"Sasha"

This was it!  Officially, the first picture I saw of our new (future) daughter.  (She's the one on the right!)  Bless her heart, she was insistent on being a part of this picture, I'm sure!  This is the incredible Falvo family who have adopted 5, I think, and they were (still are, as of this post) "in country" adopting that little munchkin' on Maria's lap.

I have to admit.  I was just mesmerized!  Immediately after that picture, I saw this one:

Somehow, I just knew that little girl.  In the deepest part of my spirit, I knew her.  And I knew she was mine.  It was as if I had already looked at her face 1000 times, like my own children's faces.  And I knew she belong here with us.

But that would not be an easy task (or so I thought!).  I had been wanting to adopt for about 5 years.  I truly had a heart for orphans, but I am not a single woman!  I am married with 3 young children of my own, and I know that God would not lead me to do something that my husband was not also led to do.  For the last 5 years, my husband hadn't been.  Well, to his credit, I should say that he had been willing, although somewhat reluctantly, to walk down this path if it was clear that God was directing us to do so.  There were several other children that we prayed about and gathered information on.  But by the time we really felt like we could do it, the child was gone.  Which was OK -- it's all about getting them out of an orphanage and into a forever family.  But each time, it got a little harder to believe that it truly was God's will for us to pursue an adoption.

I had actually reached the point where I believed that it was probably not going to happen.  I looked for other ways to give to children in orphanages and other families adopting.

And then, I saw her.  I can't begin to explain in any way that would make any sense except to perhaps someone who has been through this same experience.  But I just knew.  I knew.  But would Quincy?

The only thing I could do would be to simply show him her picture.  It had been well over a year since we last considered adoption.  He said, "Uh huh."  I know - not much to go on, but I decided it would become a matter of prayer for me.  Over the next day or so, he began asking questions about her.  He said that he was willing to once again begin praying about adoption and getting more information.  I sent him a blog post that changed his was of thinking completely (well, it was really the Holy Spirit that changed his thinking) -- and 48 hours later, he was fully committed.  Not just committed -- but, her daddy.  God. still. moves.

So, we are now "matched" with this little sweetie.  She has a few developmental delays and she has epilepsy.  These are issues that we are completely inexperienced with -- so we are trusting God to give us wisdom.  There are always snags that could prevent us from actually being able to bring her home, but it won't be because of us!  In the next weeks and months, we'll post information about fund raisers -- so please keep coming back!  And please keep us in your prayers!  And here are just a few more pics: