Court Date

We orignally had a scheduled date for the Rwandan court to review our paperwork on the 28th, but due to national holidays, it got pushed back until today. One day is no big deal, and they did review our paperwork this morning - but no news on whether or not it was approved. That should come within a few days; we're hoping by Friday. Once we get approval, we'll be able to start making travel plans. Pretty amazing to think that we could be heading to Rwanda in as little as two weeks!

We also found out through our agency that Kieran is eating solid food, can sit up on his own and even walk a little with assistance. He is quiet and reserved around new people and situations, but he smiles and plays with his caregivers when he is in a familiar environment. This news helps us to relax a bit and know that his development is good and he is doing well considering his circumstances. We're confident that he will flourish once we get him home and get him on a healthy diet and are able to give him the one on one attention and love every little kid needs.

More info as we get it - things are starting to move faster!

The blessing box

At the baby shower tomorrow, we're going to have a blessing box. All the donations placed in the box will go directly to the orphanage that our son is at. When we get to Rwanda, we will find out what the orphanage needs most and use the donations to purchase whatever they need. I'm so excited about being able to do this. Through the generosity of two people, we already have $150.00! Thank you!!

Progress

We found out yesterday that we have a court date for April 28th. A Rwandan judge will review our adoption and hopefully grant us approval. Soon after that, our agency will set up appointments with the ministry and the U.S. consulate. Then, we'll have travel dates. This is all going to happen soon! We may be traveling on Mother's Day, but that's on the early side of possible. We'll post updates as we get them next week.

Deep thoughts

During this time of waiting for Kieran, I've been pondering many things. One thing in particular that I wonder about is what has been happening in Kieran's life all these months that he's been waiting for his family to come and get him. Frankly, it's not easy to know virtually nothing about the first 18 months of his life. What has he been through? Usually, every little milestone is noted by mom & dad from day one.

However, all we know is what was going on here during those months of his life. Coincidence or not, the month Kieran was born, we were considering concurrent adoption. When he was one month old, we heard that our agency was opening up a program in Rwanda. I knew immediately that's where we would go. I didn't know that we already had a son there waiting for us. When he was six months old, we began the preliminary steps to start his adoption. Just before his first birthday, we sent our dossier to Rwanda- still not knowing who our son was. To commemerate the completion of our dossier, I painted Kieran's dresser. On Kieran's birthday, Mike (with a little help from our cat, Piglet) added the new hardware. Thankfully, I took some pictures! I'm so grateful to have a specific memory about our son on his first birthday. We didn't know he was a year old, but we were already preparing a place for him. Already, we loved our child and were doing everything we could to bring him home.





It occurred to me, while I was typing this post, that our preparations to bring home Kieran are a type and shadow of something much more amazing. Did you know that somebody is preparing a place for you in heaven? Jesus said in John 14:2-3 "There are many rooms in my Father's house. I wouldn't tell you this, unless it was true. I am going there to prepare a place for each of you. After I have done this, I will come back and take you with me. Then we will be together."

While we are busy about our daily lives here on earth, Jesus is up in heaven preparing a home for us. Adoption is God's idea. He wants to adopt everybody into His family, but He leaves it up to us to decide whether we'll accept or reject His offer. “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him." John 3:16-17

An answer to my prayers

I heard recently that in the Hebrew language there is no word for coincidence. Sometimes in life, there are things that happen that seem to be orchestrated by God, rather than just coincidental. This picture is an example of one of those times where there are too many commonalities for it to be labeled coincidence.

During our adoption process, I began praying that God would connect us with other families who were also adopting from Rwanda. Keep in mind, there aren't that many people yet who are adopting from Rwanda as it's a relatively new program. In fact, Mike & I are the fourth couple from our agency to ever adopt from Rwanda. Our adoption agency is not even remotely close to our home, so the chances of another family working with this same agency seemed remote. Nevertheless, I prayed that God would link us up with other families so that we could encourage one another during the ups and downs of the adoption process, and also so our kids could grow up together.

