Yes, we're home!

Yes, we have made it home. Didn't realize how hard it would be to get on-line with the holidays and two additonal feet running around.... Ok, so not running around, but typing isn't so easy holding the additonal two feet :)

We made it back fine. God was watching over us and didn't have us coming through Chicago! We did last time - and had thought about it, but luckily, considering the weather, we avoided it this time. Our only delay was in Detroit - because our flight from Amsterdam was deverted to Ottawa Canada for a Medical emergency on our flight. (a woman had a heart attack, I pray things turned out OK) Luckily we also built in a 5 hour layover in Detoit to see my sister, so we had plenty of time to catch our next flight and still get in a 1/2 hour visit with her!!!!!

We are settling in, trying to convince Ahlyana that Dreyden isn't always hungry or always needing a diaper change. She sure is a big helper! We are also still trying to get Dreyden's days and nights straightened out - This is a process - if anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them.

WARNING THIS IS GOING TO BE LONG!

I just wanted to note some things to future parents traveling to pick-up their children.

1. Lots of water - we brought individual packets of gatorade in our carry-ons and packed extras in our luggage - it was great in the layovers in the airports and on the plane - you don't want to be dehydrated!


2. Pack light! Depending on your stay, you don't want to have to many checked pieces of luggage. Most of your hotels will do laundry and it' cheap! Much better than worrying about losing another bag or trying to cart it around (especially after picking up your child)


3. At the Embassy, there is a US Citizens "lounge". Use it! Much less crowded and there is a computer there for you. If you are waiting for the Visa interview, just make sure they know you are in there, as the announcements cannot be heard!
4. I posted it earlier, but wanted to mention it again. I would strongly suggest that you have your driver pick you up in about 1 1/2 hours from drop off. If you're not there have them circle around every 15-30 minutes. Much easier than trying to call them!


5. Bring baby Vicks, saline nasal spray and infants Ibuprofene! Most of these kids already have runny noses because of the weather changing.

I think that's it for now - I'll add more as I think of it.

Now for some pictures!

The precious first moment!

Yes, Dreyden there really is a Santa!

(Our hotel had a Christmas party for the local children in Calcutta, he made a special stop in our room)

Just before heading to the airport for our 5 hour delay in Calcutta.

The hotel in Delhi was beautifully decorated, including all the wonderful Christmas treats below the tree - very ornate gingerbread houses.

Our driver for our entire trip in Delhi.

Almost home - - Landing at our local airport.

First photo as a family of 4!!!! Praise God.

Another post

WOW! I didn't expect the Visa process to be that great. We got there at 9:00 and by 10:30 we were completely done and back with our driver. A long 3 hours of touring the city - we wanted to sight see a little but didn't count on Dreyden falling asleep. So we just did pictures in the car.
Note: To future traveling parents - to avoid the hassle of trying to call the mobile of your driver, while you are at the Embassy, ask them to pick you up at a specific spot in an hour. If you're not there have them try every 15 - 30 minutes. Eventually you will meet up and not have to hassle with getting to a phone. We are leaving in 12 hours exactly. (actually 8 hours from the hotel) since you have to be there 4 hours ahead of time on an international flight. YIKES - what is a sleeping boy going to do for this amount of time.......

We are so looking forward to being back for Christmas. Once last prayer request. Please Pray that the Upper Midwest doesn't receive a lot of snow - - - otherwise we might night make it back in time for Christmas :(

Ahlyana - - - - we love you and can't wait for you to meet your little brother - - - (Actually not so little)

Michele

Forever Family Day!

Things are GREAT! We picked up Dreyden as expected and was able to see both orphanages. I don't think I was completely prepared for that. We did also take pictures, but unfortunately we cannot get them to Tami until we get home. We are in a hurry now, as it has been since we arrived. Our 5 hour delay trying to get to Delhi from Calcutta on Sunday through a long wrench in the time line. We are now on our way BACK to the Embassy to APPLY for his visa. For those of you that know you can typically do that when you apply for the I-600. For some reason we have to go back and apply for that today??????? It MUST be done tonight as we leave in 17 hours!!!! This is not what we expected.... PLEASE PRAY IT'S DONE TODAY - - - i DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'LL DO OTHERWISE?

