31 Months

Today marks 31 months since my dossier was logged in over in China... Our new homestudy was approved by my agency this week, so it is soon to be mailed off to the USCIS (immigration dept.) in Texas, where it will undergo another approval process that will likely take several weeks to complete... *sigh*. I saw this quote this morning - and it struck my heart even more than ever today:

"Hold fast to your vision. Do something everyday to bring it into manifestation and watch it unfold"
~Michael Bernard Beckwith

When I updated my homestudy, I also talked with my social worker about special needs kids, and what types of children (and what types of needs) I might be able to parent. This is important as an estimated 85% of the children in China's orphanages have been labeled with some kind of special need, and the wait to adopt a "special needs" child is often much shorter than to adopt a healthy baby. Many of the "needs" these kids have, wouldn't be considered a "special need" in America - or they are issues that would be corrected shortly after birth here in the states. It is rare that you see an American baby with a cleft lip or a club foot...that is because, in America, where we have better prenatal screening, and newborn care services, those issues are often corrected right away. The same with seizure disorders and minor holes in the heart... I know the resiliency of kids. I saw it every single day when I worked at the children's hospital. And now, working for the adoption agency, I continue to see kids who are labeled "special needs" thrive once they are home with their adoptive families. I don't know if Lia will have a special need or not, or what that need might be...but I feel at peace knowing that we have opened up more pathways for her to be matched to us.

Most of my friends in the adoption community have already seen this video, but I thought I would share it here for my friends and family who have not had the chance to see it: