Frustrating Setback

We got a phone call from Dean, head of the India Department at Holt, on Friday and he basically said this: We received verbal guardianship the end of May and VCT, the orphanage, told the judge NOT to write the court order yet because we had not received this other letter yet from our government. Well, the judge went ahead and did the court order. Now the court order is dated before this other letter - which is out of order and is not allowed.... VCT, the attorney and the judge talked in closed chambers and asked if they could just change the date, but they can't/won't. So now we're back to the beginning. Dean said it would be two more months - until what he wasn't sure. I'm going to call and ask a few more questions tomorrow. We know God can push this through again very quickly and we're believing for that! Please pray with us. We want Victoria home soooooooo bad!

Friday was such a hard day. In the midst of all my frustration and breaking heart, I realized even more how I dearly love Victoria and how much she belongs in our family. Of course, our God is so good. He immediately gets to work and starts teaching me things, encouraging me and growing me. He told me to wait on Him and not the process. No where in the Word does it say for us to wait on circumstances, outcomes, time lines, processes, etc. We are to wait on the Lord! So I am trying to focus more on Him.

Also, Billy was gone on an overnight fishing trip and shortly after I called him with the icky news, he found this really cool neck pillow at their cabin - the kind of pillow you wear on a super long plane flight. He just knew God was confirming that we're eventually going.... And I began to be concerned about finances because flights to India are fairly cheap (it's all in perspective) in July/August being it's monsoon season - hotels as well. They are likely to go up in the fall. However, we received an unexpected check in the mail on Saturday. Once again, God proving His faithfulness and that we can trust Him!

We knew going into this process that there would likely be delays, especially as our case went through the world renowned bureaucracy of India's courts. Dean warned us of this. So it's no surprise, but doesn't change the frustration of it all. We are thankful for Holt, our agency, who is very on top of the situation and do all they can for us, communicate with us and encourage us. They speak very highly of VCT, the institution that oversees Victoria's foster care, too. So we know we have a team doing all they can to get our girl home.

We have our immunizations, the room is painted (still need the border up) the travel folder is being assembled and I'm not going to stop packing! When I broke the news to the boys, their biggest concern was that Indiana Beach would be closed by September and that Granddaddy and Grammy wouldn't be able to take them there. I'm glad that's their biggest worry. :) Even though I was all choked up telling them, I played it off as not a big deal (WHATEVER!!!) and that we WILL be getting her before too long. They are so excited to get their little sister and I was concerned especially for Will, who is such a "feeler".

Please continue to pray for favor for our case and for Victoria in general.

Will's Big Purchase

Will came home from school the other day with a ....... doll! Not the norm for our 1st grader. His class is studying economics and they have a store in the class. They earn pennies and can spend them on Friday when the store opens. Will saved his pennies for two weeks to buy the doll for Victoria! He's even a savvy shopper! He said, "Mom, I had my eye on it and it went from 30 cents to 20 cents!" He took a risk of being teased as well. What a man! I'm so proud of him.

When all of me is overwhelmed, I will cling to the Rock!

Yep, that's what I'm doing. As our travel date becomes closer and closer, there is simply more and more to do and think about! We are taking one day at a time in preparing for Victoria and our trip to India. As I plan, I am surprised at how truly multifaceted this trip is. I'm thankful we have experience traveling with small children before, but never a girl, whom we don't know, who speaks little English, who likely will be grieving, whose paperwork cannot be lost, in India of all places!

Preparations still include, but are not limited to, finishing her room (wall paper is down, have yet to sand and paint), gathering together all the needed paperwork (still waiting for some), reading over the highlighted parts of "The Connected Child", getting shots, doing two rummage sales to help on the financial end and general packing. Which brings us to an exciting milestone. I officially began packing tonight! So, since I've seen blue for the past 7, almost 8, years, do I pack all pink just to get it out of my system???

I'm thankful for my God who has continually given us peace over every step of this process and even though at times I am overwhelmed with all of it, I know He will continue to wrap up the loose ends before we travel and won't let me forget a single document. He's just good like that!

