Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Good News..."Be Still My Heart"

Time really gets away from me these days! I haven't posted since Monday, October 19th. On that very day, or night rather, we received a call from Xiaoqing, at BAAS (Bay Area Adoption Service). We were just getting ready to walk out the door to go out to eat, and I stopped and answered the phone! Boy, am I glad I did! Xiaoqing was calling with a referral of a 20 month old little boy. She told me his medical history and asked if we would like to take a look at his picture and file. She thought he would be great for our family. I think she didn't know for sure what we would say because originally, Joy had leaned towards a girl, although we all decided we would leave that in God's hands and see what he had for our family.

Let me back up a minute to events before this night. Two weeks previously, I had a dream. In this dream, I was sent a picture of a little boy. I looked at his picture and said, "There's nothing wrong with him." Basically, that's how it happened, except I received a phone call, in which Xiaoqing described his condition, explaining that he already had his surgery and that he was just like all other children....very healthy and developmentally physically, emotionally, and mentally as other children. He had passed many developmental milestones which showed significant progress in his surgical procedure. In fact, he is quite bright, I'm told, and very well liked by everyone, including the neighbors. He is an extrovert and very lively (I knew we would get another lively child...we never get any other kind). I think Xiaoqing even said something like, "so basically now there's nothing wrong with him." I remember that it was almost the words in my dream exactly.

I might add Joy was jumping up and down, and never mentioned a girl again. In fact, Xiaoqing was a little worried that she would be disappointed, and I reassured her that Joy was beaming, jumping up and down. This was her little brother. No doubt.

We locked his file, which holds it for 48 hours, so no one else can claim him, and we looked into the diagnosis he has (waist spinal meningocele - surgically repaired), conferred with our pediatrician and other specialists on what the future "could" hold. This diagnosis is one of many forms of spina bifida...one of the mildest. We called her back in less than 12 hours, and told her, he was our son...no more time needed! We actually knew it the minute we saw his picture. Those eyes.....looking into ours.....he was ours!




So...meet the newest member of our family (waiting for us in China)....Luke Tai (pronounced Ty).
He is 20 months old now, which is a bit older than we also wrote down that we were willing to accept, but again, it didn't matter. We hope to be travelling to get him early summer, which would make him about 2 years and 4 months, if all goes well.



So now the wait is on...the hard part. To this point, things have moved very quickly. Within two weeks after contacting BAAS, we had our referral, then one week after our letter of intent to adopt, we received our PA (pre-adoption approval) from the Chinese Centre of Adoption Affairs. I know God is opening doors, to have our son already waiting for us. There's the homestudy completion to be done, and the big paperchase involved. I can already tell we're in for an emotional ride here, but I know it will all be worth it when we travel to China and see our little Luke for the first time in person and then bring him home with us!

He is living with a foster family, which is very good. They adore him and take care of him with lots of love. I know this is probably even better than his being in an orphanage because he has plenty of care and attention. I'm so thankful for that. I'm so very grateful and amazed with these wonderful foster families that do such an unselfish thing. I know it takes a special person to be able to care for a child for that long, and then say goodbye to them when they go to their families.

As it is with the female gender, Joy and I are VERY EXCITED. We are constantly looking at the clock, thinking about what time it is in China (13 hours ahead of us), and what Luke is probably doing now, since we know somewhat of his routine. The guys in the family, Jason and Colt, are excited, but are saving the real enthusiasm for when it's closer to time to bring him home.

I appreciate your prayers and covet additional prayers that we have a smooth process all the way with no delays,including the completion of a speedy homestudy, so we can bring Luke home at the very earliest time possible. And for all the encouragement, and the emails from adoptive parents that have helped out by answering my many questions, I'm thankful for it all! I'm so very grateful to find BAAS and Xiaoqing is such a blessing! Thank you to all of you!

God is good! :)

69 comments:

Backwoodsprim said...

How wonderful for your family and for that sweet rosey-cheeked lil' boy!
He's just adorable!
I will be praying for you all and for the whole process to be smooth and much sooner than this summer(if that be the Lord's will).

