China Part Three-Adoption

It is so hard to believe that we are fast approaching the one year mark.  Nate has been part of our family for almost one year.  Wow and what a year it has been.  Laughter and tears, joy and frustration and lots of growth for everyone.  I'm not sure how many people even check our blog anymore.  I apologize for not having completed our travel updates as I stated I would when I posted China Travel-Part One....in October.  For those who have been through an international adoption (at least most of them) who "get it", there are really no words to describe all that is involved once you get home.  Of course, we have been a busy family of six and therefore the frequency of blogging has been affected.  But as we have lived this story out, we want to share and yet be careful of what and how we share.  I have been working on a series of posts to celebrate his one year with us, so I guess I need to quit apologizing and just post when I can. So here you go....Here is Part Three.


Sunday, June 11th, 2017. This is the day we, as a couple and then as a family, had been thinking about, praying for, planning, completing paperwork for, loosing a bit of sleep over, talking about, dreaming of for 18 months.   18 MONTHS!!!!!! We knew we heard from God about this and we all felt peace and the day had FINALLY arrived.  No longer an orphan, Nate would become a son.  With a family.  A FOREVER family.  He had been loved and cared for at Bethel China, however, there is NO substitute for the family.  God created us to be part of a family and Nate was hours away from meeting his.  We were hours away from embracing our new son.  The one we had known about since August of 2014, the one we prayed for and thought and wondered about, the one we sent letters and packages to....  not knowing then that he would become a Harris. The drive over to where we would officially receive him was both long and short, if that makes sense.  To finally turn that corner and drive through the gates and I saw him.  He was there.  Our Bethel friends grabbed him real quick so that we could get out of the van and have a formal introduction, but Nate would have none of that.  He came running.  Embracing me, his mother, then-his father, then each of his siblings.  Nate then headed straight to the van beside us ready to "I go to America".  What a moment. 

                      All Photo Credit for the following images goes to: The Archibald Project

I'm going to leave this right here and just let the joy from these images speak for itself!!!!!