Mumbai

This Thanksgiving weekend, as terrorists attacked hotels and restaurants frequented by American and British tourists, I felt in some small way, connected to what was happening there in Mumbai, India. That was kind of strange for me...feeling a connection to a place where I have never been and to a people I have never seen. Now, anything I read on India in the magazines, newspapers, or see on the news, I stop and pay attention. Before it was easy to ignore...someplace far away with no connection to me. It is funny how a little child can change your heart and your life even when you have never met. In our case now, it is two little children. MICAH, of course, is the first child...our little boy in Kolkata. Thankfully he is nowhere near what happened this weekend. Mumbai is on the southwestern coast and Kolkata is near the northeastern coast. However, it is his home country and one that I will be visiting soon and that makes it so much more personal for me. I am all the more anxious now to get to him and bring him home so that at least we are all together and I can try my best to keep him safe. GANTHIMATHY, is the second child. She is our little Compassion sponsored child and she actually lives south of Mumbai. We were hoping to be able to visit her when we go to pick up Micah, but now we are uncertain if travel will be safe for us in that area. All weekend I could not help but think of her and her family and pray that they would remain safe. I am also praying that they will come to know the Lord in a personal way, so that in the face of the danger and poverty they face on a daily basis, they will know that God is holding them in His hands. My heart is full. I have so much to be thankful for. Today, I am thanking God for 2 small Indian children I have not met...yet!

NOC Approval!

Thank you, Lord! Today I received notice that we have been granted our NOC approval! This is the document we need from CARA, the main adoption agency in Delhi, stating that we have been approved to adopt a child from India. Now, our paperwork will head back to Kolkata and Anju, the orphanage director at ISRC, will compile all of our documents and then the attorneys will scrutinize our documents. Once this is completed, the scrutinized documents and our file go back to ISRC and a court date is set for our legals. The judge will prayerfully move quickly to sign the guardianship papers making us Micah's legal guardians (hence the name legals). That is the last major step before we start planning our travel! After we are granted guardianship, the "legals" are taken to the US Embassy so that Micah's Visa and Passport can be applied for. Then we can travel! Yeah! If you would like to know what you can pray for right now...pray for the attorneys and the judge to keep signing and pushing things right along. The courts close down for the month of December for all the Indian holidays, so the quicker our paperwork gets scrutinized and on the judge's desk the better. :)

My precious 8 month old boy!

Wow! Look at my beautiful baby boy! He turns 8 months old tomorrow. We got these new pictures today from my friend Kristi who is in India right now picking up her baby girl, Shaili! What a killer smile! :) Words cannot express how much I would love to pick him up right now and give him a big hug! Kristi said that she picked him up and gave him a few snuggles for me. I want to cry from happiness to know he is mine, from longing to hold him in my arms, from sadness to know the grieving process he will go through when we first pick him up and from joy to know that God loves him more than I ever could and will be faithful as He brings our little boy home.

Holiday Season!

I love Fall! This is my favorite time of year. I just love the feeling in the air as the holiday season approaches! It all seems to start with Halloween. Although we do not "celebrate" Halloween or dress up as scary characters, I do let my kids dress up and walk around our neighborhood to get candy. This year I had a little farm girl, a cheerleader, and a clown (with no face make-up because of his allergies). :( My little niece was Dorothy. We had all the family over...my sister and her family, aunts and uncles, grandparents and a great-grandma. We all ate chili and soup to our hearts content and watched the kiddos pass out candy. We had so much fun together. I can't believe that next year, I will have another little one in the mix. :)

In India, they just celebrated a holiday called "Diwali." It is called the Festival of Lights and for 5 days they celebrate the victory of good over evil. They enjoy fireworks, eat all kinds of special foods, light candles all over their houses, and share gifts with each other. I think this would be a great holiday to somehow incorporate into the way we celebrate Halloween here. Maybe next year for our family gathering, I can include some Diwali treats in with our chili supper! :)