On your MARK,GET SET,Hold it....

Well the passport office has told the orphanage staff that our daughter's passport is in process and to give them a couple days...so they are going back to check then. We are hoping it is approved and then it will be on the way to the orphanage. If the orphanage gets the passport Monday or Tuesday,then we hope to book and leave Friday. I don't know where we will be flying out of just yet,I have my tenative schedules made and ready to go. We would like to leave Wed,but it will be pushing it too much I believe...unless when they go back and they get news on Friday that it's approved and already been mailed! So we wait and see,I am not getting my hopes up too much. I still feel at peace and know it's coming! When everything is all set and right we will be on the way! God's plan is perfect. If we leave next Friday the 7th we will get back home early Saturday morning on her 1st birthday,what a celebration.
I feel like I am standing at the mark to take off to race,but we just are waiting for the "GO" flag to wave!!:)
All I need to do really need to do is purchase a couple things and get the finances ready,and recheck luggage and paperwork. I am really glad I am not gonna have lots on my plate since I started planning early. I am sure if we leave next Friday,these last few days will fly by.I am of course so hoping that Friday or saturday that I can post her passport is approved,but on the other end,I am prepared either way.My emotions are moving and I don't look forward to leaving the boys,but we have been praying and believe that God will have all of us in his hands and watching over us.
I am not in control and I have been learning this lesson quite often and to trust when I can't see,FAITH!

GOOD REPORT,Trail ,Taggie,and still waiting on the PASSPORT!:)

The sweet Taggie!



After waiting to see the doctor for over a hour....we finally get to see the tonsil doctor and he told me just to keep a watch on Bailey and that right now he does not need tonsils out. Bailey's tonsil infection is gone and just thinks that it was viral and that is why the antibiotics did not work! And I have been checking on Bailey and his snoring has been better So praise the LORD and thanks to all who have been praying for this.
After the appt we went and walked at our new nature wellness trail by the clinic,it was so nice that the boys and I have decided that we should walk it every day after school this week! It has some bridges and a little pond with some neat excercises thru out the trail. It even has some picnic tables in case you get a appetite! I will get some pictures of it this week to show yah. We saw a couple of pretty red cardinal birds too. Needless to say it relieves this passport wait stress,LOL. Seriously.
Maiya got her sweet little India taggie blanket today from Julie. It is so sweet.It even has a heart over Kolkata! Be sure and check on Julie's site where she makes things to raise money for their adoption to Ethiopia!! She also makes kids clothes. www.flitterbugs.blogspot.com
Hoping passport comes this week,until more news...stay tuned.

Releasing and Revived...

Here I go again with the same issue I had with the scrutiny process! I have realized that God is teaching me some things in this adoption journey. I realized it again this morning.When I say the same issue,with scrutiny I was on edge, checking emails, and not sleeping well and just thinking well maybe it's this week and blah blah! I literally wore myself out waiting on this step. Then one day as I was talking to GOD,I finally gave it to him,I RELEASED it, because I finally saw that I had no control and he loves Maiya more then me and he has her and our best interest in this journey no matter what! I was lacking in trusting him for that to be completed! I was just wanting it when I wanted it. NOW! But my now is not the best time,God's time is perfect,no mistakes,no flaw at all. Yesterday I read April's comment on my blog and it triggered in my mind that I had still not fully released this passport issue to my LORD. So this morning as I was meditating it came to me and it is now released in the hands of God even the ICPC paper that has not arrived at Dillon yet. I am revived and so excited that I am not carrying this burden anymore,I am trusting,and when the burden trys to sneak back in,I will give it again and again to GOD!
Now that I think about it and look back,during our referral wait of almost 17 months,I think how did I do it?,well I didn't, God carried us thru that. Some days were hard and some were wonderful when I was buying stuff for our daughter,fixing her room up,that kinda thing. Some days I cried. Some days I was scared something would go wrong. HONESTLY. But oh my when my phone started going off vibrating,(although I wish I could have heard Tami's assigned ringtone)LOL. When I seen her name light up,before I answered,before anything,I knew she was calling me about our daughter! OUR DAUGHTER,so this is why it took so long,she was our daugghter, no one's but ours. As soon as she started talking to me,tears rolled down my face and what I felt on my soul was amazing,Maiya and I were worlds apart but when it is your daughter,you I believe have ONE heart and you will know your child. JOY filled! So 17 hard months of waiting I would never change,it was all worth it down to the very second before the call! God knows the perfect plan and now I am revived in this last and final step for our daughter.It is coming soon!!
God keep his promises on time and just right! Peace,Peace wonderful peace coming down from my FATHER above. Have a great weekend.