Other than that Dreyden is a pure joy. He is finally feeling better after a nasty bout of a head cold! NOTE: future traveling Parents - don't forget baby Vicks!

Well we have to go I will write more later and catch up on any comments that were left before this, as we haven't even had time to read them yet!

Michele

Time is ticking.........

For all of you followers - we have arrived. Actually yesterday, but we couldn't get on the internet until this morning. In a few short hours (4) we will be meeting our son for the first time. We are so excited! We will definitely try and post more when we can - - not promising tonight, as much as I'd love to. Hopefully with our first pictures too!
The flight was very long. Even though we broke it up into multiple legs....... Layovers were the worst. Luckily on the way back our layovers are much shorter!
The weather here is actually very pleasant for us northerners. Yesterday I think it was maybe 75. Nice and comfortable. So strange, it's so much like we remembered but very different at the same time. Well we're off for our breakfast, then gathering the items for the orphanage and exchanging all the cash donations for Rupees to purchase the final items. (Again, thank you to everyone that donated. Your generosity was overwhelming!)

More later!
Michele and Todd

Nervous night...

Well tonight is our last night going to bed, here, as a family of 3. We are both anxious, nervous and of course very excited. It seems as though Ahlyana is sensing it too. She has suddenly developed the fear of darkness and shadows--- hmmm..... she is really wanting to be with Mom or Dad. Which of course if fine with us. I know she'll be fine with her Nani and Papa, but still tomorrow morning is going to be hard. Once we're on the plane it will be fine, but saying good-bye..... Gets me teary just thinking about it. I know it's the best thing for our family not to have her coming with us, but sooooo hard knowing we'll be so far apart. One week, I keep telling myself... it's just one week and we'll be home to have the best Christmas ever. Please say a prayer for us as we make this trip, for us, for Ahlyana and of course for Dreyden.

Next post from in his birth country!

Tickets....

I know a few of you have been wondering what our final plans are. Well we lucked out and are leaving on the 17th, returning on the 24th - - The best Christmas Eve ever! Dreyden will be home for his first Christmas! As much as we hoped this would happen, we hadn't expected it.

But as much as I am elated that we were so blessed, I can't help but feel a little sad for those babies that are not going to be with their families this Christmas. And for the families that so much wanted to have their babies home for the Holidays. I know that everything happens in time and for a reason, but I can't help think about those other families. (I speak from experience as we had to wait through the holidays for Ahlyana).

For those that are reading (I know many of you are)....... Please know that I plan on taking pictures of each of your little ones. God willing there won't be any camera issues!!!! Always been a big fear of mine.

As for Ahlyana, she is getting more exited every day. Last night we put up the crib in our bedroom. Ahlyana would have nothing to do with the fact that it was being put up in our room. I want Dreyden in my room, she said. As much as I tried to rationalize with her, she wouldn't hear of it. Finally I said that he will probably be up in the middle of the night and wake her up. She said "that's OK Mommy, I'll just sing to him". Isn't that the sweetest thing ever. Then after I said well what would you sing, she said "Jingle Bells" Tis the season, I guess.

Have a great day everyone!

Michele

Grateful

We are so very grateful to have received an e-mail today that Dreyden's passport is done. We are just finishing up our ICPC (which should be done by Friday) We are hoping to completely book our flights for the 17th!!!! It looks like we could be home by Christmas - -- - God is so good. His timing is always so perfect.

We'll let you know when things are firmed up! But at least the major hurdle is done.

Michele

update and things.....

Happy belated Thanksgiving to All! We all have so much to be thankful for.

First I want to express how deeply saddened we are by the recent attacks in our sons birth country. (I am purposely not putting the country so I don't end up on those general blog searches) Our hearts and prayers go out to everyone affected by this tragedy. Knowing that our son is half-way around the world with this type of violence in his country, is very emotional for us. The other concern is whether this is also going to have any impact on our travel time-line. We were still hoping for Mid December, but with a Travel Alert for the country we are not sure. Plus my husband is not someone who is fond of traveling in general, so this is adding to his anxiety. Please pray that things calm down and the there aren't subsequent attacks. It has definitely made it an easy decision on whether or not to sight-see and explore while we are there.