I would like to ask you more questions about the adoption process....of which I know nothing about. Would you e-mail me sometime if you don't mind me asking a few things???
Thank you and best to all of you!
God Bless,
Backwoodsprim

Jody said...

Oh look at that precious face! God Bless ya for giving this darling child a home.

Yankee Ridge Primitives said...

Hi Tammy!

How exciting for you all. He is a sweetheart. I will be praying for you all and hope his time to come home is much sooner than summer.

•♦•©The Olde Weeping Cedar •♦• said...

Prayers go UP ... BLESSINGS come down! :) And wow, what a happy blessing!!!
This is the most wonderful news, Tammy...I'm so happy for your family and for Luke!

What a gorgeous little boy he is!

Keeping you and Luke in my prayers!

♥Kath

At Home With Amy said...

Tammy the Lord wants us to have the desires of our hearts and it looks like he is answering the desires of your family as we speak. I will continue to pray that everything goes well and you have your little boy home with you soon. What a precious little man he is.
Many Blessings,
AMY

carolyn@simple~primitive~devotion said...

Tammy, that is just amazing! I'm so happy for y'all and especially for Luke, who is going to get the best family ever! I am praying that everything works fast and smoothly for Luke to be united with you and your family ASAP! And I am also praying that Luke will never have any problems from his earlier diagnosis.
If you ahve to wiat until summer, I hope your days are filled with fun, wonderful things that help to pass the time.
Sending you all a big hug!

Parsley said...

Couldn't be happier for you. Praying he gets home sooner than expected.

Ribbonwood Cottage said...

TAMMY! YIPEEE FOR YOU! What an exciting time for you and your family. It will make your meeting with him even better because of the anticipation! I'm so happy for you.
I will pray that God goes before you and makes everything smooth and enjoyable for you...no drama, or commotion that you can't handle!
Praise God...this is such great news. I'm happy for you.
Give yourself a big hug from me!!!!
Debbie

AG'smoma said...

He is absolutely adorable!! What a blessing! I will be praying for him to come home quickly. I meant to ask what province he is from? I will be happy to give you whatever I can about packing and travel when the time comes!

basketsnprims said...

Wow, that was fast, Tammy! Luke is so adorable. God Bless your family for giving this precious little boy a home. Will keep you in my prayers.
Hugs,
Pam

Wendy/TheCozyYellowHouse said...

Tammy!!! He is so precious!! Congratulations!! God IS so GOOD!! I am so excited to see how God moves in all of this!!:0)

Madison said...

I am sooooooo EXCITED! He is soooo cute and he is going to have a great family! I would be soooo excited to visit China too! To bad I couldn't tag along!LOL Hope you have a great and excited week!

Love, Madison

Kimberly said...

God IS good.

What more is there to say?

Sending hugs, Kimberly and Julianna

Anne said...

Tammy,
Oh So Sweet ...What a blessing!! Congrats on your new baby boy! Praying Gods blessings and help, and strength and wisdom for you all!! HOW PRECIOUS**** :)
Anne

Lewaina@cliffsideranch said...

What a blessing! Pray eveything goes well for you here and Luke there and that everything you need done or to do will be done with haste! He is handsome. ♥

Cat Nap Inn Primitives said...

Luke is so cute..I just can't believe you have to wait so long...that went so quick till now..but I am happy for you..will you get to stay in touch with the foster family..do they have internet so you can get updates? take care and keep us posted.:)

Dawn said...

Tammy, this is wonderful news. He is precious!! I had no idea it can happen so quickly. As you remember, we too adopted our daughter at birth. We had a two yr. wait. Such great news for you and your family. What a lucky little boy!!!!!!!

STITCHINPRIM said...

