Waiting

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.
Psalm 130:5

Haven't blogged in a while, but there is nothing new to tell. We are still just waiting. There is always hope for tomorrow. I know that each new day is one day closer to bringing our baby girl home. I finally convinced myself to go and exchange her 3-6month clothes for 6-9months. This was a difficult thing for me to do, because it reminded me of the fact that she is getting bigger without us, and we are missing some of her life.

We had a family reunion with Shane's family this weekend. We took pictures of Jadyn with us to show everyone. His mother is so very proud and excited! She and I both spent the day a little teary eyed. We thought we would be traveling by now, but that was not God's plan. When He says it's time, we will go. I know this, however some days in spite of knowing this, it's still just down right hard. I'm thankful though that God knows and understands my heart. Please keep praying for us! We know that prayers will bring us through this time.

I Will Rest In You

Well... still nothing. However, we are very hopeful that we will hear good news on Monday. I was digging through some of my old cds tonight and found a song that blessed me- I Will Rest In You by Jaci Velasquez. The lyrics were really what I needed to hear tonight, as we wait yet one more weekend for good news. I'm thankful that God is in control and is taking care of everything. I choose to rest in Him tonight.

Lord, I'm in the dark,
Seems to me the line is dead when I come calling.
No one there, the sky is falling.

Lord, I need to know.
My mind is playing games again,
You're right where you have always been.

Take me back to you,
The place that I once knew as a little child;
Constantly the eyes of God watched over me.
Oh, I want to be
In the place that I once knew as a little child,
Fall into the bed of faith prepared for me.

I will rest in you,
I will rest in you,
I will rest in you.

India Camp: Love, Laughter, Miracles

The top picture is of Dhira and Mia playing together. Dhira is the little girl who I met at Bible School over a year ago. After talking with her mother, Marsha, about Dillon International, we knew that God had answered our prayers about which direction to take for adoption. Mia is the precious daughter of Angie and Dustin.

The middle picture is of two incredible families (Dustin, Angie, and Mia and Charlie, Nadra, and Ian) who have encouraged us with their prayers and e-mails. It was wonderful to finally meet them and to see the miracles that God has brought into their lives. They also experienced some very difficult setbacks during their waiting times, but just look at them now!

The bottom picture is of Ms. Roy with some of the children from the orphanage who, thanks to her dedication and compassion, have found their forever families. She looks at all of the children with such love in her eyes. It was absolutely wonderful to meet her! She told me that Jadyn is doing very well and that her legs are fine! Praise God! She also said that she is a beautiful child (I had no doubt about that!). She took my hands and said that I was going to be a wonderful mother. I will always cherish that moment.

KEEP PRAYING!!

Well...I wish I could say that the judge has signed and the passport was on its way, but I can't. In fact, there was a second judge change and the passport process cannot even begin until the judge signs the legals (aaaaarrrrggghh!). Everything was going smooth as glass and then a bump, a big bump. It's just so so frustrating and hard to understand why. I know that God knows why and that is all that matters now. I don't know how to answer all the "when?" questions anymore. I just don't know when. I do know that today is just one day closer. That's all I know now.

There is no way that you can prepare yourself for the terrible ache in your heart and the complete frustration in your brain. However, I have been soooo busy since school started on the 9th that I haven't had time to mope too much. This is a good thing! Please everyone pray for us that this second new judge will sign soon. He is supposed to be a good judge (I'm not sure what that means) so hopefuly he will sign soon. This week was a big Indian holiday so nobody worked the first part of the week (aaarrrrrgggghhh!) So.... if anything happened, Ms. Roy hasn't been notified yet. Maybe next week.

I'm so thankful that through all of this I can trust and know that God is in control. As difficult as it is, I don't have to understand. I just have to believe. He has brought us too far to leave us now. All of this has not slipped by Him. He knows and is mindful of us! Praise His Name! Here are some of the scriptures that are getting me through right now...

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

Psalm 91:1-3

He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge;his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

Psalm 91:4

Prayers Please!

We found out on Thursday that there was a judge change in the Kolkata court. While we have already been granted guardianship, this new judge has to sign the legals. So... we can't actually have the papers in our hands until this happens. Please pray that he doesn't tarry in signing them. We still have a little more paperwork to do once we get them. Jynger, the Program Director, says that this usually happens at least once a year. He could take his time in looking over international adoption laws or maybe not. Who knows??? Just pray that this doesn't hold up our process. The good news is that Ms. Roy was already able to apply for Jadyn's passport. So hopefully we are still on track with the end of August. Please remember to pray!

Showers of Blessings and Love

We have been so blessed with an outpouring of love and support from our family and friends. Shane's mother had a shower for us first last Friday night (July 21) with family. We had such a good time opening all the sweet little baby clothes and things and laughing and crying. She had Jadyn's picture put on the cake and nobody wanted to cut it or eat it. We finally did (Sorry Baby Jadyn), but we have pictures to remember it with. I had to eat her nose!! Joyce decided that this was the last time she would have her picture put on something edible. Thanks so much Joyce, Sheryl, and Lynn. Loads of fun and laughs!

On Sunday, July 23 we had a baby shower at church. Again, we had so many special friends that showed their love to us. Several of them went in together to purchase a camcorder for us! We were so surprised and just felt so humbled by the thoughtfulness. Jadyn received several large toys (Radio Flyer Wagon, push along buggy, hippo walker, and a little trike). We received so much that I was literally tired by the time everything was opened and loaded in both vehicles. Sharon Kay made the yummiest white cake I've ever tasted! The ladies also brought lots of finger foods and goodies to snack on for lunch. The diaper cakes on the table were just too cute. Thanks Jeanette for all of your hard work! What a wonderful special time! Thanks everyone for making us feel so loved!

Jadyn's Room

Here is Jadyn's sweet little room! I hope she likes pink! Little girls are so much fun. Shane has worked so hard putting all of her furniture together. What a great daddy! We have also added a photo board with a pic of her and her crib buddy Jay, and one with her and one of her caregivers, and of course one of mama and daddy. I just love going in there and sitting a while and thinking of her. ; (

We have dedicated one wall in her room to a Children of the World theme. We put a children's map of the world there and strung some beautiful little glass beads across it to mark our route from the US to India. I also added some letter charms to it that spell out FAMILY. The picture hanging next to it is taken from an old children's book of prayers. It has a picture that represents children from all over the world and it reads "Bless other children far and near and keep them safe and free from fear." We are hoping to pick up some special items for her while we are in India to add to the wall.








There is just one very very important thing missing... JADYN!!!