On some positive notes, we received our Visa's on Wednesday along with confirmation that our legal paperwork was in route to Dillon. They were also closed on Thursday and Friday, so I am hopeful that the documents will be at their office on Monday and the ICPC process can begin. That should take about 7 days. All things considered, it looks like we are still on target. Last piece of this puzzle is his passport, which we are still hoping to hear news on this week.

And a few pics of the weekend. (Thanksgiving straight to Christmas - as you can see by our decorations)

Daddy carving the ham and turkey. (I think there was more snitching going on than carving :0)

The family of 3 anxious for a family of 4!!!

And finally a video of a very intuitive little girl! You really forget how much they comprehend at the age of 3!

Passport applied for

We're getting there. The legals have been attested and the passport applied for. It looks like the legals should be back in the states by Thanksgiving! WooHoo!!!!

However, there are a lot of holidays coming up which is going to cause the passport office to close here and there. So it may take longer to get it issued than the original 15 days. I hope just a few more days, not weeks! Last time it took us 6 weeks to get a passport! Pray things continue to move and that the passport isn't our hold up again!

Michele

Signature down!

We have received the Judges signature. After this great news, came to find out that a few documents were not included upon return to the lawyer. So Monday back to court to get them. When I spoke to our Case Worker she didn't at all seemed concerned, appears this happens quite frequently. Once the Lawyer has then, the Orphanage gets all the documents together to take to the Consulates office to be attested, then to the passport office for his passport. This application should only take a day or two then all the legal paperwork comes back to the US for the final steps. Once the legals are back in the states, we should know more of a travel date. Right now we're looking around the 16th (Ahly's first Christmas concert!) . Still to early to be defnitive on any dates right now.

On a side note. An example of a 3 1/2 year olds memory. (Note: Must like worms)

Yesterday, Ahly was pretending there was a Mommy and Daddy bird in a bucket. Along with 3 eggs. (has to be 3 of everything right now - she is 3) First one baby birdy, then two, then three! She went running to her kitchen and pretended to feed them. The conversation went like this:
M 'What are you feeding them?"

A "I don't know" and shrugged her shoulders. (3 must be prime time for that "I don't know" - because we get it a lot)

M "Must be a worm"

A "What kind of worm?"

M "Earthworm"

A "No, Red Worm"

I was floored. In Spring, Aprilish, Todd had been fishing and had different kinds of worms/nightcrawlers for fishing. He explained to her that there were many types, including the earthworm, red worm and then nightcrawlers.......

After all these months, she remembered that! Must have really made an impression, because there are still days where she can't remember where she set her baby doll down :)

Have a great afternoon!

And the Verdict Is...............

Case Approved! I was so excited this morning to get a call for Tami, our Social Worker with Dillon. As I was hoping it was news that the Judge had heard and approved our case. Now his staff has to get everything together for him and then he signs the paperwork. After that just a few loose ends:

1. Dreydens passport to leave India
2. Our visa's to enter India
3. ICPC (contract between our state and Oklahoma)
4. Get tickets booked
5. Clearance from our agency
6. GET ON THE BIG PLANE!

What a truly gloreous day - Praise God!

update on the courts and final round of pictures

We are always kept in the loop with the process. And with regards to the Courts being back in session, it's no different. We have been told that the court staff is in the office and working on scrutinizing documents. As of yet, the Judge has not been back in session. But is expected tobe in, in the next few days. I am hoping that we are one of his earliest cases. But it's all in Gods time. This judge also hears domestic adoption cases, so we're really not sure how many of us are "waiting" on a hearing date. Of course if I hear of any progress I'll keep you posted!

And finally, the last family with an actual travel date is in India now. We received these great photos. Looks like they will be our last update until we are actually there!

Look Mom and Dad I can stand!

And I have two teeth!

Halloween for Ahlyana

Just wanted to post some quick pictures of Halloween. We had a great night for it. We actually were in the 50's for temperature. (for us in the Northwoods, that's very strange) We also had plenty of daylight, thanks the change in daylight saving! (unfortunately, Mommy forgot the camera, so we ended up with pictures at the end of trick-or-treating.)

