Frustrated

We received letters from immigration stating that they will be sending us another letter with a date, time, and place to take Hannah to get fingerprinted. Did I mention that we got 4 letters in 4 separate envelopes telling us the same thing? Our tax dollars at work. Anyway, the only probably is that she has to have a Photo ID. All the options were out of the question because she's too young to drive, too young to join the military and get a military id, or a state issued photo identification. Oh, and the last option a Passport, yeah which we don't have because she came here on a Humanitarian Parole. So I e-mail our lawyers who now inform me that we should have been trying to get her a Mexican Passport all along. Nice to know now. And they advised us that the Embassy is not too friendly to adoptive parents, so it could take awhile. Well, of course it would. Nothing has gone quickly thus far. So in the meantime, I am trying to get a photo id from her school which will hopefully be acceptable.

Quote of theDay

James has been having a rather negative outlook this evening. He says he can't do anything, Hannah has the good life and he's got nothing. On and on it goes. So I hear his daddy talking to him in the other room when all of the sudden James says, "I wish I had parents who understood sarcasm!" I had to hold my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing out loud. I thought, "What? You probably have two of the most sarcastic parents in all of Rutherford County."

So if anyone knows where to get parents who understand sarcasm please let me know!

Latest Adoption Update

I e-mailed our attorney's office in Georgia to check on our status. See her response below.

We have confirmation that INS received the package, we are waiting for receipt notice from them and then a finger print
appointment for the child.

So I am not totally sure what that means, but hoping it means we are one step closer. I am guessing we will have to go the the airport for finger prints. That's much better than when Jeff and I had to go to the Rutherford County Jail and the Bedford County Jail booking area. That was an adventure.

Camp Rocks

We went to camp last week and by we I mean the whole family. We had a great time. James convinced three other boys that white kitties with pink bows are cool. And Hannah loved OMC (Organized Mass Chaos).

My Testimony

Maybe it’s because I just learned that David Ring will be speaking at our church on Sunday, July 12 (ya’ll should come), or maybe it’s the Esther Bible study I am in right now, but for some reason I feel that I am suppose to share my testimony. I have never really shared my testimony and I am sure some of this will even be a surprise to my husband. I am not very good at being open and transparent, so I hope that by writing this blog, I will begin to feel more adequate at sharing what the Lord has done for me. So this is going to be a little long, thanks for indulging me.

My Testimony
I grew up in church, but to some extent, I think I grew physically more than spiritually. I remember sitting in the pew thinking, “What is this guy talking about? I just don’t get it!” I wanted to even felt that I needed to get it. I just didn’t understand how God “talked” to you or how you talked to God.
Like most people during my college years I fell away from even going to church. Then I met my future husband. I envied him because he seemed so sure, not filled with doubts as I was. He knew Scripture, and he seemed to have an assurance that I didn’t. He didn’t live with worry or second guess himself constantly like I did.
In the early part of our marriage we struggled to find a church home. Should we go to the Methodist church as I grew up in or the Baptist church as he was raised in? I struggled with the whole concept of having to be baptized by emersion to join the Baptist church. I felt like the church was saying what you did at 13 wasn’t real and doesn’t count because you were just sprinkled. I didn’t really understand that although I was sprinkled and made a profession of faith in the Methodist church, I wasn’t fully committed to the Lord or in a true relationship with Him.
Then we decided to go the church where Jeff grew up. The pastor there was so helpful in explaining the meaning behind being baptized by emersion without making me feel that I was turning my back on the decision I made at 13.
We continued visiting but didn’t join right away. I continued to struggle with doubts and second guessing myself. We were struggling with infertility and had been for several years. I remember lying in bed one night praying and crying out to God. I was so hurt that we couldn’t have a child. I wondered what I did wrong and why God was punishing me. I remember saying, “God, I feel like there’s a war going on inside me and the devil is going to win. Please don’t let him win.”
A few weeks later our church told us that David Ring was coming to speak at MTSU. Jeff and I attended with some of our friends. I was so touched by his message. I thought, “Wow, if he could come through all that he has and not be bitter, what am I so upset about? He doesn’t feel like God’s punishing him, so why should I?” When he gave the invitation, I felt the flood gates open. I knew right then and there that I wanted the assurance he and Jeff had. I was sobbing like a baby when I raised my hand to confirm that I had asked Jesus to be real in my life. At that moment I was sure. I finally got it! I knew what it means to be a child of the King!

New Update

The lawyers in GA called this afternoon and told me they are 95% ready to send our papers into INS. I have to send in some copies of our previous paperwork tomorrow and then it's away we go. Wish me luck and locating those papers they are from 1997, but I am pretty sure I have them. If not INS in Memphis does. They said it wouldn't keep us from filing if I don't have them, but it will just be more evidence that can help us. So I am off to dig through my piles of paperwork!

Proud Mommy Moment

Yesterday when I got home from taking Hannah to practice, James came running out to the car to get his Bible. I asked why he needed his Bible and he said, "I have to look up something in Revealation." So I of course I asked why. This is where the proud part comes in. He was watching a show on the History Channel and they were talking about the Apocolapse and he wanted to see if what they were saying about the seven signs was true. So there he sate in the chair watching TV and verifing the true answers in his Bible.