It's a Date!

We have our confirmed dates for travel!! WooHoo! We have waited so long for this day. To finally KNOW the actual day we will meet Joey (and hug him to pieces if he will let us) is surreal. I really don't know how to describe the feelings I am experiencing. Awe. Wonder. Disbelief. Unworthy. Humbled. God loves me so much!! I don't deserve it. Good thing He doesn't hold that against me :-)
Joey has brought me so much joy. Before I see his feet for the first time, they will have walked across my heart. A journey that has taken him deeper and deeper into its very chambers, where love for him flows like my life's blood. He cannot yet understand this love, it will be new to him, as will everything he experiences after Monday morning August 15th. We will refer to this day as "Gotcha Day". The day we first met Joey. He will one day tell us how he felt that day. I wonder how different our stories will be....

As happy as I am to be making travel arrangements, I must pause and pray for Joey. He knows we are coming. He has known for a long time. What is he thinking and wondering about during the wait? He is only 5 years old. The world as he knows it is about to turn upside down. We know he will be safe with us, but he will have to learn this for himself in time. He has seen three of his friends leave the Center where he lives. None of them have returned. I wonder if he realizes the correlation between what has happened to his friends and the fact that they did not return, with his upcoming departure from the Center? Does its cause him excitement or anxiety? I pray that the days until we get there are filled with fun activities and some "normalcy" too. I want him to savor the goodness of his home before he leaves it permanently. I know he is loved where he is at. He will be loved beyond measure where is is going. He brings Joy everywhere he goes. That is The Joy of Joey.