it's actually happening. {oh, and my friends are awesomer than yours} ;)

i called the state department this afternoon; it was something i was nervous about doing because i didn't want to hear more bad news. i sucked it up, made the call, and to my utter shock and delight, after checking my info, the woman on the other line said,

"oh, he is so cute! and he had his visa interview today!"


i immediately started blubbering (did you expect anything less??), said thank you, and hung up. thinking back, she probably thought i was crazy!

that was a few hours ago and i'm still shaking. i cannot believe this is actually happening!

a call from our agency director tonight confirmed what we heard from the state department and we were told that she will just need to call us with the official official travel call after they get the physical visa at the korean agency. but, we *will* be heading off to the motherland in a few days!


OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG.

and do you know what the best part is? this amazing news came on the heels of a ridiculously amazing outpouring of love from family and friends. and i *know* it's no coincidence.

when i needed it the most, God provided just what i needed -- tangible evidence of how loved and cared for we are. *so* many friends emailed me out of the blue this week to check in how i was doing and encourage me. and though i didn't email most back because my heart and head were (and still are) so scattered, i was so blessed by their prayers and reaching out. other friends (and my awsome momma and sister) took me out for meals, coffee, and other needed distractions.

and, my blog friends (and i need to stop calling them that. at this point, i can securely say they're truly my *friends*!) stepped it up a notch, too.

my sweet friend, dana, has been emailing with me over the last few weeks and her latest emails have just been the sweetest, most uplifting emails ever. they literally put a smile on my face and in my inbox.

my empathetic friend, min, has been checking in with me daily, as we both waited to hear something about our children and when they'd be ready to travel. i can't wait to meet her in person in seoul.

my talented friend, kris, sent me an incredibly thoughtful and meaningful present for choi boy:

she and my other friend, sue, started an etsy shop (kimchi keepsakes) and one of their products is this adorable buckwheat pillow. the best part is that kris picked the fabric to match choi boy's nursery bedding! you can absolutely bet that i cried when i saw it. ;) (pssst, there's a kimchi keepsakes giveaway happening here!)

my hilarious (and superstitious) friend, christine, had a dream last week about how when she was doing a photoshoot of piper at my house, i got our travel call! so, christine decided that since she could actually be here for a photoshoot, she would do the next best thing and edit a picture of piper for me:

isn't that priceless? is it just me or does it look like that stink-eye has been enhanced? ;)

i am so humbled by and grateful for the incredible amount of love that has been poured out on our little family from *all* of you. never in my life did i think that *this* would come out of our adoption process. it blows me away. and it reminds me of how the Lord provides exactly what we need, when we need it, *even* if we think we need something else. all this waiting has been hard, and so many times i wondered why things were taking so long and complained. but it was all worth it. because today's news is made even sweeter by the fact that i know that there is much cheering happening all around the country for us.

and for that, i cannot thank you enough.