Merry Christmas to CHINA from the Wallace Family!!!

Stockings for everyone including our little one in China!

We received a pretty amazing Christmas present today from our adoption agency!  An email staying the following:

"CONGRATULATIONS, Matthew & Jenn,

                                                     

Here’s the news you’ve long been waiting for—your dossier was sent to China today (12/22/2016)!  Hooray!  J"

I'm not going to lie, I had to fight back the ugly cry when I read those words.  It's hard to explain to those who have not gone through the same process.  However, this is such a huge relief and celebration after over 6 months (7 in our case) of appointments, phone calls, computer modules, meetings, fingerprints, set backs, celebrations, tears, trips to governmental buildings throughout the state, sending precious documents to couriers to complete sealing processes, and so many more things that are hard to put into words.  We have completed a HUGE milestone!  HORRAY!

So what next?  Now out dossier will arrive to China in a few days and we will be "logged in" with the  Chinese Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption (CCCWA) and we will have a log in date (LID). This is when we will have the opportunity to be open to many more matching opportunities with children.  From this point we could be called with a potential match in a day, a week, a month or months. . . who knows!  We will literally just be waiting for a call.  Once we accept a match I am told we travel between 3-5 months from that date so I am hoping we travel this coming Summer but there are still so many unknowns.

For now we are just grateful for God's grace and goodness He continues to bestow upon our lives.  I have been so reflective lately and find myself lying in bed thinking of our next little one.  Who are you?  How old are you? Are you walking yet?  What are you doing?  Are you having a good day?  I pray your caregivers are taking good care of you!  I am working at St. Jude this Christmas and I can't help but think how fitting it is this year for me to be taking care of other children since halfway across the world someone is taking care of you.

There is a Third Day song called Merry Christmas and whenever I listen to it (throughout the entire year and even before we decided to adopt from China) I come completely undone.  I feel like we are literally living it out this year.  It's surreal and exciting and heartbreaking and amazing all at once.

So this Christmas hug your family tight and think of our little one so far away!  We are getting closer and closer to getting there!  We are so grateful for your love and support along the way!  God's perfect timing will make it all come together at just the right moment and we long for when that moment comes.  Merry Christmas friends!