Just for fun!

This video has nothing to do with our adoption, but as we met tonight to put together letters for the Both Hands Project, Derek Coyle made me aware of this video.  Enjoy!!

A New Step

We thought we had finished all of the process work needed to complete our dossier.  We thought we were ready to send everything off to our agency and then to Honduras as soon as approval came from USCIS.  Today brought us a new hurdle to jump in the dossier process.  This is one of the problems with being one of the first few families in a new program with a foreign country.  The Honduran government has added the requirement of a series of pictures to be added to the dossier - no problem, we can do that quickly.  Also, they are requiring that all prospective adopting parents undergo a thorough psychological evaluation.  We received some referrals from our agency, so now it is just a matter of making an appointment and getting this evaluation added to our dossier. 

We did get some good news...we received our first report of donations made to Lifesong for Orphans for the Both Hands Project.  So far, friends and family have donated $1076.92.  Thank you to all who have given of themselves to help us with the expenses of our adoption.

Still Waiting!

On Wednesday, May 25, Alicia and I made the journey to NE Philadelphia to have our fingerprints done for the approval process with US Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS).  Every day since then we wait for the mail to come, hoping that the letter of approval would come from USCIS.  We are still waiting...the rest of the dossier packet is ready to go, so as soon as USCIS approval comes off goes the paperwork.  We thank the Lord for His grace, and for His patience with us.  We also thank the Lord for so many friends that have been praying for us, and regularly ask us how things are going - Thank You!

The Both Hands project is coming together.  We have a team of friends and family that have volunteered to be part of the team.  We are preparing for June 25th (the project date) and beginning to pull together supplies and other details.  Our team members are sending out their sponsor letters and we have been encouraged by some local companies that are getting involved by posting fliers at their location or making a donation to the project.  Recently, Nyce Shirts in Harleysville, Advanced Chiropractic & Spine Center in Souderton, Diddens Greenhouse in Hatfield and Main Street Java in Souderton.  If you aren't sure what the Both Hands Project is all about, you can read our letter at the Both Hands site.

Home Depot gives Support

As we continue to plan for our Both Hands project, we have a small list of jobs to do at Sandie's home - painting, a ceiling fan, renovating a powder room...  As we considered the costs of supplies, we decided to write a brief letter and go to the Home Depot near Sandie's house.  I spoke with one of the managers of the store, while Alicia and Ariana were on a completely different mission - selecting paint for the nursery.  After I explained the project to the store manager and sheepishly asked if Home Depot would be willing to help, she said that they thought it was a great idea and wanted to help us out.  Home Depot provided us with $100 towards supplies and she gave me her card saying that when/if we need more support, give her a call.  This was such an encouragement to us as we continue organizing this project.  Our team is coming together - we have over 20 people committed to helping with the work on Sandie's home.  We have a team "foreman" who met with Sandie and went through her home to figure out a list of projects.  We sent out our personal letter to friends and family.  We have our "Kick-off" meeting scheduled for this Tuesday evening to meet with our team and pray together.  We are really looking forward to working hard to help and encourage Sandie.  Thank you for your prayers and support.

By the way - the color for the nursery will be a light pink!

One Step Closer

It is so awesome to see God's hand at work.  In the past 24 hours we received our loan check for our Dossier to be able to be sent to Honduras & moved one step closer for our approval!  I was more excited to get that than I ever thought I could be.  Again, it is like God is saying "see, all you have to do is trust me...I will provide!"

Our Biometrics(fingerprints) were completed today and now we just wait again!  We are praying that these results come as fast as the other results came and yet I continue to trust in God's timing.

This week, we hosted two team members from Life Action (a conference that we had at our church) and had such a wonderful time with Sarah & Rachel.   A vision of what our life will be like in about 10 years.  Rachel is so much like Alexa & Sarah, much like Ariana.  What a blessing it was for our family.  To be able to share this brief time with two wonderful Godly young women, I truly believe was such a gift for our girls as well as both Andy & I.  We will miss having them around and yet gave us a glimpse of what our life is yet to come.

It amazes me to have this feeling of love for this little girl that we can only imagine in our hearts and minds.  We can't wait to get the news of who she is and what her little personality is like.  I know that God is wrapping His loving arms around her even at this moment and trust that the time will come in His time that we will be able to wrap our loving arms around her.