A letter from your father

Dear Maisey,

Maisey in China at 1 year old

We don't even know each other at this moment, but I will be your father through adoption.  We, my wife Lisa (your adoptive mother,) and I have been heading to this moment from well before you were born.  It brings us the greatest joy to know that we will be coming to get you soon.  

It's hard to know where to begin, I could give you so many details, but I won't.  Know that we have seen the hands of the Almighty God work with skillful precision throughout this whole journey to you.  I will tell you that the thought of being a Dad one more time is exciting.  We have two boys in our family who are all too excited to become your brothers. Our oldest is nearly 9 years old.  He's a very serious and intelligent boy who loves building Lego, crafts, and helping me around the house.  He is already well on his way to becoming a great man.  I'm so excited to see who he will become.  I'm sure he will be a lifelong source of council and friendship.  

Our youngest is 6 years old, soon to be our middle child.  He is a strong and passionate boy.  He loves intensely, cares deeply and will be your lifetime protecter.  He has been asking about you and planning, with great expectation, to be your big brother since he was 3.  We also have two pets.  Gunner, our Chesapeake Bay Retriever, and Spartacus, our Bengal cat.  They provide a lot of joy and happiness to our family.  

On April 16, 2012 at 11:04 PM we were awoken from a deep sleep when the phone rang.  It was our adoption agency calling us with the great news that you had been matched to our family.  The irony, and the most visible act of God's hand, is that we could have easily have been away in the Bahamas when the call came, and we would have missed this call.  But due to circumstances at my job, which I could not understand at first, I was not selected to join my other sales co-workers at the event in the Bahamas.  We were so excited when we were able to say "yes" to you.  We immediately prayed and sent in our letter of intent to the Chinese government.  We prayed that things would move quickly, and instead of two weeks, the pre-approval came in 3 days.  Then we sent our packet with our home study to China.  This will result in a "Letter Seeking Confirmation" which can take up to a month.  It came back a mere week later on May 3rd.  So here we are on the 5th, waiting to submit our final paperwork.  So things are moving very quickly, we expect to see you in 3-4 months.

I also want you to know that even though we've only seen your pictures we now know your name given by us, Maisey.  We are already in love with you!  I study the photos and often wonder what you're doing at any given moment.  Are you sleeping, or playing, are you hungry or scared?  When I think of those things, the "Papa Bear" comes out and I want to go get you immediately.  We have been praying that things would move quickly, and they have.  We are ready to come and get you as soon as we are able to do so, don't worry little girl your forever family is ready to receive you!  

Your Loving Father