Indian Baby

I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks my little boy is adorable! :) Tonight I dressed him back up in his little Kurta Pajama that he wore for his baby dedication for a quick photo opp. Of course, as soon as he sees a camera, he raises his hand and says, "cheese!"

A sweet, talented lady in our church made the quilt that Micah is sitting on and gave it to us before we left for India. She had purchased the material because she loved the colors and designs, but she had never made the quilt because she was unsure of who to give it to. A friend had told her the material did not exactly look like a baby quilt. When she found out that we were adopting a little boy from India, she got right to work and surprised us with this beautiful quilt, that is perfect for our little Indian baby! Micah was even being thought of by others before we had ever even gone to get him! I love it!

It's Official...Adoption Final!

It's official...the adoption is final! Almost 2 years to the day of our filing our initial application with Dillon! Today Utsab became Micah David Utsav Sneed! We arrived at the courthouse early this morning, letting the girls miss a day of school! Everything went very smoothly and our adoption attorney and our judge were wonderful. Our families had the courtroom all to ourselves and our attorney let the kids sit at the witness desks. The judge made sure to include them in his discussion with us and they were very proud! It was quick and painless (aside from the TWO parking tickets our wonderful city put on my van during the adoption proceeding...one for my meter running out 5 minutes prior and one for parking backwards...are you kidding me?) My sweet husband said let's just chalk it up to an "adoption expense" and go celebrate! So, we did. We went to Cracker Barrel and had a wonderful celebration breakfast with my sister and her girls, my parents, and David's dad. It feels so good to have Micah "officially" ours. Now all we have left is to apply for his social and his US citizenship!

The last picture is from Micah's dedication at church on Sunday. My parents and David's parents were both able to be there and our dad's said a prayer of blessing at the end. We had Micah in his little Indian outfit and he was adorable! I had gotten outfits for the other kids as well and they were so proud to wear them and show them off. I'll have to post a closer up picture soon. In the meantime, we are quietly celebrating what has already been in our hearts for a long time!

Cookie Dough or God?

Yesterday afternoon I was in the kitchen fixing supper and overheard a conversation between my 3rd grade daughter and "G," a friend from her school. This young man and his family go to church with us, and he rode home with us from school to wait till his mom could pick him up. He is a little sweetheart. His mom and I have decided that since I am going to be incorporating some Indian holidays into our family, that I should consider adding in an Indian tradition as well...namely arranged marriage! Of course we would not let our kiddos know that they were betrothed until they were older so that we wouldn't embarrass them. :)

Anyway, I had just made some chocolate chip cookie dough and before I could bake the cookies, they wanted a spoonful of dough. Everyone knows the dough is the best part, so I gave them each a big spoonful and they walked into the living room. After just a minute, I heard "G" ask my daughter, "Which is better, cookie dough or God?" She just laughed and said, "God!" Then he laughed too and said, "Yeah, God is better than anything." I just had to laugh. I think my cookie dough is pretty good and they must have too since they were comparing it to God. :) I also love how children just love God with a perfect faith, trust, and acceptance. To them, "God" is the correct answer for any question and of course God IS better than anything!

Finalization Date Set!

Well, my little man is oblivious to it all, but we have been continuing the paper trail and we have finally been given a court date to finalize the adoption. It will take place on the morning of September 15! I will be sure to post pics of that day!

On another note, I am continually amazed at how little people know about adoption. Of course, I was once there myself, so I am taking great delight in sharing our story. I've gotten to share it twice this week...once to a pastor in Starbucks and once in Walmart to a former student of my husbands. We have some friends who have asked us to dinner next week just to talk about adoption since they are interested in beginning the process! I just love it! Little does this little boy know how many lives his story might touch. :)

Tears and Laughter!

Well, very early yesterday was Micah's circumcision. It was not an easy day for either of us. Everything went perfectly though and this morning he is up and moving around like nothing happened...except for a few tears when I change his diaper. I am reminded again of what an amazing Creator I serve. It is amazing how quickly the body begins to heal itself and how resilient children are.

