Silly Lilie!

Today we spoke to Lilie. Our weekly call to her is becoming more and more fun and animated each passing week. She giggles and she teases with us now just like when she was in our home. It is so fun to hear her laughter across the miles and to know that she sooooo looks forward to our phone calls! Today she talked to us much more than she usually does in English. She even sang me "Happy Birthday"! Papa told on me! We laughed and reminisced about her birthday, which we celebrated together while she was with us. I told her how the people at the restaurant sang to me just like they did to her on her birthday, and she thought that was great! We told her how so many people are missing her and ask about her often and she began to name everyone that she could remember, "Mama, Papa, Jackson, Nathan, Rachel, Nanny, Pappy, Grandmama, Amy,....and, and, and" and she would have me name everyone I could think of! She is so silly and I love it! My nickname for her began when she was here with us, "silly Lilie"! It fits her perfectly!
We know that we are blessed to be able to talk to her every week. We do not take for granted that others have been so willing to help us to keep in touch with Lilie through phone calls and packages and messages sent. Though we feel the weight of the thousands of miles as well as the 2 months that have separated us, we have a peace that can only be from God. We fully trust in Him to work out every detail, to move hearts and hands, to catch our every tear. Don't get me wrong, there are days when I miss her so much that I can only cry and pray. But, those days are far outnumbered by days of great joy and hope. In just a few days, we will be done with all that we have had to complete for our homestudy. Then, we wait for the social worker to come out to our home and complete the process! I would have never imagined that it would take us more than 2 months to do a homestudy, but then again, I knew virtually nothing about international adoption before we began this journey! We cannot wait to move on to the next step, to know that we are that much closer to having her here with us. Until then, we are thankful for these moments, when we hear her voice, her laughter and her "I love you, Mama and Papa".