No really, how are you?

It's been 2 weeks since we got back from Eastern Europe and meeting Nate.  Every day, for 2 weeks, I have carved out a part of my day to sit and reflect on our sweet Nate.  I watch the videos over and over.  Look at his sweet face.  Listen to his laugh.  And find joy in a child that is ours, but yet, that I barely know.  Since our return, we have had so much encouragement.  And the question I have heard several times over the past few days is, "how are you?  No.  Really.  How are you handling being away from him?"   I am not going to say it has been easy.  But, I will answer in complete honesty.  I told you all when we left him at the orphanage, I was filled with peace.  That was soon replaced by anger.  I questioned why we had to leave him.  What was the purpose.  Why in the world does it take so long.  But, no matter how much I wanted to be upset or mad, or angry, I just couldn't for long. For the first time in my life, I am completely at peace.  In everything.  I have absolutely no doubt that GOD is in control here.  I have no doubt that HE is protecting and watching over our sweet Nate.  I have no doubt that HIS timing is perfect.  I have no doubt that Nate is being cared for as best possible now.  I just have no doubt.  I have peace.  Peace that "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end."  Ecclesiastes 3:11.  I want you to know that we appreciate your prayers more than anything.  For it is your prayers that have gotten us where we are.  I do not think for a moment that the old Jenny would not have been a basketcase at this point.  But, I am filled up with the Spirit, which gives me hope, joy, and peace during our situation.  So, while we are beyond ready, we will REST knowing that God's timing is perfect.  I was telling a friend today that my fear is gone.  I have no fear in bringing Nate home.  I have struggled with this on and off during this whole process.  Yet, again, peace of trusting in God through the unknown has taken over and pushed aside all fears.  Yes, we know there will be struggles in raising a child like Nate.  A child that has spent almost 3 years in an orphanage.  A child with Down Syndrome.  A child that has not had a mommy and daddy to love him and snuggle him.  But, we have peace in knowing that God will give us the strength to parent a child like Nate. 

As far as the process, all of our documents should head to his country at the end of this week.  At that point, we just have to wait on our FBI background check to come back and send over.  Then, the waiting game begins.  Please join us in praying for speediness during that process.  Our home study will expire on May 21st.  We really need to have him home before then to avoid more payments for an update, not to mention the headache involved in having to do that again. 

We would love for you to continue praying for us.  And of course for Nate.  I pray daily for his caregivers.  That they would continue to find favor in him.  That he would feel loved and know that he is loved and valuable.  For Jack and Chandler as they prepare to have another sibling.  For Clay and I as we prepare our home and our hearts for another child.  And, for continued peace. 

Meeting HIM!

Sorry for the long delay between posts.  Alot has been going on, namely, our trip in early January to meet Nate!  We had hoped to chronicle our adventure of going to meet Nate on the blog in sort of a daily rundown of events and experiences, but strangely enough, our blog was a blocked website where we were staying during our visit, so we weren't able to make any posts.

Nevertheless, meeting Nate was amazing.  We couldn't have imagined a better first visit and a better response from our boy.  Jenny and I had prepared ourselves for the worst imagining that he might reject us and push away crying to go back to his caretakers, but it was better than we had dared to hope.  He instantly reached out to us and let us hold him and was in a great mood!  We were kind of shocked, I think, at how natural it all seemed.  It was through this first meeting that we really saw the Lord's hand through EVERYTHING on this journey.  It was like Nate was ours all along and we just had to follow God's path to go find him.  His hair is like mine, his personality is like our other kids, and his appetite...well, he's definitely a Richey!

We were able to spend a good portion of the next four days with Nate, getting to know him, play with him, feed him, and even rock him to sleep (my favorite gift of the entire visit!).  Through it all, we found the Lord giving us reassurance and peace that will fuel us through this next step in the process.  Nate's development, although delayed showed several good signs of progress.  He's eating mashed foods from a spoon now and has gained 3 pounds since his last health report.  He's a very well-behaved eater, sitting in a plain chair without a booster or restraint and placing his hands flat on the table to wait for us to spoon him his bites.  The perfect little gentleman, although he will definitely let you know if you are a little slow in times between bites.  We were also able to see the progress he's making in crawling and pulling to a stand.  He's doing alot of verbalizing and we loved hearing all the sounds he made, but no actual communication yet.

Perhaps most comforting though, was the provision we saw in where God has placed Nate and the caregivers that are watching over him while we are away.  The facility he is in is in good condition and, in fact, our translator told us it is the best orphanage in the entire country!  She would be a good judge, because her work takes her to most of the orphanages in the region.  Beyond this though, the women caring for Nate were amazing.  There was a real affection between them and Nate and we felt such peace knowing that he would be in good hands while he awaits our final visit to bring him home.  They were always walking through the area that we had for our visits with Nate and as they would pass by, they would blow him kisses and talk to him gently in their language.  He always lit up a bit when certain favorites would come by and he'd hear their voices.  All these things, left us amazed and grateful for God's kindness and mercy.


So what's next?  Well, there's definitely light at the end of the tunnel for us and Nate.  We're meeting with our agency here tomorrow to get started on some final paperwork.  There's really not that much left.  Updating our medical records and FBI background checks.  Then submitting some additional immigration forms and that's pretty much it.  Why does that take 4-6 months?  We're not sure either, but I think most of the lag time occurs in Nate's country's courts at this point.  We're waiting on the Lord and based on our recent experience are more confident than ever before that He has appointed just the right time for us to bring Nate home!

We can't thank everyone who's been involved in supporting, encouraging, and praying for us enough.  We certainly felt the power of your prayers as we were traveling and continue to appreciate everyone who has supported us on our journey.  We'll keep updating the blog here regarding any news or progress that we make.

Thank You!

Clay and Jenny.