This week brings the courts back in session - It's about time! Pray that some cases get heard this week, of course I'd love it to be our case, but progress would be progess, no matter whose family it is.

In Motion!

Today we were excited to find this video of our little man in an e-mail! Taken by the same family that just sent us pictures. It's great to see a little of his personality! The family said that he seems very content. I had to laugh when I see him trying to eat his paper - since I think he is so well fed :)



And did I fail to mention my little man is 9 months old today! Happy Birthday Dreyden! We'll be there soon!

They just keep coming......

We just got more pictures! I think these are from Devika's Mommy. They traveled early October, so they were before the pictures I posted on the 21st. If I remember right they had camera issues, so no one was sure if they'd have pictures for us. She did a wonderul job. (can you tell she does this for a living) I am getting really anxious, as this is our last week of waiting until the courts reopen. Please pray pray pray that our case is heard the first week of November! We'd have such a Thankful Thanksgiving (not that we're not already thankful to have been blessed with the little boy!)

more pictures

I was very excited to get new pictures yesterday. Thank you to Zaleeya's family for these beautiful pics! They were in India picking up their beautiful daughter. (their blog is to the right)

He is getting so big. Sitting up by himself and I've seen some of him crawling!!! Look at that smile!

As an update: Still just waiting on the Judge! Best case is still looking like a great Christmas gift! Say a prayer.

There are 3 more families either traveling now or shortly - safe trip to them! Maybe(hopefully) more pictures from some of them.

How I spend my time.......

Shopping of course.... Such great deals now for next summer... Let's hope my guestimates are right when in comes to his size. Our latest update was 16.7 lbs and 27 inches long. I'm taking it in stride, since we were told that Ahly was 17 lbs and when we got her home she was just of 14lbs.

So where are we, well we are waaaaaiiiiitttttttinnnng! The Calcutta courts are closed until November 3rd. All we need is the judge to hear our case and sign the guardianship papers. Appears we missed it by one day. Another very blessed family had their papers scrutinized the day before ours and received guardianship the last day courts were in session.... I keep telling myself there is a reason for all this - faith in God is what we have to have. So pray we are on the docket right out of the shoot on November 3rd - - sure would be nice. Really our only chance of having Dreyden home by Christmas is if the case is heard during that first week of November!

So we(I) shop - I call it therapy too (hehe) Here's a sample of what we've gotten.

This one actually says "my first tree stand" - while the baby is in a highchair! Had to get it for Daddy.

I really love the elephant one!

I'll definitely post more as it happens, but for now - it may be quiet until November...

1 more step down

We just received word that all our legal documents have been scrutinized. We now just wait on the Judge to sign the guardianship papers. At this point, we don't know if we lucked out with a court date this week. I would certainly doubt it. If we didn't, then we're looking at some time in November. Still faster than we thought. Once this is done then just a few last strings to tie up

1. Get passport for Dreyden to enter the US (about 3-4 weeks)
2. Get ICPC done (contract between our State and Oklahoma) (done while passport being issued)
3. ONLY when 1 & 2 are done - Make hotel and airline reservations.
4. Finally bring Dreyden home :)

Pray that things continue to move quickly - - I really want my baby boy home by Christmas!!!!

surprise!

We got new pictures today. He is changing so much.... Looking more like his 5 month pictures than his 7 month. Good and healthy with baby fat!!!! (not that you can see it on these pictures) Gotta love it! We found out that a family that filed and received their NOC right before us has had their legals scrutinized and are now just waiting on the Judge. Hopefully, our scrutinization will be right behind them too now. Should would be great to travel this year yet :)

Totally hear him saying "Hello, I'm right here - what's the hold-up????"

catch-up time

Now that we have received NOC and are beginning the loooong wait for guardianship, I thought I'd take the time to post some pictures and update on the last two weeks.

First, our little angel started pre-school - - where has the time gone. As you can tell by the pics it started out great and then she got nervous Now we've also been doing some camping and got a few nice pictures of Ahly building her first sand castle.

And lastly, we decided that our bedroom needed a makeover - so out came the paint and our little helper too!

Things are moving......

