Looking back before we move forward

I am going to try to make this short and sweet.  Anyone who really knows me well just laughed at that prospect.  This is the last blog post I'll make from this side of the Pacific.  We leave Wednesday morning at 10 am to head towards Ch*na to get our Brennan (we'll spend a couple days in Hong Kong before we arrive in Ch*na).  I can hardly believe we are so close.  In some ways the past 11 months seem so long and in some ways they have been a blur.  I think I have the 3 other little ones to thank for that blur part :)
I have been thinking so much over the past few days about how the Lord has so graciously brought all this together.  This time last year I had no idea who Annie, the lady who was advocating for our Brennan, was.  Now I know her pretty well, and I thank God for how he has used her to help build our family.  He also used a lady named Angie who was an "advocate cohort" along with Annie.  I actually first saw Brennan's picture on Angie's blog, but Annie pretty quickly came into the picture as well.  They are both wonderful friends who are burdened for orphans.
I also am just awestruck by the kindness of the Lord in leading us to Lifeline Children's Services.  I cannot even begin to say enough good things about how fabulous they have been through this process.  They were actually praying, as a staff, for families to be moved to want to adopt some of the little boys that were available, and our Brennan was one of those precious boys.  How cool is that?  I have met several of the various staff from Lifeline, and they have commented that they remember praying for Brennan.  It makes me smile every time :)
As a result of this adoption, I also have been drawn into a local group of adoptive families I might not have otherwise gotten to know.  It's always wonderful to have new friends, but it will be even more beneficial for the kids to have friends like them: adopted into a forever family or the biological child with siblings who were adopted into the family.  Both of those "statuses" are special, God-given gifts.  I hope Scott and I can help our all children steward their gift well for the glory of the One who ordained their "status" to ultimately be rooted in Him.

So, off we go to add another precious little guy to our brood.  It is exciting and nerve-racking all at the same time!  We are praying that God would bless us and Brennan by helping him to receive us with joy that he has this thing called a family, the beginnings of love for us, and the beginnings of trust in us.  We also pray for wisdom of how to best meet Brennan's needs by helping him understand how to live in a family.  It would be an honor to us if you might pray the same thing on our behalf!