Two bits of news

There are two bits of news coming from official sources today that I may as well report, although I'm still taking them with a grain of salt.

First, Nepal has announced that they will accept the alotted 10 dossiers per agency from April through July of this year.

The timing is interesting in light of what the US Embassy is reporting, that Nepal has told them that they plan to process all 2009 dossiers (that's us) by March of this year. The Embassy adds that they are doubtful that such a large number of matches could be made in such a short period of time, but it proves consistent with the rumors that have been circulating. I'm not sure that makes it any more likely to be true-- an untrue statement that is often repeated is still not true. However, I would be happy if they even started back on the 2009 matches in March and finished them by the following March. So my expectations are rather low, but perhaps more realistic.

I have resisted the temptation to even predict when our referral will arrive, mostly based upon the fact that there is practically zero data on which to base a prediction (unlike China where there were at least monthly referrals that could be counted on). But based on this post from our family blog yesterday, I'd say there's a good chance that we will get a referral this summer and be home with Little Bro in the Fall. But please realize that is based purely on what would be the most ironic timing for me-- not on reality whatsoever, so please don't take it to the bank.

Instead, pray for continued peace and patience and for provision so that we can afford the remaining fees when the blessed event finally does occur. And most of all, please pray that Little Bro is warm, loved and has a full belly while we wait for him.

No news is not good news

Unfortunately in the world of adoption, no news is not necessarily good news. I haven't been posting updates because the rumors don't seem worthy of being reported. Unlike China, news does leak out, but it doesn't seem to ever pan out. There have been rumors reasonable enough to believe, like that the ministry would be meeting "next week" to approve travel for families with referrals (who have been waiting since September-- talk about torture) and as ridiculous as "all 2009 families will get referrals by March." There's about as much chance as that happening as a speed up in China.

So, we wait. Thankfully, it has been a patient wait thus far, and I'm expectantly asking God for that to continue.

I'm also praying that God will use this wait time to allow us to foster a Haitian orphan. I have no idea if it will pan out, but there's talk of this being permitted since the situation is so dire in Haiti. How cool would it be for God to turn the many empty homes (and hearts) of waiting families into places of refuge for otherwise homeless and hopeless orphans?? I'm thankful that the world's attention seems to be focused on the many orphans in Haiti, and I already know of at least one family who has decided to adopt because of it. Lord, let the sense of urgency to place the world's orphans in families extend beyond this crisis!

Lily named her little brother

Kyle: Lily, what is your little brother's name going to be?

Lily: Uncle Paul.

Kyle: That's right, he's from Nepal, but what should his name be?

Lily: Tow truck.

I'm thinking it may have something to do with the fact that she loves Ca*rs characters lately (she's wearing "Lightening Mr. Queen" jammies as we speak).

Grandy thinks it will be a good name for a lineman. "That masterful block by Tow Truck Harrell opened up a hole for Canady to score, and now the Niners lead the Cowboys 49- 0."

It's 3:00 - do you know where your child is?

Your next child, I mean.

Could he or she be in Nepal?

If you don't already have children of both genders

are between the ages of 30-55

and are either a single woman or have been married for at least 4 years

then Nepal may be the program for you.

Nepal is a beautiful country with a rich heritage

and extreme poverty.

If you think God may be whispering in your ear

about a child from Nepal,

send me an email and I'll give you the name of 2 agencies

who have current openings for their Nepal programs.

You don't have to have a spare room

$25,000 in the bank

or a book on Nepal.

"God is not impressed by our ability,

nor is He hindered by our disability.

He is simply seeking our availability."

Dossier Complete!

Our I-171 finally came yesterday so this morning I faxed everything to be ok'd by our agency (it was), our friend comes to notarize the last few documents this afternoon, then off it goes with a big ol' check to our agency, then off to Nepal. Phew!

So now what? I wish I knew. It really just means that we join the line of families waiting to be matched with a child from Nepal. To my knowledge the families who have been matched so far sent their dossiers in February and March. This may or may not mean that we will receive a match within the next 7 or 8 months. It will likely be longer.

In other good news, our agency received it's first 2 referrals this week for families who sent their dossiers earlier this year. That is very exciting!

Thanks for praying for us and for our little boy while we wait. I'll keep you posted!

Still no I-171, but referrals keep coming

It is so exciting that more families are receiving referrals and travel approvals, but it's making me even more anxious to get that stupid piece of paper in the mail from Homeland Security! I mean, I'm so glad they are busy keeping our homeland secure, but we would like our home more full, and we can't do that without one more piece of paper with the word "Approved" at the top. There is an adoption officer at the local USCIS office who is in charge of the adoption approvals so I guess I'll send him an email tomorrow to see what the hold up is. I probably won't word it that way though.

In other more exciting news, Little Brother has received his first gift. My friend Kim knitted him the cutest brown and light blue lovey-- it is SO soft! How fun to have something that's his. Thank you Kimmie! Since he doesn't have his own room I don't quite know what to do with it. I used to put gifts for Lily in her room (and close the door) but that little lovey won't stand a chance if it's in Big Sister's room this whole time. We're planning on the kids sharing a room so that we still have a guest room, but it doesn't make sense to change it around yet. Not that we'll need to do much changing. There's already a spare toddler bed in there that just needs some retro cowboy bedding on it instead of a Dora blanket and we're good to go. I think we'll need another dresser too (or do boys need a whole dresser for their 3 pieces of clothing?). And perhaps I'll make the window treatment more boy-friendly and get rid of the pink flowers on the mirror. And the
floral trays on the wall. Dang. I guess it's not ready to go.

And my friend Cara told me that she's been praying for LB's birthmom lately. Maybe she's giving birth? Struggling with the decision to give him up? Missing him? I immediately felt a rush of guilt when she told me, because I've been focusing on praying for him and not really praying for his family. But that's why God gave me Cara-- to pray for LB's mama because He knew I wasn't. The body of Christ is so cool (I just hate when I'm the hiney).

Officially Expecting

Our I-171 (immigration approval) that is. It's the last thing we're waiting for to complete our dossier and be officially in line. I just looked back at the dates and I think it's reasonable to start expecting it as early as this week. (Yes, I just used reasonable when describing an action by a government agency. Silly me.) So perhaps it's not smart to start expecting it, but I'm doing it anyway-- I officially check for it every time I get the mail. I think seeing the movement in Nepal has made me start to realize that we aren't sending our dossier in vain, so it makes me even more ready to get it there. C'mon, mail!