We just received word that our NOC (No Objection Clearance) has been granted by CARA (Central Adoption Resource Agency). This is the first step of the 3 step process. We are now on our way for scrutinization by the court, followed by a guardianship hearing with the Judge. It would be really nice to have this done in the next 3 weeks, because the courts are literally shut down for the Month of October.(for religious holidays) THIS IS NOT LIKELY. The Judge has been known to take 4-7 months for these next two steps. We are praying that this is not the case for us. Maybe he'll feel like leaving October 1st with a clean desk !!!! Oh that would be so nice :)

Please pray for a speedy process - it would be the best Christmas present ever!

Update - new pics

OK, things here have been hectic. As you can tell since it's been 3 weeks since my last post.

My '2nd job' is taking off and keeping me busier than I expected. Lucky for me a girl can never have to many purses - bags or accessories :) This is great - since we're hoping to earn enough to cover our airfare. We are just about 1/2 way there - (taking longer than expecting, considering the fuel prices) We have been busy getting in the last of our camping for the year. Just this weekend yet and then maybe once in October if we're daring..... Can get pretty cold in the Northwoods :) In addition to that we had to have our home study redone because it is expiring in September. Before we can travel it needs to be updated. In addition, our fingerprints will need to be redone since they are only valid through November. Odds are we won't be traveling before that so we'll be making another trip to Minneapolis. (darn another trip to Mall of America - - hehehe)

As for good news - we got another round of surprising pictures. He's our little guy at 6 months!

Pictures! New pictures....

I was so surprised to open my mail this morning and find new pictures of our little man! Well not so little. We really didn't expect any pictures until September, when hopefully some of these families will be traveling to pick-up their little one. But luckily there was an Adoptive Father who was traveling on business, and agreed to take some snapshots for everyone. Who ever you are THANK YOU! I think I may be in trouble in my thought of clothing size. Hopefully, we'll get weight and height updates soon.

To India It Goes!

Talk about record time, our acceptance paperwork was overnighted yesterday and received at Dillons office this morning. We just go word that it's back on a plane headed for India. Bring on NOC. We've been told it coud be 2-4 months just for this part - - so pray it goes quickly!

It's Off!

Our acceptance paperwork is finally on it's way. Delay completely my own fault, for letting our medical documents expire. However, thanks to a fabulous Dr. we got everything completed 2 weeks ahead of their first option!!!! Praise God for that. Now the daily wait begins for new pictures and/or updates.

Weekend of celebration

This past weekend was a lot of fun (sorry this took so long to post - God decided I should experience morning sickness - in some form or fashion, to celebrate Dreyden - so now is the first time I was able to get to the computer :0)

First we spent the day shopping - Wow! Lots of fun stuff for Dreyden and of course some for Ahly too (I have quite a shopper on my hands)- I may have to post some pictures (just for Kristie - haha) We then went to "Build a Bear" for the first time. Ahly got to make herself a little puppy dog named - what else - SNOOPY! Then she also got to make something for her baby brother. She picked out the softest teddy bear. Which is absolutely adorable. I promise to post a picture of the bear for Dreyden and Ahly soon.

Then we met up with another ISRC family at an Indian Restaurant. Anya and her Mom and Dad (Nancy and Peter) live only 1 1/2 hours away and have a great shopping mall (compared to where we are). They brought their daughter home in December of last year. We met them just about a year ago while they were waiting to bring Anya Rashi home. It was great to be able to tell them our story and hopefully bring some peace into their lives while they waited. Here are some pictures from the visit.

Bollywood - hits "So You Think You Can Dance"

Yes, I meant Bollywood, not Hollywood. I so much appreciate the fact that Amy (fellow blogger) posted this. I missed the airing of it last week!!! For those of don't know Bollywood is like our Hollywood, with a very fun type of dance/music. Take a look!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUfsXsDlLhw

Happy 1/2 birthday Dreyden

Yesterday was Dreyden's 6 month birthday! Happy birthday little guy! Mommy and Daddy will be there as soon as possible. Of course Mom had to do some shopping for him. Shopping for a little boy is so different than shopping for a little girl. I guess I am going to need lots of practice ;0

Time for a name......

