Name Change???

Would it be weird to change Ava's name this late in the process? We have been thinking about it for quite a while. I love the name Ava but it is becoming very popular and I like our new idea. We have been considering the name Adia-leigh. Adia means "A gift from God". What a special gift she is to our family! I think its perfect! All that to say...it seems a little strange but her new name will be Adia-Leigh. It will be hard to change what we have been saying for over a year but we can do it.

We are still in the middle of our Arctic Blast and stuck at home. We are getting many things done around here that are way overdue. We have painted Blake and Adia's room today and will be getting everything set up soon. I will post pictures in the next few days.

I hope everyone is enjoying their days before Christmas. I am looking forward to spending time with both families and friends.

Pictures of our Sweet girl...Adia leigh

We received new pictures today of Adia. We were so happy to get these, its been 6 long months since we had seen her sweet face. I am sad that they cut her hair so short , I loved the curls! We are sooo excited to hold her and have her home with us. I am praying it will be soon. :)

It's Snowing!

We are having what our news casters call an "Arctic Blast" around town. We got a few inches of snow and the temperatures are in the 20's. It's really cold but the kids were able to go out and enjoy the snow this afternoon. I forgot to write about our new dog, Tanner. We adopted him from the animal shelter and he is really close to perfect. He is a yellow lab and such a handsome, good boy. Tanner LOVED the snow!

We are supposed to be getting new pictures and video of Ava this week and I can hardly stand myself. I can't wait!!!!! I continue to pray for everyone who is waiting and hopeful that we all receive good news soon.

Good News from India!!

I had an India program update in my e-mail this morning with great news. First of all I am so excited to get this update, we have never gotten anything like this from our agency and it makes you feel so much more connected. I am glad they are going to be doing this frequently. I think it will make everyone happier. Secondly, one of our program directors is in India right now taking pictures and video for everyone. What a great Christmas gift! Thirdly, the best part.....

For our families with children in Delhi, here is some good news! There had been quite a delay in the Delhi Courts wherein the Judge was not passing cases. This was occurring throughout all of Delhi so all of the orphanage directors got together and went to the High Courts to request that the Judge of the High Courts order the Judge of the Delhi Courts to begin passing cases. The outcome of this effort was great! On November 19th, we were informed that they hired 9 Judges to work in all the different counties of Delhi. Each of the Judges were further told to pass these cases within 4-6 weeks. There are about 600 pending cases, however, one of our cases has already passed! We expect to hear great news soon for our Delhi families!

I am thrilled with this news! I know things can always change, but this is the best news I have heard in a long time so I am going with it. :) I am starting to panic a little thinking of everything that I keep putting off because it seems like it will never transpire. I better get busy! Please continue to pray for all the 600 cases to be passed in the next few months. We appreciate all of you so much for your thoughts, prayers and constant love. We are going to have a baby soon! Yahoo!!!!!

Picture therapy!

Last week was a really long and sad week with our friend Cindy passing away. The service was held on Sunday and it was beautiful. It was wonderful to hear those speak that were especially close to her. Cindy was an amazing wife and mother and their are so many things to learn from her life. Our lives have been blessed! We had the joy of having some great friends (the Ries') come and stay with us during the last week. It was a blessing to have them and their kids around. We are still so very heartbroken but I am still having trouble believing she's really gone. It happened so fast it just doesn't seem real. Please continue to pray for her husband and kids and thank you to all who left sweet comments.

On the adoption front: I spoke to Lisa the other day and was able to voice a few of my concerns and she was very glad I spoke to her. She will be traveling to India the day after Thanksgiving and so we will be getting new pictures and video...Yippee!! I can't wait to see how much Adia has changed it has been almost 6-months since we have seen her sweet face. :)

I don't have a lot to say but decided I wanted to post some pictures that make me smile...Enjoy.
I love my front door! It always makes me smile :)

Adia and her caregiver

My niece Kennedi, Kaylin and Blake

Two of my favorite people...mom and mimi(grandma)

More of my favorite people...sisters and mom

I love him to pieces!

Our very own Rock Stars

Kaylin and Blake

Best Buddies!

Blake and the hat he had to have because it matched his shirt. He is one funny kid! He loves to match and put outfits together.

Such cute boys!

Her smile melts my heart!

She's gone home

I accept that we do not grieve as those who do not hope, but also know that our grief is immense, and our loss is real.
Peter F. Wilson

Our sister and friend, Cindy Wilson went home to be with the Lord this morning at 9:50 a.m. She was surrounded by family. Please continue to hold the Wilson's up in your prayers. Continue to pray for peace and comfort. We are all broken and overflowing with grief.

Our dear friend...

Cindy Wilson was admitted to ICU on Monday morning after being diagnosed with bacterial miningitis. It took over Cindy's body so quickly and she had to be put on life support within hours. I write with a broken heart and am filled with so many emotions. I am praying for a miracle between now and the morning as the family along with dr's have made the decision to take her off of life support. Please pray with me for a miracle! Please pray for her family and our church community. We are all broken. Cindy has a husband and 4 children. Her daughter Natalie is flying home from Botswana, Africa and wont be arriving until Thursday evening. Please pray for peace and comfort for the days ahead.

