Musings of a Whimsical Realist

Somehow I feel like I lost a month . . . seriously, where did March go?  I realize that I haven’t blogged in forever.  I’ve barely posted on Facebook.  But blogging about our adoption journey is important for many reasons, including my wanting to remember this process and share it with Sibyl when she is home.  So time for some catch-up! January 2015 saw us waiting (and waiting and waiting) for the home study process to move along as well as finishing collecting our dossier documents.  On January 22, all of the original dossier documents were mailed to our agency!  You know that feeling you get when your tax return has been submitted (and you are getting money back)?  That feeling times 10!  We also got 3 precious new pictures of Sibyl on January 5th and the disc with the original pictures/video from August 2014 PLUS pictures and 1 minute of video that we hadn’t seen.  It is such a treat to get to see her sweet face! Original Dossier Doc...

[The following was an oral presentation at our fundraising event on February 28, 2015.] On January 7, 2013, I posted my first blog about adoption.  I shared about how I first heard of the plight of little girls in China during a high school presentation and how at that moment, I felt the calling to adopt a little girl from China someday.  In that first blog, I wrote: “The Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu said ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’  This is my single step – my declaration that 2013 will see us doing mountains of paperwork and making life-changing decisions and trusting God for financial provision to bring our next daughter home.  She may already be waiting for us or she may yet to be born, but she will be known even in her birth mother’s womb before I have the privilege of knowing her and holding her close.”   Unknown to me at the time, Sibyl’s mother was 8 months pregnant with her, my next daughter. When Hubby and I started ...

When traveling in a new land, it helps to know the lingo.  As we have found ourselves immersed in the adoption culture, we have learned a new language of sorts.  A prime example is my posting of this picture of our original dossier documents ready to mail: On my timeline, I explained what it meant.  In my agency’s adoption group, I simply stated what it was.  And on my timeline, lots of congratulations!  In the group, it launched a full back-and-forth discussion full of lingo.  A cultural coming together.  One of my comments read: “ I love chatting with people who are in the adoption culture. It's like not having to explain a foreign language! ” One definite blessing of the internet during this process! For those of you who are traveling this road with me but occasionally feel like you are reading a foreign language, I want to explain what some of the "road signs" mean.  #1 - An alias.  You know our little girl as Sibyl, but that i...

As we have begun 2015, the year in which we will bring home our next daughter home from China, I find myself reflecting on the process thus far.  How far we've come since last spring !  I began tentatively looking into adoption agencies and soon found myself in the whirlwind of finding Sibyl and moving forward with our official paperwork.  So as I pause, here are some of the thoughts and blessings we experienced. 1. Finding Sibyl!   She was the 7th file that we tried to review and only the second file that we got to review.  We had to go through the pain of returning a file for another sweet little girl and trusting that we would be led to our next daughter.  This is a highly personal and individual process that all of our new adoptive friends on FB have also had to go through. 2. The blessings that have come in financially !  Several direct donations and quite a few "tips" on items that we have sold are all greatly appreciated!  We have se...

So I’ve managed a few fun blogs, but it’s been a while since I’ve updated on the adoption process.  One reason is the hustle and bustle of the holiday season (starting with Thanksgiving and continuing through the New Year).  And the other reason is that this part of the process isn’t very interesting.  Insane, busy, daunting, and detailed, but not particularly an exciting read. So where are we now that the dust is beginning to settle? The majority of the paperwork has had its t’s crossed and its i’s dotted.  Full physicals for me and Hubby; passports arrived; pretty much every aspect of our lives documented, signed, and notarized.  We are almost through the 12 online education hours (to complete by next weekend) . . . and then on Saturday the 3rd and Sunday the 4th, we have our home study home visit!  That will be the last step of the home study process, and we are so excited to be at that point! Financially, our belts are tightening.  ...

I have a confession to make, a seasonal guilty pleasure . . . I love Christmas movies!  Classics like “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Miracle on 34th Street.”  And the not-so-classic made-for-TV cheeseball movies.  I consume them like a chocoholic chowing down a bag of Dove bars! Talking reindeer?  Awesome!  Sappy kissing under mistletoe?  Love it!  Glitter, glitz, lights, twinkling stars, snowy landscapes?  The best! So why the confession?  Because Christmas movies capture for me an essential quality of the holiday season.  The whimsy of a time when we take a pause to enjoy the magical, the memorable, the beautiful, the nostalgic, and the sacrificial. For someone like me, Christmas is a 2-sided coin.  There is the whimsical wonder of the more “commercial” or “traditional” side of the season.  Then there is the reality of God the Son coming to earth as a frail human baby, beginning His journey to the cross and salvation for...

As I have explained to people that we are hoping to have Sibyl home in 6-8 months, the same comment has come up many times: “It must be so hard to know she is there waiting for you and to not be able to go get her yet.”  In a nutshell, the answer is “Yes!” This excerpt is from my journal yesterday morning.  I felt compelled to share it since it touched so specifically on a moment in the process of waiting. I woke up with a heartache this morning – an ache for a 20-month-old halfway around the world.  Last  night, for the first time, I dreamt that she was here.  I was able to hold her and hug her and talk to her.  Then I woke up and she wasn’t here.  My arms felt empty for her.  I hugged her sisters and brother, but a piece of my heart was still missing.  Waiting for me. I think God gave me the dream to quicken my heart.  In the shadow of mountains of cold, sterile paperwork, it is easy to lose hold of the heart of a warm, living l...