One day till we fly!!!!

Honestly I am still waiting for the email that says it was a mistake and that it isn't time yet, but no such thing Praise the Lord!!  We are almost all packed, my mom is here to take over my duties, and Andrew has all his work things in order to be gone for awhile.  This is such a surreal feeling.  For four years I would sit and imagine how this is going to feel and now as I sit preparing to fly on Thursday; and I am almost floating through it.

Honestly God has this, all my worrying, frustrations and disappointments of the last four years seem to be so far behind me.  This is what I have learned through this whole time.  That God has Haddie, has this process, has me and my crazy body, my kids we are going to miss, our process there, the judge, everything!  He has everything!  All my worrying ever got me was heartache, frusteration, stress, and doubt.  About four months ago the Lord showed me that my worrying was getting me nowhere.  So I gave it all to Him and tried to stop taking it back.  Until two days before we got our notification of our court date and Haddie was so strongly on my mind.  I couldn't shake it; only thing I could do was go to my quite place and pray.  Then He answered the prayer we have been praying for four years!!  Oh so much excitement.

I have learned and am learning that God is so faithful even after years.  Sometimes the moment we least expect something is the moment He says ok it is time.




Please keep our trip in your prayers, our kids staying home, my mom who will be watching the kids, Haddie's transition, our transition as new parents to our lovely daughter, and that the paperwork is speedy so we can get home.  Thank you so much for your prayers and support.

More to come....

We are coming for you!!!!

We got the most amazing email today, The Email.  We are going to get our girl!!!  We leave on the 8th and our court date is the 13th!!!

So when we found out the kids and I did a happy dance and screamed quite a bit.   I have booked the flights and the hotel for Hyderabad but working on all the rest.

All thanks and glory to God.  He knew time we needed to prepare and get my body in working order.
Our journey is about to be real when we get to hold our little girl.  Overwhelmed with excitement and can't wait to get on that plane.

Prayer requests:
Haddie's transition
Travel mercies
Funds
Our kids staying home missing their parents
My mom and those helping with the kids
The court process, the other government things that need to be done
Our health on the trip
Safety and unrelenting peace

We are coming to get you Haddie girl!!!!  Blessed be the name of the Lord!!!

Still waiting for her....

Today has been a rough day.  Woke up praying for Haddie early this morning.  She is supposed to be home already :(.  Still no court date only the news that our petition has been entered into the court.  We recieved an amazing book today from my mom for Haddie about a little girl who looses her name and finds her new name.  It was catered for Haddie and spells her name out in the end.  Well that opened up the dam of tears.  I want my girl baby home.  My heart is literally aching for her today.

Last weekend we made a short sporadic trip to San Diego to see the beach.  We spent most of our time at the beach and as I sat looking into the sunset on the horizon God showed me something.  He reminded me that the sun comes up every morning and goes down every night.  Teaching me that His timing for our daughter will come just as the sun comes up on His command.

Pray our time to meet our daughter in India is near, we so badly want to hold her and help her grow and bloom into the child of God she is.

Summer's storms

Living in the Phoenix area we do not see much rain during the year.  The rest of Arizona though gets plenty of rain especially during the summer monsoons; which is my favorite time of the year because I love the fierceness and majesty that happens when the clouds roll in.  It reminds me God's majesty and His massive power.  India's monsoons come at the same time they do in Arizona.  They experience the extreme heat of the sun and the refreshing rain that comes in the afternoon.  The release that the rain provides is so powerful.

Throughout the past four years of our journey to bring Haddie home our process has felt like a long hot day, waiting for that afternoon rain.  I know the rain is coming but I am so weary.  I want so badly to hold our daughter and bring her home.  We have known she is ours for three years now and we are still apart.  I am praying for the rain as I sit in the house because the heat is at 115.  Lord let it rain!  Reign down on our process so we can bring our girl home.  Reign down on the judge and the court so we can get there before the monsoons end.  Reign down on our little girl as she gets closer to a huge life change.  Reign down Lord!!!


