Update...

7 months and 11 hearings later...

We have finally PASSED court!! 

Hallelujah! Thank you Jesus!! 

We had our 10th hearing on Nov. 25, but the court site was not updating and our agency had no news from India. I was checking the court website like a mad woman all weekend. I decided to check it one more time before going to bed last night around 10:00 and saw that we were scheduled for our 11th hearing on Nov. 27 (while we slept last night)! They did not meet on Nov. 25. 

When I checked the court site this morning I saw this...

We have been waiting to see the word DISPOSED for a long time! I went running and crying to Britt! We are SO thankful and relieved to have this huge step done! 

We still need written orders. 

The judge has to sign them and then they have to be certified.

Once our orphanage director has the signed, certified written court orders she can get Mary-Lynn's birth certificate and then apply for her passport. 

So we still have some waiting, but like Eli (our 9 year old) said, that's only 3 more things!!

We are so much closer to bringing our baby girl home now!

Please pray these last steps go quickly! I am going to leave you with a song my daddy introduced us to recently...

  

Please pray for our 10th Court Hearing Tonight!

 

I have been keeping a daily journal since we were matched with Mary-Lynn back in July of 2016. I am almost done with journal number 3! One day I will give the journals to her. But I decided to look back at my entries from last November/December. I really, really thought by this time she would be home! I thought she would be here making memories with her family at the pumpkin patch, the fair, Thanksgiving, cutting down our Christmas tree to decorate, the Hanging of the Greens service where we go as a family to place an ornament on the church tree, seeing Santa, and all the other fun things we do as a family this time of the year. BUT God really has given us a peace beyond understanding (Phil. 4:7). I LOVE Christmas, so I am sure it will be tough, especially since this is our 2nd Christmas without her. But I love this quote that I wrote in Mary-Lynn's journal on 12.22.16 (the day my Granddaddy Head went to be with Jesus)..."Tears do not reflect a lack of faith. Tears are a gift from God that help to wash away the deep pain of loss." Or in our place right now, the empty seat at the table and arms aching to hold our daughter and kiss that little face!! Even in the midst of aching arms and hearts, and the wait that is just too long, God gives us His peace, and we trust Him! God is so good, all the time; His mercies are new every single day!

Some other great quotes written in her journal a year ago...

• In His time for His glory!
• Waiting gives us fearless trust. Fearless trust only comes when our prayers aren't answered right away. It's when we must remember Who Jesus is and what He has done for us. Waiting is hard. Waiting on the Lord takes strength and courage. But someday the wait will be over, and at the end of the wait we'll receive Jesus's perfect answer.
• We don't always have the explanations for certain events and acts of God. He is sovereign. He owes us no explanation. He purposes to teach us to walk by faith and not by sight.
• The only way God can show us He's in control is to put us in situations we can't control.
• The amazing thing about God is that even a "no" has goodness written all over it.
• At Advent, we are invited to immerse ourselves in hope. Biblical hope is not wishful thinking. It is unshakable confidence that God can be trusted. It is the belief that God is always at work for our good. It is the assurance that God's promises are true even while we wait for their fulfillment. Because our hope is certain, we wait patiently, not fretfully, trusting that God is already at work to provide the light we seek, the help we need, and the deliverance we long for. 

I have wasted a lot of time telling God what I want, and this would work great for us to go to India now, or begging to let it be done by this date or that one. I have learned to simply pray and trust. Prayer draws me closer to Christ; the One who is in control, who knows all things, knows what is best for Mary-Lynn and the rest of our family, and who is with us through all the wait and the hard giving us a peace we can't even describe to you!

Please continue to pray for our adoption, that we will pass court so we can move on to the next steps, for us as we wait, for Mary-Lynn to be prepared for all the changes that will be coming her way. I am thankful for all of the ones who are following our journey and praying along with us!


Just a few pictures from our Huntsville trip, time with family this Thanksgiving, and Christmas tree hunting (no luck yet!)...

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and Roll Tide! ; )

Praying we will have great news to post tomorrow...



Orphan Sunday

Today is Orphan Sunday.

 

 

What is God calling you to do?
 

 

 

Today is also 2 years since we sent our pre-application to Children of the World to start our adoption process.

 

Our November 10th hearing did not happen. There was a Muslim festival that the court decided to shut down for. It was not a holiday, not on the calendar. It was basically like us saying, "Hey, the fair is in town, I am going to skip work today and go." That is India for you.

 

The court website did finally update today and our next hearing will be on
November 25 (night of the 24th for us).

 

I love what Britt posted after getting the news, yet again, that we did not pass court.

 

God is good all the time,
no matter what our circumstances are.

 

 

I stay in contact with an adoptive momma that has already brought her daughter home from the same orphanage that Mary-Lynn is in. She said her daughter has happy memories of her time there. That does this momma's heart good! Our waiting right now is the hard part. Mary-Lynn does not know the struggle, she is just living her little life. When we go and take her from everything she has ever known that will be the hard part for her. I see where God is teaching, molding, and stretching our faith to prepare us to parent her.

 

 

We are definitely in a spiritual battle. Satan hates adoption, and especially adoption where a child is put in a Christian home. I love what another adoptive momma wrote, "Adoption comes with challenges but the reward far exceeds those challenges and with faith you overcome those challenges moment by moment. It is spiritual warfare! You are stepping into the enemy's camp, onto the battlefield, and fighting for little souls!" Mary-Lynn's state in India has been called the devil's playground. BUT God will be victorious!

