Hold My Hands

We're back in the familiar LOA wait. Day 44 today... Not that anyone's counting or anything. 

For a family like us that's matched before getting paperwork logged-in to China's system, the expected wait time for this Letter of Acceptance is anywhere from 30-60 days. We're still safely within that range, and I'm constantly monitoring the trends and patterns of timelines. However, I will say that I was really hoping to be closer to the 30 day mark, rather than the 60. 

In the meantime, life barrels forward at full speed! We have schoolwork to continue on with, and the ever-present laundry mountain to scale. I've been having crafty fun in my spare time (Please allow me to pause for a moment to chuckle at the thought of "spare" time. What's that?), making fun and girly hair bows and clips, and daydreaming about the little head they're going to adorn. I also put together a care package for Meimei a few weeks ago. 

As I've mentioned before in care package posts, I always struggle to know what to put in them. What could I possibly buy or pack that would communicate to a toddler that she has a family who is chomping at the bit to meet her? And also, while figuring that out, I must remember that I don't really know for sure her clothing size... or if she will even receive what I send... or whether she will be allowed to keep it. 

With Asher, we never got anything at all back from his care package. 

With Zach, we did get his disposable camera and the photo album we sent for him. Someday I'll post the pictures that were taken with his camera. They are hilarious... but there's not a single one of him. 

I've gotten off track. 

Anyway, if you have been following us since the beginning, you may remember that I made handprint shirts for Asher and Zach. It was my way of sending a hug before my arms could hold them. But Meimei is smaller. According to the measurements we have, she is much smaller! I would have to send a onesie, and Josh's handprint alone would take up the whole thing. So, the idea came to me to send her a small lovie blankie with our handprints. That way, she can "hold our hands" until we get there. With the help of the wonderful Laurie Jarvis, who is becoming my partner in crafty crime (more on that later), we cut up an XXL men's T-shirt and she sewed on the red silky edging... With red thread... That wasn't invisible! (China adoption joke... pretend to laugh!) Then I drew our handprints on there and her name in Chinese (blurred out here for paranoia reasons).

 I'm pretty proud of the way it turned out! 

I also decided that instead of sending a baby photo album - the kind toddlers can slobber all over - which never have enough pages to fit all of us, I would just laminate pictures of us and bind them with rings. 

Finally, I sent two disposable cameras. Hopefully they will actually use these to keep some record of her time at the orphanage. Maybe not the most extravagant of care packages ever, but I put my heart into it, and I hope the caretakers are able to see that. 

I'm not quite done with the story of the care package just yet. Because it is a small world and because God is so much bigger and works things together, I have two more people to tell you about. The first is a lady here in town. Her name is Christine. We had run into each other a few times at the park... she innocently watching her kids play, and me hanging around like a weirdo because I heard her speaking Mandarin to another lady. Turns out, Christine was a linguist in the military, and not only speaks Mandarin, but can write it too (although some people may be able to speak it a little, learning all those characters is a whole different task). One evening, Annie and I were at Target, and we ran into Christine again. We talked a little about China and I told her we were matched with Meimei, and she asked if there was anything she could do to help. Well, I had just been thinking a few days before what a bummer it was that I didn't have a way to write a letter to Meimei and her caretakers. With the boys both being at New Hope/Show Hope units, the American staff could translate my notes to the ayis. But Meimei isn't in any place with English speakers. This was a total answer to prayer! Christine offered to translate my letter! This sweet, busy mom of little ones, with a full plate of her own, volunteered to take time out of her life to translate my words to my little one and her nannies! What a gift!

The second lady is a new friend who I met in an online group of parents with kids from Meimei's orphanage. Her name is Kim. We were messaging back and forth and... small world... turns out she is neighbors with a family from our travel group to Zach! Kim was kind enough to bring our care package with her to China when she traveled to bring her new daughter home. So, instead of wondering about whether the postal service could get it there, and how long it will take to get a box delivered to her orphanage, I know our care package has already reached Meimei! So, although I don't know how well she can comprehend it, I know that Meimei has been told she has a family! 

Little things, people! Little breadcrumbs that God sends, opening my eyes to see how He is weaving her story together with ours, and also weaving our story together with all sorts of other people's. It's this big, beautiful tapestry of His glory! I am still constantly in awe of the way God orchestrates life... even in the simple details of a blanket and some pictures.