Three more days...

Three more days until we leave for India!  So much to do....so little time.  It doesn't matter!  All that matters is our little girl is coming home!!!   WAHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

On our way to our daughter!!!

We are thrilled to let you know we were given official approval to book our trip today!  Our case had been held up with the USCIS, and we were in the middle of drafting an email to our congressman, when we received notice to hold off on the email.  Hours later we had news that we could go ahead and book our trip for July 7th!  It seems so hard to believe that we leave in a week.  Two weeks from today, we will be holding our sweet girl!  Day after day my heart was hurting to not have her home.  It seemed like it would be decades until we would be together.  Wow....just two weeks!

Our family of three was having our weekly Friday movie night tonight when we saw a preview for a show on television a week from now.  Ellie wanted to watch it, but I had to say, "Sorry, we will be in India!"  I never thought I would hear myself say those words. Just think, our family of four will be home in a few weeks and can some day have movie night all together (for now Ellie is priding herself in being the big sister who can stay up to watch something that is too mature for Joshna to watch!).

It took me four hours on the phone today (while we had a pool full of people over...sorry second graders!), but I was finally able to finalize our flights for everyone.  Joshna does not have a last name as an orphan, so her Indian passport will just say "Jyotsna."  For her plane ticket they had to enter two names, so they entered "Miss" for her first name and "Jyotsna" for her last.  We were laughing tonight about how the airlines are flying Miss Joshna!  We always knew she is special, but for Continental Airlines to recognize it....:)

There will be many more updates to come, so for now I will try to go get some sleep. Thanks again for the many prayers.  Please continue to pray for the USCIS approval to physically arrive in plenty of time and for all of us to be physically and emotionally prepared for the many changes, especially Joshna. Thank you!

Prayers are answered...again!

God certainly is good!  On Tuesday, June 7th, following some discouragement, we sent the following email requesting prayer again:

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Family and friends…we do not yet have too much information.  So far, here is the update:

When we received approval from the judge two days prior to the close of the courts in Chennai for the summer, we were not aware that the court documents needed to be processed before the close.  This did not happen.  (Another family who received their court approval a week before us, did receive their court documents toward the beginning of May.)  We have been waiting for the Chennai courts to reopen—this happened yesterday, June 6^th (it could have been worse…many cities remain closed for another month or two).  We are hoping the documents will be prepared and delivered this week.  They are necessary to apply for Joshna’s Indian passport and to file our I-600 USCIS application to adopt Joshna.  As you may remember, June 26^th is our USCIS deadline for filing the I-600.  Because it will take one to four weeks for the court documents to arrive and because it takes two to four weeks for her passport to be issued, we are looking at a date past the 26^th when we can apply for the I-600 in New Delhi.  The only way to avoid applying again for the I-600a with the USCIS is to file for the I-600 domestically in DC by June 26^th.  Once we file for the I-600, we are ineligible to apply for the I-600a again. 

Yes, these forms are confusing to remember what is what.  The important things to remember for prayer are…

• that the court documents would arrive within a week
• that they would be received by our adoption agency in the US very soon thereafter 
• that our TBI background check would be completed quickly so that an updated home study done yesterday can be sent with our I-600 application 
• that all necessary forms and documents would be received by the USCIS a week prior to June 26^th (in case there are problems that need solving) 
• that our case would officially be accepted by the USCIS near our deadline of the 26^th (cases applied for domestically can take 2-3 months for approval, versus the 2-3 days for approval if submitted in New Delhi….we will try to have our case expedited with someone high in the USCIS) and that there would be no problems with our acceptance so that we are not starting completely over with an I-800a application (this would delay our trip later than the fall) 
• that Joshna’s passport would be issued quickly and coincide with our I-600 acceptance so that we can travel and bring her home as soon as possible

 

During our home study yesterday, our social worker commented that it has been way to long for Joshna to come home.  She has worked with international adoptions for over ten years, so for her to say this means a great deal.  Of course, in our book, it has been way to long….but we are emotionally attached.  She knows delays in adoptions, and this one is even uncharacteristic for her.  The past week has been very hard on all of us, especially Ellie.  She is confused and has no idea what is true anymore.  We were told to prepare for travel.  Now travel is not happening soon because of the court document delay.  They had no way to foresee the documents not arriving due to the court closing, but this news is still frustrating.  How does a seven year old take these delays which none of us understand?  She has had many meltdowns.  She will cry often and throw fits over very little things, while saying she has no idea why she is behaving this way.  Here I am, 38 years old, and acting the same way!    We are grateful for the conversations this has created in our family about the lessons God is teaching us through all of this….we are just at a point where we would love to move past these lessons and have Joshna join our family.  I am now ready for the sibling rivalry lessons!  (Be careful what I wish….)

Thank you all for the continued prayers.  We thank God for answering the prayers for peace and strenth during this time!  We have definitely felt those being answered!  I have had the ability to complete the additional paperwork that I once found so daunting.  I do not worry about tomorrow as much as I was a month ago (when I become “perfect” at this, I will let you know!).  My Dad’s stroke has taught me so much about living each day as it comes.  It is all in God’s control, and He will carry us through.  The paperwork delays inabled all of us to visit Dad and Betty in San Antonio over the holiday weekend (it was a very special time for Ellie and her Opa).  This last minute trip would not have been possible if we had gone to India already.  We are learning more and more to thank God in all circumstances and to trust Him even when we do not understand.  Thanks for your patience and prayers with us through all of this.  We are grateful for our dear community of believers!

