Happy Referral Day!

I tried to blog last night, but my head was swirling, so I will attempt again tonight. Yesterday, after a little over a month from last contacting our adoption agency, I called to see if there was a file for us yet on our little girl. I was told they would check on things in get back with me in a couple of days. I tried to remain optimistic, but was a little disappointed. I came home from work and at about 6 PM the phone rang, it was our adoption agency. My heart just about stopped. I answered the phone and was given the news that we have been waiting for for over 9 months. "We have her file". Those are some of the sweetest words my ears have heard. We then received an email with information and pictures of our sweet little Jaelynn. Our next step was to respond by writing a Letter of Intent, stating among other things our desire to adopt this little girl. 
People have asked, so what does this mean? Well, it means that her paperwork is complete and she is ready to be adopted. We still have a way to go, but this is a huge step. For me, it's kind of like I am entering the 2nd trimester of my paper pregnancy. You know how when you are pregnant and you are careful how much information you share, just in case something goes wrong? Well that is kind of what it has been like these past several months. As you enter your 2nd trimester of a pregnancy you feel a little safer, you still know anything can happen, but all in all you are excited to share all the information you can. In the next week or so we should receive something called PA (pre-approval) from China to proceed with the adoption. The steps from there are an LOA (Letter of Approval), which from what we have been told will be about 3-4 months from now, then TA (travel approval) comes approximately 2 months later, and from here our travel and gotcha day is about 2-3 weeks. So we are probably looking at the early part of January to meet our little one. There are many other milestones in the above timeline, but those are the big ones, and I know I have a lot yet to learn.
Our family is in awe of how God has gone before us and worked out details of this adoption. I am a firm believer in God's perfect timing, and though waiting at times is excruciating, God is still Sovereign and I can rest easier because of this. It was so fun to call family and friends yesterday and share our news. It reminds me of a song that is special to my family, "Family of God". Here are the lyrics:
You will notice we say "brother and sister" 'round here,
It's because we're a family and these are so near;
When one has a heartache, we all share the tears,
And rejoice in each victory in this family so dear. 

I'm so glad I'm a part of the Family of God,
I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His blood!
Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod,
For I'm part of the family,
The Family of God.

From the door of an orphanage to the house of the King,
No longer an outcast, a new song I sing;
From rags unto riches, from the weak to the strong,
I'm not worthy to be here, but praise God I belong! 

 You see one of the reasons this song is so special to my family is because my father in law was an orphan and grew up in a Children's Home in Florida. He never met his birth parents and he was never adopted as a child into a forever family, but he was part of God's family, and because of that he is with the Lord now.
Thank you all for rejoicing in our victory with us and sharing our tears these last several months. I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God!