Family Construction

Ever seen a sign on the road announcing that your tax dollars are being spent for road construction?

Consider THIS a sign that your donation dollars are at work for family construction!

Praise be to God, our home study has been completed! Now we can now apply for some big grants to pay the major costs of our adoption.

We have come this far thanks to prayer, time, energy and funds donated by friends and family, and we are so grateful. Here is a breakdown of some recent costs we've been able to pay:

$850 final home study payment
$60 for six official letters verifying our bank accounts
$40 for two background checks at the local sheriff's office
$107 for four copies each of our birth certificates
$30 for three copies of our marriage certificate

Next, we will send a check to US Immigration for $890...but guess what!? Lifesong for Orphans will pay that out of our matching grant fund, which, at the moment, totals $1,564! This is thanks to donations from individuals and our church. The fundraisers have helped a lot, too!

Please pray with us as we continue to gather documents for the dossier (almost there!) and the grant applications.

It's a good thing the home study, the dossier and the grant application require a lot of the same documentation! Not that we're into killing birds with stones or anything. :)

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Not Alone

I like to think of myself as an independent woman.

My friends and family know that I can belt out Eliza Doolittle's song, "Without You" with as much fervor as any self-respecting woman, at any given moment...but I don't really mean it.

There are plenty of things I can do and have done on my own, by myself, without my husband.

But believe it or not, there are some things I would rather have him there for. 

For example, I would rather not have to make the bed, duvet cover and all, without Kyle. It's just easier when he's there to help. Also, I do not like cooking without Kyle. There seems to be no point.

I love my husband. I love his company. I married him because I want him to be part of my life, every part of my life, especially the big things, especially the small things, especially everything!

You might be wondering what this has to do with adoption.
 
Deployment. We have heard that he will probably be deploying this summer, which means he may not be with me when it's time to travel to India to adopt our daughter.

Of course, the Eliza Doolittle in me says I can (and will!) travel to India without my husband, but that is NOT my preference. That would not be ideal. I do not want him to miss that. Traveling to India to get our daughter is too important.

So just in case the Army asks, I'm mad.

Thankfully, this news is not surprising to God. He knew this would happen, and He knows why, and He's been preparing us and designing our circumstances.

We have already begun to develop friendships with several other couples who are adopting from India and will probably be traveling around the same time, so I don't have to be alone...

...not that I would be, anyway. I should know that by now.

Because I've been especially anxious the past two weeks, I have had my students memorizing God's promises from Isaiah 43:1-3, and we have been learning the words set to music. It's been good to listen to these words, tell the stories of God's protection, and talk through these things with a bunch of little boys.

"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name. You are Mine..."

These promises are for you, for me, for my husband, and for our daughter, "Anna."
I am so thankful.

Next week, I am having the kids memorize Jeremiah 29:11, because I need to remember, too.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Soli Deo Gloria.

Birthday Buddies

We're almost birthday buddies, "Anna" and me.

According to the assigned birthday on her papers, she will be five years old in four days.

She will be five, and I will be twenty-nine. Almost thirty. I'm probably one of the few women in the world who wants to hurry up and turn thirty...because technically, on paper, that's the age at which people become eligible to adopt a child from India. Kyle and I have an average age of thirty-one, so thankfully that makes us eligible.

She has been in the orphanage for a year now.

At this point, we are waiting to wrap up our home study (almost there!) and gather documents for the dossier (seemingly endless!). We need three official copies and eight non-official copies of everything under the sun. Birth certificates, marriage certificate, letters of reference, financial records, etc.

Please pray that we can throw her a party and hug her on her next birthday!

Oh, and PRAISE THE LORD we were approved for a grant! Up to $4,000 in tax-deductible donations will be matched, giving us $8,000 toward the adoption! I will send out letters of explanation soon.

Now we need to pray that the rest of the adoption costs (about $22,000) will be granted by other organizations. God is always faithful and always good. He will bring our daughter home. Just wait and see!


"Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west." Isaiah 43:5

"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." John 14:18