Bozo is Bought!

Thank you to all my finders who kept their eyes peeled for the clown bopper. We now have one, bought by a dear friend from California, and are so grateful to everyone for pouring your hearts out towards us and our Sweetpea. Your lavish love is an evidence of God's grace to us.

Consulate Delay

We called the parents tonight to see if the adoption paperwork had been signed yesterday as scheduled. They informed us that it is not yet signed due to a closure at the Consulate. How disappointing but in the whole scheme of things right on target.

They were upbeat that they would return to the consulate on Tuesday of next week and try once more to get the signatures notarized. They informed us that their lawyer has gotten in touch with them and that the document they wish him to create may actually be in the works. That is very hopeful. We were glad that at least the conversation was relaxed and agreeable over the phone. It seems that they are finally looking at the goal line and thinking they might reach it in one piece.

We, here at home, are beginning to allow ourselves to get slightly giddy about the possibilities. The reality is sinking in and preparations are being made. We have been told that Sweetpea will not bring any clothes with her so we are looking at needing to get a working wardrobe together to start her out with, especially given that the climate will be so much colder than she is used to. We were just recently gifted clothes from friends that their daughters had outgrown and in those bags we were able to gather a couple of outfits for her. We are blessed for this provision as everything right now is financially tight. God is so kind to us.

They also gave us her vital statistics recently so that we could start getting clothing for her:

weight: 47 lbs

height: 45 "

We have been waiting so long to "flesh" this child out that this information goes a loooong way. It would be super great to get a recent photo, but I think they are afraid that we will reject her if we see a photo of her. They don't know us at all if that is what they are concerned about.

Looking for a punching bag

I know this is really strange but as we gather things that have been recommended to use in therapy there are 2 things that I cannot seem to find and was wondering if someone might see one in their travels and pick them up, especially if they are free.

The first one is one of those punching bags that "we used to have when we were kids". The kind that we whack them and they come right back up, smiling! It doesn't have to be a clown but it can not have an agressive or threatening face on it.

The second is a mini-tramp. I would never have thought I would have one of these, for safety reasons, but I have been convinced that for the use of vestibular stimulation this is one of those must-haves to help Sweetpea in her long term therapy. We don't want to get the kind that has springs but the ones that have elastics to hold the round trampoline to the metal base. One with a balance bar would be even better but I imagine even more difficult to find.

A light at the end of the tunnel

Threads of good news are being woven together giving us the courage to hope again. It is hard to hope again, and my tender heart is slow to fully hope, but another plan has been put into place. We are a full step farther down the tunnel towards the light at the end this morning. The tickets for both Sweetpea and the escort have been purchased. We purchased the escorts ticket in faith and then waited and prayed that the parents would purchase the one way ticket for the child as they had previously agreed upon. We are relieved now that both tickets are bought and linked together. My heart hardly dares hope for the next step.

Still keep prayer for the parents to sign the adoption documents that they received yesterday. They are to go Thursday to the consulate to sign and get them notarized. That would be a great BIG next step. If we were to receive those documents back it would be hard to quell hope at that point.

Yet, there is the other document that they wish their lawyer to draw up and to have us sign that they have not been able to produce. I pray that this does not hold up our entire plan now that the tickets have been purchased because that can be so costly. Either they will need to sit on their lawyer to get him to do their bidding or they will have to give up their plan to have the document signed before Sweetpea is escorted to us. This is the biggest hitch to the entire plan.

Thank you so much for all of you precious friends who contacted us with with offerings of FF miles. It just didn't work out in the end but we were overwhelmed by the love and support shown to us. Thank you for having such faith.

Looking for a Frequent Flier miracle

The miracle would be to find one person who has 60K who would be willing to donate, then we could basically be able to pick any configuration for the flights. If we use less FF miles we can get a reduced rate but not all the legs of the journey are covered.

Trying to figure out the flights is a bit of a headache, please pray that God would make the right path very clear to us. Thank you for travelling with us through this journey.

I was emboldened to ask this request because of what God lead me to read for my daily devotion:

Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes
to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a
friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before
him.'
"Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is
already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you
anything.' I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because
he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him
as much as he needs.
"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil,
know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in
heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" Luke 11:5-13

Looking for miles

Well a plan is again afoot. We are trying to arrange for Sweetpea to be escorted from Singapore to us by a social worker who specializes in re-placement of adopted children. The plans for this need to be made this week and lots of details need to be ironed out but it looks hopeful.

