The Countdown is On!

We are still waiting for our travel approval (TA) to come and we are thinking that we will get it by this coming Friday, the 29th! In the meantime Mark's last day of work on this job is the 29th! If he doesn't get his clearance prior to the 29th he will be out of work until the clearance comes in and he can start the newest job! We are praying so hard for this to happen this week!

My perfect scenario: Get travel approval, Mark's clearance, and our basement is finished by Friday, June 29th! Anything can happen if it is God's will for this to happen! We know that God is guiding us along through everything that happens.

A friend of mine sent me this beautiful email yesterday in response to my telling her about Mark's job situation: 

Time is significant to God mostly because His children who are temporarily bound by its tenets are significant to God, therefore let us completely trust the one who created time!  God knows when Mark needs the clearance and every detail that needs to be worked out, even if it's not the way we would plan it. God may not give us everything we want but He will not withhold what is permanently good for us. Can't say that it makes it any easier to wait but His ways are higher than ours and we can take that to the bank. Praise God!

That was so perfect for me! We will continue to trust that God has the perfect plan for us, our children here with us (Grant and Cara) and our 2 boys waiting in China (Zach and Tian)!!

Another Update on Zach!

We received an update yesterday on Zach. Funny thing is, the photo looks oddly familiar, don't you think? He's in a different pose but the outfit, setting, haircut and even the rosy cheeks are all the same. Here's what they said about him:

Personality:

They call him Jia Jia.

He is introverted.

He is very shy

Medical/Development:

His current health is good.

He can run, jump, go up/down stairs, he can recite some children’s song and poem.

His speech is normal.

He is potty trained.

He's shy? I sure hope our crazy, loud family doesn't scare him! The countdown is on! I talked to one of the ladies in the travel department at CCAI and she said that mid-July is a reasonable estimate on when we may leave!!!!