Oh, as I read your post, I had chillbumps on my arms and tears in my eyes..How happy I am for you..
This took me back 18 years to when my daughter and son-in-law adopted a new born bi-racial boy.. then in three years they got a bi-racial baby girl who is now 15.
You cannot know the love that you can feel for a tiny baby, brought home from hospital..
When they brought Josh home from hospital, I was the first to hold him and tears running down my cheeks, I kissed my new litte grandson and immediately bonded with him for life... then a precious little granddaughter some time later.. Oh the joy they have brought to our family...

So I'm praying for you that the time will pass fast and you will too, know the joy of a precious addition to your family.. I know Joy will love him as her own little brother.. God Bless your family.. My eyes are watering as I write this... remembering all the precious times we have had with our " God-given " grandchildren..

Blessings,
Maurine

Mandy said...

I'm so glad you posted today! I was just wondering earlier this morning how things were going!

What a beautiful little boy you are welcoming into your family! We will keep you in our prayers as I know it is going to be hard to wait!

Janene said...

Tammy~ I just finished commenting on Joy's blog.
I am so very excited for all of you! God couldn't have chosen a better family for Luke to be a part of!
Congratulations to your family and Luke!

Laura said...

I am so very happy for you Tammy! And for your family! I would be overwhelmed with joy also! My cousin and her husband are in the early process of adopting...very exciting! Many thoughts and prayers are with you and your family!
Laura

Farmchick said...

Oh he is so adorable Tammy! I am so happy for you and for this sweet little boy who will be blessed to be a part of your famiy!! I hae not had a lot of time for blogging so this was a great surprise fo me to read! Hope you can stop by for a visit soon too! :)

Linda - Behind My Red Door said...

OH Tammy!!!!!!!! This is THE BEST POST I have read in ages. I am so happy and excited for you all. I will indeed add my prayers that from here on in, everything moves smoothly and in the summer you have your sweet boy HOME with you all and the transition goes as smoothly as posible as well. WOOHOO!

Carmen S. said...

Tammy~ he's adorable and I'm so happy for you and your family! I know he will be very happy to be a part of your loving family and hope all goes smoothly and QUICK for you:)

Never So Simple said...

Tammy,

I am so happy for you! Luke is so cute! What a blessing he is and such a great one. God is good! I bet you and Joy could have busted when you got the call. I will try to write more later!

Donna

Carrie said...

Oh Tammy, that is just WONDERFUL news!! I am SO excited for you and your entire family!! Luke is absolutely adorable!!

Hugs!! Carrie♥

Theresa said...

How Wonderful!!!!!!! He is beautiful. God bless all of you!

Lee Hill Primitives said...

Hi Tammy, Your son is adorable.GOD Bless your family for giving a home to this beautiful baby. Amazing post!

Nancy M. said...

Congratulations on finding your son! He is so precious! I do hope everything keeps moving smoothly!

Sharing Life and Love said...

Congratulations (again!) Luke Tai is beautiful and so perfect for your family!

Cannot wait until you see him in person and hold him forever!

XO
Erin
Another BAAS mom
Home with Maia since May 2009

Lois Christensen said...

How absolutely wonderful for you!!! And what a precious baby! He looks so adorable. As if he's looking right at you saying, "Here I am, come and get me!" Very happy for you!!!

Wendi said...

Yeah!!! I am so excited for you. He is a handsome little guy. What province is he from? Megan is from Jiangxi and was part of the Heng Feng SWI.

That is awesome news that he is in foster care. Megan was in foster care from 5 days til almost 9 mos of age. She was well cared for and I can tell she was loved. I think that this helped with the bonding process.

Besides praying for your son I will be praying for a quick homestudy and especially for the USCIS office to have a quick return on your immigration approval.

Terry said...

It's been a while since I visited, and I know this sounds strange, but I was thinking about you last night.
Luke is so precious, and what a blessing!
I am so excited for you and your wonderful family, and I pray that the time goes by fast and he'll be where he belongs soon!
He is beautiful Tammy!
I'll keep you all in my prayers.
Terry

Paula said...

Oh, Tammy! I am overflowing with tears right now. How wonderful for you.