ON PINS AND NEEDLES...

Ok I admit,I am slightly falling apart now. PINS AND NEEDLES!!
I think I see my sweet baby in the picture with Joseph,the one in the red that is standing. I told Shane "A mama knows her baby when she sees her,even if it is the behind side!!"LOL.
We didn't get any pics this time,but that is ok,soon I will take all the pictures a mama can HOLD!! I mean even stuffing them in my pockets!:)
I so hope we get her passport so we can leave next week. I called American Airlines last night and got a incredible rate, $2,884.00 for all 3 of us (including Maiya),all the flying!! I could not have our travel agent that we are gonna use book anything since we do not have travel clearance!! I have been praying for some good air fare rates for us. God knows what we have budgeted and he will make a way like he has in this entire adoption process.
I am on pins and needles,OUCH!! Did I mention this?
I check emails all the time!! My husband calls everyday from work,every time I see someone,it goes like this..."Have you heard anything yet?" A close friend of ours with whom we go to church with pulled up beside me at Mcdonald's rolled down the window and shouted..."Have u heard anything yet"? Smiling from ear to ear. So that's about the update,I know not much of one,but that's that! So glad some referrals are coming soon,that helps me believe it or not!
Off to soccer practice while being on pins and needles,! Passport...Where r you?

Sweet Seat ...

Well today was just another real reality check as we cleaned out the van to install Maiya's little sweet car seat! It is so exciting to think that just in a few weeks or less that our sweet girl will be riding in the van with us! It is a sweet seat that is light yellow with big pretty flowers! She will sit like a princess as we cruise home from the airport,hopefully she will not mind the seat too much. The boys shall entertain her though:)

Tonight as we went riding around and out for ice cream we were all talking about all of Maiya's firsts that she will be experiencing and we were explaining to the boys how it will take her some time to get use to everything. She just turned 11 months old this past Thursday on the 15th! They say to not expect her passport till the last week of April or first week of May! But I still can't help but have HOPE that it will be this week so we can leave out the last week of April while Shane's on dayshift!! It is exciting that we could be meeting up with other Dillon families over in India! I just can't wait to hold my sweet girl for the first time.

I so hope some new referrals are coming on thru soon for those who are waiting. We waited about 17 months to see Maiya for the first time...hang in there you can make it,there is a special baby waiting for you and it will be all worth it when you see their face!
Have a blessed Sunday,Goodnite!

ICPC APPROVED and prayer request!

Well I decided to call ICPC this morning to check on our case status...After telling them who I was and what I needed they connected me right to Fanny Miller! Something was different about her! After I told her what I was trying to find out...She said can u breathe now? I guess I had a long sentence!! LOL, She said hold please,then she came back on the phone and said..First of all let me tell you that I like you,and that I approved your case yesterday and sent it to Okalahoma already!! And your girl is beautiful and now you can go get that baby!!
I told her thank you so much and that all seems it is going so fast,it's just normal for me to move fast now!! Hoping passport is around the corner.

I want to ask you all if you would pray for my son Bailey who has had strep for the 2 or 3rd time this school year and he's been snoring at night. We got to see a nose and throat specialist April 26 if we are not in India and if we are in India we will go to the doctor when we get back. Of course I gotta see his pediatrician first and I am not jumping to anything. We will be praying for him and asking God to help this or if he has to have tonsils/adenoids removed that God will fill Bailey with peace and so Bailey will know that all is gonna be ok with whatever the outcome is. I feel confident in GOD that all will work out in this situation! Thanks so much ladies! Have a blessed week to you all!!