Pray this with us please.  We are having some issues with USCIS right now and getting our information updated with our move last year and our change of local agencies.  Please pray the Lord provides the funding and the mental and emotional stamina we need to make it to the rain of our process.

http://youtu.be/Yjsoa7Mnq7w.

2016 Birthday letter to my sweet Haddie girl

To my sweet girl,
      Today is your seventh birthday and I received the most wonderful gift today; a whole lot of hope in the form of a court petition.  God has started to move the rest of those mountains that are separating us.  I know you may not read this until years from now but I want you to know how hard so many people have been working in order to get you home.  You may feel alone right now in Hyderabad but you are not.  There are so many people praying for you, loving you, looking after you (our God), and hoping for you.
          You may feel like you are tiny but we serve a big God and He is faithful.   You will be leaving all you have known and stepping into a whole new world very soon.  But know this my sweet girl you were loved since your conception (well before that), you were loved from the moment your dad and I felt called to be your parents (when we were 17), you were loved the years in the orphanage not only by us but by your Creator.  You have so much to look forward to.  So much love, happiness, adventure and life to live.
       Yes it has taken seven years to get to where you belong; but Haddie girl He had and has a plan for you.  So as we sit miles away on the 19th of April 2016 we are one step closer to bringing you home.  Hold fast my girl; Happy Birthday.  We love you forever and always.

Your Mommy.

Took 3 years, but....

 So we did something yesterday that took us three years to do; we sent a box to Haddie.  I know some may think why did it take you so long to do this, well there is no guarantee that this will even get to her.  But our agency encouraged us to send something so we did it and oh how exciting it was to do so.  I even attempted to write in Telugu on each different piece in the box.  The most special part of the package was the picture book which was filled of pictures of us and explanations of who we are and how loved she is by us.  Translated of course in the book with the help of google translate.  So please be praying it reaches her safely and all together.

     
        In other news....our case is having some slow movement which is so much better then no movement.  We are right now waiting for the judge to approve our petition which when he does we will sign and give it back to the lawyer who will then use it go get our court date.  Now the court date is our 'go get em' moment.  Once we have that we have our girl baby (Indian term :-).
       Now after four years of being in the process you would think I am bitter and close to insanity; well everytime I start to get to that point God shows me a glimpse of hope.  In the last month He has used someone in Hyderabad to show us more about our Haddie girl then we have ever known.  We have even recieved new pictures and so many insights into her personality.  This gives us strength and determination to fight harder to bring her home.  Or to sit back and watch how our Father will work it all out; because honestly it is so out of our control and only He can work it all out.
       Please pray that the judge find favor in our adoption so this ending process can go smoothly and quickly.  Pray for protection, good health, and Haddie's heart as there are so many changes taking place in her life with anticipation of her coming home.  And please pray for our hearts and health as we near the conclusion of this long adventure.  


http://youtu.be/qv-SXz_exKE

Faith, Hope and Love

Spring is an amazing time of year.  Seeing the new growth on plants and the flowers that spring from the ugliest looking plants is one of my favorite things.  The beauty that God shows us during the spring is magnificent.  I have learned a lot through the past four years of this adoption process.  I have learned that you need faith to get through, that when hope seems to fade God will bring growth and new life, and finally that it is possible to love someone with your whole heart that you have never been able to meet, hold or touch.  Faith, hope and love remain and continue to strengthen our resolve.

I did something today that I have done once a year since our process began, pack Haddie's bag.

This past week we have heard from Holt two different times.  The rep who is located in India has spoken with our lawyer in Hyderabad.  There is so many rumors as to why it has been taken so long and so many hoops we still have to jump through but this time and this lawyer is willing and ready to fight for us.  Meaning we are closer then ever to getting our affidavit and our court date so we can finally meet our wonderful daughter.  With this new hope I took out the suitcase again and counted her clothing folded her little bloomers and tried not to cry when I was doing it.  You see the longer you wait for something to happen the more unreal it seems.  But like new life in the spring, our adoption seems to be sprouting new life, new hope. 

We are getting close Haddie.  I pray God is giving you the dreams He has been giving your daddy and I of our meeting and the future He has for us as a family.