We have some very exciting news to share with all of you. We
have been matched and are locked in with a child’s profile! I believe this may
be record time!
When we updated last, China had received our paperwork on
7/2. On 7/6, the China Center for Children’s Welfare and Adoption (CCCWA), received
our Dossier and we were expected to get a log in date two weeks from that date.
Well the next day on 7/7 we received our log in date. We were completely taken
back that in one day, they would log us in! From here, we were prompted to take
a couple of surveys within our adoption agency and download the Dossier Log-In
Date Packet on their website. In the adoption world, this is called “the wait”.
For months we made and attended appointments, sent out emails, made important calls,
filled out endless paperwork, traveled to Helena and Bozeman, wrote a lot of
checks, spent a lot of time on our knees in prayer and now- WE WAIT! We wait
for the call with a match. We wait for God to orchestrate his plan. We wait for
our son.
Three weeks later, that wait is now over. We were told the matching
process would/could take 4-8 months. We were expecting a call at the earliest
2-4 months, but knew that it could happen at anytime.
On 7/27, I was getting the
kids ready to leave for gymnastics, in a hurry because I was running late, when
a call came in from Colorado- where our agency is located. I looked at the number
and immediately thought one of two things. Either something was wrong with our
paperwork or they had questions about grant money that was due to come in. The
lady on the other end was in the travel department from our agency, so I knew
it wasn’t anything to do with a child’s profile. And then she said these words:
“I have a child’s profile I’d like to share with you”. The only word I could
muster was “What?” with an immediate “Okay!” She asked me if I’d like to get my
husband and call her back.
Gymnastics starts at 3:45 and the agency’s office closed at
4:30. I called Tony and told him he had to come home now. I told him, “I think
we just got matched”. Our plan was to meet at the house right after I dropped
Chloe off at gymnastics. I rushed to drop off Chloe, shaking the whole time. I
called a friend and cancelled our dinner plans that we were looking forward to
that night. After I dropped off Chloe and was headed home, I called Tony. We
talked on the phone until I pulled in the driveway. We kept asking each other
if we were ready for what was about to happen. We were scared, nervous and excited.
There was silence as we both sat on opposite ends of the phone shocked that
this was happening so quickly. After
arriving home I put Malachi down for his nap and got Aerianna situated in the
kitchen with an activity. Tony and I grabbed our computer and went in the
living room and sat down to return the call.
It was an 8 minute
phone call with the representative from our agency reading over his profile and
telling us everything they knew about him. We were instructed to check our
email, look at his profile and make a decision in 3-5 days. We were told they
also had 4 pictures of him, and a video! For those of you who don’t know- this
is incredible. Sometimes their files are very limited, but his was not!
I can’t even describe
how we were feeling at this point. For months we were believing that the first
file we saw, was it. That we would fall in love with his face, and just know
that he was ours. And that happened! We fell in love and couldn’t hold back the
tears. Aerianna was with us when we looked at his photos, and she also couldn’t
imagine him not being her little brother. He is perfect in every way.
His name is An Zi Liang, and he is 17 months old. His first
name is Zi (pronounced Zee). In the Asian culture they always put their last/sir name first. He was abandoned at the east gate of the orphanage
in Anyang, Henan and was given an estimated birth date. His cleft lip was
repaired when he was 3 months old and looks amazing! His cleft palate has not
been repaired. In a couple of his photos he looked cross eyed and there was a
call already put in to the orphanage to check on that, and within a day they
responded saying his eyes are normal. He is crawling and will walk along furniture. He has the chubbiest cheeks and thick lips,
which I can’t wait to kiss! I often find myself staring at his pictures, studying every little feature of his. I'm so in love with this child already!
Meet our son: Zi Marshall La (This is his new name!)
We want to thank everyone who has prayed for us and
supported us financially during all of this. We are blessed with the most
incredible prayer warriors and support system, leaving us speechless. I’ll be
writing another blog shortly explaining what we can expect from here until travel.
Prayer Requests:
1. For Zi, his caregivers, his orphanage, and his health.
2. That our paperwork would continue to go smooth.
3. That God would continue to prepare our hearts for this
precious child.
4. That our financial needs would be met for this adoption.
Thank you!
God Bless!
The La’s
