"We have a little boy for you...!!!"

On the Thursday before Easter, I was at the park with Mikaela, Toby and a couple of my friends and their kids when I got a call from the Holt office saying we had been matched with a little boy! His name is Kamin and he was born on July 7, 2007 (07-07-07!). (Kamin, by the way, in Thai is pronounced Kah-min, but Toby likes Kah-meen better... but I'll talk more about his name another day.) He is a healthy, ADORABLE little boy living with a foster family in Bangkok. It's been a bit of an emotional whirlwind since that phone call, processing the information, staring at the pictures, re-reading his information for the 10th, 20th times, wishing I knew what he looks like right now, imagining what things will be like when we bring him home...

The most recent pictures we have of him are from 4 months ago. We don't really feel comfortable posting them on the web at this point (since he's not officially/legally ours yet) but I CAN show you the "Kamin Cake" we made the night we heard about being matched! : )

Mikaela and Toby are SO excited. Mikaela took a picture of him to school and told everyone about him and they had lots of fun telling their grandparents... and everyone is excited.

Here are some answers to questions you might have if you're like many other people we have talked to:

1. We don't know what his official name will be after he's adopted. We can do whatever we want and haven't decided yet.
2. The process at this point is this: Kamin was referred to us and we accepted the referral and have signed/sent papers stating our intention to adopt him. Those papers will be sent to Thailand where the match will be approved by the Thai government. That will probably take at least 5 months. Once the match is approved we can make our arrangements to travel a few weeks later.
3. Yes, we are planning on taking Mikaela and Toby with us when we go to Thailand to bring our little boy home. We plan on spending some time with Lowell's sister and her family while we are there.
4. We expect to travel to Thailand to bring him home in October or November (though it could happen faster or slower than that.)
5. Yes, there is a chance that things won't work out. But it's highly unlikely and I really feel like God has said quite clearly "Yes, HE IS THE ONE." So I'm not even worried about that. Check back for my next blog entry to hear more about that...
6. Kamin is currently being cared for by a foster family. The mom is 57, dad is 58 and they are also caring for 2 school-age granddaughters. Kamin is the 11th foster child they have cared for since 1994. I think that is INCREDIBLE. And I think he is in very good hands...
7. And lastly, yes, we do know quite a bit about his birth parents. But until he's old enough to know the story and understand it, we aren't going to be telling anyone else about it. It doesn't seem like it would be fair for others to know more about him than he knows about himself... and then nobody has to worry about ever saying anything that they shouldn't have said. : ) (Aren't you relieved?) : )

There is really so much more I could say... but I'm really tired and need to go to bed... but let me just say that GOD IS GOOD! And we are very, very happy about this little boy on the other side of the world who doesn't even know that we exist yet...

Because he is OURS. : )

Y, Melissa