In the midst of the yuckiness of getting ready to go to the hospital, the Lord gave me a little blessing and a smile. When the hospital called the night before to pre-register us, the registrar began asking me questions about our family history, etc. She asked me if anyone in the family had ever had a reaction to anesthesia. I then went into a long story about our son Nathan and his trips to the hospital and his reactions, etc. She took it all down, finished registering me and then we hung up. It was not until 2 hours later, as I was sitting by Micah's bed as he fell asleep, that it dawned on me that my whole conversation with the registrar had been totally irrelevant! My family's medical history has nothing to do with Micah's! I smiled and laughed and thanked the Lord for showing me how quickly Micah has become family. I love that I don't even think about him as being adopted! He is just one of my many kids! :)

I love how in the exhaustion and busyness of our lives the Lord gives us those sweet little moments of a smile or laughter if we take time to notice. I got one this morning. I think it's hilarious how quickly younger children learn things when they have older siblings to watch and imitate. I guess Micah will pretty much be able to raise himself with 3 older siblings who dote on his every whim. This morning he picked up a candle in a little stone crock and banged it down on the table. I looked at him and said, "No, Micah," and then took the candle away. He just looked at me for a second and then reached his little hand back and spanked his own bottom. I just had to laugh. I guess his raising is all taken care of. :)

Summer's Over!

Well, I know that Summer is not officially over, but it is back to school time, so for all practical purposes, it is. No more swimming at my sister's house. :( It's time to get back in some sort of a routine, which with 4 children, is very important. :) The girls head off to elementary school, the boys and I head to the 2 day a week Parent's Day Out program at our church (which I am directing this year), and Daddy is back to teaching during the day and taking a Master's class 1 night a week.

We had Micah's first well check today...it's been post-poned 3 times. :) He is doing well and is now 18 lbs. and 29 1/4 inches long. Although still not on the chart for North American children, he is growing and is developmentally right where he should be, so no worries! His immunizations he got in India did take, so we are picking up where they left off over there. Apparently he had the chicken pox at some time over there, so we get to skip that one. We still, however, had 3 shots today, with 2 more due next month. Needless to say, tonight I have a little bit of a cranky baby. :)

Happy Raksha Bandhan!

Today India is celebrating Raksha Bandhan or "Rakhi" as it is sometimes called. We are not celebrating the holiday here in our household this year since Micah is still so young. However, this is one of the Indian holidays we would like to incorporate into our family as Micah grows older. It is a little overwhelming thinking about how we are going to raise Micah as an American and trying not to single him out, yet all the while teaching him about his birth culture and heritage and incorporating some of it into our family. There will be certain traditions and holidays that we choose to not celebrate for faith reasons of our own, but Rakhi will be one that we do celebrate in the future because we love what it stands for! I have included a short description of the holiday below.

Raksha Bandhan, also known as “rakhi,” is a festival that strengthens and celebrates the precious bond shared between a brother and a sister. The Raksha Bandhan festival is all about love, care, and righteousness. It brings together people of all sects and is much appreciated for this unifying element that it brings with it. Rakhi signifies a bond of love and care between a brother and his sister and contributes toward the social harmony of India.

A sister ties a decorative thread called rakhi on the wrists of her brother symbolizing her love and affection for him. She ensures that she has chosen the brightest and the best-designed rakhi for her brother. Raksha Bandhan actually means a bond of protection, so the brother accepts the rakhi, vows to protect his sister during all times from harm that could befall her and in turn, confirms his love and affection for his sister. He also showers her with gifts.

Tying of a frail rakhi thread—that is considered stronger than iron chains—has been the tradition of this festival since time immemorial. It is a family event where all members of family, dressed in finery, gather and celebrate. The tying of rakhi is followed by a family feast.

Happy Raksha Bandhan everyone!