It's Only Been Three Weeks?!

Daddy outside of the post office holding Shay's first care package

Today marks three weeks since we found out about our beautiful baby boy.  These three weeks have been a combination of immeasurable joy and intense longing.  For those of you who may doubt a parent can truly love a child they've only seen in pictures, let me assure you it's more than possible, it's very real.  Austin and I are fully, completely, crazy in love with Shay.  I love staring at his photos, soaking up every detail of his sweet little face, the brightness of his eyes, the rosy color of his cheeks, the wispy black hairs on his head.  This week, we received new pictures of him and with each new photo, my heart swells to yet another level I didn't think possible.  With each photo, the longing grows more intense. I know this will only increase as the days pass, however, it's a small price to pay knowing he will be home in (hopefully) a few short months.  

Time is a funny creature.  As a child, it seems to pass so slowly, school years seem to last forever, Christmas day will not arrive fast enough.  As an adult, we all can relate to the phenomena of how quickly time begins to pass, how days blur into weeks, weeks into months.  One minute you are taking down holiday decorations and what seems like only days later, you are dragging them back out of storage.  If I didn't see the calendar for myself, I would swear six months have passed over the last three weeks.  While they have been filled with joy and gratitude, it simply seems the days have doubled in length and that January will never be over.  I pray that the next few months pick up speed as I'm not sure my heart (or sanity) can take it.  I want so badly to book that flight, to pack our bags, fly around the world, and hold our baby.  I want to kiss those rosy little cheeks, I want to look at those beautiful eyes and I want to feel his hair on my face as I hug him close.  I want his perfect little ears to hear how much his mom and dad love him.  Until then, we are doing the next best thing which is sending him care packages.  We mailed his first one on Saturday and it included lots of little outfits, a photo book of his family and friends, and a blanket.  For the past three weeks, we've been sleeping with the blanket in our bed, hoping that when he is wrapped in it for the first time, he will know what home smells like. 

The other highlight of the past three weeks is the outpouring of love and support we've been shown.  Our family and friends are amazing--I know everyone thinks that about their own family and friends, but I sincerely mean it, each one of you is amazing.  For every phone call, email, handwritten card, FaceBook message, prayer....thank you from the bottom of our hearts.  I know our son is already loved so much not only by us, but by the people who are doing life alongside us. 

Many of you have asked about our next steps--we are waiting for our paperwork to arrive from Taiwan so we can begin completing it.  Our specific prayer would be that it would arrive as soon as possible and that we can get it turned it quickly.  Each step is one step closer to that amazing day where we can hold our baby boy.

Love and hugs!