Precious Father, please speed the process. Bring this beautiful boy home sooner then expected. Heal his body and prepare Tammy and her family. What a blessing, Lord that only you can give! In Jesus glorious name! Amen

Blessings~
Paula

Sandy said...

Oh boy...CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Now I look so forward to next Summer for you and your family to welcome home the newest family member :)

Susie Q said...

Oh how exciting! I am thrilled for you all! I KNOW this feeling so well and know you are filled with joy and excitement, overwhelming emotions of all sorts! he is just such a beautiful child.
On both of our adoptions, we began looking for a younger child but were led to OUR kids. God is at work...there is a reason you were all drawn together. Bless him and bless you!

arkie said...

I am so happy for you and your family! I will pray that everything works out smoothly and quickly for this adoption process. Joy will be a great big sister!

Simple Home said...

Oh Tammy, I'm so excited for you and your family. I'll be praying for you during this process. Keep us updated.
He's adorable.
Blessings,
Marcia

Anonymous said...

OH MY I WANT TO CRY FOR HAPPINESS!! He is so cute!!! and how wonderful that you will be giving him such a great home....dont you just want to adopt them all??? It breaks my heart knowing there are so many kids without families. I cant wait to hear about updates on the progress of this new member to your family!!
You really are blessed!!

Jill from NY

Amber said...

Wow! This is so exciting!

A Bit of Colour said...

Wow, Isn't GOD Cool! First the little boy is so cute! I pray that there is no hindrances in your way & that everything does goes smoothly. The LORD has already shown you that he is yours. Stand on it. Many times in my life GOD has given me dreams to show me what is coming & it happens. Stand on that ROCK! Your son in coming to you.

Debbie said...

Congratulations Tammy! He is absolutely adorable. I can't imagine how it is knowing he is right there waiting for you and you can't get your arms around him yet. I am so happy for you that I cried when I read your post! *hugs*

Take Care,,
Debbie

Michele said...

Oh Tammy ~ that's absolutely the best news ever! He's so adorable...those eyes...and cheeks, make you just want to hug him so tight!

Hugz,
Michele

Blessed Beyond said...

Oh Tammy,
I'm so excited and happy for yall!!! I'm beaming with excitement! What a blessing! He is just darling!! I am praying all goes smoothly and he will be home with yall much sooner than you know! What a beautiful family of 5 you have!!!!
Hugs and Blessings,

Sharon said...

That is such wonderful news for you and your family.
Will pray that GOD will continue to bless your family and Luke. He is a doll. Those eyes just melt your heart.
Hope that things move along smoothly for you and you will have that little boy in your home soon.

Gettysburg Homestead said...

Tammy what wonderful news!!!! He is beautiful!!!!

God will lead you through all of the paperwork and home studies and Beofre you know it he will be HOME.

Mary

The Farmers Oldest Daughter said...

What a wonderful blessing. Luke is so fortunate to have a great family like yours. I am praying all paperwork will go smoothly and that he will be in your home before you know it.

That face is so adorable.

He will keep you young.

Congratulations.
Maxine

terrypi said...

What a beautiful little boy. And he is so lucky to have a wonderful family waiting for him here. I wish you the very best.

Sue said...

I am excited for you. It is evident that God is all in this and even spoke to you through a dream. How blessed Luke is to have a loving family that can't wait for him to be a part of. Being a grandmother to three adopted children, I can tell you that the love is no different from those biological ones. God knew from the time Luke was formed the plans He had for him and they were with you.

Anonymous said...

Tammy, I am so happy for you & Jason and your family!! Prayers answered!! Such a blessing, that's for sure!! Luke is such a precious little doll baby!! How very excited you all must be!!
I'll have you all in my thoughts and prayers!! I'm so tickled for you all!!

Love & Blessings,
~Lynn/OKC

Anonymous said...

He is a beautiful baby!!! Congratulations

Patty said...

what wonderful news ! He looks so sweet.

Birgit said...

