Hawaii, Here I Come!

I thought I'd let you know some crazy news... Josh and I got a call 2 1/2 weeks ago from my aunt. My cousin who lives in Hawaii has a friend, Lana, who is expecting and was looking for a family to adopt her baby who is due April 20 (yes, Julia's birthday). They were wondering if we were interested. We were caught a little off guard, but said we would definitely pray about and in the meantime sent over our adoption portfolio just in case. The next day as I was praying I felt led to Psalm 127:

1 Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. 2 In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to[a] those he loves. 3 Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him. 4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. 5 Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court.

I wasn't quite sure what God was trying to imply, so we continued to pray and wait. We hadn't heard anything and Sunday evening as Josh and I were praying about it, I once again was led to scripture, but this time it was James 1:27:

27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Both scriptures referring to children, but we still weren't convinced. We wanted a slammed door or a door flying off the hinges! 3 days ago my cousin told me that Lana had gone to the doctors and was 3 cm dialated and that she was being induced next Wednesday (which is Julia's 1st birthday). She said the doctor had given her the name and number of an adoption counselor and also told her about a family in Honolulu who was hoping to adopt. She said she was going to check them out and that they sounded like the best option for her. We were totally at peace with that and were super excited for that couple. We moved on and felt the door was shut....Well, my cousin called me yesterday evening as I was out to dinner with Julia's birthmom, Raeshel, celebrating her 21st birthday, and she said she had been with Lana the last couple hours and that she had looked over both portfolios and wanted us...Woah!! I was absolutely speechless. In fact, Raeshel's comment was, "Wow, now I know what it was like when you got the call from me!" :) The only difference with that call was we were looking for a baby, with this little one it was a complete surprise! Holy moley. Please be praying for a smooth process with no hiccups, and especially for an easy labor and delivery for Lana! Also, be praying the Hawaii will accept our fingerprints that are 2-3 months "expired" over the 18 months requested. Our attorney is calling them to see if they will give us grace...if not we will have to work on getting them expedited because the current wait time is 2-4 months! I'll keep you posted...thanks for your prayers (especially for our sanity! lol) Josh, Michelle, Julia, and ???