Guess what we got??



Yes, you heard me right. We got Travel Approval!!  The LAST obstacle to getting on a plane and flying to China to get Quinn. 

It reminds me of most of my pregnancies- weeks overdue, miserable and exhausted from my efforts, and wondering if I would be pregnant forever. 

I truly felt like we were going to be "adopting" forever.

Now that we have the go ahead, it just doesn't feel real, and I struggle with the concept that we will be actually GOING! It takes my breath away.  (Literally- I get light headed whenever I think about going!) 

So I've been giddy ever since I got the email, and I indulged in the luxery of just being happy for the day. 

That was yesterday.  Today, I said Goodbye to bliss, and Hello to worry.

I mean, here we sit at my parents house, no heat or water in OUR house, and I'm beginning to panic about getting the house ready before we go. I want to get the crib set up, meals made and put in the freezer, rooms cleaned and suitcases packed.  I think everyone wants to have some control in their lives, especially during the momentous occasions.

Then I read something in Max Lucado's book that really made me think...and relax.

Max wondered aloud whether Joseph had many of those same concerns when it came time for Jesus to be born.  This wasn't what he had planned...he would've provided a midwife for Mary and she would've had the comfort of their home for the birth, their family and friends would have been there celebrating, cheering as the baby was presented.  It would've been so... much... easier.

Instead, they are miles from their home, turned away from any lodging in town, and surrounded by straw and smelly livestock, giving birth in a barn. Alone.  No one to help Mary, no one to congratulate the new parents, not even a bed to lie on to give birth.  

I'm sure Joseph was wondering why things weren't more "perfect".  I mean, wasn't this the birth of the Messiah?!  Shouldn't the conditions have been Perfect?  But I guess that's where the lesson comes in.  Life is never "perfect".  And it doesn't have to be for wonderful things to happen.  Sometimes, the lessons we learn because life ISN'T perfect are the lessons that make us stronger, more accepting and flexible to whatever life throws at us.

So, whether the house is clean, meals prepped, or the crib assembled, we're heading to China to pick up our little Miracle this month.  And it will be Perfect :-)