1 WEEK.

ONE WEEK UNTIL WE LEAVE FOR CHINA!!!! Actually, in exactly a week, we will be about 3 hours into our big flight. However, more importantly...

NINE DAYS UNTIL WE GET KATE!!!! Yes, you heard me right! We are getting Kate on Saturday, October 25! 9 DAYS. Obviously, that gives a huge hint to what is coming next...

When we first found out that Kate was at Philip Hayden, we made it our constant prayer that she would stay there until we could come... that our gotcha day would be at Philip Hayden. I know I've posted about it here numerous times, but Kate has moved so many times in her 19 months of life. Moving around so much is just not a great thing for bonding. Also, I cannot imagine the grief that she would go through leaving this place... and her nanny. Now, obviously that is going to happen when we get her. However, for it to happen twice? Therefore, we cried out constantly that Kate would stay at Philip Hayden. We knew that the earliest she would move back would be when we received LOA, because obviously her orphanage would know that she was being adopted. When she wasn't moved after LOA, we figured by TA, she would probably move. We kept praying and praying. When we got TA, she still hadn't moved. We talked with our agency before we had even received LOA and told them the whole situation and asked if their in-China rep could just talk to the CCAA and advocate for us. (We had been told that Kate's orphanage normally always wanted their kids back before adoption.) We then left it up to the Lord and continued to pray that somehow, God would allow her to stay there. Each day went by with no news that she had been moved, and we praised God that she was still there. Finally, on Tuesday, we heard something regarding the whole situation. Except, it wasn't the news we were hoping for. Our agency told us that Jiangxi doesn't allow families to receive their children in a different province, and therefore, we would get Kate on Monday the 27th. (Which is also AC's birthday). We were crushed. We were getting so close, and were thinking maybe, just maybe, she would stay for the 9 days we had until travel. Yet now, there was no way. I went up to my room and literally lay there asking God if He could just keep her there. I begged Him to show me once again that He was controlling everything about Kate's adoption (like I needed that confirmation... He's showed me far too many times to count!) We emailed our PHF contact and let her know. We asked what happens when the children move, etc. We also told her that we would like to visit anyway (OBVIOUSLY!) and if we could come on the 25th. The next morning, I was getting ready for school when Dad came in my room saying that our contact had emailed back... that PHF had talked to the SWI and that we were getting Kate at Philip Hayden! Mom had gotten up, too, and we were all just practically crying tears of joy. However, once again, our hopes were dashed when Mom talked to AWAA later that morning and was told that the CC*AA had said we wouldn't be getting Kate at PHF... and the CC*AA is in charge of it all. The CC*AA? I think not. GOD is in charge of it all! Our travel coordinator said she would speak to the in-China rep and just see if anything had changed in the past day. Today, Mom got a call from our coordinator and guess what? WE ARE GETTING KATE ON SATURDAY THE 25TH AT PHILIP HAYDEN!!!!!! That's what I call God. That is what I call a PERFECT God orchestrating every little detail in our lives and the life of precious Katherine MeiLing, our precious girl whom we will meet in NINE days!

"If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." Matthew 21:22