More Micah!

Another awesome picture of Micah! This one came sideways and it took me all day to figure out how to straighten it...isn't that sad! :) What a little charmer he appears to be! I am so excited to see him smiling and standing on his own in his crib. I'm also thinking he is going to fit right into our family...we're big Strawberry Shortcake fans! I can't wait to pick up this little guy and give him a great big hug!

"Stories From India"

I just wanted to post a picture of the new book I am ordering for my kiddos! In preparation for Micah's arrival, we are all trying to learn a little more about India and it's culture! This book is an Usborne book and so far I have loved every one that I have gotten. They are beautifully illustrated and educational children's books. I am excited to get my copy and read it with my kiddos.

The description of the book says, "Enter a magical world of monkey gods, brave heros, 10-headed monsters, and clever animals. Their antics are brought to life in these engaging retellings of traditional Indian tales."

Of course I do not believe in monkey gods and 10-headed monsters, but it should be a fun way to start getting some of that colorful Indian heritage into our lives. :)

Micah!

We got new pictures of our son this morning! A family traveled to pick up their daughter and they took pictures for the rest of us who are still at home waiting. We have finally decided on a name for Utsav...Micah David Utsav Sneed! We love the name MICAH and kept coming back to it over and over. I called my sister first to get permission to use it since she also likes that name. I then called Pam, one of my friends on the forum, to ask her if she would feel strange if I used the name since that is her son's name. She just laughed and said that on the forum we could just say "Pam's Micah" or "Candice's Micah!" It was funny because actually every name I mentioned, she has thought about using. :) Anyway, the name DAVID is my husbands first name. Our bio son Nathan shares my husbands middle name, so this way both boys will have part of his name. We are going to keep UTSAV since it is the name he was given in India and it has a great meaning..."Celebration!" This picture was taken this week. I am so thankful for the technology that allows us to get pictures of our son way over in India. I can't believe he is already 7 1/2 months old. He looks so big standing in that crib.

Up, Up and Away!

Yeah! Dillon, our adoption agency, mailed our paperwork to India this morning! Now we just sit back and wait for them to notify us that our NOC paperwork has been granted. I know that we are in the same boat as a couple of other families who are also waiting on their NOC paperwork right now. Once our paperwork arrives at the orphanage, they prepare it to be sent to CARA, the central agency in Delhi. This usually takes about 2-4 weeks. Once at CARA it can take 2-4 months for NOC to be granted. This may take us a little longer since the courts close down in India for the whole month of December for the Indian holidays. However, I am confident the Lord can remove any obstacle in our path to bringing our little boy home.

Several families have mentioned that this can be the most frustrating part of our adoption journey. Having a face, pictures, video, etc. and not being able to go get our little boy. It does not help the waiting either to know that there is nothing in the world you can do to speed the process along with the judges in India. I am kind of thankful that the holidays are coming up quickly. I will be busy with my other children, and maybe the time will pass more quickly. :)

Help Show Compassion!

In case you didn't already know it, I am a huge fan of Compassion International! They are one of the only organizations worldwide that work directly with the local churches in the countries in which they serve. They seek to help both the physical and spiritual needs of the people, and have programs that help children from birth through college! I just read an article in their magazine on their child survival program helping baby girls and their mothers in India. They provide support for the mothers who decide to keep their little girls, they provide medical care for the infants, and help encourage mothers to give their little girls up for adoption instead of aborting them. At compassion.com/childsurvival you can learn more about the program and how to be a child survival sponsor in India.

I also love this t-shirt! Compassion has a huge Global Food Crisis network that is helping around the world, but especially in Africa where the food shortage is killing thousands every day. This particular shirt says "Please" in Bengali and the proceeds go to the Global Food Crisis fund! I am not a shopper, but I love buying things if I know the $ is actually going to a cause that will change or save lives! They have the same shirt in 3 other languages, but I wanted to show this one since my heart is in India right now. :) You can purchase it at store.compassion.com.

Paperwork Mailed...Finally.