Momma..when is Maiya coming?

Well little sweet Adyn has been asking quite often this past week the big question...Mama,I thought you said Maiya was coming in a few weeks? I want her to come home cause I love her!! Then I say Adyn she is coming home soon,as soon as they say we can go! Then he says ok and just smiles. So the boys are gettin excited,Bailey was asking tonight about how the security is at the orphanage and do they have guns and will they need to see our ID,how they will know it is us?!! Then as we were grilling out this afternoon,Shane said just think...soon Maiya will be out there playing with the boys.:) Then this past Thursday,I felt as if her passport was coming when I woke up cause I had a dream about it! :)So we will wait,pray and hope! My neice came over the weekend and we had a great time and saturday I got a free day with my friend while the boys,my hubby, and my dad went fishing. They caught quite a few nice fish!! I bought Maiya this cute giraffe print dress from gymboree with a matching hair bow!! So sweet!
There is a few more things I gotta buy for the trip and I called ATT and got the international cell phone deal figured out for the trip! This week I will be busy with soccer,kindergarden reg.,special church services,soccer game,spring cleaning and trip planning,WOW-where will I find time to rest? I know...I will have to make it work and make time!! Looking for a great beautiful week and we are really thankful and glad for all the pretty days we have had!! Have a great week and I hope to see some new referrals this week!!

Easter Pictures 2010, Packing for India

Not noticed,but noticed...

Well my thoughts are in a particualar area as of now. I had plans just to check my blog/emails for any updates on things. As I begin to think about what was talked about at church tonight and then think about character and people..well here it goes.

In all of our lives we either do things when people notice/when they don't. And of course when they do,most of the time,they are measuring us,right? And when no one is looking of course we are aware of that,but we easily and quickly forget that God is watching and he notices everything and everywhere. Sometimes we do things and we are noticed,praised, oh how we love it. True character comes when we just do the "right" things when no one is looking.:) Hmmm,something for me to think about. It is so easy to do right when you want that credit or simply just to be noticed. But when we do things for the right, and for God, and people, that no one sees,the unoticed becomes that noticed great thing with GOD. I don't wanna be the one who annouces the parade as it is going thru. Wouldn't it be awesome that the parade is marching on and all is silent,not a one knows but you and God as you sit back and watch people being blessed by that particular so called...parade. Something that no one notices or knows about but you and the Lord.
How the Lord sings over me and I don't even hear the sound, and how he loves me. How he paints the sky with his miracles in mind.
We are so looking forward to going to get Maiya and this is one miracle that he has painted into our lives and how it moves me and brings me to my knees. Lord help me to realize in all things that it is you I must please first before anyone else. Not man,not boss,not nothing,... but the Lord, husband, and kids. Help me to remember that you see the noticed and the unoticed. Help me to help the unnoticed people and make them feel noticed thru your love!

I know this is something you typically don't find on a adoption blog,but this blog was designed not to impress anyone or just focus on adoptions but to give glory to whom it is due and without the Lord leading and helping us,this adoption would not have happened at all. So I hope that you understand if something is on my heart from the Lord,I share it if felt lead too ,and that it would help someone else in their life. As it is always a need for my heart and focus also and foremost for sure!
This blog is about the Lord and his glory, and us as a family, and the journey as we wait to bring Maiya home. It is my hope that one day I will print it as a family journal book for our kids to share.

On a funny note,I told my friend tonight at church that I think I need a sticker on my head that says..."Waiting on passport." Seriously. :) Have a great weekend.

Mix of Emotion...

