India is Calling..

Well everybody -

I CANNOT believe I am finally able to write this post after 3 very long and hard years of waiting. WE ARE GOING TO INDIA!!!!!!!!!!!! All the praise goes to Jesus for we could not have done this without faith & trust in Him,  His perfect timing, and His hand over the whole entire thing!!!!! 

So here is what is going on....

Since Feb. 15, when we received the written court orders, we have been anxiously awaiting K's passport. Week after week went by and then the Indian holiday, Holi came and went, and still no passport. But TODAY, Friday, March 24 we got news that her passport had arrived to the orphanage, complete with her cute but slightly awkward head shot in it! LOL 

Aside from a visa appt. that needs to be made by our agency with India, we are all set! This appt. will be confirmed on Monday or Tuesday and then some last minute paper work needs to be filled out and we should be booking our plane tickets for the first week of April!!!!

This gives us 1 week to pack and repack and pack again and to wrap up our old life as a family of 2! :) 

We are using an adoption travel agency to help get us there and we will have a guide with us the entire time we are in India. We will also be somewhat "Americanized" on our trip since we will be staying at a Marriott and Hilton - pray they have french fries and pizza! ;) But we are truly excited to experience the beauty and culture that India has to offer! 

Thank you guys for taking this journey with us and sticking with us through to the end. We are so excited to meet our little girl and share her beautiful smile with you all! 

*Don't forget to get your name on the map!!! Message me for info if you don't know what I am talking about! :)

Written Court Orders Received!!!

Written court orders came yesterday, Feb. 15 (took 9 days)! This means the next and FINAL step of our adoption journey is here! We now wait for her orphanage director to apply for her passport. Once they receive it (1-2 months estimated time), we get to catch that plane to India!!!!

#mygodisfaithful #3longyearscomingtoanend #imnotsadaboutit #prayingaprilwillbeourmonth

And as always, please keep #praying4k 

"Is anything too hard for the LORD?"

"Is anything too hard for the LORD?" {Gen. 18:14} The answer is no.

9 months stuck in court, 2 judges, numerous court hearings, silence & waiting AND floods of prayers later .......... WE HAVE PASSED COURT!!!!!! The judge gave us verbal approval today! Praise God for His faithfulness to us and thank you all for praying without ceasing! K is officially our daughter and we have to give God ALL the glory!

Our next steps include: waiting for written court orders (these are needed for her passport application) and waiting for her passport to be applied for by the orphanage director and received. Prayers for these LAST 2 STEPS to happen at record speed! Then we will be getting on that plane!!!!!

#weareofficiallyparents #indiaadoption #powerofprayer #pray4k #courtsagaisover #praisegod

This song has been on replay nonstop for me lately and now it rings true more than ever!!! It's a great one - check it out! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DciMh_ciwkk

Court Update !!!

THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR THOUGHTS & PRAYERS THIS WEEK! We are humbled and grateful by the amount of constant love & support! Wow - it really does blow my mind!!! We just received a COURT UPDATE. Our case WAS seen on the 20th and they have scheduled another hearing for this Wednesday, Jan. 25. This is a positive update for us, especially compared to our previous ones. With it being so close to our last date, it shows that they are working on it and hopefully we hear that we passed by the end of the week. Thank you guys so much for every single prayer! #sheiscomingsoon #godisfaithful #prayerispower #pray4k #indiaadoption

Court Saga Continues...

Happy Snow Day to all of those in NC! We have so enjoyed these past few days of the beautiful winter wonderland outside! I kept thinking of what K will think the first time she sees snow! So much to look forward to!!

We survived the holidays....barely! Ryan was very sick for most of it [all the while knocking out an awesome Christmas Day sermon #proudwife], I was pretty down due to another Christmas without our girl, and things just felt different this year. BUT we are up and ready to plow through 2017 and get on that plane to India and come back with our sweet Indian princess!

Here is the "oh so exciting" update! 😐

Back in November we had sent a letter to the judge declaring that we so badly wanted to be K's parents and to please pass our court case. Well, come to find out, our letter was never read by the judge and our December court date never happened! Why, you might ask? Well, we received a call that our Judge LEFT - like left his seat, quit, no longer there, LEFT! The past 6 months of this judge seeing our case month after month without approval...to now him leaving, it just does not make sense!

Sometimes I think to myself - {what. in. the. world. India.} GET IT TOGETHER!

So, after this sad news, our agency contacted CARA (Central Adoption Resource Authority) in India, with no luck. A few weeks later we were able to contact the minister of women and children in India, Mrs. Ghandi to see if she could help us!

Shockingly, she immediately responded and said she would work on our case!! PRAISE GOD FOR MRS. GHANDI {and for a super fast response}!!!!!

This week we have learned that our case was taken to another court where there is a judge seated and our next court date is January 20!!

We have not lost heart yet.....we are praying that THIS IS IT!! Especially since Mrs. Ghandi is involved and hopefully she has put a bug in this new judge's ear that we need to be approved.

Once again, prayers are greatly appreciated! {I know for those who read these blog updates regularly, that you are so sick of hearing about court dates and judges, but somehow God is going to show himself through all of this (more than He already has)! Not sure when or how, but if we EVER pass court...it will be all because of our faithful Father!

"Feeling like our life is full of unknowns can be hard. But without those blanks, we would have no room for God to enter in and write His answers. For Him to become the Way when there is no way. For Him to be the Truth when lies long to be what consume our thoughts. For Him to be the Life He’s designed on the other side of our crumbling attempts to control our stories.

Our God is not fickle, forgetful or fragile in any way. He does not make mistakes. He purposes the gaps. He allows sacred spaces and blank places. He leaves room.

If we had all the blanks filled in, we would explain away God’s part in our story. God doesn’t want to be explained away. He wants to be invited in. He wants us to make room for His additions to our story." 
-Lysa TerKeurst *y'all need to follow her on Facebook {she is my FAV}

Prayers that 2017 will be the year we become parents!

Love you all!

Ryan & Megan