5 years!!

Hard to believe 5 years ago we were meeting this little person for the first time!  A China hotel room, crammed full of people--one minute we were a family of 2 and then boom, the next instant, we were a family of 3!  The nervousness, the excitement, the fear...the chaos!

We had a low-key day--isn't that the best kind?!  Some cuddles, some remembering and lots of smiles.

 

Of course it wouldn't be a forever family day with dinner at our local Chinese restaurant.  Yummy!

The long and short of it all..........

So.  The cast.  The second cast, to be exact.  In less than 2 months.  On the same arm.  Geesh!

I had said earlier that our little family was going through quite a few changes.  The Noodle switched schools (no more Catholic school in our old town) to the local public school.  Change #1.  That meant finding a new sitter for before and aftercare.  Change #2.  We also had this whole Mei-mei thing hanging out there that could come at anytime, but I didn't honestly expect it to be anytime too soon...........Change #3.

And then, about the third week into August, everything coincided together.  I had a meeting at school and the Noodle was going for the afternoon to the new sitter's for a "trial" run before my first day back with meetings the next day.  Easy.  They were going to go to the park.  Fun!  It was, until mid-afternoon when my cell rang. Now, as an aside, anyone who knows me, knows that I rarely have my cell with me and that even more rare are the occasions when I actually answer it when it rings.  I know--annoying.  But....the cell rang right as I was finishing a meeting and thank the Lord, I heard it and was able to answer it.  Not so good news--the new babysitter was calling to let me know while at the park the Noodle had fallen off the monkey-bars and landed on her wrist.  The one that she had hurt earlier in the summer.

I made a bee-line back and picked her up.  Quite honestly I think the poor babysitter was more upset than me--these things happen.  Unfortunately.  But not wanting to take any chances, we drove straight to the hospital, and in the process, the Noodle fell asleep in the car.  When we pulled into the parking garage and I had to wake her up, she informed me that she actually felt better and that her arm was "only about a 2" (on the pain scale which she had perfected the first go-round).  Since she was feeling better and a 2 didn't seem ER worthy, we decided to hoof it home, give her more ice and Motrin it and wait and see.  By the next morning though the swelling hadn't gone down, although thankfully the pain was still pretty minimal (????). Back to the ER we went.

The good thing was, was that at 8 a.m. on a Wednesday, the ER was pretty quiet.  We got in quickly, had the x-rays done where they confirmed that yes, in fact her wrist was most definitely broken this time (grrrreat) and were on our way home by 10 with an appointment with the orthopedic doctor to cast her at 11:30.  At this point in time I'm thinking that after the last appointment we can race home, eat a quick bite of lunch before I take her back to the new sitter's (day 2) and I can get into work for at least a half-day of my first required day back.

Everything was going according to plan and I was just finishing up the lunch prep when the phone rang.  I assumed it was J, since he often calls us during lunch to check in and chat.  Imagine my shock when the voice on the other end said that she was calling from our adoption agency with a potential referral. Whaaaa?!?!?!?!

She filled me in with the details while I stood there mutely and every so often mumbled a "mmmhm" or a "oookay" like a loon.  I honestly don't think my mind was completely processing everything.  As soon as I got off the phone with her, I immediately called J and told him to amazing news.  It wasn't until that evening when we were both home together that we opened up the e-mail to read the actual referral.  That was a hard wait!

The crazy thing is, is that I know the Lord's fingerprints were all over our situation.  If everything hadn't happened with the Noodle's arm, I wouldn't have been home to receive that phone call.  Of course the agency would have left a message, but still.  He used a bad situation for his glory and made something wonderful out it, just like Romans 8:28 states--"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose".  Yes!!  His timing often makes no sense to us and his plans often seem crazy nutty, but they're not.  I need to just remember to remember.  Remember all of the times that God has "come through".  Remember all of the perfect timings that at first glance didn't seem so perfect.  Remember the provisions.  Remember the fingerprints.  Remember.

And that, my friends, is the long and short of it all.