Well today we knew the legals were headed our way. They came a little early,Shane got to go out and get them from FEDEX before he left for work,although he didn't get much time to read over it all. He will tonight though. I will say even though Tami did email us a copy of the court order,this still was different.
It was something about seeing her birthmothers name and age and even her grandpa's information. I felt saddened for her birthmom...wondering if she thinks about her? I even cried just feeling her pain and her sacrifice. I was wondering how she felt about her decision? Then I felt thankful,so thankful that her mother chose to give her life and not abandon her in the streets or abort her. Her birth mom did the most brave, unselfish, and thoughtful thing she could do for her daughter. Even though she couldn't provide for her in a physical way,she chose to listen to her heart and give Maiya HOPE! Hope for a loving family,hope of a good home and future for her daughter, and for that we are forever grateful. I feel today so humbled by all of this,and yet so honored that God chose us for Maiya. I feel it now you could say,my heart is ready and pricked by our wonderful blessing just as it was pricked when I delivered the boys into the world. I am Maiya's mother and she is my daughter. Shane is her daddy and the boys are her brothers. Maiya is waiting for us to bring her into her new world that we have been preparing for her. We have been preparing a place for our daughter for a while hoping one day this would all become a reality. Soon... our wish that became a dream is now becoming a reality and soon we will be heading to India where two worlds and one heart will finally meet and the love and joy will be there in the midst of us as we experience this miracle called adoption. Hoping to have more good news soon...

Princess Maiya...

She still has her lambie,oh how sweet!









We just recieved these precious pictures and how we love those curls!
These make the wait even harder! Oh hurry up passport!!!

Heart and mind preparation...

As this last few steps are winding down...ICPC....PASSPORT,my mind is winding up!
I think how do I turn a child away that is begging for food or money,no matter if they are a trained begger or not? How do I walk past someone who is thirsty,who is dying,who needs to hear the gospel,people who need a light while we are in India?
HOW? " Lord help us to be the light that we are able to be while we are there in the midst of desparate hearts." We don't have extra days to stay as Shane's time is limited and the Lord knows all things and he will show us things I believe.
" Just a smile,nice word,anything we can do to show your glory in us."

Shane and I have been asking God to prepare our hearts and Maiya's as we are getting closer to the big day. We have decided to make this trip about Maiya and nothing else. It really doesn't fit in for us to add days to site see and mingle around.Plus our hearts will be missing the boys for sure! If it is the Lord's will,we might go back one day and take the kids with us. Whenever that might be,maybe even a missionary trip. Whatever the Lord has in store!
I have to say I feel content with this being decided. considering we have never been out in a foreign land and this is a journey itself not counting we will be experiencing the beautiful and first moments with our daughter,all in all we just don't wanna add to much to the plate to where it all overflows and everything is a blur.:)That's just us,all people are different.:0) We have been praying for something else that if it is the Lord's will for us to do while we are there,don't knows the answer to it yet? But I am being patient and waiting. I wake up totally every night,just not being able to sleep? Puzzled? Is this the norm?
Well that's about my thoughts for now,hoping to be posting that ICPC is approved soon and for her sweet little passport!!

You've got mail...

Well this morning I was out at Walmart again,the same place and time that I was last week when Tami called with our gaurdianship news! It has been a week and Dillon has already recieved legals,and we actually got a copy of the granted gaurdianship in our email today,I wasn't expecting this at all this morning. YIPPE!! Dillon said they are applying for our ICPC soon and her passport is getting applied for this week,so it is probally already started to be processed,we HOPE! And the Fedex truck today is delivering our visas and another truck will be delivering our packet from Dillon for travel preparation,WAHOO!We are very excited and so thankful, and we are humbled that God chose us to be Maiya Reela's family.

We are hoping and praying for a passport in two weeks or less,will you agree with us?:) Today is a beautiful day on this first day of April.
Our April showers is not only bringing May flowers,it is showering us with love as Maiya will be coming home soon.
The verse on my calender for this month says:,
Behold the beauty of the Lord Psalm 27:4.
In this adoption journey we have seen the Beauty of the Lord in many ways as we do in our lives.:)We are looking forward to seeing more Beauty of the Lord. Have a wonderful Easter weekend.