Tomorrow is the Big day! It is also my birthday! After many, many months of paperchasing for our adoption from China, our dossier is complete! We are FedEx'ing it off in the morning. What a great birthday gift! They weren't kidding when they said this country requires a lot! We have literally been working daily on it since June! We had many documents to send away for certification, and authentication, and waiting for the I171H, etc. I had to have the last form taken in for authentication by a courier. This helped us get to this point. If not, we would still be waiting. My goal is to have a Log in date by the end of December. The log in date means that is what puts us in line for adopting and waiting for our referral, along with the thousands of others! I have to admit, we became very discouraged again. In June when we started most of the paperwork, we were told from Log in date to referral would be 10 months. Now it could be 2-3 years! Crazy. The other night at the dinner table my husband and I were again discussing the possibility of pulling out of China. We were just so discouraged. Our daughter needs a little sister now! Just then something flew by. What? My five year old daughter jumped out of her seat to see what it was. My husband looked down and said he thought it was a ladybug. He reached down and on the floor next to my daughters dining room chair he picked up a ladybug, and brought it up for us all to admire. It was a tiny, baby ladybug! Okay, if this isn't weird, or what? All summer long, I did not even see one ladybug out in my yard, and here in November, there is one flying by us inside the house as we are eating dinner!? I am not one to look for signs, but I knew this was! I have been reading enough China adoption blogs to know that ladybugs are the main theme. Ladybugs are a popular good luck sign in China. The significance of a seeing a ladybug could mean that something signifacant may happen soon, like having a baby, receiving a referral, etc. Hmmm. I told Jeff right then and there that there was no way we would ever talk about switching to another country. It reminded me of the time 6 yrs ago when we were in the process of adopting our son from russia. He was 11 yrs old at the time. We had met him months earlier while on a mission trip there putting on bible summer camps for orphans. I knew he was our son and that we had to go back for him. I was told many times that international adoption doesn't work that way, that there was probably only a very small chance we could ever find a way to adopt him. On one particulary discouraging day I was at work, and I left during my lunch break. I wasn't hungry, but knew I needed to get away for awhile. I had just been told something else about how there was no way to adopt him. I ended up at a movie store. I don't watch movies, but I was wandering around this video store looking at them aimlessly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something in big letters. It was the word "KOLYA" on the front of one of the movies. I was shocked, because this is my son's name. I had never heard of this movie before. Of course, I immediately rented it. Again, I am not the kind of person that is out looking for signs from God, but at that moment I knew it was a sign, and I just knew we were going to be able to adopt him. 7 months later he was home with us. :)

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Posted by farmgal35

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Stop by anytime. HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Sheryl

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Posted by Dalyn

HEY! Happy Birthday! What are you doing on your birthday??!! Working!??!
I think when you are freed up this week I need to buy you a cup of coffee :)
congrats on the dossier going- isn't that a HUGE weight off though? Now...the wait. At least we can wait together::)
happy birthday Michelle! I ove ya!

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Posted by MissionaryMom

God is bigger than the system. Look to Him for guidance and answers. I think your little girl will probably have a nickname from now on - Lady bug!

Hang in there.

Carol

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Posted by blessedmomof10

Wonderful to hear that you are opening up your heart to adoption!!!! I hope that the Lord blesses you thru the process! We have been thru 5 international adoptions and they are always a trial of faith --- just remember a sweet & precious child is waiting for you at the end of the journey! :)
Blessings ~
gloria

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Posted by Anonymous

God has given me a ladybug as a sign of forgiveness. If I may tell my story. I grew up in a Christian home. I ask Christ as my savior when I was 13 years old. While I was in highschool I strayed away from my walk with him. I got pregnant when I was a Junior, and had an abortion. I suffered a tremendous amount of pain over my choices that I made at the time. Time went on and I got post abortion counseling from the crisis pregnancy center in Texas. While going through the program, I was at my Aunts house sitting on the toilet in her bathroom of all places. A ladybug landed on my arm. I thought what a strange thing in the middle of fall/winter. As I watched the ladybug crawl on my arm, I remembered back to when I was a little girl. I use to pull the wings off the ladybugs so they wouldn't fly away. Reflecting on that brought me to the realization that God had entrusted me with his little creature and had forgiven me for what I had done. I was free from the pain. I still have the memory, but the pain was gone. Hallalujah! The next day I got pregnant with my first born child. God diffantly gives us signs. Everytime I see a ladybug God has shown me some sign with it. Thank you for sharing your story about the ladybug. I am praying for you and your family in this adoption.

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