Wednesday, January 29, 2014

New Territory

Blogging. Wow, it’s been a long time. And by that I mean, back in college, when Xanga was the place to be. About a year ago I popped over to see if that old blog was still there, and of course it was. Because nothing on the internet ever truly disappears. I was really amazed at how entertaining it was. Some posts were funny, others thought provoking, and most were generally pretty interesting. I took an enjoyable glimpse at the past, including a chronicle of the beginning of my relationship with the amazing guy who is now my husband. Then life got busy and things seemed to speed up. I went to grad school, married that guy, got a job and moved from my childhood home of Kentucky to sunny Summerville, SC. We have been here just over 4 years now, in two different apartments and now in our first home. Until very recently our little family has included just the two of us and our two super cute pups. And this brings us to the reason for my return to blogging…

The Brangers (the SC Brangers that is) are adopting!! Last Friday we received pre-approval, and my husband Phil had the privilege of announcing that he is going to be a dad over at http://www.offbrandmedia.com/. So yes, this is happening! We are adopting our own adorable, perfect son, who just happens to have been born in China. To be a bit more specific, he currently lives in an orphanage in Southeastern China, and to our knowledge, has been there for the majority of his short life. Our boy just had his third birthday, half a world away. I pray that a caregiver told him, and maybe had a brief celebration, but we don’t know. I want to know that he is warm, well fed, and that someone will give him a bit of nurturing attention today. And that’s the thing. For the few bits of information we do know, there are so many more unknowns. Of course I have questions, SO many questions, many of which will never be answered. Still, I have to remember I will have a lifetime to get to know him; to love and nurture him. We will celebrate. There will be joy and tears. I look forward to all the new things we will experience together. There will be growth and milestones, as well as many tough days and challenges.

We are just thrilled! We are happy that the process seems to be moving along quickly so far. We begin our home study in 2 days (eek!), and the frenzy to gather paperwork will continue. Then we need to begin fundraising. This rare (a.k.a first ever) snow day from work has been a blessing as it has allowed me to get busy on my sewing machine and create some items for our Etsy shop (Coming soon!).

Keep us in your prayers. If this all seems overwhelming, well, that’s because it is a little. Stay tuned for my next post: “What’s in a Name?”