Excited!

"Well, DUH!" you may say, seeing that I just posted some incredible news.  However, this has been quite the roller coaster ride so far, and excitement had not yet been one of the emotions I was experiencing.  Anticipation, anxiety, hope, anxiety, overwhelmed, anxiety, what was I thinking??, anxiety...you get the point (even though I am totally sure that was not correctly punctuated...I was a math major).  The only thing I can relate this experience to is how I felt when I first found out I was pregnant with our first child, Zachary.  I wanted to be excited...I knew I should be excited...felt guilty for NOT being excited...but I wasn't.  Not that I didn't want to be pregnant, because I did!  But then there were the thoughts like "what if I miscarry?" or "What if something is wrong with him?" or "What if I can't handle this and I am not a good mom?"  and a million other "what ifs" that ran through my mind.  It has been the same this time with only slight variations.  "What if the agency doesn't like my answers for the 20 page questionnaire?"  "What if China doesn't grant our PA (Preliminary Approval)?"  And again, "What if I can't handle this and I am not a good mom?"  And the other million "what ifs."

But along with our news of PA that came on Tuesday, came relief!  And tagging along right behind was EXCITEMENT!  To be honest, many of those "what ifs" continue to run through my head on a pretty regular basis.  I am sure some of them have worn quite a path by now!  But now every time they come, I just think about this...

A little boy thousands of miles away who has never known a mother's love, has never wrestled with his daddy, or played in the yard sprinklers on hot days with his brothers and sister.  And I am EXCITED to see the story that God is writing for this little boy!  (And, yes, he still lacks an English name, but we are working on that!)

Finally!

I've been thinking for weeks about writing this post and exactly what I would say, and yet now words seem to escape me.  I still can't believe that more than 2 people could now be reading my blog?!  Apparently my deeper thoughts will have to wait until later, so I will just get to the point.


Meet Saylor #6...

With God's help, our new addition will arrive in the U.S. from Guangdong, China in about 12 months. 

Much more to come including photos, stories, and how you can be a part of what God is doing in this little guy's life.

147,000,000 minus 1! 

God is GREAT!

Oh...the...paperwork!!!!

Well after HOURS of paperwork (and, yes, I know there is much more to come!), our pre-approval package has been sent to the CCCWA (China).  I am hopeful that we will receive our PA (pre-approval from China) within the next week or two.  At that point we will officially be "matched" with our little guy and I can post a pic or two, not to mention make this whole thing public! He's adorable, just in case you were wondering:-)

Pizza first...chopsticks later

Well, our evening out did not exactly go as planned.  We did finally make it to John's Incredible Pizza, but due to a dental procedure, Darrell did not.  Seeing as I did not want to reveal our big news by myself, we simply ate pizza and played games.  But, oh, what fun they had!  (And for that price, they had better I am so glad they did!)

Being joined by our friends made a great place even better!  But after many cups of soda and even more slices of pizza (not to mention desserts!), we called it a night and headed home.  Although not at all how I had it imagined in my head, it was time to let the kids in on our news.

So I set these out on the table and called the kids in for a surprise.  They seemed a little confused as to why I was calling a fortune cookie and chopsticks their surprise.  Darrell finally gave a little hint and then....

came the reactions I kind of anticipated.  Alyssa squealed and danced.  Nay smiled really big and said, "OHHH!  I get it!"  And Zachary, well, he ate the cookie.  He never has been my kid to show much excitement, but I have to admit...I was a little taken back by his reaction.  Or lack of it.  Perhaps that will eventually change.  After all, he has 12-15 months to adjust to the idea.  Then ready or not, here he comes!

Pizza and Chopsticks

Tomorrow we will officially announce to Zachary, Alyssa and Nathyn that we are expecting!

Expecting a 3 year old little boy from CHINA that is!  Before we tighten our proverbial belts in anticipation for our new son, we have decided to take them to John's Incredible Pizza for our big family expanding announcement. Although I am unsure of the boys' reaction, I know Alyssa will be totally on board...even though it won't be the "sister" she has hoped for.  Her heart for the lost and hurting never ceases to amaze me though, so I am confident that she will take this news with an open heart.  More later to answer your "What in the world are you thinking?" questions that I am sure a few of you have.  Stay tuned for frequent family and friend updates as we embark on this incredibly exciting and faith-building journey toward becoming Saylor - Party of Six!