HERE WE GO!!!!!

WE HAVE OUR LETTER OF APPROVAL FROM CHINA!!!

I seriously never thought this day would come.
Longest 92 days OF MY LIFE. 

Elated doesn't even begin to describe it!!

I don't know how to type the noises that we are making :) :) :)

holy moly.
And also... HOLY MOLY!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, 
our SON...



ROMAN JUDE ZHENG WEST!

^A little {slightly creepy} entertainment ^

His name:

The short version is- eight years ago when we realized I was going through menopause (at the ripe old age of 24), we had already started the process to adopt domestically. Though we chose adoption before my diagnosis, I still grieve(d) the idea that I could choose to get pregnant if we wanted to. I grieved the option. One day in particular, I was struggling, and God sent me Romans 8:28.

While considered a "popular" verse now, it wasn't one I kept in my tool belt back then. 

To me, God was saying... if you will walk this path I have laid out for you, I will have Roman waiting for you at the end of the journey. Weird, right? Weird but true. 

I just knew, I have always known, that "Roman" would be the end of this crazy/beautiful road. 

We didn't seek out "Roman" or plan ahead to name our last child Roman... but all of a sudden, there he was. Our last.  Our Roman. Throughout this roller coaster of adoption, friends and family (several who did not know his name) kept sending verses from Romans for encouragement.

Roman(s). Good stuff.

Also, had I gotten pregnant during that dark time 8 years ago ... that baby would be the same age as our Roman.

God for the win.

Jude was a name Nathan suggested for Cale way back when. We both like it, and it has some small quirky meanings for us. For me, I wanted a J for my Jason. (They have other ties to one another, as well.) The Beatles nod is an added bonus, but not intentional. We thought about leaving it out, but he just feels like he has a little Jude in him!

Zheng is part of his Chinese name, given to him by the orphanage staff. We do not know his name at birth (nor his actual birthday, we will keep the one they gave him), but this is the only name he has ever known. It was important for us to keep that for him. It is pronounced like "Chung". 

So, that's that. Roman Jude Zheng West. 

He did ask for an American name, and we think it's a good one :)

What's next:

We got a bit of a jumpstart on the next set of paperwork. It's all still quite confusing to me, despite the other China moms explaining it to me 477 times. Basically, Cale, Roman, and I apply for visas and get everything shuffled between the US and China. Once all that gets approved, we apply for travel approval (TA) and a Consulate appointment! (CA) We have already been approved to expedite these steps, so we could be (should be... but ya know) traveling in a matter of weeks!

WE REALLY ARE COMING, ROMAN!!