Let there be...PINK!

Yep, there is finally a room in our home that is PINK!!

As I was prepping P's room to be painted today, it was such a surreal feeling. I've dreamed about the day that I would finally get to have a little girl's room to decorate (although decorating the boys' Avengers room has been pretty fun too)!

We've been slowly working on her room and collecting random things here and there, but since getting NOC, we decided to celebrate the occasion by working on her room a little more!

A while back, I found EXACTLY the bed I was looking for on Craigslist...and it was a great deal! Mark re-painted it white and it's absolutely beautiful!

Over the weekend, my mom and I went shopping and found the prettiest quilt for her bed! The $19 price tag made it even prettier! ;)

We painted her room today and it's such a sweet shade of super light pink. I can't wait to share the finished room with you all!

Pinch me.

Really. I must be dreaming!

Today started out like any other day. There are some days where the adoption process weighs more heavily on my heart than others, but today I was just going about my day as usual. We happened to be right in the middle of a reading lesson when my phone rang. I knew that area code. It was our family coordinator.

Friends, we have NOC (No Objection Certificate)!!!!!!

What a flood of emotions!! Honestly, I think I'm still in shock about it! I was really expecting to wait quite a while for this approval. We were told to prepare to wait AT LEAST 3-9 months. But you know what?! God crushed those time lines and moved some serious mountains!

I am amazed at God's faithfulness. I am at a loss for words to describe just how good He is to us. Even in the times when I felt weak, hopeless, or upset, I knew God was walking this journey right alongside us.

So, now that we have NOC, we finally get to make and send a photo book to the orphanage for our girl to see. Once she gets this book she will finally know that she has a family: a mommy, a daddy, and two brothers who have prayed for her daily and love her deeply!

Here's how you can continue to pray for our family:

1. Photo book: I know it seems silly to ask for prayer for a photo book, but our prayer is that her caregivers will share this book with her. That they will help prepare her for what is coming. That she would feel joy and peace and excitement when she sees our faces!

2. Court: Now our case is all up to the court. Right now we are praying that God would continue to move in mighty ways and we would receive our affidavit very quickly. We are praying for all the people that will be involved in our case: lawyers, advocates, judges, whoever. That they would be sympathetic toward adoption and they would move cases quickly.

3. Maya: As usual, pray that she is being well taken care of and loved on until we can wrap our arms around her. (Can. Not. Wait. For. That. Day!!! Eeeeeeek!)

Waiting (yes, again).

This Christmas, I experienced feelings I never imagined I could feel. You see, I LOVE Christmas time and would love to seriously slow time down during that season. However, this year felt so strange to me. Part of me still did want to freeze time. I loved doing Truth in the Tinsel with the boys during our homeschool time, the Jesse tree at night, and all the fun Christmas traditions that we have to fill our month full of great memories. But, the other part of me knew something was missing: our daughter. Last year, she was just a thought. Sure, we loved her and were excited to day dream about her,  but we didn't know her yet. This year, she is so real. She has a face, a name, and a place even deeper in our hearts. I found myself  torn between focusing on the present, and wanting to fast forward to traveling to Ind*a to get our girl so we can all be together. With that being said, I don't think I've ever been so excited to take down Christmas decorations in our house before. Normally I dread it, but this year it gave me so much excitement! Taking down those decorations meant time was moving forward. Each day brings us closer to our SweetP and that is exciting! 

When we started this journey in the summer of 2014, (wow, where does the time go?!) we thought that maaaaybe we'd have a little girl in our arms by now. 

So far, 2016 has already been quite the rush of emotions. I began the year really thinking we'd see some major movement in our case because a few other families in similar stages in the process saw movement. That first week of the new year was hard. Each day I was feeling less and less hopeful that we'd be lucky enough to move forward in the process so quickly. 

This past Sunday at church (because God has a way of reminding us at the most perfect times), during our prayer meeting and the sermon I was reminded of SO many great truths and promises. 

God knows. 

My God sees me. He sees my longing for Maya. He sees her too. I wanted her home yesterday, but He has something far better planned than I can ever imagine.

He has a plan. 

He is using this whole process from miscarriages to adoption to form me into the woman that I could never be on my own terms if things were going smoothly and "easy". 

He made provision. 

He will make a way (He always has), and in the meantime, I will cling to His word because it gives me life.

So, you may be wondering where we're at in the whole process and when we'll get to bring Maya home. Welcome to the club, we're wondering the same exact thing! ;) But, here's what's left in the process:

• NOC - This is Ind*a's federal level approval that we are currently waiting for. This approval could come tomorrow, or nine months from now. We really don't have any idea. We're hoping sooner, rather than later!
• Court affidavit - This is unique to to P's region in Ind*a. Once we get NOC, we wait for the advocate and lawyers to draw up these documents. This could take months. Once we get them we'll sign them and send them back to Ind*a. Once those are back, we will find out a court date.
• Court - We will finally get to go and travel to meet our precious daughter and take to her court (again, unique to P's region) and get verbal approval from the judge. 
• Return to USA - I am dreading this part of the trip the most. The part where we will have to hug and kiss our girl and return home without her until we get the written orders from the judge.
• Pickup-Fly back to Ind*a, get our girl and finish the remainder of the adoption process in Delhi.

Here is how you can be joining us in prayer:

1. For approvals: The next step in the process is such a huge one. Please be praying for the committee that meets weekly to grant these approvals. We know that these approvals are being issued fairly consistently lately, but we also know there are cases that have been waiting for too long.  
2. For our SweetP: As we inch closer to the day that we bring our girl home, I know the grief and loss that she will face will be so hard. Please be praying that her heart is being prepared to receive so much love from a mommy, daddy, and big brothers. We also ask that you keep her health in your prayers, as well as the women who are taking care of her. 
3. For the whole court process: Though we are not in the stage of the process yet, we want to begin praying for whoever will be involved in our case. That everything will go smoothly and without delays.

"...And do not be grieved, for the JOY of the Lord is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10