Never have I ever...

July 15th- we hear that investigations are being done on a few children.
July 30th- find out the investigations being done for our family are on a boy under 5 months old.
August 2nd- get a referral for the most adorable little boy!!
On Friday I had a doctors appointment with Andrew. I had Adam take Matthew to a Power Up Club (PUC) in San Marco area. On my way home from the appointment I checked my email on my phone (at a stop light!) and almost screamed (had Andrew not been asleep in the back I would've)! We had an official referral. With a picture and everything!! (We can't share the picture on any social media etc until he is officially ours. You can ask me to see the picture next time you see me though!!) I drove as fast as I could (mostly safe) to the Power Up Club. I couldn't wait any extra time to show Adam. I drove up. Threw my phone with the picture on it at him and started crying. Apparently I'm not so smooth with new baby news. 2 out of 3 times now I've basically just freaked out in a drive way and left Adam to figure out what I was talking about. Haha. He was SO excited. Then we called Matthew over (Andrew is still asleep in the car) to show him his new baby brother. The host of the PUC had her camera out and got the most amazing pictures that we will treasure forever. Please forgive my Michael Jackson crying face...I was a little overwhelmed. :) This was Matthew's reaction to seeing a picture of his new baby brother.

 That face is PRICELESS

 HUG

 KISS

 Hug for Mommy

 Kiss for Mommy...he's not sure why I am crying about such good news. 

Us and our newest addition

Like I said... these pictures are perfection! So we couldn't stop staring at his picture all afternoon. We went to Power Surge that night and showed anyone that would care to see our picture...our new pride and joy! People were SO kind. The reactions of friends and family were such encouragement to our hearts. I wish someone would've video taped everyone. This little boy is already so loved. 

We got to show a few more people Sunday at church which was fun too. We had been telling people when they asked us when we would get to go get him that we had to raise our money first and would be working on that first thing Monday morning. That night Adam's family had us over for dinner and a time to pray for our new little boy. I'm so grateful to have married such a phenomenal family. We petitioned the Lord for His care of our son, and His provision to bring Him home.

Sunday we wrote our letter to send out to friends and family telling them of our journey, sharing our needs, and asking if they would partner with us to bring this little boy home and place him forever in a family. We printed and folded our letters Monday morning (August 5). I shared with Adam that I really felt peace that the Lord was going to provide for this huge need ($30,000) over the next two months before we can travel. God has been so faithful to us through out this whole process. He has rushed things along faster than we could've ever dreamed. This is HIS plan and we have seen that so clearly.

We received word from someone Monday morning at 11:40 that they would match dollar for dollar anything we raised in August up to $15,000. We cried. If we raised $15,000 in August then we were already half way done with just that matching promise. 

We came home from a morning out and I addressed about 10 envelopes and then it was time to put the boys down for nap. I left everything on the table and we all went upstairs. After the boys were down we started cleaning our disaster of a bedroom for our home study this week. As we were cleaning at  3:30 Adam got a phone call. Someone that we had met that day (we hadn't shared our need but I guess someone else had) wanted to give us a large amount of money. We cried again. 

At 3:50 my phone rang. Someone wanted to give money to help us bring our little boy home. It was a large amount of money. It was the remaining amount we needed. In 4 hours God had provided $30,000. Adam and I cried for about an hour on the floor of our bedroom. I've cried many times in the past 24 hours. 

Our God is big. He is powerful. He is faithful. He is provider. He is the one that cares for the orphans. I had studied in my Bible study last week the verse Isaiah 65:24. Adam texted me that verse today. The ways I have seen God, and learned more about who HE is in this process has been more blessing than I every could've dreamed experiencing. The verse says, "And it will come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear." God knew on Sunday night as we prayed what was going to happen the next day. He knew when we took a step of faith in September to start this journey what Monday would hold for us. He knows what the rest of this journey before we hold our son in our arms is going to be like. God doesn't need to prove anything to us, but He has. 

As I sobbed, literally sobbed, awful sounds, snot, tears...after getting the money news I kept looking at the picture of my little boy. I kept tracing his perfect features with my finger. We love him. We have loved him since we first thought about adopting and whoever the Lord would provide for our family. We loved him when we heard there was an investigation being done on a little boy. We loved him when we received his picture. We love him now knowing that as soon as our last paperwork is done we are on a plane and headed to hold him tight. What I am so in awe of is how much our church, family, random strangers have showed their love for this little one. For the gracious way in which God has shown me tangibly that HE loves this little boy. I have had to trust all along that the Lord is providing for him as we are so far away, but this blew me out of the water. God does not want this little one to be an orphan. He does not want him out of family. And HE is making a way to end all of those things. We are just the abundantly blessed ones HE is using to be a family for this baby. All of this makes me so excited to see what the Lord does with this little life He has orchestrated so beautifully to save. 

Our home study is tomorrow and Thursday. I wouldn't have dared guess that all of this would have taken place between the time I scheduled our home study and now. As soon as our home study is done we send in some paperwork and wait to get an appointment for finger printing. When all of that is cleared we apply for a court date and then FLY! I didn't sleep much last night knowing that soon I will hold my son. 

I am thankful that God has written this story in such a way that ONLY HE can receive glory for it. I want anyone who hears this story to recognize that it is nothing other than God moving. I hope that you will take a moment and thank the Lord in prayer with us for His continued provision. Never have I ever experienced something like this...ever.