He's finally coming HOME!

A few days ago we got confirmation that Noah's passport was ready! We ccn prepare to bring him home. My mom and I will be flying to Kazakhstan this Thursday. We will get into Almaty during the wee hours Saturday morning and will meet our Taraz Coordinator Sunday morning who will hand him over to us! We decided to have him escorted to Almaty to save some time traveling to and from Taraz. Shane will be staying home with our other three children preparing and excitedly anticipating Noah's arrival into our home.

We, of course, are thrilled to be at this point. We are almost there. We almost have Noah home with us where he belongs. As I have said numerous times before, it's been a long journey. Waiting is a hard lesson to learn. I am so thankful our time of waiting is nearly over.

I was touched by something I read last week from a book called The Beautiful Ache by Leigh McLeroy. It seems to sum up our last year quite simply.

In between one place and another, we're vulnerable to the discomfort of our transitory state. If the trip is long or taxing, at odd mile markers our restlessness overrides expectation, or even drifts into despair. When trouble comes we may wonder why we ever embarked at all- or simply stop short of our intended destination, insisting (like the Israelites east of Jordan) that the spot we've settled for is adequate enough, thank you. The best of all journey may be a hard road to a good place; perhaps fully experiencing the hard, unpredictable road helps us to recognize the good place when we arrive.

I especially love that last sentence! For us, our adoption of Noah Timur has been a hard and very unpredictable road but the good place in which we are about to arrive is at our fingertips. And had we not had so many delays and scares and unknowns, we wouldn't have witnessed first hand God's goodness, provisions, and faithfulness.

Thank you for your love, encouragement and prayers. Please continue to pray as we fly out Thursday and take hold of one sweet and beautiful little boy. Pray he won't be afraid. And as we begin our new journey, find a new normal, may God be glorified.

Love,
wendy (for all of us)