I Think We're in the Last Trimester!

OK. I thought weird and strangely colorful dreams were only supposed to happen if you're pregnant, yet I had the strangest dream last night that I was hugely pregnant and trying to figure out how far along I was. I finally settled in my dream that I was 7 months along. Strange, I know. I think the wait is officially starting to get to me. Needless to say, I woke from my dream when I felt the baby kick very early in the morning- well, for me anyways (It was 7:22)- and scrambled to the computer to check my email to see if we had any news on our final decree...My heart sunk. No news. I did have some adorable new pictures of our Trina Jing-Qi sent to me, but Taiwan won't let me post any pictures of her until she is officially ours. These are my favorite pictures so far. She looks very happy. Anyways, I just wanted to share my craziness with you all. Please continue to pray for God's perfect timing with all this. As insane as I sound, I do trust Him and am looking forward to the day we are reunited with our little precious gem.

A Treasure from Taiwan...

We just received an email from Sabrina. Chung Yi had sent her an email with the pictures Trina drew in our last SKYPE session. I thought I would share it. To me, it is a precious treasure. I've made a print out of it to put up with Christina's drawings. As you can tell, tic tac toe was a big hit as well. Vicki, from Chung Yi, did try to check with the courts on our final ruling, but all they could tell her was that our case is still pending. Please keep praying for God's perfect timing and will in all of this.

She likes "Trina"! Announcing "Trina Jing-Qi Benavides"!

We were able to SKYPE Jing-Qi tonight and found out that she likes her new American name, "Trina". I'm so relieved that we finally have a name for her. I always thought she would want to keep "Jing-Qi", but maybe her new "American" name is a symbol of the new life that is before her. I'm still going to keep "Jing-Qi" as a middle name in case she goes through a period of wanting to get back in touch with her Taiwan roots. Actually, I really like the name "Trina". I love to look up the meanings of names on the baby name websites. "Trina" means pure, "Jing" means perfect essence, and "Qi" means fine jade. My blog title is fitting, isn't it? She truly is another precious jewel!

She looked great tonight and seemed to be in better spirits than last time. We eventually got her to smile last time, but it took a few minutes. They said she had a hard time sleeping last night. I hope she is OK. I tried to ask for some news of our final decree, but they ignored my question. I don't think I'm supposed to ask them over SKYPE, but I had to try. They say she will be starting school there soon, and I can't believe we still don't have her home. I'm really hoping we will have her home by her birthday in October. This wait is really starting to get to me, especially thinking of what she must be going through with all this waiting.

On a happy note, it was wonderful to see her sweet smile again over our video call. She drew many pictures of our family and would have me guess who she was drawing. It was fabulous to interact with her. Sometimes it can be difficult to think of ways to connect over the Internet (believe it or not).

Please keep praying for our sweet girl in Taiwan and that she will be able to come home soon. The Lord must have some reason that it is taking so long, and I trust Him in that, but I am so humanly impatient. I suppose I could use some prayer as well.

Some Summer Fun While We Wait...

Both my girls have been eager to try surfing since they saw the movie Soul Surfer, and to think I was concerned that they wouldn't go in the ocean again after seeing that movie. It seemed to have the opposite effect. Christina, especially, was so excited when my mom treated Sam, Emily, Christina, and another family from work to surfing lessons this vacation. I think both girls have found a new love. Sam was a great sport and went along while I waited safely on the beach. The following are pictures of their first time surfing. Hopefully, I'll find a way to get them out there again. I think even Sam would like to go again.

Is this ever going to really happen?

Well, it has been two months since we received the news that we had our first ruling, yet there has been no further news on a final ruling. I am starting to wonder if this is ever going to happen. If I'm wondering about this, then what could my little Trina Jing-Qi be thinking at this point? She is probably wondering if we are ever going to come for her. It has been over a year since we hosted her, and I can't possibly imagine how she must feel. Now, I'm just hoping that we will have her home for her birthday in October, where I had always assumed that she would be home by this time. It is always so hard to wait, but I know that my heavenly father has everything in control including the timing of our adoption; however, I sure hope to be holding my precious little one soon. Please pray for our Lord to comfort her as she waits.