Well for those that have been in suspense over his name - we've finally decided. If you've been following our blog, you know we had a name picked out at one time. But after seeing his face, neither Todd or myself thought it fit. So after a week, we've decided on Dreyden. Of course it had to be unique :)

Also, you noticed we haven't posted a video of us telling Ahly about her brother. The night we wanted to tell her she didn't want to hear a surprise! (was over-tired) Then of course when we did tell her the camera wasn't rolling. But as we expected her first words were "no a baby sister".... By the end of the week and continually looking at his picture she is very proud to be saying "baby Dreyden".

We also found out that we weren't alone in our joyous week. There were at least 4 other referrals. Congrats to the Werre family on accepting a referral of a beautiful baby girl. (you can see the picture and follow their blog on the right)

Enough Suspense?

Praise the lord, we have been given another blessing! Our son (doesn't that sound nice) is officially waiting for his Mommy and Daddy half way around the world.

Tuesday the 15th I received a call that went a little like this:

Remember this is our second adoption with Dillon, so I thought I was prepared. They are based out of Oklahoma, so I had their area code memorized since the first referral. :) I knew they would call my cell phone first(we no longer have a land line) then work. So needless to say I have been carrying my cell phone everywhere. At 12:30 my cell phone rang with a number I didn't recognize, so I thought telemarketer, no maybe Dillon, nope wrong area code, oh wait our SW is in Colorodo, could it be - no- Anju (the orphanage director) is in the US, it couldn't be - maybe - no - oh I'll answer it anyway........... Sure enough it was Tami with the news that she had a referral of a little boy for us....... The rest is sort of fuzzy. After calming down I asked that Tami send us more information. That night Todd and I reviewed the information - but once we saw this little face and those big eyes - we knew - he was meant to be ours.......

Keep us in your prayers that the next 5 steps go quickly.
1. We redo physical and sign paperwork.
2. Clearance granted by India
3. Judge in India grants us guardianship. (he has been known to be difficult 5-7 months)
4. Issuing of the passport
5. INDIA HERE WE COME!

And finally here is the glimpse of our little man!

?

Just wanted to asked everyone to pray for us. We are hoping to have some good news soon :)

Can anyone say suspense?

Adoption video

I found this video on another families blog. It is short and definitely worth the watch. So neat to see this from the eyes of the "big sister". (some day Ahly, some day)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ1Gre4KTRU

interesting article

I just wanted to post an article on adoptions in India. It's an eye opener to the crisis in India.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article1627008.ece

This article is from 2007 and as hard as it is to believe, the new "speedy" regulations still are not in place. I am optomistic that in the near future there will be a better process in place to help these children find their forever families at an earlier age.

Real restart of the referrals

My last post stated that their license had been renewed and that ISRC could again start referrals. I was mistaken. Instead the approval was done, but until the paperwork was at ISRC, they were still at a stand-still. An e-mail I received on the 2nd now shows that they do have the paperwork and referrals can actually begin. Let's hope this brings all the babies home soon!

Praise the Lord

Just wanted to let everyone know that we just received word that the relicensing has been approved! ISRC can again start processing adoptions both domestically and internationally! Since the children have to be given the chance at domestic adoption first it may take some time before they are available here, but at least it progress. What a joyful time this is - almost as good as getting a referral itself - OK not quite that good - but better than feeling stalled!

Just an update

Wanted to let everyone know that last week CARA, the agency in India that overseas all adoptions in India has visited ISRC (the home where the children stay at until they find their forever families). They were very impressed with the care they are providing the children. Now they just needed to return and draft up a letter so that ISRC's license can be renewed. Until that time no referrals will be coming. We ran into this same issue while waiting for our referral of Ahly, since it has to be renewed every three years. At that time the license didn't come through until early August. So I am hopeful that by the end of September we could have our referral. I know it may be wishful thinking, but right now it's all I got!

On a lighter note - should I say more practical. We decided to fore go the Disney trip this year and wait until we are a family of four :) Instead we invested in a camper for ourselves. Tenting was fun, but not practical with a 3 year old - not to mention Mom and Dad were tired of an air mattress :0

I am also asking that you pray for dear friends of ours. The Conners, this family traveled with us to India the first time to pick-up their son Ian. They are now waiting to get the OK to travel to Vietnam to pick-up their son Drew. There is just one piece of paper that needs approval, yet it's the obstacle between them and their son. Drew will be 1 in July and they would like very much to have him home by that time.