Here is a picture of Cindy with her youngest son Ethan...she loved her children so much and they were proud to call her mother.

Reflections-A must read!

I am posting a link to a blog I have followed from the beginning of our adoption process. Josh Bottomly is a gifted writer and I am so thankful for his most recent reflections. He is able to articulate the many conversations Eric and I have had in a very respectful way and I love that. I do want to make clear that Eric and I did not vote for Obama based on the color of his skin but feel that was an added bonus. I know that Josh and Amy would say the same thing. Please take the time to read it, no matter what your beliefs I think you will be blessed by his words.

www.joshbottomly.blogspot.com

Note: I am asking that if you choose to comment, please be respectful!

Happy Halloween!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Adia!

Adia leigh . . . how often my thoughts are of you. I wonder what you are doing today, on your birthday ... if there is someone to hold you and comfort you ... to make you smile and laugh. How I long to be with you. It seems we've labored for so long now, to bring you home. People we will never even meet have joined us in this journey of bringing you home. There are times I think I can't do any more ... but each time I think of you and know you are counting on us to keep going. Joy fills our hearts to know you'll be part of our family very soon. Our hearts also grieve over all you've lost already. I pray your birthmom is comforted today as she reflects on that very important and selfless decision she made. I am forever greatful to her. I cannot give you back that which has been lost ... but I promise you that with the Lord's help we will share everything that is within us with you for a lifetime.

For now we wait. We wait with great expectation that you are being cared for and loved by the Ayas and your Heavelny Father. Some day, my child ... they will call us and we will prepare to travel to your homeland and welcome you into our arms. So many details we must trust the Lord for on this journey. Your life is a gift and one in which we treasure and embrace. How we long to see you face to face.

We had a birthday celebration on Monday in your honor. A few of our closest friends came to share your special day. We had an Indian dinner, music, cheese cake and sang happy birthday. You were even given a few gifts! Your dad and I are continually blessed by our friendships and the people who love and care for you so much.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch with our friend Christy and her twins Jake and Amelia. We decided to try a new one this year that was closer and maybe wouldn't be as crowded. The weather was perfect...65 and no rain. The kids were really excited! They had a good time for the most part but it was frustrating that Liepold Farms wanted to charge money for every little thing. We were shocked when our 2-medium and 1-baby pumpkin came to $16.00. Eric went in to their little store to get a caramel apple and was again shocked by them charging $4.75 Ughhhhh!!! We went to check out the kid corn maze and fun area to play and yes, they wanted more money! It was sad to me that they felt they had to charge a fortune for everything. Despite being charged for every little thing, the kids had a good time and it was fun to be with our friends. The twins had a great time until the end. Little Jake was running as fast as he could and fell flat into a giant mud puddle. Christy and I were laughing so hard, we had a delayed reaction to picking him up and many were looking at us like "Hello!, aren't you going to pick him up"? I wish we would have had the video camera, it was really funny.

Where has the time gone?

Well, here we are half way through October and I have not updated in quite a while. We have had a great start to school and seem to be back into a routine at night. My kids have been in bed 90% of the time between 8-8:30. It has been really nice! Eric has been home every night at a normal time and it makes for a happy home.

We have "no news" on the adoption front. We are still waiting for our updated medical report and have requested new pictures. I will follow up on this AGAIN by the end of the week if I have not heard anything. I am really excited for my friend Kristi who will be traveling very soon to get her sweet girl. God is good!

In September our family participated in "Race for the Cure". This is something we have done for several years now and always enjoy it once were there. Eric's aunt Linda is a breast cancer survivor and we walk in her honor. It is wonderful how many walk from our church community and I love that we share so many aspects of life together.
We are so thankful for Aunt Linda!

Our church sign, We are Family!




Kaylin turns "10"
I can't believe I have a child that is 10yrs. old. We had a friend birthday party at our home and then we took the girls to Claire's for the last hour of the party. Did you know Claire's offers b-day parties? I didn't either! When I heard about this, I thought it was the best idea ever. Instead of going somewhere and paying for food, party bags, games etc... You buy each girl a $5-10 gift card and they get to go shopping for something they want. It was so easy and the kids had a blast! What 10yr. old girl does not want to shop at Claire's. I really enjoyed being with Kaylin's friends. They are all a lot of fun and made me smile the whole night!






Blake's only find at Claire's...dinosaur fossil. :)

Eric helping the girls shop.


Last weekend we went to the Oregon State Football game in Corvallis. We had a really fun time and it was the kids first time to be at a college game. My sister is a Junior at OSU and we met our family at her place. They have such a beautiful campus, lots of trees and neat old buildings. It was much different than the small christian college I went to. The Beavers won, and fun was had by all!
Sister Kayla and Kaylin before the game.


Blake and Eli-Best Buddies!




My dear friend Stephanie.