We are wanting to use Northwest for the airline tickets for them both and a friend reminded us that lots of people have miles that they won't necessarily use and could donate. If you perhaps have Northwest miles that you could donate to our account could you contact us and let us know? It would be a great savings or even just a reduced fare if we were to use Frequent Flier Miles.

Sweet Encouragement

I have got to share this amazing story of God's love for me before I burst.

In April I went to wear my diamond ring that my beloved husband gave me for our 10th anniversary that I use as my wedding ring. I could not find it. At first I was not worried as there were several places where it could have gotten taken off: when I was doing the dishes, or showering or before bed and because I usually don't wear it daily it could have been put in my jewelry case. I looked in all the suspect places and could not find it. I searched for it for a week before I confessed to my husband that I was missing it. He began helping me look for it and soon the whole family also knew to be on the look out for my ring.

It was no where to be found and I was heartbroken that I had mislaid and perhaps forever lost this token of my beloved's love for me. As the months have gone by I have re-checked all the cubbies it could possibly been tucked into with the hope that I would run into it again. I have prayed and had others pray with me for its discovery and return.

Today, 7 months later, I was opening my jewelry case absent-mindedly to see if something else was there. Having checked that logical place many, many times before I did not expect to see what I saw shining up in front of me --my ring. How it was there when it was not there so many times before is beyond me but I am so grateful that it has been found! My heart is dancing. What a wonderful present the Lord just gave me.

This brings to my mind the story in Luke 15:

The Parable of the Lost Coin
8"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' 10In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the
angels of God over one sinner who repents.

"When I looked this up I noticed that just above it in Luke is the story of the Lost Sheep:

3Then Jesus told them this parable: 4"Suppose one of you has a hundred
sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open
country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5And when he finds it, he
joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6and goes home. Then he calls his friends and
neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.'

My beloved had just recently shared this with me by way of encouragement that this was what his heart’s prayer is for Sweetpea.

So thank you all who prayed in faith with me for the discovery of my ring and rejoice with me that God chose this day to send such strong encouragement to my tender heart.

Back to the drawing board

To use a well known phrase....it's my birthday and I can cry if I want to......... yep, both too true today.

This morning it became apparent that there was no way that the plan we were working fast and furiously over the past 2 days was going to happen with any rate of success. There were just too many moving targets to try to align and hit all at once. Again we faced the constant situation with the parents that they are asking us to go a mile while they refuse to take a step, and they feel justified in their position and angry with us when we do not comply.

We now know that the date Sweetpea should return back to Singapore from the Philippines is Nov. 14 so that gives us a more firm target to set our sights on for another plan.

We will have to see. Right now we are withdrawing from direct contact with the parents and are going to try to work through the lawyers to arrange any further plans. We hope involving other parties will bring their behavior to light for others or induce them to keep their word.

We are entirely exhausted and our hearts are rung out. This has cost more in time, effort and stress than we could ever have imagined. We are seeking God for his leading as to what He would have us do at this time. Please pray for our broken hearts to be mended by the sweetest friend we have, Jesus. We are so grateful that he is our strong comfort in time of need, otherwise we would be cast down and ruined by the beating we have taken.

God is sovereign and God is good and on these truths we can abandon ourselves.

Hanging Upside Down

I feel like I am hung upside down on a rollercoaster and the question in my mind is, "Will I be going forward or backward when this thing starts rolling?"

We spoke with the parents again this morning by phone. Things have not really changed much from yesterday and yet time is ticking away at our ability to act upon the plan. We really need wisdom for what to do. Do we take the risk and send me to Singapore on the very high but basically unfounded hope that this plan will work out? Or do we keep the lines of communication open and try to find another solution?

One thing I might have forgotten to mention is that my beloved's all important job talk for his work has been scheduled for Nov 4, which means that he needs to be on top of his game for that and actually present to give it. That's the reason he cannot travel on this plan. Pray for his preparation for the job talk as he is quite desperately exhausted mentally and emotionally from all of this back and forth to the far east. He just wants to give birth to this baby already!

Another opportunity for grace, another plan

Today we were contacted by Sweetpea's parents. Wow, we couldn't believe that they were the ones who reached out, and with surprising news too. They wanted to know if we were still interested in travelling in Oct. to meet Sweetpea and bring her home.

Well, YES!

After a couple of emails and an international phone call it is becoming apparent that this plan has a lot of inherent risks in it. A lot of things need to go perfectly right for this plan to have a hope of working.

