Prayers for Progress

Tonight I am writing to ask you all to please pray for progress in our adoption process. I have attempted to be patient these long 9 months, but I must admit, I am very weary of this wait. I am so ready to meet and hold and love on my little girl. And to see her playing and laughing with her brothers and sister.

We have hit a small road block in the process. About a month ago, the suitability of our family was called into question. This is primarily due to the size of our family, and I am told it is fairly common for this to happen to large families. We had to send in extra documentation and explanation as to why we are a good family for Vishakha. We are still waiting to hear that we've been approved, and that our NOC (non-objection certificate) has been issued. Once we have that NOC, our case can be submitted to the courts, so we can be granted guardianship. Then we can travel to India and bring Vishakha home.

The courts in India have been shut down for the past several weeks for the summer recess, but they will reopen on June 6th. My hope is that we will have our approval prior to the courts reopenning to avoid any additional delay in our case.

Would you please pray with me that the people examining our documents will recognize how much we love Vishakha, that they would agree that we will be an excellent family for her, and that the NOC will be issued.

Thank you so much.

Easter in St. Louis

This year we spent Easter with Ken's family in St. Louis. We attended a very interesting Easter eve service. The church was narrowly missed the night before by the same tornado that hit the St. Louis airport, and the power was out. They had several generators running minimal lights and sound equipment. It was very humid inside, but there were still many families there to celebrate our risen savior. I actually missed most of the service, because Eliza was running around, getting overheated, and eventually puking all over the carpet in a dimly lit hallway. (Every bit as much fun as it sounds).

Easter morning, we had yummies from the local Korean bakery, followed by smiling children eating WAY too much candy. Then we were off to spend the day at Grandma Bev's family's winery. The kids had a blast exploring the 60 acre farm, feeding horses, egg hunting, and eating lots of yummy food. It was so much fun!

Eliza Warrior Princess

Part girly-girl, part battle-ready warrior. Her favorite color is pink, and her toy of choice today is a sword and shield. This is what happens when you put one little girl in a house full of rowdy boys.

She's 6 today

Happy Birthday to my sweet Vishakha. Even though she's half a world away, we celebrate her, because we are her family, and that's what families do. Since Ken is working tonight, we actually celebrated last night (which was today in India, so it totally counts). We had chocolate cake and the boys all wished for V to come home soon before blowing out all the candles. Then we watched videos of V that my friend took at BSSK this week (she was there picking up her son, yay). The only thing missing was the birthday girl.

Eliza's "Adopted" photo

For those of you who don't know, Third Day (just about the most awesome band ever) is promoting adoption. You can read about it on their website. They are also compiling photos of adopted kids/families in order to make a slideshow to play during their concerts. So here is Miss Eliza's "Adopted" photo submission. So who wants to go see a Third Day concert?

A special Diwali celebration

My bloggy friend just sent me a link to a hotel blog from Pune, India. They had a Diwali celebration for all the kids at institution where Vishakha lives. Click HERE to read their blog post about the celebration & see pictures.

PS: our sweet girl is in the 2nd photo. She's in the front row wearing the red and white outfit.

8396 Miles Away

8396 miles away...there is a precious 5 year old little girl living in an orphanage.



8396 miles away...her 2 best friends found out this week that they will soon have a family, and they will be leaving to come to the USA.



8396 miles away...she knows nothing of the mommy and daddy that love her, and cannot wait to meet her, hold her, and call her mulgi (daughter).



8396 miles away...God is with this precious child. He also loves her. He also calls her mulgi.