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On Thursday, June 9th, we received good news and sent out a follow-up email:

Praise God, for He IS GREAT!!!  Time after time we have sent a prayer request, and time after time He has answered quickly!  We are extremely grateful for showing us His plan and encouraging us as we wait for our daughter to come home!  We just heard from our social worker that they will receive Joshna’s court documents via email today.  They will then be sent to a Director at the USCIS, who already knows about our case and will try to help expedite it.  Our home study will be ready next week with the TBI results.  Joshna’s passport will be applied for next week.  Our social worker said we could possibly be traveling the first or second week of July!  Prior to hearing this news, Ellie started doing so much better.  She is able to ask questions and articulate feelings much better….we all three feel very close through all of this.  We are very thankful for your prayers and are still very much in need of them.

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This journey has been an incredible one!  As hard as it has been, we are grateful for the lessons God has been teaching us throughout these past four years.  Once our family is all together, I know Joshna will be worth far more than all of the minutes we have spent waiting for her!  Soon....soon!

my heart is hurting...

It has now been a month since our court approval...and one more month until our USCIS approval expires (June 26th).  Each day has brought excitement, concern, anticipation, joy, and sadness.  One minute I am up.  The next down.  Joshna is in my heart every day, even though she is not yet in my arms.  I look forward to those first moments together, but then I am reminded that we are not there yet.  We have the verbal approval from the court, but the court documents are not yet ready.  If the documents came today, the orphanage would receive them and send them on to apply for her Indian passport.  That process takes an additional ten business days, putting us around June 10th....that is, if her documents come today.  The longer they take to arrive, the closer we come to our June 26th deadline.  It takes about a week in New Delhi, after we pick up Joshna, to have her tested for TB and finish paperwork at the US Embassy for her visa.  This puts us around June 17.  Our social worker has now expressed concern about how close we are cutting it to that deadline, so she is wanting us to go ahead and reapply with the USCIS.  This will require another home study, redundant paperwork, and the extra cost and time.  This seems like the last hurdle at the end of a very long race, and I am just not sure how I am going to possibly get my body over something so very high.  It seems I will just collapse into it and not be able to get up.  Of course I will get up, for Joshna, but I have lost any momentum I may have had.  God, please be my strength!  Please carry me across the finish line and bring our daughter home!

We are parents again!!!

Just heard the news that the courts approved us to be Joshna's parents!  I'll write more later...so full of excitement and joy!  Thanks again for the prayers!

The power of prayer...again!

Yesterday we requested prayer from our family and friends.  With three days of court remaining before the summer holidays and monsoon season, we needed a miracle.  We received that miracle!  God is so good (regardless of the outcome!).  We received news from our social worker that our case is scheduled to go before the judge tomorrow (which is now today), Wednesday, April 27th.  One friend in Houston prayed specifically for an answer soon saying, "God, today would be good."  Just a few hours later we had an answer to that prayer.  Once again, God heard and was gracious enough to give us a quick answer.

I looked up our case online in the Chennai (Madras) court system.  We are case #1588.  It was so exciting to see our case "Pending."  I will keep checking back until I see the final outcome..."Approved!"  Until then, please keep up the prayers....we know how powerful God is!

The roller-coaster of life...

Whew...much has happened since my last post.  At the beginning of April, my Dad experienced an esophageal tear (spontaneous...will probably never have one again). Because he was on blood thinners for his atrial fibrillation to prevent another stroke (he had one 2 1/2 years ago), he lost about 60% of his blood with this tear.  Thankfully the doctors were able to close the tear, and he began healing very well.  Because the tear needed time to heal, they took him off the blood thinner during that time.  Two weeks from the day of his tear, he was given the okay to restart the blood thinner.  That morning Dad had a stroke.  I was with him and was able to give aspirin immediately, an ambulance came within minutes, and the clot buster drug, tPA, was given within two hours of the stroke.  He has stabilized and is in the process of recovery and will continue to be in the months ahead.

In the meantime, not much has progressed with the adoption...that is, until yesterday.  I received a call from our social worker that the Indian courts do not close in mid-May, as once thought.  They are closing this Friday, April 29th...three days--not three weeks--from now.  The good news is that we have a case number and are in the Chennai (Madras) court system.  It does not show a potential date for our case, but the social worker in India is "still hopeful" that our case will be heard before the close.  The good news in all of this? I am "still hopeful" that whatever the outcome, it will be the best timing possible.  I am not anxious or afraid as I once was.  There is a great peace that the best result will happen with both the adoption and with Dad's recovery (the "best" is not necessarily what I consider "best").  I am confident that this peace is a great gift from God.  So many have prayed for us at times when we were struggling to pray...thank you all!

So the waiting continues.....As we go through the ups and downs of good news and hard news, we do continue to trust in the will of God.  Will there ever be a time when I learn that I am NOT in control???  Maybe when I am 98 years old? :)  Until then, I will hopefully learn to trust Him more and more.