He is just a beautiful little boy! Oh that face and those chubby cheeks. I think they grow out of their cheeks way too soon. :)
I can imagine it will be a hard waiting process, but what a blessed gift you'll recieve when you do finally get there.
God truly has paved the way clearly for you. I will certainly continue to pray for smooth roads ahead. Hugs to you all~ especially Joy as she's a new BIG sister!
Blessings~~ Birgit

janie said...

Oh, Tammy!!

I am so happy for you and your family. Congrats on your little boy!!!

God Bless, Janie

Colleen/And Baby Makes Five said...

Congratulations, Tammy! What wonderful and exciting news for you and your lovely family!

Who wouldn't love that sweet little guy?

Wishing you all the very very best, my friend...

Tami and Bobby Sisemore Family said...

congratulations! :) We have a 19 month old baby boy waiting for us in Taiwan right now! :) I can't wait to follow your journey :)

Blessings,
Tami
PRAYING JEREMIAH HOME QUICKLY
www.tillGodbringsthemhome.blogspot.com

Madeleine said...

AH! MY 10 year old son and I are in the same spot!! ...As we *im*patiently wait for her. Counting and keeping track of time where she is. lol

Great blog!

My Colonial Home said...

Hi Tammy,
Oh I can't say enough of how wonderful this news is!
CONGRATULATIONS on becoming parents again and what a gorgeous little boy Luke is. I know he will open up his arms at first sight of you and your family.
Hugs, Karen
My Colonial Home Blog

Charm and Grace said...

What a sweet, wonderful post. You have my prayers, and I look forward to seeing what God will do!

Blessings,
Christi

Cathy Cobblestone said...

So, so, so very happy for you all. He is precious - and just as you are overjoyed with the news of him being your new son - his life is about to be blessed immensely for having you all as his new family. Many continued blessings going to you all.

Julie said...

Oh, Tammy!

Luke is just beautiful! I'm just in tears, here.
Rest assured that you have many prayers coming y'alls way!

Many Blessings,
Julie

Breezy Point Mom said...

Just stumbled on your blog tonight and caught this VERY exciting post. Congrats on your referral. He certainly is a beautiful little boy. I pray that all goes smoothly with the process from here on. We are an adoptive family, too: a son (Vietnam) and a daughter (Korea). So we know how emotional the process can be, but how wonderful at the end! Bless your family.

Simple Home said...

I hope all is well Tammy. We haven't heard from you as much lately, so I just wanted to check in and see. I'm sure your busy with all the adoption procedures and such.
Blessings,
Marcia

Daffodil Hill said...

Oh, Tammy! I'm so glad I popped in today. I had a few extra minutes at work and decided to try to read a blog or 2. Congratulations! Your news has made my day. I'm sitting here at my desk trying not to cry in the office. Luke is beautiful! I know that God chose him especially for your sweet family. {{hugs}}

Mandie said...

Congratulations!!! I am soo happy for you and your family. What a blessing you will be to that CUTE little boy. God bless!!!

Sentimentally Me said...

Hi Tammy ~ I found your blog via Folded Gingham, and I had to leave a comment for you, and let you know, how heartwarming your quest for your little boy is to me. I'm going to add you to my bloglines so that I can follow along. Your goodness has not gone unnoticed ~ congratulations to your entire family. I'll be reading up on the whole adventure! Patrice

Sherri/Here Goes My Life said...

Oh Tammy I have tears of joy for you. How precious he is. I will be sending prayers up that the process is smooth and he will be in your arms soon. God Bless, Sherri

Tammy said...

Hello dear Tammy!
I just had to drop back into blogland to congratulate you!!! He is SO absolutely precious...
My little girl has been keeping me a bit informed on this through her email friendship with Joy...I have been completely out of blogging as of late, not even reading my dearest friends' blogs much less writing in mine! Not really a conscience choice, it just happened...but I wanted to pop back in and how exciting to actually see his precious little face! I can completely understand how you all felt he was yours from the start!
I'll be praying for you as you wait for him!!!
Hugs and blessings,
~Tammy

steph said...

oh, this made me cry. I am so happy for you.