Running up and down the block can only mean one thing!

It is 12:16am and Phil and I just came in from running up and down the block and laying in the driveway looking at the stars and talking about what a mighty God we serve.  Just a little bit ago, we saw that we had an email waiting saying that our travel approval has been issued and that we can leave for China NEXT WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!

There aren't enough exclamation points in the WORLD for this!

I want to write down the events before I get caught up in the chaos that is coming!

It's been a stressful few weeks.  Phil came home from work tonight and after putting the kids to bed, we decided to take some time off from the stress (although he had to keep working during the "time off") and paint a pumpkin to look like a minion from Despicable Me.

We sat and talked for a long time... about life and all kinds of things.  After a while, we finished the pumpkin and I got up to check email and go to bed (it was after 11:30).  The first thing I saw, with Phil sitting in the chair not 3 feet away, was an email from our adoption agency saying:

Subject: Travel Approval Update I have received notice that your Travel Approvals have been DHL’ed from China...

I sucked in my breath so hard, I'm surprised I did turn inside out and Phil jumped up and was said, "what is it?"  I clicked on the email and we both said Oh my word!  Phil asked me if I was reading it or if he needed to read it out loud.  I was freaking out and could not even start to read the words so he read it out loud... I think... but obviously I didn't absorb it because I still can only remember sitting there freaking out!  

It says that first available Consulate Appointment is for the week of Oct 21 and that if we want first available we need to be in China the weekend of October 12/13.  That is NEXT WEEK!  As soon as Phil finished reading - I'm convinced he read it out loud, I ran to go get my cell phone.  I knew that my little sister would still be awake on the West coast!  I called her twice and then my older sister's cell phone and didn't get either so I went back and tried to understand what the email was saying.  Phil explained that it was saying we needed to choose if we wanted first available.  We talked and prayed and shared our great news with Valerie when she called back.  Then we emailed Karla back and said, YES PLEASE - FIRST AVAILABLE!!!  

Now I'm making a to do list!  Now it's not things like load the dishwasher and vacuum the van.  Now it's stuff like, contact travel agent, bank, credit card company, hospital, international adoption clinic, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

SAMMY, WE ARE COMING!!!!!!  As in next week!!!  We serve a Mighty God!!!

Phil pointing out a shooting star... or a bug.

 Considering what a Mighty God we serve!

The Minion Pumpkin

Telling the kids that we got travel approval!!!