We are pleased to announce that Anastacia is now legally our daughter! The court date was successful and our petition was approved, praise God. Now we are waiting for travel dates.
I can't help but reflect on God's adoption of us - at first we sure don't look like we are in His family, but we are, because it is not of him who wills nor him who runs, but God who gives the increase. We look forward to having Ana home, when the real work begins.
Thank you all for your prayers and support!
In Christ,
Papa
Monday, December 1, 2014
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Addendum approval
Thankfully, USCIS approved our address-change addendum with no fuss and no delay! Thank you for your prayers!
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Court date!
I never knew bureaucracy could be so exciting. We have a court date on 28 November, so we will be thankful for that on Thanksgiving. Thank you all for your prayers and for your support on YouCaring! We remain grateful for assistance, as we're pretty sure the heavy lifting hasn't begun yet.
Perhaps God will work the travel dates to fall within my 10 December to 12 January break between semesters. I would appreciate prayers to that end!
In Christ,
Papa
Perhaps God will work the travel dates to fall within my 10 December to 12 January break between semesters. I would appreciate prayers to that end!
In Christ,
Papa
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Still
That month before the baby comes
the world waits with bated breath
and on you go, like normal, knowing
that normal cannot last;
the pause will end, you know,
the lapse between the lives;
before and after so disresemble one another
as sometimes siblings do.
You know that pause?
While God holds fixed his baton
with fingers lightly pinched
before the crash, the entrance,
the next movement in the cacophonous symphony of our lives?
Well,
hold
that
fermata.
For months on end.
Without sight of end.
Without a timeline, that,
be it love or loss,
will deliver.
And so, we wait,
knowing that our Lord,
who has conducted better groups than us,
will make His entrance at the proper time,
and though we lose the beat,
He has it.
In His mind and in His hand.
And the baton will come down
in His time.
the world waits with bated breath
and on you go, like normal, knowing
that normal cannot last;
the pause will end, you know,
the lapse between the lives;
before and after so disresemble one another
as sometimes siblings do.
You know that pause?
While God holds fixed his baton
with fingers lightly pinched
before the crash, the entrance,
the next movement in the cacophonous symphony of our lives?
Well,
hold
that
fermata.
For months on end.
Without sight of end.
Without a timeline, that,
be it love or loss,
will deliver.
And so, we wait,
knowing that our Lord,
who has conducted better groups than us,
will make His entrance at the proper time,
and though we lose the beat,
He has it.
In His mind and in His hand.
And the baton will come down
in His time.
Paper and patience
There have been few updates because there has been no news. We sent our I-800a Supplement 3 for the address change off to USCIS this morning, but the pacing process remains the courts over there.
We had hoped to have Ana home for Thanksgiving. Now I suppose we will hope to have her home for Christmas.
Thank you for your prayers and your support.
-Papa
We had hoped to have Ana home for Thanksgiving. Now I suppose we will hope to have her home for Christmas.
Thank you for your prayers and your support.
-Papa
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Home Visit Update Done!
Hooray!
Today we had our SW out to the new house, and apart from fine-tuning the pool gate, padlocking it, and putting a fire extinguisher in the kitchen, we are set! We are getting settled in at the new house - Papa and Took planted some aloes by the front walk this morning (Took later un-planted one - "I'm helping it" he says - fortunately, they are hardy plants).
The boys like the new house, which is very gratifying. Mama likes it, too, which is good for a Papa to see. It has (and will be) a pretty big project, so seeing people enjoy it is a good reward. We are looking forward to having Ana home in the new house.
Today we had our SW out to the new house, and apart from fine-tuning the pool gate, padlocking it, and putting a fire extinguisher in the kitchen, we are set! We are getting settled in at the new house - Papa and Took planted some aloes by the front walk this morning (Took later un-planted one - "I'm helping it" he says - fortunately, they are hardy plants).
The boys like the new house, which is very gratifying. Mama likes it, too, which is good for a Papa to see. It has (and will be) a pretty big project, so seeing people enjoy it is a good reward. We are looking forward to having Ana home in the new house.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Still Inching...
We have more rain, praise God! We set out some vegetable seedlings (peas, arugula, kale, lettuce) in our planter box, and we are hoping the wildflower seeds will germinate and come up after all this lovely wet weather. Took is excited about the little plants, and that may prove dangerous to their survival.
Porgies is a climber. We appreciate your prayers. He loves climbing his brother's stool, but is not yet sure what a "center of balance" is.
Mama and Papa had noticed that with the many, many, things besetting us busy-wise, family worship in the evenings had gotten sporadic (boys falling asleep in the car on the way home from places, Papa being at work late, etc.). But we reliably eat breakfast together (we might miss it once in a fortnight if Papa has a particularly early commitment). So, after breakfast today, we read from Acts and began our two weeks in Psalm 100 (hopefully everyone will have it memorized by the end of the time). We realize that we are bad at routine, but we also realize that routine and structure provide a base from which we can work. We know that our resources will be taxed extensively when Ana comes home, so we want to have good family time as a part of the routine. We also know that any ideas of "regular" will probably be exploded, and we pray that we will be ready for that, too. Our God is wise and good, and the answer is always to know Him better in the face of Jesus Christ.
Our home visit for the update for the new house will be next week! Hooray!
Thank you for your prayers. Thank you to those who have continued to support us on YouCaring. God provides, and we just have to trust His timing. We would also appreciate your prayers that we can get our old condo cleaned and sold promptly - that would ease our minds much.
In Christ,
Papa
Porgies is a climber. We appreciate your prayers. He loves climbing his brother's stool, but is not yet sure what a "center of balance" is.
Mama and Papa had noticed that with the many, many, things besetting us busy-wise, family worship in the evenings had gotten sporadic (boys falling asleep in the car on the way home from places, Papa being at work late, etc.). But we reliably eat breakfast together (we might miss it once in a fortnight if Papa has a particularly early commitment). So, after breakfast today, we read from Acts and began our two weeks in Psalm 100 (hopefully everyone will have it memorized by the end of the time). We realize that we are bad at routine, but we also realize that routine and structure provide a base from which we can work. We know that our resources will be taxed extensively when Ana comes home, so we want to have good family time as a part of the routine. We also know that any ideas of "regular" will probably be exploded, and we pray that we will be ready for that, too. Our God is wise and good, and the answer is always to know Him better in the face of Jesus Christ.
Our home visit for the update for the new house will be next week! Hooray!
Thank you for your prayers. Thank you to those who have continued to support us on YouCaring. God provides, and we just have to trust His timing. We would also appreciate your prayers that we can get our old condo cleaned and sold promptly - that would ease our minds much.
In Christ,
Papa
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