One Year and Why We Wait...

One year ago today our dossier was logged into the system at the China Center of Adoption Affairs in Beijing, China. I remember receiving the call later in the month notifying us that we actually had "The Date" and thinking what a relief it was to finally be waiting on our daughter instead of a piece of paper. I also remember thinking how far away November 8, 2007 seemed and tried to imagine how wonderful it would feel reaching the one year mark knowing that within the next couple of months we would see our daughters face. Today is very bittersweet for us in that we are thrilled to have reached this HUGE milestone yet we have so many more months to go that it almost feels like this is really no big deal at all.
We have been asked countless times lately why we are still aboard this slow boat to China. We have been asked, "How long will you wait?", "Why don't you switch countries?", "Don't you just want to give up?" and many others. It is hard to go into detail at Walmart or other public places what our feelings are towards adoption and our Ruthie but since this is my blog, I can do it here!
We, as a family, felt called by God to adopt a baby girl from China. We feel this call as strongly as someone who is called into full-time ministry or foreign missions or a certain profession or any call that God places on someone's heart. We honestly feel that there is a little girl in China who probably isn't born yet that God is creating or has created especially for our family. She is ours and we are hers. I think that most people mean well but I also think that it is hard to understand adoption if the passion, desire and call haven't been placed on your heart. We have two precious sons that we would die for, that we would've waited a lifetime for, that we would never give up on and Ruthie is no different. Just because she isn't biologically ours doesn't make her any less our daughter.
Here are a few reasons why we continue to wait for Ruthie.....

She has a home with her very own room that has a (very unorganized) closet with lots of pretty pink clothes and beautiful ladybug bedding waiting to keep her warm....



















She has LOTS of bows waiting to accessorize her hair....









She has a dog named Jackson that is waiting to give her sloppy kisses.....











She has a kitty named Tiger that is waiting to teach her the fine art of cat napping...









She has a brother named Anderson that loves her and is waiting to push her on the swings and teach her to play baseball....











She has a brother named Jon Milledge who loves her and is waiting to jump on the trampoline with her and teach her all about sports....











She has a Mommy who loves her and is waiting to teach her to shop, to cook and to have great tea parties.....









She has a Daddy who loves her and is waiting to rock her to sleep and to be wrapped around her finger......











She has a family that loves her and is waiting for her to come home because until she does, we will not be complete.....








But most of all she has a Heavenly Father who loves her so much that he knitted her together in her mothers womb all while preparing a family on the other side of the world to love her as their own....and we do. Thankfully, He is walking beside us reminding us daily that He called us to adopt, that He is in control and that through Him all things are possible.


There you have it.....we are waiting because we feel we have no other choice. It is like one of our children is missing and we won't be at peace until she is home. How long will we wait? As long as it takes. Why don't we switch countries? Because Ruthie is in China. Do we ever just want to give up? Not a chance!

Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bring your daughters from the east and gather you from the west.~Isaiah 43:5