The Road to Caleb (part three)

Tonight I am feeling a bit melancholy. It is day 77 of our wait for our referral acceptance for Caleb and every day past 70 has been a bit harder than the last. Each day I wake up feeling that surely this must be the day Nicole will call us to let us know the good news and each day around mid-day I resign myself to the fact that she would have already called if our RA had arrived. The other reason is that tonight Kylie and I returned home and I found myself wondering how much longer this house will be home. Ian and I have known for the 9 years we've been married that eventually it would probably come down to this ~ and so I feel the need to continue the story of Caleb...

I remember my thoughts the moment I first saw his adorable face. We had waited until we talked to Dr. D before we took a peek at his picture to make sure that we made a decision beyond just emotion. I cried tears of joy when I saw him realizing that he was indeed going to be our son. His face was so sweet, his look so inquisitive, his eyes so familiar. Yes, I said familiar ~ it strikes me as amazing that despite the fact he and Kylie are from provinces hundreds of miles apart, they actually favor one another strongly. And it was at that moment that I knew we would call him Caleb. Ian was a tough sell on the name, but eventually he realized that none other would do and Caleb it is.

Two weeks after our request to adopt Caleb was sent to China via email, we received our pre-approval from the special needs department of the CCAA. After the PA it is pretty rare that families are denied the honor to adopt a specific child, so we felt comfortable sharing our news with family and close friends. The PA ushered out the month of June and while there were still no offers on the table, we were still calm about the job situation. We knew that God had something in store...

By mid-July we had gone public with news of our son and felt more in love with him than before. Not a day has passed that Kylie hasn't prayed for her brother at least once. Of course we have also been praying for his health, that he knows love, and that his heart (as well as ours) will be prepared to join our family. By mid-July Ian shifted his job search from here to the Research Triangle Park. It was hard to mentally make that shift with him, but time was running short and no job for him that would provide me the incredible blessing of staying home with my children was coming available.

In the end God wasn't late, but He wasn't exactly early in revealing His plan to us. Ian needed a job by the end of the day on August 8th, and mid-day on the 6th a company made a great offer. Other doors that would have allowed us to stay here were gently but firmly closed so that we KNOW that God's plan was for Ian to take his new job. Besides, we are grateful that it in the RTP area as we have two families from Kylie's travel group and another set of friends so we aren't going somewhere that we don't know anyone!

And that brings me to my melancholy feeling. Kylie and I spent the week up with Ian (who started with his new company on the 18th) staying with Lottie's family. We spent part of Tuesday and Wednesday looking for new houses. So then coming back here to our home felt sorta surreal because over the next few days I know we will be preparing to put this house on the market. This home holds so many memories, so much emotional energy spent on bringing home our first child. It breaks my heart to leave this house, our family, our church home, and friends that I've known for most of my life. I'm sad and yet excited about this new chapter in our life. And I'm so grateful that my family understands our willingness to move away in order to bring home our child. I suppose from the outside that it seems strange to be willing to make such huge changes in our life, but I'm sure any parent would do the same to ensure their child came home.

And now with our Home Study Addendum about Ian's new job in process, we wait with breathless anticipation for news of when we can go to meet our son because when he is finally in our arms the thought of moving will be much easier to swallow...