Wow, it's here!!!!!!!

Wow, it's here!!!!!!! 

It's REALLY here!!!! 

Overly EXCITED but Sooooo many emotions right now eventhough we've been preparing for over a year! We've never adopted nor been out of the US so these MS hillbillies will meet China next week - don't know if China is ready for us! lol

 I know God will provide & it's all in His hands! 
He will move all mountains!  

We will arrive in Beijing on, or before, 7/12/2012 (which puts us leaving by next Wednesday - flying close to 24 hours)

Consulate appointment confirmations for Group 1884- 

Consulate appointment is confirmed for 7/26/2012

Our group will take the oath on the afternoon of 7/26/2012 & we will receive GiGi’s visa on the afternoon of 7/27/2012.

O.k. my faithful prayer warriors, we REALLY need your prayers!  Thank you for being part of bring home our precious daughter!  Words are not enough!  

If you want to follow us while we are in China you will have to subscribe to our blogspot!  We have been told we should be able to update it & add pictures, but we will NOT have access to facebook.  Soooooooooooooo go now & click "Join this site" (look to the margin to the right...this way -->)!  You have followed our story & do not want to miss our uniting with our daughter!  I have no doubt us rednecks could have a show about us meeting China & you will not want to miss the laughter!

If you love someone, you let them go. If they don’t return, they weren’t a Boomerang!

How many times how we heard the saying?  Well, it’s not exactly as mine, but you all know it.  If you love someone and let them go, but they don’t return was it REALLY Never meant to be?

You love your dog but live in an apartment.  You couldn’t provide the adequate room for it to run & play - would you give it away?  If you did and it didn’t return to you, was it never meant to be your pet?  Didn’t you let it go because you loved it and wanted better?   No, a dog isn’t someone but keep following my random thoughts.  Maybe there is some kind of point in here somewhere, but who knows with my gibberish. 

If you love (_____) and let it go, but it didn’t return. Was it never meant to be???

What about when I loved my grandmother/father, etc. and I had to let them go?  I think we can probably all agree that doesn’t mean it wasn’t meant to be.   For the 12 weeks, I carried my Landon and had to let him go, but I believe he was meant to be.  Even though I had to let them go, I still love them!  As much as it hurts, they will not return to me. 

My daughter’s mother had to let her go…..maybe she couldn’t afford to feed her, maybe she was forced by her parents, husband, etc. or had no choice for any unknown reason.  If my GiGi doesn’t return to her biological mother, was it never meant to be?  GiGi will always be my daughter, but I cannot deny the fact that she is only mine because her mother had to let her go.  Does that make me second best?  I hope not!

And I guess I’ve been studying too much Chinese:

The Invisible Red Thread 

"An invisible red thread connects those destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstances. The thread may stretch or tangle, but never break." 

 -Ancient Chinese Proverb

I think that we have so many red threads, whether it is the pet you let go, the love you let go, the loved one that passed before us, the child we never met, or anything you wish to fill in the blank.   I think that we were supposed to cross paths with these people and that we are connected together.  No matter how tangled or far they go, we are still connected in some way. 

Have you ever thought about standing in God’s shoes and putting yourself in the blank? 

God:  I love (name).  He/she loves me and I let him/her go…………..

Do you think He ever thought about what would happen when He let us go and gave us free will?   God gives us all free will and has let each of us “go” to live our lives as we wish.  He could have made us puppets, but we have choices.  He didn’t let us go because He did not love us.  He sacrificed everything to be with us!  He let us go, but what we do is our choice!  He loves each of us and wants each of us to return to Him!  For the ones that chose not to return to Him, my heart breaks, but that doesn’t mean you weren’t meant to!

When you love someone, you may need to let them go.  All will not return.  No matter if they return or not, you still love them.  If they don’t return, I believe you were supposed to meet – it was meant to be!  With some, you know they will never return to you.  With some, we may never know when or if paths may cross again.  With some, we may be privileged enough to visit even if they don’t return as we had hoped.  However, I believe the red sting will not break nor stop the love!

If you love someone, you let them go.   If they don’t return..................................  you still love them and want the best no matter how much it hurts, but to me that doesn’t mean it wasn’t meant to be!

Think about my rambling for a bit……what do you think?

UPDATE!!!

Nervousness. That strange looking word probably best describes my feelings the last few weeks. My personal code typically dictates that I will be carefree and not allow stress to take over; but, man, it has been one of those weeks!!! Colt fell, hit his head, and had to be hospitalized. The doctors ran a CT, EEG, and MRI (everthing came back ok, but he still suffered a concussion and is having to deal with all of the fallout from that- dizzyness, headaches, mood-swings, etc.) Macy Jade has a sinus infection and feels bad. It is pretty stressful to have on child in the hospital and have to take the other one to the doctor. I totally realize that our woes are small beans compared to what others are going through, but that doesn't make it any less stressful. Niki is sick and trying to keep everything together, running on almost no sleep in 4 nights. All of these things make me nervious and stressed. Another thing lurking in the back of my mind the last few weeks is "what if the whole adoption thing falls through?". Believe me, it happens. I love my little girl and I want to get her ASAP. But really nothing was offical. It was totally up to the Chinese government to accept or reject our family as a suitable home for Gi Gi Dahl. And as I mentioned before they don't have to accept. So much was riding on all of the work done to get us to this point. "Should we have done this differently?" "Do all of the numbers line-up?" "What about the wording of this or that?" I think God knows when we are doubting ourselves and he knows the correct timing and order of critical things. I have felt all along that this is our calling and we are following his will for us and on Wednesday Niki got an email from the agency. CHINA RECOGNIZES OUR FAMILY AS THE ADOPINING FAMILY OF GI GI DAHL!!!! Friday, we opened the mailbox to find a packet that on the front page read: Congratulations on your new daughter! At that moment peace filled my soul. We now must finish some paperwork in the States and will soon get the honor of traveling to China and stand before the Courts and getting our little girl. In a way, I feel that one phase of this journey is coming to a conclusion, but the most life changing is just begining. Please pray for us as we travel on.

Phil~

 

Finding our purpose

So, the other night Niki and I stopped by the Slug-fest. I was interesting just walking around and talking to people. You haven't lived till you have attended a small town carnival. The coolest thing (besides those big blow-up balls with kids in them- if you were there, you know what I'm talking about) was the look of wonder in the kids eyes. They aren't bored like teens and adults. Everyday they learn something new and life is play and play is learning. What in the world happens to us as we mature? I'm no Socrates (I learned to spell his name watching Bill and Teds Ex. Adventure!), but it seems to me like our bodies mature (as we grow into our teens) and we keep on doing basically the same things we were doing when we were a kid. We hang out with friends, play video games, watch TV, etc. The difference between 6 and 16 is that we have sorta maxed out the learning potential from just hanging out with friends. It's not that doing these things is bad, but at 10, give me a backyard, my brother Jeremy Smith, a Red Ryder and I was content for hours. It was an adventure! At 18 we sat around on Shiloh Road and talked about how much we hated this small town. A lot of the wonder was fading with the current situation. It is at this time that people can start working on "difficult" things, but our brains go on auto-pilot. We are totally mature enough to undertake the significant, but we wait for God to throw us a bone. We wait for things to sorta fall into our laps. I see this all the time. My students (this could hold the same for 99.9% of folks) don't realize the impact that working on difficult thing can have on their lives. It is the not knowing of the outcome that creates the tension we need to find ourselves. We like to play a safety, but the not knowing of the outcome creates the same wonder that we had as a kid. It feels good to be the best at something- to
play within our comfort zone. We like to dominate something, but this does not open any new windows to what God wants from us. Everyone knows when they are born, but who among us really finds why they were born? We all have a purpose. Have you ever thought that there is a unique thing that only "you" can accomplish to make this world a better place? Our lives are not an accident. We can all make a difference. But what are the "difficult" things that I'm talking about? It is all about pushing the limits. Reading a novel is easy, writing one is NOT!!!!! Try to learn a new language. Will you be able to do it? Who knows? Who cares!?!!. The important thing is that you tried and the journey will open things in you that your never knew were there by just going through the automated motions of life. Try stepping out on that ledge. It is called Faith. The great men of Faith stepped beyond their comfort zone. Moses was content with his legs under another man's table, eating another mans food, but God had something bigger in store for ole Moses. He had something custom made for him. He has something custom made for me and you, but you can bet that we will both resist. It is only natural. Do you want that same wonder and anti-boredom you had when you were 6, when life was one big Slug-fest? Ask and you will receive- as the good book says. When we started this journey, I was weak and unsure. How will this all end? I really have no ideal? But God has given me new legs and a purpose. If I follow him, I will succeed. That I know. The long road to China is filled with uncertainty, but I know my child is there. And I will find him.
Phil

June 8 at 11:07am - downhill night last night

Niki Suitor Smith

Quick update: Our package appears to been recovered and the tracking states Out for Delivery as of 9a.m. this morning. Yeah! I know USPS does a good job of delivering items, but I was worried since this one had a payment in it & had stopped tracking!

Also, we had a downhill night last night. We are o.k. and knew this would be a roller-coaster ride, but this was the first big crash for us. We had decided on a precious, precious little boy from the CCAI website. He was born a little premature, was a little delayed, and was the cutest little thing! He just melted our hearts reading his profile. I was going to officially announce on here once I could confirm. Well, last night after I posted an update, the CCAI website stated on his picture that he had found his home. We all cried & it broke our hearts! We know, we know that God will direct us to "our child" and obviously this wasn't "our child" but the child for another wonderful family. I have no doubt he is going to a great home & both he and his family will be blessed! However, as much as we know all of the above, it doesn't mean our "human side" wasn't upset. Please pray for this child and his adoptive family and for us and "our child" as we continue our search.

Thank you all so much for following, encouraging, & praying. We love you all! God Bless!

He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. {Psalm 25:9}

Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.
{Psalm 37:3-7}

June 8 at 11:07am