Her Name

I can hardly believe that a whole two weeks has passed since I last posted. Where in the world did the time go? Since I last posted we have recieved THE acceptance packet (11/3) and signed and notarized 21 (that's right 2-1) pieces of paper (11/4) and overnighted it all back to our agency. Now we wait for "legals." That's our next step, getting the legal documentation from our agency in Korea for baby Joye. Once we signed over the acceptance packet, our information with that packet was sent to Korea to officially "match" us with our baby girl. The timeframe to get legals could take anywhere from 1-4 weeks or maybe longer. Some have recieved them with their referral and some have waited 6+ weeks.

Once we recieve our legals, then we can apply for our I600. Our agency does this for us. Which is the immigration paperwork to classify an orphan as an immediate member of our family (immigartion jargon, not mine). I'm going to stop there, because I could go on for another four+ paragraphs explaining the process of why it takes 6+ months to bring her home. I will post with each step, as they happen. Maybe that will get me to posting more often ;) (But I wouldn't hold my breath, if I were you.) Plus, it could be months between each step - so I'm just sayin' - don't count on it!

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OK - the reason for my post, Baby Joye's name. When I was pregnant for the third time, I was convinced it was a girl, (but looking back on it, I think it was more wishful thinking than anything else.) So I was NOT going to pick out a boys name, because I was convinced it was a girl. When we lost the baby, we chose not to see if it was a boy or a girl. Factors beyond our control made it harder to find out anyway - total God thing. When we were officially on the list for a little girl from Korea, I just couldn't bring myself to use the name we had originally picked out. I prayed for God to give me the perfect name four our daughter waiting for us in Korea. It was around this time last year the we got a mailer for Thanksgiving from the 700 club. Inside were cards reminding us of the meaning of Thankgiving. One card had "Joy" and the Scripture that now adorns this lovely blog. :) "You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence; and the pleasures of living with you forever." Psalm 16:11. It hit me. This explains our road to adoption, perfectly. Chad I both agreed (which we rarely do on names) that Joy would be a PERFECT name for our new little one! Then I made a blog (!) with this Scripture as it's name.

Then I found this Scripture "You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy." Psalm 30:11 And this one, "So I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn into joy."John 16:20 One more, "Weeping may go on all night, but JOY comes in the morning." Psalm 30:5b [emphasis added]

It was perfect. Simple. Beautiful. I know a couple people named Joy(e) and they are such wonderful people. One bloggy friend I met, while on this journey, went through the same thing we went through and I loved how she spelled her name. So I asked her permission if I could use her spelling. Being the sweetheart that she is, she granted me permission. She is a wonderful, faithful woman of God and has such a talent for writing.

When I was in High School I worked at our local Grocery Store and met another awesome woman of God named Joy. (HI JOY!) We worked together for a couple of years, but is still one of my greatest friends. A great supporter and I absolutely LOVE her! I have always loved the name and it's perfect for our little baby girl. I may be biast, but I think our darling daughter looks just like a Joy (with an e, of course!)

One more thing - in order to have TRUE joy in our life we need to follow the J.O.Y. acronym.

J-Jesus first
O-Others Second
Y-Yourself last

(I just LOVE it, don't you?)