Another Brother!

My parents finally gave me permission to spill the news that has been brewing in our family for the last month! They are adopting from China...I'm going to have a brother 24 years younger than me! Wowzers! They have been empty-nesters for like 17 years! Some will for sure think they are crazy...I think they're pretty amazing! This wasn't something that happened over night but rather a process over the last month that God had all planned out. You see...about a month ago I posted on Facebook about a boy at Brayden's orphanage that was wanting a family but his time was running short. His 14th birthday is in June and at that point children are no longer adoptable in China. These children break my heart because instead of being excited for a birthday like most children usually are, they are dreading it knowing they will NEVER have the love of a family. Anyway, that weekend my mom was on Facebook. She has a Facebook account but is NEVER on it and often makes comments as to how she doesn't like it but for some reason God wanted her on there that weekend and wanted her to see my post about "Oliver". She felt instantly God calling her to adopt an aging out child and she mentioned it to my step-dad. After prayer they decided this is what God was calling them to do and they inquired about adopting Oliver. Unfortunately they were told that because they hadn't started any of the process, there was no way they could be in China by Oliver's birthday in June. They were disappointed but determined there was another boy for them. So they began their search. They found another boy who will be 14 in September which would give them a few extra months to get to China but would still be a big race to the finish. After some thought and prayer we all decided that since we would be bringing home Brayden in September, it probably wouldn't be best to bring two boys home around the exact same time (we wanted each boy to have his own bonding time seperately). Still, they continued their prayer about this journey and their search for the right child. Last week they came across a boy who is 12 so he won't age out until November 2013. Though he has some severe limb deformities in his right arm, my parents felt he was the right child. They requested is file and poured over the information on him. This is when they found out that he is from the same orphanage as Brayden! The boys know each other and will now be family! How cool is that? So they are turning in all their pre-application things so they can get pre-approval from China to adopt Zhong Xiao Bing! This is only something God could bring them to and do through them, for sure not something they would do on their own. I'm so proud of them for following God's lead and doing what He is asking of them. I'm really excited for my step-dad who will officially have a child of his own. Please keep them in your prayers.