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Pause for Reflection {#17}

As we have begun 2015, the year in which we will bring home our next daughter home from China, I find myself reflecting on the process thus far.  How far we've come since last spring!  I began tentatively looking into adoption agencies and soon found myself in the whirlwind of finding Sibyl and moving forward with our official paperwork.  So as I pause, here are some of the thoughts and blessings we experienced.

1. Finding Sibyl!  She was the 7th file that we tried to review and only the second file that we got to review.  We had to go through the pain of returning a file for another sweet little girl and trusting that we would be led to our next daughter.  This is a highly personal and individual process that all of our new adoptive friends on FB have also had to go through.

2. The blessings that have come in financially!  Several direct donations and quite a few "tips" on items that we have sold are all greatly appreciated!  We have several fantastic friends getting ready to put together our first official fundraiser event -- stay tuned!

3. This week, we got new pictures of Sibyl!!!  This is truly breathtaking for us . . . any pictures or written updates cost addition fees, and a Christmas gift specifically for photos made it possible for us to order them.  Make sure you catch me for a peek if you see me in person!  Through the pictures, we got to see her sweet smile and her emerging personality, and we learned that she is now walking!

4. I've gotten to connect to other adopting families through a private group on FB for our agency.  I get to share in their journeys to China, anticipating when it will finally be our turn!

And I anticipate getting to share our journey online as well!!!  First by introducing our little one through pictures online once we receive the LOA and then pictures from our own journey to China!  Please keep praying for speedy processing and financial readiness so we can go get her as soon as possible (fingers crossed for May!). 



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