As always...... more as it comes......

Todays funk....

Just thought I'd post a little on todays mood.... Todays mood is frustration. Please understand I know this is to be expected, but accepting it is another thing. Especially knowing that it's totally out of our control, we are both feeling a little down. The last month has proven to be completely uneventful. Not a single referral. So we still sit at #2 for a boy and #7ish for a girl. At the same time I know there are some NRI families very close to getting on the waiting list. If this happens before we get a referral, we will move backwards. I am completely fine that part, we understand that's what is required. But at the same we know we are so close that if the referrals would start moving, we could potentially have our child home by Christmas.

On a lighter note, Ahly has totally decided that she is NOT sharing a bedroom. The brother or sister must sleep with Mommy and Daddy. (honestly with everything in her room I don't know where we will put another one) Don't get us wrong, we have another room all ready - but we're just not comfortable with either of them being so far away from our bedroom :-0

This last weekend we played our video for her of when we were in India to become a Forever Family. She is completely obsessed with it. She has to play it after her naps, when she wakes up the morning and as soon as she's in the house. She doesn't make a sound - just sits quietly taking in everything. I've heard that at the age of 3 they really start understanding the high levels of adoption - now I am waiting for the questions to flow...... For the most part she hasn't questioned much of anything.

The summer is proving to be very eventful for the family - first to restart camping - FINALLY! 2nd we are going to see my sister in MI and will be taking the Ferry across Lake Michigan. Could be interesting as I've never been on a large boat or large body of water for that matter. Then late summer or fall we are hoping to get this princess to Disney World. We are moving ahead with this intention, but should a referral come by then it could be delayed a year. Which would not be a bad thing!!!

More as it comes....

It's raining boys! Hallelujah! It's raining boys!

Just wanted to give a quick update that the only family in front of us that was open to a boy, accepted a referral of a boy last week. Meaning we are next in line for a baby boy. We are so excited for them - I actually let out a scream when I read their e-mail that they had accepted the referral of a little boy. So odds are looking like we'll have the referral of a baby boy, but after 6 girls we could be blessed with a girl too......

Hopefully we'll have more to report soon!

Michele

Another step closer.

Well curiosity got the better of me and I had to find out if there had been any progress on the waiting list. And to my surprise, we had moved up 1 position on the non-NRI list. Now #5!!!!! There are still 4 on the NRI (nonResident Indian) list, but that means we're at #9 not #10 overall. Yeah - single digits!

Honestly, it's baby steps - - but aren't baby steps really fitting for this process :)

Michele

Big girl now at 3

Wow what a weekend. Our baby is now 3. Where has the time gone? She is turning into such a little lady. We had a fun filled weekend. She got to spend some good time with her 2 cousins (3 and almost 2) with two nights of a slumber party! Not the smartest thing to do when it's a busy weekend - but they sure enjoyed it!

She had friends and family, Godparents, Grandparents and Aunties - all there to help us celebrate a big day.

At the same time, we couldn't help but think about Ahly's birth mother. What was she doing today, was she thinking about her? We can only hope that she knows how grateful we are to have Ahly in our lives. It had to be the hardest thing she'd ever done, that took so much courage. We pray for her on this day.

Here is a new family picture:

One from her daycare birthday part:

Update and story

First we'll give everyone the update. The India program has had some changes to it. On Wednesday we were given an update on the process. The process itself is remaining the same, so far. However the time lines have changes, we now could potentially be waiting 18-24 months for a referral. (Starting from when we got on the list in October) So, there is every chance that we may not even get a referral this year :( This is caused mainly by two reasons. First there aren't as many referrals coming out of India as expected. (adoption within the country is becoming more acceptable, and therefore, more domestic adoptions are being done) 2nd, there are more Indian couples within the US that are also adopting. India's rules are that if one spouse is of Indian descent that they be given preference. So as that list continues to grow, our list stays put...... I can completely agree with the reasoning for this, but it doesn't make the wait any easier. OK enough of my pity party - we know that God will make it known when our child is meant to be!