 

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people." Ephesians 6:10-18

 

 



World Adoption Day/9th Hearing Tonight

Today is World Adoption Day, and tonight while we sleep our 9th hearing will happen in India.

 

 

http://worldadoptionday.org/

 

Please pray along with us that we will finally pass court TONIGHT!!

 

My Monday devotion has stuck with me all week...

"Shattered dreams, broken relationships, tragic losses or unfulfilled longings can make it difficult to feel God's presence, see His hand and hear His voice. However, in my experience, these glory moments are lost when we tune God out in anger. I know that's what happened to me. God stays, but the sadness in our own hearts has drawn the shades and locked the doors to His presence...Even when we complain of God's silence or seeming indifference, God is always working behind the scenes in ways we may never understand...So we fix our eyes not on what is seen (our circumstances), but on what is unseen (God's presence), since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Cor. 4:18)"

 

I have really come to love the story of Lazarus more and more through our adoption process. It was hard for Mary and Martha to understand why Jesus did not come immediately when He heard that Lazarus was sick. John 11:3 described Lazarus as the one Jesus loved. Not only did Jesus not go immediately to heal him, but finally came 4 days after Lazarus had died. And then Jesus did not immediately raise Lazarus from the dead either. Do you know what Jesus did? He comforted those who were mourning and He wept also! After this Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead by calling out to His Heavenly Father.

 

One of the biggest things that sticks out to me in this story is from John 11:4, 15. In these verses, Jesus said that it is for God's glory and for you to believe. I pray that those of you who have been following our adoption journey have come to believe in my Jesus, my Savior, my Heavenly Father! Britt and/or I would love to talk to any of you more about this if you would like.

 

Another thing I love about this story is that Jesus wept for His friend. I had a rough day Monday weeping for my daughter. I'm thankful to those who took time to pray for me that day after asking for prayer. I could feel them! I have an amazing Sunday School class. Go get yourself one! For real! Go! : ) I love Psalm 56:8, "You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in Your book." As Lysa Terkeurst said, "We are seen. We are cared for. We are known. We are loved by the God of the universe." And I know my daughter is too!!  

 

 

 

We do not understand what is happening in India. It is hard not seeing with our own eyes or hearing with our own ears what is going on. But we know God knows and we will TRUST him!

 

 

 

Got a little smile when I saw the bottom of this bag...

Not sure why I got a Gap bag, we were at Old Navy...but loved seeing the Made in India!

 

 

 

Sweet cousins in their cute matching outfits from Olive Tree Smocking Co. (another India momma's business). Go check it out!

 

 

 

 We enjoyed the fair and have been homeschooling away as we wait!

 

 

 

Please continue to pray through this day and as you go to bed tonight that our hearing will happen and we will pass court TONIGHT!!

 

 



One year ago...

One year ago today Britt was in India meeting our daughter! One year ago!! I never dreamed that a year after their meeting she would still be in an orphanage and not home with her mommy and daddy and brothers.

 

 

You can read my blog post about their meeting HERE.

 

 

We had our 8th hearing on October 28. I am thankful for the court website because we have no information from India except what you see below...

 

 

I am thankful our case was heard, but we have another hearing for November 10. So the night of Nov. 9 is when our 9th hearing will take place. Please pray that this will finally be the one!

 

It was not the news we were wanting, but we enjoyed spending the day together. It started at Hope 4 Houston 5K, then Waffle House, and the rest of the cold, rainy day was spent at home all together. It was nice!

 

 

Some encouragement that has been put in front of me this week...

• When things don't work out, see it as God's protection, not His punishment.
• The enemy always fights the hardest when he knows God has something great in store for you.
• He will be their peace... Micah 5:5a
• Lord, make us even more aware of Your peaceful presence today. We're desperate for Your assurance. We're deeply dependent on Your revelations. We're determined to seek Your will above our own. We love You. We need You. And we are completely amazed by You. - Lysa TerKeurst
• God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1
• The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

 

 

My momma ordered these cute outfits for Matthew and Mary-Lynn from Olive Tree Smocking Co. (a sweet, sweet India adoptive momma's company...look it up on Facebook!).

When they were ordered we really thought she would be here for pumpkin patches, trick-or-treating, thanksgiving, etc. So it makes me sad that she is not here to wear her dress and match her brother, MattMatt. It makes me sad that we are entering a second holiday season without her. Last year we had only been matched with her for 3 1/2 months at this point. Christmas is my favorite, so I made it through last year with the thoughts that she would be here with us this year. I am so ready to have our baby girl home and making memories like these with her family...

 

 

 

 

 Different costumes for different trunk-or-treats, haha!

 

 

It's hard to understand what God's plan and purpose is in all the waiting. But I believe He is good, and He is sovereign, and He is never late (just like in the story of Lazarus). So I choose to trust Him and run to Him in prayer, worship, and reading His Word. He is the only One getting us through the wait. And as another sweet adoptive momma told me, He will redeem the time lost between us!!

 

 

November is National Adoption Month...We have had a long adoption wait, but many others have not. And it really does not matter long or short, easy or hard process...orphans deserve to have mommies and daddies waiting and fighting for them. I pray God is using our story to lead and guide you to adopt! There are millions of children waiting for families all over the world! What is God leading you to do?

 

 

 

Please continue to pray that we will pass our next hearing! Pray for our hearts as we come into a second holiday season without our baby. We appreciate your prayers so much! They are felt! And I am praying many of you will be led to adopt from following our story!!