And We Shall Call Her Susannah (Graceful Lily)

Susi on her way to Beijing where she resides in a long term care center.
They say Susi smiles a lot!

The paper work says she can be a little stubborn, I think this picture portrays that.

As the days turn into a blur of deadlines, paperwork, and doctor consults I feel I must start blogging our journey to Susi. A few weeks ago on what started out as a usual day I was on the computer and up came the normal e-mails of waiting children in other countries. I look at them all the time and I pray for them all the time. Various things had been nagging me, a sense of grief over facing that Thad and Kamby would be our last adoptions, a sense of something unfinished in China, hurting children without families all over the world, and my own deciphering of what God has for us now. As I prayed and discussed a little with Lee, God started to reveal more to me. We are preparing for Thad and Kamby's re adoption as well as their one year post placement, so I am still quite into the paperwork process. I faced the facts a while ago that we would not go back to China to adopt because we no longer met the requirements. We now have too many children. Plus the wait is so long and let's face it we are not young anymore and one of us is pushing the age limit. But something was not settling with me. I still felt a burden, a tug, a pull in my heart that something was unfinished in China. I began to pray and pray and wait and listen. After completing an AWAA adoption seminar where our family spoke on the joys of adoption, it dawned on me. China opened a new program for kids with special needs and I had seen a little bit about it but never read the whole thing. I came home immediately and read up on it. Could this be what God was leading us to? I mentioned a few ideas to Lee and to be honest did not get much response, after all we do have one that just started college, one that just started high school, two that just started preschool, and two that just started walking. I could see why he was not very responsive ( he is very tired LOL). I kept quiet and prayed and researched. Then there she was, I do not even remember how I found her but I found her. Not only did she remind me of my precious Graci but I became connected to her as soon as I read about her. Susi will turn four the day after Christmas. Over the past few days one confirmation after another has affirmed to us that God is in control and it is His will that Susi join our family. Concerns over the 'powers' in China deeming us worthy of adopting her was calmed through Exodus 14:14 "The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still". Then concerns over finances and parenting were calmed in the very next verse when God told the Israelites to "move on" and then he showed His ability to do anything by taking them across the red sea to safety. God is certainly bigger than the CCAA and He will truly show his might to them when he places His child in her family. We had no idea of a name for our precious daughter and there was only one name I really wanted and that was Susannah. This is Alyx's middle name but she does not like it at all and never wants me to call her that. I love the name and its meaning. I wasn't sure if this was the name we were to use and I just prayed about it. Then when the information on our little one came to us we searched her Chinese name to find its meaning. When it came up we found out the closest English translation to this name would be 'Sue' short for Susannah. God confirmed it and she shall be called Susannah Yue or in tradition of all our kid's names being shortened, Susi.