On a slight humorous note: this actually happened a while ago, and after telling some people about it I thought I better get it written down some where so that we can look back and laugh!

For those of you that don't know us well my husband is an avid hunter. When Fall comes he could practically live in the woods. (basically September through November)

So for the story: Ahly was very intrigued by Baby Jesus this Christmas, after mass we always had to go and get a closer look. After Christmas, when the Church was cleared of the manager and figurines, Ahly would constantly ask - "where Baby Jesus go?" We would always say "Baby Jesus is in Heaven now." Typically it was just "OK, Mommy". Then one day while taking her to daycare the issue came up again. It went something like this:
A: Where Baby Jesus Go"
M: Heaven
A: Why
M: God needed him in Heaven.
A: Where his Mommy?
M: In heaven too.
A: Me go to Heaven?
M: Yes, but not for a long time.
A: Mommy too?
M: Yes Mommy and Daddy too.
A: Not Daddy...
M: WHAT???
A: Not Daddy..... Daddy go hunting......

Where that correlation came in I cannot figure out, but it's so cute to see how they see/interpret things.

By the way - bring on Spring we were at -17 this morning.....

Michele

Forever Family Day

Yesterday, February 17th was 2 years to the day that Todd and I were blessed to become a forever family with our daughter. It is so hard to believe that it has only been 2 years. Seems as though she has been part of our lives forever! It was much more low key than we had wanted(since Wisconsin was hit by a blizzard) So tonight we will celebrate.

Valentines day will always be extra special for us. It was the day we left to take a 15 hour flight to become parents. The flight/travel and wait seems like such a distant memory now - but at the time it felt like forever. We were lucky enough to travel with Nadra and Charles as they became parents to Ian. Sharing this experience with another family is so wondeful, since most travel alone. They will always have such a special place in our hearts.

She has grown by leaps and bounds since we first saw her. Her beautiful personality is showing through. Which makes us so proud, and happier than we ever thought possible.

Michele

Just posting come cute facts about adoption

You know you’re an adoptive parent if:

1. The fact that there are 143 million children without a parent to kiss them goodnight has ever made you lose sleep.
2. You realize DNA has nothing to do with love and family.
3. You can't watch Adoption Stories on TLC without sobbing.
4. You spend free time surfing blogs about families who have experienced the blessing of adoption.
5. It drives you crazy when people ask you about your adopted child's "real"parents.
6. You have ever been "pregnant" with your adoptive child longer than it takes an elephant to give birth (2 years!)
7. You had no idea how you would afford to adopt but stepped out in faith anyway knowing where God calls you He will provide
.8. You have ever taken an airplane ride half way around the world with a child you just met.
9. You believe God's heart is for adoption.
10. You realize that welcoming a child into your heart and family is one of the most important legacies you could ever leave on this earth.
11. You know what the word Dossier means and you can actually pronounce it!
12. You have welcomed a social worker into the most private parts of your life.
13. You shudder when people say your child is so lucky that you adopted them, knowing full well you are the blessed one to have them in your life.

Update of sorts

Well it's been over a month since we've posted and there really isn't anything new to report. Referrals have been moving very slow. From what I can tell there have been two referrals since September. Which is very unusual. Basically there are 5 on the Indian National list (those where at least one spouse is of Indian descent) then there are now 8 on the all other list where we still wait at #6. So all in all we are # 11 on the list, as the Indian Nationals do get preference in India. How many in front of us are waiting for boy, girls or either/or - I'm not sure. But I do believe most were wanting girls.

I am continuing to do a small home business to help off-set some of the cost and all in all it's going pretty well. And we finally came up with two names we like. For a boy it will be Corbynn and for a girl it will be Tahliya. It seemed so strange to us not to have a name picked out during this processes, because we had Ahly's name forever. It just seems right :)

Ahly seems to be getting so grown-up! She has been proving to have quite a memory too! Singing and dancing are at the top of her list now. Still talking about a baby brother or sister quite often - so it's on her mind too.

Also included an updated picture of Ahly from New Years.