Farewell, ya'll!

Technically tomorrow is the day we'll be leaving on Project: Bring Home Number Three, but I know I won't have the time to even look at the computer tomorrow, let alone touch one.

Eep! To say that I'm excited would be an understatement. I'm going to have another little sister!

So, fare thee well, good maidens and knights! I shalt be gone but a little while!

I'll do my very best to post while I'm there. No guarantees, though!

A promise I can make is that I will have many stories to tell when I return.

Thank you so much, readers! I will miss you encouraging and uplifting comments every day. May God Bless you!

Until the 20th of April,

Adoption Status IV

I'll be meeting my little sister for the first time in a matter of weeks. Seriously!

We have almost EVERYTHING cleared to go!

Can you tell I'm shaking with excitement? 'Cuz I so, totally, am!

We hope to go as soon as the end of the month. Everything is moving so fast now, and my life feels like a blur!

I know God has a plan in all of this, and I'd really appreciate it if you could pray for us. I have some matters to reslove such as school and online courses and such. Oh, and PACKING! Woot!

Something I'll totally miss is blogging! Most likely, I'll be gone for a whole month. I'm not sure how internet access will be like, so I'm thinking most likely I will not be able to blog. *sigh*

So much to do!

Okay. One word to summarize this post?

EEK!

God Bless,

Adoption Status III

Waiting on the edge of our seats...

That's what this past month has really been like. Last week there was a court date in India with us as the case. There, the judge reviewed our case to determine whether or not we'd be good enough to be my little sister's family.

And another court date has been scheduled. It's not a bad thing, though. As I take it, it's a normalcy. There are usually two court dates. So, at the second one in February, the judge will approve of my parents as her "guardians". Weird, huh? She won't be "officially" ours until she has been in America for about 1 or 2 years!

Anyway, after the judge approves we wait for a written order that states that my parents are her official guardians.

And after that?

We have to wait for my state to review and approve everything for the adoption, and after that we wait for her passport.

Oh, and a lot of paperwork for my dear parents. *grins*

It'll be totally nerve-gnawing, but it's totally worth it! I eagerly wait for the time she'll be in our home, and I can't wait for the time I can say, "Welcome home, my sister."

The question still remains, though. How will she react to us? My mind replays the worst case scenarios of her outrightly rejecting us and mourning the loss of everything she has known. Only being a toddler, she won't know that we're taking her to a better place. She won't know that she'll have a forever family to love her.
I suppose I'll have to continue to pray for both her and us. I know that my family would appreciate it if you prayed for us too.

God Bless,

Adoption Status II

It's the one year anniversary of our adoption journey!

Though the longing to adopt a sibling began for me when the tsunami hit India and surrounding countries a while back, it started for my parents long before that. I can still recall going to a homeschool convention and getting a flier from an adoption agency. Soon it ended up in a box headed for the trash, but again and again I saved it to put in places where my parents could see it. On the living room table, near the computer, and sitting defiantly in different places for my parents to see. I remember vaguely one day my dad coming home from work and logging onto the computer. He showed us a story about a baby being abandoned in India. She had a beautiful face and big eyes. An orphan. The baby was an orphan at such a tender age. We fell in love with her. That night, I dreamed of holding her in my arms and singing songs to her as her big sister. My mom even called her relatives in India and some people who were taking care of her, to see if she was available for adoption. Unfortunately, she was not yet considered adoptable because they were looking for her relatives and if she were we could not adopt her because we are not Indian citizens, but that's what really sparked our interest in adopting.

Soon after that, we started seeing the word "adoption" everywhere! One day we were watching Gospel music channel, and it was a special about Steven Curtis Chapman. His daughter was the one who started their interest in adoption of girls from China, and when she did that, she was the around the age I was then! I remember turning to my mom and saying, "I'm not the only crazy one, mom!" Somehow we changed the channel to ABC. It was a commercial, but at the bottom right corner of the screen a little box appeared that said, "Log on to ABC for special about adoption" or something like that. Wow. That "A" word sure got around! And later, we were at church. A group of people came up and said that the church had started an adoption fund. They didn't know why exactly, but they felt called to help provide families with the resourced they needed to bring a child home. Around that time, the amazing journey began.

Now, as I have mentioned before, my family is adopting an adorable little girl from India. We have seen her video and are very thankful to be chosen as her forever family. So, here's an update on how it is going....

Just last week, we got an update that an official paper certifying that we were indeed the people to adopt her had been approved. We're hers!

Now, we have to wait for three things:

2 different court dates in India which we will not have to attend. The earliest we will be able to get those finished is early January because the court is on winter break.

And the receiving of her passport, which after that we will go pick her up!

God Bless,

Adoption Status

As many of you know, my family is adopting a child from India!
We have finally gotten a referral for a little two year old. She is adorable, with big, expressive eyes and a wonderful smile.
It may take several months until she can come into our home, but she is already in our hearts and prayers. As of now, some paperwork and things to do from India need to take place before we go.
Please pray that we will be ready to be the best family for our little girl and the process goes quickly!

God Bless,

Adoption

My family is in the process of adopting one or two children from India. We have completed our home study and are now awaiting the referral. In the meantime, my parents have a huge book about the thickness of a Bible to fill out. I have been praying for whoever will join our family in the future. Whoever he/she/them are, I already love them. Just like my family will have an adopted child in our family, I am an adopted child into God's family. My dad are I are close and I love him ever so much and it is amazing to know that our Heavenly Father's love is greater and wider than I can comprehend! He sent his Son to die on the cross for me, a sinner!