Thursday, June 13, 2013

Adoption update (from email)--June 2013

If  delayed hopes automatically produced patience, we'd probably be some of the most patient people around! Just kidding. :-)

Well, here's our latest adoption update (mass email) to explain my previous statement:

Howdy to all our friends and prayer supporters. 

We really do value your presence in our lives and in our adoption journey.  We feel a keen need of your prayers and a definite gratitude for all the times you have asked God’s blessing and guidance in the last couple years. It’s sort of hard to believe, but it was over two years ago (January 2011) that we formally began our quest to start a family.  Hopefully by the time the third anniversary rolls around in January of 2014, our journey of adding ONE child by adoption will be completed.  The way it looks, it could very well be the end of this year or early next year until the adoption is finalized, meaning we will have had our little darling with us for about 16-18 months before she is legally OURS.  We never dreamed it would take this long.  God is SO good to not let us know these kinds of things on ahead!

But you are wondering why it must take so long. Good question.  We just heard from our attorney this morning, and here are the things that need to happen yet:

1) We need to sign a petition to terminate the rights of "J" (Birthmom’s legal husband, but not K’s birthdad, though), and return it to John, our attorney.

2) John will file the petition and get a court date to terminate "J"’s rights, but those dates are usually about 60 days out.  Meaning that if he tries to book an appointment late this month, it will likely be early Sept. till he can get a court date for that. 

3) Either John or Celeste (state lady) will talk to "J"on the phone (preferred) or publish a notice in the paper (which would cost us several hundred bucks) so as to give him a chance to step forward and say he wants K.  This is merely a legality because in order to actually get K, he’d have to prove he was her biological father—and he is most definitely not. 

4) After the court date terminating "J"’s rights (probably early September), John will give Celeste "J"’s termination order, etc., and she can write and file the final adoption report.  Not sure how long she’ll take to do that.
   
5) John can get a court date for finalization, which usually is about 30 days out.

SO! here are the prayer requests:
**Pray that God would give speed to those involved.
**Pray for the court officials to give John court dates as soon as possible and not drag it out needlessly.
**Please continue to pray that the tribe would not step forward AT ANY POINT and disrupt the adoption, but rather give a form of consent. If they show interest now, it could really slow things down even more. It would be BEST and highly desirable if they would write a letter or something stating their approval of the adoption.  Otherwise their rights will be terminated in the finalization hearing, simply by lack of response rather than by consent.  Obviously, it would be preferable to have a consent on file!

If any of you are considering adoption, please don’t let our case disturb or discourage you. This has been an unusual situation, and most infant adoptions are finalized quicker than this!  California is just notoriously slow—the slowest in the country, from what I understand--as well as other aspects unique to our case.

The last month has also held some personal heartache that God allowed and which has drawn us closer to God and each other as a couple.  Pray that as we process both that heartache as well as the seeming lack of progress in Kinza’s adoption that we would become ever stronger in the Lord, in His Word, in His love, and more like Him than we could possibly be otherwise.  That is our desire.

Thank you so much!

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Been a while!!!

Well, folks, I haven't been around here in a while! I've been too busy scattering Mommy's dishes over the kitchen floor (the plastic ones that won't break), helping "work" in the garden (mostly trying to eat dirt when Daddy & Mommy aren't looking), playing with my toys, and all the other things 10 month olds like to do.

News for this month:
--I now have THREE teeth: 2 on the bottom and 1 on the top!
--I am crawling like a pro and pull myself up on anything that will support me. I've had a few let-downs, too, such as when I pulled the dining chair on top of myself :-(
--More and more, I LOVE being outside!  When Mommy or Daddy pick me up to take me out, I kick and kick because I'm so happy!
--

So anyway, here are some more pictures.  Enjoy!



Don't say dirt is gross.  When's the last time you tried it?


Me with some of my friends from church


Mommy & me.  We were watching Daddy work. :-)

Mommy thought I'd like to swing, but I'm not too thrilled about even sitting in it yet. Can you tell?

Here I am: 10 months old!  Only two more to go and then I'll be a whole year old!!!!

 
 Mommy's friend, Rachael, came to visit for a few days.  She and I got along very well. :-)


OK, that's all for now... Gotta get back to my toy box!  (Next month I'll show you a picture of it.  Daddy's not quite done with it yet, but isn't it pretty?)