Adoption Photo Book

She wasn’t where she had been.
She wasn’t where she was going…
but she was on her way.
And on her way she no longer looked for the answers,
but held close the two things she knew for sure:
One, if a day carried strength in the morning,
peace in the evening,
and a little joy in between,
it was a good one.
And two, you can live completely
without complete understanding.

-Jodi Hills

Kevin and I put together a little photo book for Sweet P on Monday night, and I’ll cherish that time we spent at our table forever.

It’s not a fancy book…just plastic pages, filled with pictures of us and our pets…and stickers that spell his name on the front.

From what we’ve heard, two year olds don’t give a rip about “fancy”, and this book is really just about him getting familiar with our faces.

We tucked a couple of love notes into two of the pages near the back, and it’s so exciting to know that someone will be whispering those words to him for us next week! (Thank you, Someone! We are already feeling so grateful for you taking the time to do that!)

There was a *chance* we could be traveling to Haiti this weekend too, but it’s looking like Kevin and I will (probably) be booking our bonding trip in late February or early March. (which is fine because I already knew that)

We dropped our photo book off at our adoption agency (Lifeline Children’s Services) in Birmingham yesterday afternoon.

That’s sweet and hardworking Meredith (our caseworker) holding it in the photo above.

She’s new-ish to Lifeline, and to the Haiti program…which, come to think of it, is new-ish to Lifeline, too. The Haiti program, I mean. It’s technically still a “pilot program”, and we’re one of the very first families to be working our way through the (new) system. Oh yeah, did I mention our system is new, too? Yep. Haiti is in the process of becoming a Hague certified country, so the rules and regulations are changing (and tightening) by the month week day. The new system is a positive one, but we are definitely sailing through uncharted waters which makes for a very mysterious journey!

But that’s where knowing believing that it’s okay to not completely understand every-little-thing has come in really handy.

It’s made this adventure feel more like….well, an adventure, I guess- ha!

Sure, there have been bumps along the way, but here’s what I’ve learned about bumps: they slow you down, but they don’t stop you. You run up and over them, and they always end up behind you. And circling back to complete understanding- I’m no expert, but I do know this: chasing complete understanding can be mentally exhausting, and loosening our grip creates breathing room in our brains. Take comfort in the Assurance that clarity will always comes in Due time.

Complete living happens from here to the horizon, so here’s to enjoying more of the adventure in between!