Things are moving!!!

We have seen many adjustments in our adoption timeline since we applied to the Thailand program three years ago.  Recently I was sorting through some paperwork and found this letter Aaron wrote to his last year's school teacher.

Here we are almost 14 months after the letter was written, and still she isn't home.  It served as an important reminder that our children have experienced disappointments along the way as well.   They have learned to wait, work through delays with us, and deal with the frustrations of unmet desires.   We are grateful this journey enables us to lean on the Sovereign Grace of our Father more concretely. The idea of adoption is marvelous; but the actual pursuit has tested our faith regularly. Can you believe Luke has waited half his life to meet his sister?  We are certain God will use this prolonged journey to shape our boys, and family, for the rest of our lives.  We only hope to reflect Christ, remembering we are undeserving of this gift and point others to the Heavenly Father who went to greater lengths to adopt us into his family through the cross of His Dear Son.

After seeing no adoption movement for months and months, I have great news! The Thai government has officially approved the match of our daughter with our family!  This is the day we have prayed and waited for over the last year!   This approval is significant because it means that travel dates are coming soon!  Here is a video of us sharing the news with the boys.  (There may even be a hint to her name...)

Since the approval a couple of months ago, I have been busy doing a lot of official paperwork. If you've ever doubted the amount of paperwork necessary to complete an international adoption, let me change your perspective with this picture.

This latest round of paperwork was 2 steps and included the visa application.  Once I knew the visa approval was in the mail, it became a little friendly competition between Jamie and I to check the mailbox first.  Let's just say I won, and I'll let you judge my level of self control opening this envelope!

So now we wait for our FINAL piece of paperwork from Thailand and file our FINAL  paperwork...and then... will be given TRAVEL DATES!!!  We are hoping to have her home by Christmas, but again we are already seeing some delays with our last needed piece of paperwork so it could be early next year.   Meanwhile, I'm spending my time researching the best flights over the possible dates to travel and I think it's FINALLY time to get her bedroom READY...  She is coming HOME soon.  We are in the home stretch now!!!

And if all this wasn't enough...we have new pictures up on the other blog too!  (Same password as before.)


-KW

Our April update came!

Enough said. Posting on the private blog. Please email me if you have lost the link/password. :)

Guess what I'm doing?

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I've received word that our April updates should be here in the next 0- 12 days. (I may or may not be obsessively checking email by the hour...)  I can't wait to hear about our sweet baby girl and see her newest pictures!  It has been 4 months and 15 days or 19 weeks and 3 days since our last update on N. (We currently are calling her by her birth name disclosed on the private blog.)  

Here are some of the things I hope to see/learn:

• How much hair does N have? Enough for pigtails?!
• Will there be a picture in an outfit we sent?
• Does she like the blanket we sent?
• Is she walking?
• Is she talking?
• How many pounds has N grown?
• A translation of her name...

A fun prayer request: Since she has the same birth date as daddy, it was suggested to me (thanks Mom!) that we should pray that N is in my arms by my birthday in July.  Would you join us in praying that my birthday wish would come to fruition?   According to the current travel trend, this would be a MIRACLE.  I don't know if God will choose to answer this, but I do know..

"Anything God has ever done, He can do now.  Anything God has ever done anywhere, He can do here.  Anything God has ever done for anyone, He can do for you."  -AW Tozer

-KW

We're still here

Since our referral we have...

• Sent two care packages to Thailand!  This is exciting and emotional and difficult.  We can only send a package every 3 months and it can't weigh more than one pound and must fit in a gallon zip lock bag. Each package has contained heart written notes and gifts to our daughter.

Reversible Baby Blanket sent with book, family 
picture album, and disposable camera.

I couldn't find a dress in her size, but thought this onesie was adorable.
Pulling this onesie out of the dryer made me long to hold our sweet girl!



I found a dress for the second care package!

  

Care package #2 ready to be mailed to Thailand!!!

Celebrated our daughter's first birthday in true Woodyard fashion with chocolate cake!

•  Sent in more adoption paperwork and had another set of fingerprints taken.  Yes, fingerprints are unchanging, but that's the process :). 

• Shoveled more snow in subzero temperatures (and I'm not talking wind chill either) than we have wanted! I bet many of you can relate! But, heading out to mail paper work to sister made it seem a bit warmer. 

  

  Last time the boys helped mail documents they were wearing swimming trunks!!!!
  
  

So what's next?

Yes, we have more waiting :)  Travel most likely will be in 11-12 more months, but sooner is always a possibility. (I like possibilities!)  Would you be so kind to pray for the five of us while we wait? Over the last several months there has been a bit of political uprising in Thailand which caused a government 'shut down' or slow down.  One of the offices in Thailand that must grant adoption approvals for our adoption was indeed not able to process requests.  Although our USA agency has not confirmed a delay in our process, I don't see how it won't... 

The streets in Bangkok were over taken by protesters making it hard for the adoption board to safely work. 

 We have now waited four and a half months since we have seen our daughters face.  Now that we have seen her face, waiting is  a bit harder...But, all that waiting means that we have new pictures of our sweet girl!  See you over at the other blog! (Email me for a link!)