We are truly praying we can travel in mid-July. It simply works really good with our schedule here. Please believe with us that we can go then. We do know God's timing is perfect and He will send us when He's ready.

Pray as well that I can be focused and organized as we make travel plans and for favor in getting great deals at hotels and on our airline tickets. We are using a travel agent Holt recommends.

As much as we love to travel and are looking forward to the trip itself, we can't wait to simply get Victoria home and begin our lives together. Those cheeks need some kisses from her mama, those toes some tickles from her dada and that head rubbed by her big brothers. We were all standing in the kitchen one evening and we showed the boys how tall Victoria was and where the top of her head would be. So they pretended to rub and pat the top of her head. They do it when they watch her video, too. What a gift she will be to them and they to her!

Victoria's Update

We got Victoria's update, but I had to wait until after school on Friday to get it. Oh, the wait! She continues to be healthy. She is 24# and 32" - about a size 2T. Her growth seems to have plateaued. She gained only 1 1/2 pounds between Jan. 19 and March 25. I wish I had more information to pass along. There's just no additional news. No news is good news with her progress reports. We are now applying for her immigrant visa. We received our I-800 provisional approval - simply another paperwork hurdle crossed. God gave us favor once again.

Today in Sunday School Will and Logan each made Victoria a necklace. They are so excited for their little sister to come home. Logan also had kindergarten round-up this week and his first T-ball game. He played 1st base and was very determined to catch any ball coming his way. Unfortunately, the throws weren't so good, and well, he's still learning to catch. Very fun to watch.

VERBALS HAVE BEEN GRANTED!!!

We got a call from Mary at Holt today and she told us the judge in Bangalore gave us verbal guardianship of Victoria - on the last day before the courts closed for the month of May!!! Is God at work or what?! Now we complete more paperwork on our end. Our timeline looks like:

Beginning of June - Courts in Bangalore open
1-2 weeks for written guardianship to be issued
2-4 weeks to obtain Victoria's passport
mid - July - TRAVEL!!!!! (give or take a few weeks as always)

I can't believe how fast this is all happening. Mary said, "Your case has been processed quick for Bangalore courts." I know people are praying and God has His hand upon our family and the process.

Please pray for perfect travel timing, care for Will and Logan back at home, and continued financial provision.

I'd say this is all to good to be true, but our God is THAT GOOD!

We will be posting an update on Victoria very soon as well. It just hasn't come through the e-mail yet.

Court update

We received our first update on the court processing in Bangalore. The quoted part below is from the orphanage with explanation to follow.

"...and Victoria Rani- The dates for the 1st hearing has not been given but they have been seen by the scrutiny officer for her report. Since court closes on the 24th of April it does look like it may not pass before that. However I am trying to think positive:-))"--end of VCT email.

The Bangalore court closes for Summer Recess from 24 April-25 May. While the courts don't always close completely, we are hearing from VCT not to expect any movement during summer recess this year. We are hearing the same thing from BSSK regarding the Summer Recess in Pune which is from 5 May-7 June.

The scrutiny officer has to review each case prior to the 1st hearing. Often times, this does not happen before the first hearing and the hearing gets postponed. It is good news that at least the scrutiny officer has reviewed our case, but it does take a while for the order to be given so that may not happen before the court closure.

Continue to pray for speedy processing!

NOC Received!!!!!!

We received CARA's NOC (India's central government's No-Objection Certificate)!!!!! That means that the central government has approved us to adopt. Now VCT (Victoria's orphanage that oversees her foster care) will file with the local attorney/courts. We will know when the first hearing will be in a couple weeks. Our case has to go through 3-5 hearings each scheduled about 4 weeks apart. Unfortunately, the courts are closed in June for holiday. :(

Now we complete yet more paperwork, the I-800 to be specific, and some attachments with it.

This is such good news and our NOC came sooner than we expected!!!

We were pretending to pat Victoria's head in the kitchen the other day - at the height she is..... and Will and Logan keep saying, "I can't wait to rub her head!"