Surprise...

To make a long story short...

• God brought a special woman in Arkansas to my mind on Monday night. She is very involved in the adoption community in Arkansas. I met her two years ago and she gave me her email address in case I ever had adoption questions.
• I had some questions about whether or not Arkansas is favorable to placing their kids for adoption with families outside of Arkansas.
• I emailed this wonderful woman, and she remembered me!
• She replied to my email and asked some questions about our family. She asked for our home study.
• Late yesterday morning, she emailed and asked if we would be open to adopting three little girls. She was sitting with a case manager, and they both thought our family would be a good fit for these three little sisters, ages 4, 6 & 7.
• After thought, prayer, and a quick run of measuring our bedrooms, we replied that we were open to considering these three girls.
• A flurry of emails flew back and forth. 
• I received one priceless photo of three beautiful girls.
• Their case manager called me to ask some clarifying questions and to answer some questions I had.
• She emailed me the girls' adoption profile, which Matt and I spent an hour studying.
• We emailed the case manager asking to be considered for these girls.
• This morning she got back to me again. We are firmly in the running! The girls' case team will be reading a few other families' home studies, and will be making their decision in the next few weeks. 
• The CM asked us to start thinking about making a trip to Arkansas. Though we haven't been chosen yet, she wants us to be prepared.
• If we do get selected, we will very likely be bringing the girls home in just a couple of months.
• That would take us from a family of 4 to a family of 7 overnight...

I am super excited, but also super scared. My heart tells me to fall in love with the girls, but I am afraid to get too attached. 

We are still waiting on the placement hearing for the two kids I mentioned in my last post. Because no doors have closed yet, we're continuing to walk through whatever doors the Lord holds open for us. As my mom used to say, pursue all leads simultaneously. So we are.

Matt and I would greatly appreciate your prayers for peace and wisdom. I know I've said this before and I don't want to sound like a broken record. But really, we do need wisdom, and we really need peace. This is some hard waiting!