Meet Zac!

Big news!  On Sept. 10, only 7 days after our last post, we received the file for the child who we now know as our son, Zachary Ryder Horton!  Zac is adorable!  He is about 16 months old right now.  According to his file, when he was 14 months old, he was pulling up and walking, finding his toys, clapping his hands when he saw his caregiver, "reading" books, and playing hide-and-seek.  According to his caregivers, he is easy to take care of, smiles a lot, is active, and is interested in learning.  It was his smile in the first picture we saw that melted our hearts.  We always thought we would know our son when we saw him, and we did!  Strangely, it feels like we've always known him, we just had to find him again...  Like his face was written on our hearts, and we recognized him when we saw him.  We submitted our Letter of Intent (LOI) with China on Monday, Sept. 17, and received our Pre-Approval (PA) on Thursday, Sept. 20.  The PA says that the China Center of Adoption Affairs agrees to move this application file into the procedure for adoption.  Typically, it's 6 months from the PA to travel, sometimes shorter.  We're told that since our Log In Date was so long ago, our wait may be shorter.  Let's hope!

The photo that stole our hearts!  Zac at 11 months
when Lifeline and the IAC visited his orphanage in April.
Look at those little teefies!

Ken's favorite, Zac somewhere after 11 months.
"The 'Snoopy' outfit"

Zac at 14 months on the playground.
They buzzed his hair, but he's still so cute!

Our newest photo, Zac at 16 months, taken
by Lifeline and the IAC during their current visit,
in Sept. "The 'Angry Birds' outfit"

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,

For His steadfast love endures forever;

to Him who alone does great wonders,

for His steadfast love endures forever.

Psalm 136:1&4

Log In Date, Partnerships Begin

Well, we've kind of dropped off the radar for a while.  A lot is happening, though, and we wanted to bring everyone up to speed.  Our dossier went off to China on June 7th, and was logged into the CCCWA on June 18th, making that day our "LID" or log-in date.  In the following days and weeks, we struggled with deciding whether to be matched through the shared list or to wait for the Lifeline orphanage partnerships. In the end we decided to wait.  Ultimately, the partnerships were what lead us to Lifeline in the first place, and that was our plan from the beginning.  Right now we have close personal friends in China completing their adoptions.  We are so happy for these families, but it feels bittersweet as we continue to wait patiently.  We read with joy the emails and blogs of their experiences, but our hearts ache for our own little boy.

But, on August 31st Lifeline began receiving the files for the children from the orphanage partnerships!  Lifeline will internally match these children with waiting families.  If a family is being considered to review a file, they will be contacted in the next two weeks.  Children whose files are not internally matched will then be posted for other Lifeline families to consider.  As I've described before, the partnerships allow families to consider a child with much more extensive information at their disposal, and without the time limits of the shared list.  So, it is entirely possible that we could be matched very soon!  We can't believe that we might meet our son any day now!  Please pray for us these next weeks as we trust in God to bring this child into our family!  In early August we passed our one-year mark in the adoption process.  It has been a long journey, and some days it feels like we will never reach the end, but we have learned to be patient, to trust in God, and to never give up.  It's impossible to say if our son is in these first files or not.  All we can do is leave this in God's hands and wait.  We will update you as soon as we have more information!

P.S.- To Zac:  I heard this song, in a Veggie Tales movie of all places, and I thought of you.  One day I will sing it to you, but for now I just want you to know, somehow, over the 10,000 plus miles, that you were meant to be.  Everything about you was for a reason, and I know that one day it will all make sense. -Ken

Meant To Be by Steven Curtis Chapman

Long before you drew your first breath
A dream was coming true

God wanted to give a gift to the world
So he wrapped it up in you

Every step that you’ve taken
Every move that you make
Is part of his plan

You were meant to be touching
The lives that you touch

And meant to be here
Making this world so much more
Than it would be without you in it

You were meant to be bringing
The gifts that you bring
And singing the songs
You’ve been given to sing

You are perfectly, wonderfully,
Beautifully meant to be
You were meant to be

Long before you took your first fall
You stumbled to the ground
God started telling the story of you to the angels around
Every failure and victory
Everything in between
Its all in his hand

You were meant to be touching
The lives that you touch
And meant to be here
Making this world so much more
Than it would be without you in it

You were meant to be bringing
The gifts that you bring

And singing the songs
You’ve been given to sing

You are perfectly, wonderfully,
Beautifully meant to be
You were meant to be (yeah)
Meant to be
You are
You are
You are meant to be
You are
You are
You are meant to be

For every breath that your taking
And every move that you make
It’s a meaningful life you’ve been given
Live it well

You were meant to be touching
The lives that you touch
And meant to be here
Making this world so much more
Than it would be without you in it

You were meant to be bringing
The gifts that you bring
And singing the songs
You’ve been given to sing

You are perfectly, wonderfully,
Beautifully meant to be (yeah)
You were meant to be (yeah)
You were meant to be (yeah)
You were meant to be
To be
You were meant to be

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him."  Psalm 28:7