Shortly before we sent our dossier to Rwanda, our agency started a chatgroup so the families could get to know each other. I signed up enthusiastically. Soon there was a handful of families in our chatgroup, but two stood out to me because they lived a couple of hours from us. Soon our dossier went to Rwanda. Then these two families, our "neighbors", ended up being the next in line to send their dossiers. We waited together and sent encouraging emails to each other through the long days of silence from across the sea. Then, all of us received approval in March, and even more joyous- referrals in April! We are all adopting sons from the same orphanage! The chances are good that we will be traveling together next month to Rwanda. (We are all awaiting court dates and approvals.) How cool is that?

So, we made plans to finally meet these families who've become friends. On Wednesday, we got together for a BBQ and had a wonderful time. The guys seemed to get along well and chatted about sports, books, and movies. Meanwhile, the three mommies, (Mandy, Kelly, & I) talked almost non-stop for hours about our adoption experiences thus far, our preparations for travel, and the longing we have to bring our children home. What a blessing to share this journey with friends!

Thanks Kelly & Corey, and Mandy & James for such an awesome time of fellowship! We're hoping and praying that we'll get to travel with you to Rwanda. And thank You, God, for bringing us together for such a time as this. I am humbled by how abundantly you have answered my prayers.

We're home

We are preparing a little photo album to send to Kieran. I'm planning to include this picture of us so he can see his mommy & daddy.

We are home now from our Easter vacation. It was great to see everybody. Kieran has so many people who love him and are eager to meet him. Our family and friends blessed us with presents for him during our visit. His wardrobe has doubled and he now has a stuffed elephant and bear, plus two cozy blankets and a book. Thank you to everybody for your generous gifts!

So much to celebrate

We are on vacation enjoying time with family and friends. Easter is always a joyous time as we celebrate the resurrection of Christ. What a gift God has given all of us by sending His Son to be a sacrifice for our sins. Today was especially joyful as we spent time in our home town that we miss so much. We got to visit our old church and worship in their new building. So many people that we know and love were there. It was wonderful to share our referral pictures with them and celebrate together that God has sent us a son. We give thanks to the Lord for He is good.

Happy Easter!

At our house, we don't have an Easter bunny...we have an Easter cat!

Baby shower in the works

Two of my dear friends, Susan & Brittany, are planning a baby shower for Mike & I. It will be on April 26th at 3 pm. If you would like to be invited, please email me, and we'll send you an evite. (Sorry, this is a ladies only event. Guys, you can all breathe a sigh of relief!) For those that are interested, we are registered at Target & Wal-mart.

Many people have asked me what items we need for Kieran. The answer is, almost everything- it's a bit overwhelming! As far as equipment goes, we have a high chair, an exersaucer, and a play pen. Rather than list everything, I've posted two pictures below of the other items we have for him. (I've never added a picture to a post before, so this seemed like a good time to learn how.) The multicolored blanket was handmade by our sweet friend Stacie.

Check in often, we'll be posting more frequently

We are starting to realize how handy a blog can be. In one post, we can update everybody who wishes to know the latest news about our adoption. I've been on the phone so much in the last five days that I'm not getting much else done. And there are lots of things to do before we travel! So, to save time and phone minutes, we'll be posting to our blog more often and hopefully being on the phone less often.

We want to say thank you to all our family and friends for your love and support. We are so grateful that Kieran has so many people waiting to love on him when he gets home. We're thrilled that you want to know the details of our journey and we'll do our best to keep you all in the loop via our blog.

Good news

Yesterday we found out that our son is able to walk if someone is holding his hands! We are so delighted to know this. Our contact in Rwanda will be visiting the orphanage soon to visit Kieran and to find out more information about him. When we hear anything new, we'll update the blog.

Referral!!

We have a son! He is 18 months old, 22 lbs, and 30 inches tall. We've chosen the name Kieran for him. Unfortunately, we can't post any pictures of him until the adoption is finalized.

We are waiting for Rwandan court approval, and then we'll be ready to travel. Maybe we'll be there to meet him on Mother's Day!