I finally get to report that we mailed our acceptance paperwork today back to Dillon, our adoption agency. I am frustrated that it took me almost a month to get everything signed, copied, notarized and ready to mail. I know that I could not have done it any sooner though. There were too many factors going on in our lives the last 3 weeks. My husband had homecoming...which he is in charge of at the high school Our church was moving facilities and my husband had 2 huge services to plan My husband had a trip to New Orleans My notary who started our documents went on vacation I had some of my sisters and their kiddos in visiting Our referral call came months before expected...right in the middle of all this I couldn't get a doctor's appointed right away to have the medicals looked at My husband wanted to wait to watch the video with our girls before we made a decision The woman who makes the video cuttings at Dillon was out sick And the list goes on. :) Oh, well. It's all in the Lord's hands anyway. At least we have it out of our hands and hopefully by Monday our paperwork will be on it's way to India so that we can begin to watch for our NOC approval. Several other families are very close to the same spot we are, so maybe some of us will be traveling around the same time!

Miracles do happen!

This photo was taken in August. My baby looks so sad to me. :( I know that he did not realize and we did not realize the gift that God was planning for both of us just one month later. Now we have been given to each other and I long to be able to lift him out of that rusty, white, paint-chipped crib forever! A couple of our friends from the forum, the Werre family and the Philllips family (their links are here on my site) will be traveling hopefully in November to pick up their children. They promise to take some more pictures, so hopefully we will have some updated ones soon.

I read a quote yesterday by Kirk Cameron's wife, Chelsea. They have adopted 4 children and then had two of their own. She said, "There is a miracle in adoption that people don't realize until they do it!" I so agree! We have experienced some miracles already. I believe that my life has been changed forever, just by the beginning of this adoption process. I know the end will change it even more...for the better. If nothing else, this adoption has shown us that we can trust the Lord. He is faithful and miracles do happen even today!

Utsav...Here we come!

Ok. Of course lots of questions are coming our way, so here are a few answers!

Our little ones name is Utsab or Utsav (apparently the same name with interchangeable spelling). We cannot find a meaning for Utsab, although we know it is a popular Bollywood movie in India right now. :) Utsav, means "celebration!" How perfect is that?! At least he has his second middle name. Now we just have to come up with the rest of it! We can't call him "little boy" for the next 6 months. :)

Timelines...so unpredictable in adoption. They do try, however, to give you a general idea. The gist of what has to happen next is...

• Acceptance paperwork to India


• Our case is reviewed and sent to CARA the Central Adoption Agency in Delhi (2-4 weeks)


• CARA reviews case and awards NOC (No Objection Certificate) (2-4 months)


• Case goes to Kolkata courts for scrutinization of documents and guardianship hearing for "legals" (2-3 months or longer)


• Legals used to apply for child's passport (4-6 weeks)


• Travel

Adoption is not for the faint of heart or those with no patience! We are not wasting away, however! :) We are doing as Steven Curtis Champman's song suggests and "enjoying this moment!"

Introducing...our new son!

Wow! How do I introduce the little boy who will soon become a part of our family forever? I don't even really know him myself. It really is like getting your first ultrasound when you are pregnant. You see a face and body, but you cannot yet touch or hold. This is Utsav! He is soon to be 7 months old. My son thinks he is a girl since the bib and diaper are yellow! :) My girls are thrilled to say the least!

David and I are still in shock I guess you could say. If fact, we've been terrified this week for some reason. Not about our little boy, but just the whole adoption thing in general. We were not expecting to get a referral call till January or February. Up until this point, nothing has seemed real. We've done alot of paperwork, paid alot of money, but pretty much just gone on with our lives and family just as is. Now, suddenly with one phone call, our whole world changes. There is actually a real little boy involved now...we have a face and a name. Suddenly, with a "yes" or a "no", everyone's lives are about to change forever! A scary decision, but a joyous one if that makes sense.

We have not decided on a name yet. Our family vote last night left us with 4 different names to choose from. :) I guess stay tuned. We won't have to decide officially until we bring him back to the states to finalize the adoption. So, what now? Now we begin the next big paperwork trail...the one that goes to India and then we sit and wait again on the courts. For now, we are just cherishing the thought of this little boy joining our family! It may take up to 6 months, but soon this precious little boy will have a home and a last name!