We have passed court!!!! It's time to make travel plans!

The judge officially signed the court order on Wednesday, December 17, 2008. Praise God! The bonds were submitted and the lawyer picked up the court order later that week. Now, the folks in India are applying for Ambika's visa and passport. We are also applying for our visas and getting travel plans in place. We are going to try to go between M1 and M2 birthdays. We might not be able to, but that's what we will shoot for.

We are so excited and are ready to go!

December 15- Gotcha Day!

We are scheduled to have our FINAL court hearing on December 15. We are earnestly praying that the judge signs the guardianship papers and we can begin travel plans. Since I last wrote, the judge did our evidence and argument hearings on the same day, thank God. It was actually on our Thanksgiving day, which is so appropriate!

I have been in touch with our new adoption agency several times this week as our case is in its final stages and every minute counts. Sadly our old agency had to close its doors due to the economy and so we were transfered. I know our new agency will do a great job, but it's still sad to be at the end of this journey without them.

I am attaching some new photos of the Indian Angel. She is absolutely precious. Here's hoping and praying the judge finds favor with us and grants us guardianship. We are ready to go!!!

Another delay

Our court hearing did not happen on Nov. 5th. The judge went on medical leave. As soon as she came back, our attorney was petitioning for our case to be heard. This is what happened in the words of our attorney:

After the Judge returned from leave, an Application was filed requesting that the Case be advanced and posted to the 20th instant. The Judge however, while allowing the aforesaid Application, mentioned that the Case could not be posted to the 20th instant as there were already many Cases posted during this week. The Case was therefore advanced and posted to the 24th November for evidence. On that day, after evidence is recorded, a request will be made to also hear Arguments and to post the Case to the earliest possible date for passing Orders.

So, all we can do now is continue to pray that the Nov. 24th case happens and that all goes well. We get more excited everyday and we are ready to see Ambika. However, we know that she is in good hands. Please pray for us and for our Indian Angel. We will keep you posted.

More court delays- USCIS cleared

Well, it's two steps forward and one step back. We have round one of our USCIS stuff finished which is good and the next steps shouldn't be too difficult. We did have our court case on Oct. 14, but it was merely a hearing and not a full fledged evidence hearing. That will come on Nov. 5. Then, we will have two more after that. So.....now, it's looking like Jan. instead of December. We are sending a package today of clothes and things for the other children in the home. Even if she can't have Christmas with us, she can still feel our love across the miles, even if it is in the form of clothing and stuffed animals. She'll be with us soon. I have to keep remembering that.

Court Postponed and our civic duty

Well, it's typical India, but our court date was delayed. We were scheduled to have our first hearing, the evidence hearing on Saturday, Sept. 20. On Wednesday, Sept. 24, we found out that the court hearing did not happen and now it is rescheduled for Oct. 14. I am severely disappointed, but not terribly surprised. Since I 've had some time to think about it, I am much calmer now, but it's still quite frustrating. We will continue to pray the Oct. 14 hearing goes forward successfully.


On a completely separate note, I want to encourage everyone to take advantage of early voting. It began on Sept. 22 in many states. You can search online for your state's secretary of state office website and they should have all of the information on where to go. It's quick, easy, and will allow you to cast your vote without the hassle of long lines. I went Friday and was finished in five minutes.

We continue to pray, knowing that our Indian Angel is in the best hands possible- those of her Heavenly Father!

Here she is- our Indian Angel

The moment we have waited for has finally arrived. We can now tell the world about Ambika! We have been matched and have officially passed No Objection Clearance from the Adoption Governing Agency in India, therefore, we can show off our Indian Angel to the world! Ambika lives in Bangalore, India and we can't wait to have her in our neck of the woods.We have already sent her, as well as the other children at the orphanage, gifts and a picture book, so she knows about us, but it will be wonderful to talk with her!

This is an awesome day and we are so excited! We are one step closer to getting her for good! Isn't she lovely? What a great addition!!!!

No phones, no drinks, just prints- oh my!

Today Keith and I went to the United States Customs and Immigration Services Building to have our fingerprints taken. We couldn't take in anything but our notification and our driver's license. I prayed that no emergencies happened with M1 and M2 while we were there. As it turns out, we were in and out in 45 or so minutes. It was really a very smooth process. This was the last step on the United States side. We should have official clearance from them, I am guessing within the month, and then we can officially bring an orphan into the US.

We are still waiting on No Objection Clearance from India and it has been about a month. I am growing anxious with each passing day, but I know it will all work out. Once we have that, we can get our shots and apply for our travel visas.

We learned from LifeSong that even though they will only match up to 2k, we are allowed to raise as much as we can. This is great because people can get the tax write off and we can still be assisted with the adoption. It really is amazing just how smoothly all of this has gone. Go God!!

We welcome everyone's continued support and prayers and will keep you posted as we get more news!