No News is good news.....

Whoever coined the phrase, "No news is good news", never adopted a child! No news is NOT good news! No news is awful! It's stressful! It's heart wrenching! No news could drive a control freak crazy...Or it could teach me a lesson on how to surrender my life, my plans to The Lord. No news could be the thing that makes me say, that's it, this adoption thing is for the birds! Or it could be the thing that pushes me closer to the Throne of Heaven! And as I struggle with the waiting, the frustrating delays & paperwork that seems so senseless, I haven't struggled alone. I have felt My comforter so near. He is so awesome that he sends me daily reminders to help me not freak out & put my hope in him! I might miss these little reminders if I'm not careful or if my focus is inward. But he sends me Patients from India who speak her language, a karate mom from Delhi, India, a box that would be perfect to send her a birthday present in, i meet a stranger adopting from the same country with the same agency. little reminders! And my bible, its like fresh air, like water for my thirsty soul! I have to repeat verses all day long so that I'm not obsessed with the wondering & stressing and so that i don't jump every time my email Bings or phone rings! So I think the phrase should be "Good news is good, but no news doesn't have to be so bad". 

So no matter the news, God is good & he will lift you up! Here are some verses that I read daily!!

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6, 7 NIV)

 

Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth— (Isaiah 43:5, 6 NIV)

“You whom I have upheld since your birth, and have carried since you were born. Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. (Isaiah 46:3, 4 NIV)

Those who hope in God will not be disappointed.”.......That’s because I will fight your battles, and I will save your children. (Isaiah 49:23, 25 ERV)

And as we wait to hear if the council has approved the adoption, The Lord reminded me of this scripture over & over! He is ultimately in control of the council & this decision. 

The King's heart is in the hand of The Lord, He directs it wherever He pleases! Proverbs 21:1

So, no news yet! But we petition the King everyday & are thankful that He doesn't leave us here to struggle alone! 

She is ours!

So, today was THE day! Around 11:30 am on September 18th, We got an email from the orphanage in India. They had answered all of the questions we had & then Pat asked me one: "We'll...???" And Everything within me said, Yes, we want her! And with that, She was ours!!! 

So here is the timeline so far:

October 2009- Simran Neena is born

November 2011- we start the search for an adoption agency

February 2012- paper pregnancy begins

September13th, 2013- we get Simran's referral & see her picture for the first time

September 18th, 2013- we accept the referral & she is ours

Well sort of......we have to wait a few more moths most likely & fill out a lot more papers! 

And we actually already hit a minor bump in the road. India's policy is that our adopted daughter must be younger than our youngest child. Well Simran Neena is 8 months older & that could be a deal breaker! Last night we actually stayed up writing letters to India about why she should be a part of this family! No matter what, God is working on her behalf and our behalf so that the right thing, the good thing, the perfect thing happen! And we pray that it's for Neena to be with us! I hope you will help us pray for that. 

We also found out that our orphanage social worker's name is Loraine & we have been praying specifically for her. I have heard stories of parents that wait for almost a year to go get their baby because the orphanage was so slow. It breaks my heart for them. So we are extra thankful for Loraine because she seems like a hard worker & speedy! We will soon be getting a family package together to send to Neena in India. It will be full of toys, pictures & love! 

It's difficult to go through a season in our life that is out of our control, emotional and full of waiting. But it's during these times that we rely on our faith in God & just put all hope in him. God has encouraged us so much, speaking to us & confirming this for us! I want to leave you with some encouragement, something God spoke to me this week before we heard anything from the orphanage. And hopefully it will encourage you if you are in a waiting season:

God is not wasting this time of waiting!

Do you think God sleeps?

He is using this time to teach you, to prepare hearts, and he is moving mountains & obstacles that you can not see! 

Just Focus on Him & Trust in Him! Not the outcome, not your plans!

Have you seen her!

"Have you seen her?" Says Pat, my adoption agent. (And of course then all I can think of is MC Hammer and that song he used to sing, "Have you seen her, Tell me have you seen her"!) 

However, she's referring to the most precious Indian girl that I will lovingly call daughter one day!!! 

And here's how it happened: I was at work, an ordinary kinda day, then "bam", the phone rings!Phone  ringing, Usually not too exciting but, Thursday I went from putting in a catheter to having a baby in seconds!! Okay that sounds wierd, so just know that I work in Urology so catheters are a normal thing but having a baby out of the blue.....not normal!! 

My adoption agent Pat calls and says I have you a little girl! She tells me that she is a little older than what we thought we would get and she has some medical problems. I will tell you that for a split second I was kinda sad cause I think most young couples who adopt, just naturally want a perfectly healthy little bitty baby. But that split second passed & then I just fought & fought tears of joy. I mean I'm at work & I am not an emotional sort, I do not like to cry & most definitely not in front of others. So after hyperventilating I go back to work for the next few hours, hoping not to harm any patient cause my mind is surely not on work, it's on "my daughter". Could she be the one? Is this it?

So my hubbie, Erin & I tell our kids that they may have found Neena!! And that night we sit down to read her file. The only paper that tells us anything about a child that I could be putting to bed all warm & snugly with her brothers & sister!

So here's what I find out: Her Hindu name is Simran, which means gift from God, her birthday is October 27,2009, she's lived in an orphanage in Delhi,india since birth. The papers say she was dropped off at hospital (in a "Palna". It's a cradle so people can put unwanted babies in there) and had at least 3 fractured bones & sepsis, that she was basically in and out of the hospital with sickness her first year of life. And they diagnosed her with a genetic disease called osteogenesis Imperfecta. That specific disease can range in severity but it basically makes your bones very fragile susceptible to fractures. They think hers is mild. So now comes the questions, we have sooo many!! We don't know if she suffered trauma at birth or if someone tried to harm her before dropping her off at the hospital? Does she know any English? When can we come get her? Does she walk & run normally? What does she eat? What's her personality? When can we come get her? And when can we come get her????? 

At this point we had never seen a picture. Pat did not want us to see her and then decide we didn't want her because of the medical & feel bad. So she sends me the picture & texts me, "Have you seen her?" And I am in love!

Now, we are waiting......yes, more waiting. Eighteen months of waiting to find her now waiting to see if she's ours and then waiting to go get her!!!! I've never been more excited to wait!!!

 And when she comes home, this is what she will come home to: a twin brother Logan, since they are both 3 & both have a cleft chin, I decided I would refer to them as "the twins", a big brother who will taekwondo anyone who says she's "Imperfecta", a big sister who will be mommy #2 & her roomie/bestie, a mommy & daddy who searched the world for her & has loved her since they were 16, grandparents to spoil her, take her to the beach for the first time, ride her on the 4 wheeler for hours, cousins who will adore her & have sleep overs, aunts & uncles to take her to movies & frozen yogurt, friends who pray for her...........Your family waits Neena! With Hope we wait! And we still pray, Let today be the day.... But it's changed from let us find you today to let us bring you home today!