The caretaker needs to be able to be contacted and be available (she has already said she is willing) to travel back to Singapore in late Oct. They would need to be able to change the Manila-Singapore tickets to next week. We would need to be able to book a ticket for me to travel next Monday. Being that it is so close to the start of November I will have to travel solo. All the planes would have to meet their flights with their required passengers so that we may all converge on Singapore at the same time.

Now to the real barriers to the plan: they still need to talk to their lawyer to get him to draw up the legal documents they are pressing us to sign before they release her into our custody; they have still not provided us with the medical documentation that was requested 2 weeks ago which our lawyer insists we have before we invest in a plane ticket; and lastly they must go to the consulate in Singapore and get the legal paperwork we already sent them signed and notarized before I arrive.

Please pray that we have wisdom and hear God on what to do. We do not want to make a decision that is not a sound one for all involved. Also pray for me that I will be able to gather everything quickly once the decision is made and be able to travel peacefully on Monday if that is the outcome, that God will go before me and make the path smooth as He has done so many times before.

Our Monday turned from a busy school day to a hive of activity today.........we will see if anything gets accomplished with all the spinning that's going on inside my head! It sounds a little like being next to a high voltage wire, I just hope I don't start to spark and crackle.

...and the truth will set you free!

We have been struggling with our emotions as we are in a waiting place to know what God is doing with the adoption. Today at church the only bit of the message I heard seemed to shoot through my darkness and offer great hope.

The Truth Will Set You Free
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in
my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth
will set you free." John 8:31-32

I shared it with my beloved and we agreed that the only way out of the gloom of our situation was to dig deep into the bible and find our comfort and wisdom there. We had a time of talking and crying and in the end came to a new peace.

Taking encouragement from a Tortoise and a Hippo

NAIROBI (AFP) - A baby hippopotamus that survived the tsunami waves on the Kenyan coast has formed a strong bond with a giant male century-old tortoise in an animal facility in the port city of Mombassa , officials said.

The hippopotamus, nicknamed Owen and weighing about 300 kilograms (650 pounds), was swept down Sabaki River into the Indian Ocean , then forced back to shore when tsunami waves struck the Kenyan coast on December 26, before wildlife rangers rescued him

'It is incredible. A-less-than-a-year-old hippo has adopted a male tortoise, about a century old, and the tortoise seems to be very happy with being a ' mother ' ,' ecologist Paula Kahumbu, who is in charge of Lafarge Park , told AFP.

'After it was swept away and lost its mother, the hippo was traumatized. It had to look for something to be a surrogate mother. Fortunately, it landed on the tortoise and established a strong bond.

They swim, eat and sleep together,' the ecologist added. 'The hippo follows the tortoise exactly the way it followed its mother. If somebody approaches the tortoise, the hippo becomes aggressive, as if protecting its biological mother,' Kahumbu added.

'The hippo is a young baby, he was left at a very tender age and by nature, hippos are social animals that like to stay with their mothers for four years,' he explained.

'Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.'

Faithful

We know God is always faithful. As we wait out these days to hear from the parents we hold fast to the promises of God and find our comfort there. We know that God holds all these plans in His hands and that He is in control. We are trying to see past the circumstance to where God would ask us to stand in faith. Sometimes this is not an easy thing. For me, I falter most after 4 pm. I have strength to stand and trust through the morning and afternoon but when my strength flags my frailty of being grabbed by the pain and confusion rises. It then becomes a battleground for my faith and where I need to apply the gospel strongly to my own aching heart.

The verse for today given to me twice thus far is:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5

My beloved is dwelling on and encouraging me with this:

"To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him
who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one
can shut, and what he shuts no one can open." Rev 3:7

We can only depend on the one true God to work in us according to his faithful ways. Meanwhile I have a house full of squiggly girls who need all the love and attention that I can give them. I am encouraged to honor God with the day He has given me and the tasks of my hands now.

It has been a trying few days. We are so comforted by all your prayers and support. We are praying that God would give us peace in a time when we feel grief and wisdom in a time when we are sorely lacking.

We did not get the fax from the parents regarding the test results. We are not surprised. We do hope that they will follow through come Monday.

The morning that this news broke to us I was awoken with this verse on my heart. I did not know how it applied for the day and still do not have understanding, but I find comfort in it all the same.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

Later in the day a friend sent me this strong encouragement that I have tried to cling to instead of spin and worry.

Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to
act. Don't worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked
schemes. Psalm 37 v. 7

We have no legal claims over Sweetpea right now and have no power to move in her behalf. There is little we can do and yet the Lord of the universe cannot be thwarted by the plans and fears of men. So our hope and trust is safe in Him. We continue to place Sweetpea in His loving hands and wait for guidance as to what He would lead us to do next.

Huge Setback

I can hardly bear to write this as my heart is so burdened for our precious Sweetpea. We have met a set back. She returned to her family in Singapore on Tuesday. Wednesday they did the 3 tests only with no medical evaluation and then on Thursday morning they sent her and Carmelita back to the Philippines!

There were no clear reasons for why they did this in light of the fact we were to travel next week. There are many circumstances too nauseating to list here but all have a root in their fear of losing face or being made financially liable later on. Even though these things have been explained before they seem to not be able to grasp them due to their prevailing fear. They are making rash decisions not in her insterests in mind as far as we can see and without discussing them with us, nor taking any concern with how they effect us. They are making decisions solely based on what is convenient and easiest for them. They have now said that in mid November we can talk about a plan to come and meet her.

Please pray that God would show us the path to take and give us His wisdom, not our own. Join us in thanking Him that we were able to get through on the phone this morning and that we had a long cordial conversation, that had been bathed in much prayer beforehand.

We are reminded that she is God's precious child and that He takes great concern over her. In that we find our comfort.

Test Day

Today is the day that Sweetpea should have gone to the doctor's and gotten lots of tests and exams. We should get the results of these tests on Friday by fax. We are so eager to get those results so we can buy plane tickets. We feel like we are trying to thread the eye of the needle from half way 'round the world!

• Please pray that she is doing okay back in her first family.


• Pray that the testing went well and that they were able to complete all the tests as scheduled.


• Please also pray that the parents' hearts would be softened so that we may call the and have a fruitful and calm discussion about all the issues regarding this adoption and come to agreement on everything.

Sweetpea is in Singapore

We got word mid-afternoon today that Sweetpea made it safely to Singapore and is again with her first family. Her caretaker Carmelita is also with her. That, unfortunately, is all the information they sent to us. They are wanting to know when we are traveling. It is a bit touchy as the parents are still quite hostile and non-communicative even though they are emailing tid-bits to us.

We would like to travel next week, around Oct 16th but we are still waiting to hear back about the tests. Please pray for wisdom for us as we make our travel plans. Pray that we would hear God and honor Him in all we do and say throughout this journey.

Time Crunch

Time is closing in on us as the 10th looms just next Friday. I am calling out for prayer as I am attempting to do all the preparations that were saved for the last minute only to find myself fighting once again the old pest of anemia. I know God's grace is sufficient for me each day, I just wish I could tell my To-Do list the same thing! Please pray for me for wisdom to pick only the tasks that God would have me focus on and to let the others go without the beast of guilt breathing down my neck.

Today my littlest bubble and I went shopping and found on sale the coming home outfit for Sweetpea to wear on the plane. I always like the kids to have something soft, layered and snugly. We were even blessed by an extra 20% off coupon on top of the sale prices! God Rocks! I have limited myself to buying only 2 outfits because we have not a clue as to what size she wears, her height nor weight and will have to outfit her once she comes home. I will go with the 2 outfits, thinking she will at least have one other outfit on. If need be I can buy her another outfit in Singapore if she needs more clothes. I love Asian wear anyway. I am also hoping we will have lots of hand-me-downs from #2 sister to give her to wear until things settle down some.

Job Talk

Thanks for all the prayers for my beloved husbands job talk. He was really nervous but looked very handsome before he went in. The girls and I got to scoop him up from the train and take him to the place just so he could have a wardrobe change. We tucked love notes into his shirt pocket to encourage him.

The results of his talk were dismal in that the head honchos who make the decisions were not there. They knew they were not going to be there and did not call to reschedule. He was able to give his talk to 3 others, one of whom was a friend of ours who had made a sacrifice to be there just for the talk!! What a blessing.

He will need to give the talk again when the big honchos are present. They want it in the next two weeks but with trying to get a grant in before Oct 15th and our imminent travel to Singapore to meet Sweetpea I don't think that's being very reasonable. I will keep you posted.

Happy 6th Birthday!

Our sweet girl just turned the big 6 today somewhere in the Philippines. We celebrated for her here wishing that she could be home with us on this day. We don't know if her caretakers even know it is her birthday today. We have decided that she will have a celebration later this month when she gets home. For today we will shower her with prayers and blessings and know that God is shining His love upon her.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you." Jeremiah 29:11-12