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.

A time to be silent and a time to speak...

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
4     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

        After the shock of finding out that our case has been sitting still for over a year and a half last month I have spent most of the time in silence.  Silence mourning the time past, the time missed being with our daughter, and the time that still seems to tick away while we go on with life.  

       Since our last blog we also found out our state certification has run out, first time for our local agency.   So we had to have yet another home study with the hassle of getting medical paper, financial papers, and fingerprints; again.   FYI in the last four year we have been finger printed 8 times!  They still have not changed, imagine that!  So that is two dossiers and two state home studies; not counting the 4 different moves in the last 4 years that needed to be approved and written up for our I800.  During this process of gathering health records I ran into a snag with my son's records.  The doctor tried to add something that was not needed and would cause India to think twice about our homestudy.  This broke me.  After meeting with his supervisor who informed me he will not change it, I walked to my closet fell to the floor and went through all the stages of grief possible.  Now remember this fit was four years in the making.  I was at a loss.  If he did not change this information on my son's report we might not be able to continue.  This was devastating to me; also if this doctor was right every thing I learned in my years of counseling had failed me.  

        After an hour of laying on the floor I reached anger and got up and went out to see my husband, calm and collected, sitting reading his phone.  This made me so mad.  He then proceeded to read to me the guidelines of a test that was given to my son.  (Side note God has made my husband so perfect for me.) Come to find out the doctor read the results incorrectly and we had physical proof.  Needless to say I was thrilled after the feelings of embarrassment had passed because of my childish fit.  Long story short the doctor removed the sentence and his supervisor is correcting his understanding of the test result guidelines.  

         One battle down.  So the silence period is now over.  I am now ready to speak!  As of today we know that our case is in fact still in the same court and with the same judge.  He did not make an official ruling on us (from what they can tell) and we may just have to simply petition again to be heard.  If not we will appeal to be heard.  Our India rep will be going in March to find out for sure and push to get our day in court.  Please be in prayer for his trip there.

         Some have asked why we just haven't quit and adopted domestically.  I simply say; "she is our daughter".  I would fight for all my children and she is my child.  She is our child.  She is His child and He will prevail through this process.   Jesus is our advocate and through this trial He will prevail.

Haddie girl we are fighting for you!  Please pray with us that this will be the year we bring her home.    

Speechless...and...at a loss...

After today all I am left with is the Word of God "be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10).

Today we got a call from our US agency who had recently got off skype with our India rep.  After some digging and asking around we have found out that over a year and a half ago when the judge refused to hear our case he had made that official.  We have been under the assumption it was not an official ruling by the lawyer at the time.  Come to find out she knew but just swept it under the rug.  So for the last year and a half our case has been closed basically.  Now the agencies that run the Indian adoptions still have her matched to us and still have an active NOC but no movement and there never would have been if this wasn't uncovered.

What next?  What about Haddie?  Our agency will be making a high court appeal once we can get the paperwork from the previous judge.  This is our final option.  Please pray those who read this.  Pray for God's perfect will for our daughter and for this adoption.

I am praying selfishly that she can still be ours, but if not please bring a conclusion for her as she turns seven in April.

Oh Lord you know our hearts, our desires, and our needs.  All I am left with tonight is trusting you and knowing that you are and always will be God!

Prayer, please....

Well another Christmas has passed without Haddie...I'm to a point where I am at a loss as to what to say or write.

  Here is the most recent information we have after our rep took a trip to India to try to find out what is going on.

* The old judge wrote on our court papers that he denied to hear our case because we have four birth children.

* The Hyderabad split happened.

* Our case had to be switched to a new court and judge because of the split.

* 2 years later...C*** is under the impression that we pushed for the new judge because the old judge refused our case.

* Our rep is currently trying to help C*** and our new lawyer to understand that this was not our intent and that it was because of the split that we were sent to another court.  He is also trying to educate them that there is no objection in their own state laws about family size.

* So we are now waiting on one lawyer, a judge, and C*** to fight for us and our adoption of our daughter.

Right now the only person who can intervene is Jesus!  He has already moved a mountain and we need Him to move another one so that we can bring Haddie home.  So we are asking that during this next month that you take the time to fervently pray for our adoption and for God's will, not ours but His.

Please commit to praying for Haddie, the judge, the lawyer and the hearts of the decision makers.  Thank you...

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the Lord; and trust in Him and He will act.  He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday" (Psalm 37:4-6).