigration paperwork- all because of the age difference. Again, as much as this was frustrating, we realized it was in God's hands to work out.

His Chinese name is Bao and he is from the Guandong province in China. We are so blessed to be able to call him ours and so thankful God has brought us together. Eli smashes his pictures on a daily basis by hugging them and kissing them. Kaylee carries his pictures in the car with us and shows everyone, quite proudly, that she has a China brother.

Guangdong Province

Chinese : 广东省 Guǎngdōng Shěng Cantonese Jyutping: Gwong2 Dung1 Saang2

Abbreviations: simplified Chinese: 粤; traditional Chinese: 粵  (pinyin: Yuè, Jyutping: Jyut6)

Just a few days ago, we learned Holt would not be charging us for our home study update. Thank you God! He is moving and we know He is working to bring our son home. Our hearts are full, yet they feel incomplete. We would appreciate continued prayers as we jump through hoops to update paperwork, learn patience as we wait, wait, wait.... and preparation as we will leave Kaylee and Eli here when we travel in September or October for 12-14 days to bring him home. It's all in God's hands and I know it will be okay.

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