Monday, October 27, 2008

Dateline: Monrovia

Jana, another mom adopting through our agency, is in Monrovia this week picking up her new little girl, Jamesetta. While there, Jana's taking lots of pictures, making notes and observing every thing she can about the kids that remain in the orphanage as they wait for their turn to go home.

Here's what she says about our new boys:

Amos sometimes plays soccer together with a boy named Jubah. Amos is like a comedian---he likes to make people laugh.


Kalee is very sensitive. He doesn't like to be touched a lot. He always has slippers (flip flops) on and will even sleep with them on. Kalee doesn't like to be hit or bumped into or anything. He spends alot of time around me. He keeps his things around himself so no one else can get them.


Oh, how I want to introduce Amos to Brant, Will and Jay---knowing that he will probably, immediately and completely fit right in with those three yahoos!!

And oh, how I long to hold and comfort Kalee and to tell him that he'll never have to hide his things or sleep with his shoes on again.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Adoption news.....

The director of our adoption agency emailed today to say that our adoption cases were being presented to the Liberian Minister of Health for his approval. This is one of the last, BIG steps in the process and his approval is absolutely necessary for our adoptions to proceed.

The MOH's staff members will review our (phonebook-like) dossier paperwork and will also bring in Amos's and Kalee's father for an interview so that a more thorough case history can be completed. All of this is done to make sure that the adoption was done to certain standards and to assure that the boys' biological father understands the process completely and was not coerced into giving up the boys in any way. After the case history is written up by the MOH's office, our agency will receive a copy. This will give me and Drew more details about the boys' background, their father's reasons for relinquishment, how their mother died and hopefully, more details about how and when they were split up.

As I have come to know God better over the last years, I have learned more and more about His power. I know that He is in control of every thing and is capable of doing absolutely ANYTHING.

So..........it follows that had God wanted our adoption to proceed any more quickly, He would have simply deemed it so. I am a fool to think that any thing I have done or any thing I could still do....any call that I could make, any email I could send..... any string I could pull....could affect God and His plan for this adoption.

Am I praying that God will allow the adoption to move forward? Absolutely. Am I telling every one I know to pray that the Minister of Health's heart will be softened toward our boys' adoption and that he'll provide his necessary approval? You bet. But really, when it comes down to it, God has got it all figured out.

He is in control. And I am not.

Friday, October 17, 2008

TGIF


Today was one of the best days on recent record! I got to spend the morning with my sweet friend, Jena, and to meet her two new kids recently adopted from Uganda. Kaia and Kendric have been in the US just three weeks, but I'm pretty sure they've been in Jena's heart for a long, long time.

There aren't a ton of people I truly aspire to be more like....but I've decided I want to be Jena when I grow up.

Check out her blog when you have a second-- www.packofpenners.blogspot.com

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

One by one...



.........the steps in our adoption process are slowly being checked off the list.

Today we got word that Amos's and Kalee's passports had been issued. This is great news and puts us one step closer to bringing them home.

Don't these passport pictures make them both look so serious?? I'm pretty sure they were told not to smile for the camera. I'm just glad to see that they look like they've gained some weight!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Bum Knee Babe


I'm sad to report that Babe fractured his right knee cap during a travel ballgame on Sunday afternoon. The play looked routine enough...he made a nice hit up the middle and ran to first base. But when he stopped short, his knee buckled.

According to the orthopedist that checked Jay out (during his 7th ER appearance-aggh!), when athletes run and then stop quickly, the leg muscles slingshot back causing a lot of strain on the tendons that attach those muscles to the kneecap. In Babe's case, the tendons won and the knee cap lost--and almost tore in two. (ouch!)

Sooooo....fall ball is over for Jay and he'll be in a cast for about 4 weeks. He's hoping to be good to go for basketball season right around the corner. 'Til then, riding the elevator at school is pretty cool and the attention is not bad either!