HE SAYS "MOMMY"

And "Daddy!" We received our monthly report and this is a little bit of it:

Other General Changes in last month:
He familiarizes with the other children by playing and sharing with them.

Emotional:
amusing

Mood:
joyful

Social Development:
special events - he is now capable to say mommy and daddy (yes, that made me cry)

Who does child interact with (friends)?
He is very nice to his mates.

My joyful and amusing boy (who can now say "Mommy!!!") will be in my arms again from July 29th - August 1st!!! It will be trip number three and I'm so excited!

Even When I Cannot See...

Even though we're out of IBESR (praise the LORD) we have no idea what the road ahead looks like. It could be months, years... All too often, I find myself dreaming about "when Asa here," instead of embracing the important lessons that God might be trying to teach me through the waiting process. I pray that, even during this time of uncertainty, we'll allow Him to prepare our hearts and minds for HIS will.

Asa's Sis Is Sweet 16!

We had so much fun making the day memorable for Allyson and her wonderful group of friends! We've truly been blessed with a precious daughter who loves the Lord, who cares deeply for others and who is just plain fun to be around! Pictures are on our family's blog at the request of Uncle John John (my brother).

* A Happy Edit *

At least two more C4C families received news of their IBESR approval today! Hooray!!! Congratulations April and Geralyn!

OUT!!!

At about 12:30 today, I was filling my car with gas so I could make the thirty minute trip into downtown Tampa to acquire one of the documents that had been requested for IBESR. I heard my cell phone ringing and almost ignored it, but I decided to stop pumping and try to grab my phone before it went to voicemail.

Backing up about five minutes...

I left our driveway and was going to turn on my radio to listen to some music, but instead, I just began praying, "Lord, please bring Asa home and do it in a miraculous way that will bring You the glory..." We were truly feeling that there was no IBESR end in sight and had given up on getting encouraging news any time soon. But I continued to pray until I pulled into the gas station.

I grabbed the phone off my seat & didn't recognize the area code. I did, however, recognize the voice once I answered. It was our adoption agency's coordinator and she asked if I could cancel the appointment. I would not be needing the letter because our file has been SIGNED OUT OF IBESR.

The drive back home was surreal. I'm still in shock so I can't think of much more to say other than our continued & fervent prayers are with everyone in the Haitian adoption process. Our hope is that more and more of the stalled IBESR files will be signed out, that the remaining steps move quickly for everyone and that our children come home to the loving families that are waiting for them!

Some New Pictures...

Thank you, Melissa!!

Back And (Somewhat) Refreshed...

A few months ago, we planned a mini-family-trip to Orlando. We were supposed to leave last Friday but with the loss of our Pastor and his son, we opted to shave a few days off the vacation so we could attend their service and church the next day. The service was beautiful and I know that it actually brought a great deal of comfort to many people. Thank you so much, by the way, for all the prayers that were and are being lifted up for the Pollock family. And thank you for all the sweet comments and e-mails that I've received since we first got news of this tragedy.

Once we made the (one hour) trip to the resort, we were able to just enjoy each other and the break from... everything. We had so much fun. The trip definitely came at just the right time. So did this adorable picture of our little guy. Isn't he growing up??



Today, right before we headed home, we got a little bit of discouraging news. We've been asked to provide some more supporting documentation since we don't fall into the parameters of the 1974 laws that are now (kind of?) being enforced. We'll try to obtain this as quickly as possible since it will need to be notarized, authenticated and translated before heading to Haiti. We are assuming that we won't be out of IBESR until this is done and reviewed. We were able to escape the adoption worries for a few days.... now we're home and it looks like there's some work to do.

Irrational Googling...

I'm fairly certain it's a symptom of IBESR induced psychosis.

This is what I googled today (click to enlarge):

I actually found some lovely houses. I need help. Or a realtor.