One Year Ago Today.....One Week Ago Today...

One year ago today....
On September 16, 2009 we were officially approved for the Nepal program with Kentucky Adoption Services (Now, All Blessings International).  That's one year ago today!  Honestly, even though it's only been a year, it feels like so much longer.  Perhaps that is simply because we have been trying to bring children into our home for the last 5 years.  Either way, it has been a long road but God's timing never seems to fail.  It is utterly amazing. 

It's strange to think about how things work out.  I have often wondered about why we felt such a strong push to adopt from Nepal in the beginning.  There were the obvious reasons, including the fact that I lived there for 4 months, and the fact that I truly love the people and country.  And both Wes and I feel this way about Nepal.  But if we had started out with Ethiopia, we would probably be home with a child now.  That is so strange and hard to imagine.  That just means that I probably never would have had that dream about the twins.  And that means we probably would have never seen their faces.  And yet, we did go with the Nepal program, and Nepal did pretty much have its adoptions suspended, and we did switch to Ethiopia, and we DID see our precious twins' faces.  So amazing, isn't it?  Just how perfect God does everything.  Wow.  I am so thankful.

It has been a long, beautifully hard road. 

And then one week ago today.....

The 4 minute call on the right there is when Wes was told about the twins.  The 2 minute call is when I called back, crazy emotional, to hear the news for myself from our agency.

Do you see that?!!! Those are all calls to Wes's phone! That's right...he didn't answer the first one, because he didn't recognize the number. Ha! If it had been me she had called, I would have known right away! I know that 404 area code! That only means, Adoption Agency! And seriously....ANOTHER missed call??? This one even said "Illien Adoption Agency" on it! I mean, what the.....! (I am sitting here laughing at the memory of it all.) And then once I sit down for lunch with Wes, outside in the beautiful sunny Kentucky day, he listens to the voicemail our agency has left....and the rest is history.....

One week ago today....One of the best days I have ever experienced. One of the best phone calls that could ever have been made. And then seeing our babies' faces for the first time....wow. So hard to explain, but it is amazing and surreal all in one. I just long to run my hand across the top of their heads, and to hold their little hands, and to kiss their noses and cheeks....I am truly in love.

May time fly until we meet. I love you so much, my sweet ones.