Remembering While We Wait: May 12, 2012 MOTHER'S DAY !ND!AN STYLE

We felt sure that our children would be home by springtime, but not so. As with all other holidays, our children were on our hearts and minds on Mother's Day. Mother's Day turned out to be a special day. The day before, we found out that the Chief Minister of our children's state was giving a speech live via satellite to 18 U.S. cities on Mother's Day. Atlanta was included in the broadcast. We called the cultural center where it was going to be shown and spoke to one of the leaders of the organization. He invited us to the speech and to a Mother's Day picnic that would be held at a park a few miles from my parents' home. On Mother's Day, we drove to the park to attend the picnic. We drove past the location once or twice staring at the hundreds of Indians and had to build up the courage to walk down the hill to the party... We were the only people that looked like us, and it felt more awkward than being in Kuwait. Ha! Right away, we found Mr. Patel, and he was so gracious. He introduced us to all of the Samaj leadership, gave us a tour of the kitchen, and taught us about the traditional foods of his culture. The president of the Samaj was very welcoming and offered to help us with our adoption by making phone calls to officials or whatever else we needed. Being that we were stuck at the state level at the time, his offer brought me to tears. We ate grilled corn squeezed with lime juice then rolled in Indian spices, drank chai tea, and watched boys playing cricket. We absorbed the culture and dreamed of our children, showing their photos to everyone we met. Most were very receptive of our children and excited about adoption. After the picnic, we left our children with Granddaddy, then drove to Tucker to attend the Chief Minister's speech at the Samaj. We were the only white people again...probably the only ones who have ever stepped foot in the Samaj. We seated ourselves in the back, but they quickly moved us to reserved seats in the front...gracious and hospitable once again. The speech was in Hindi, so we did not understand a word, but it was very interesting to see what a dynamic speaker the Chief Minister is and to observe the reaction of the audience. Afterwards, a couple gave us a synopsis of the speech in English and answered our questions. We were about to leave when we were offered another plate of hot traditional food. They were amazed that we could tolerate the heat of their food! Haha! We've been building up tolerance. The food was AMAZING. As we were finishing up our food, Mr. Patel told us that a news reporter wanted to interview us for TV Asia to get our impression of the speech. He had told the reporter about our adoption, and we were allowed to speak about that on camera. Another door opened to share our story with the world...it was a great ending to Mother's Day.

Remembering While We Wait: February-July 2013 ORPHANS NO MORE!

We are one of four families in Columbus who started the adoption process at basically the same time (all within months of each other) and used the same adoption agency. The other three families had children in the same orphanage and have all recently brought their children home. We are in a different situation in that our children are in a different orphanage in a different state with different requirements and different court systems. These differences have resulted in a very lengthy process due to numerous delays. During our waiting process, we've been able to live vicariously through our friends as they have traveled across the world and returned with their children. We've gained so much information through their experiences during travel and now that they are adjusting to their new lives at home. We are thankful for their openness and transparency as they share both the blessings and trials of adopting children from hard places. Here are the airport photos of their united families! (The bottom photo of my sweet friend meeting her daughter for the first time just melts my heart!)

Remembering While We Wait: December 30, 2012 ADOPTION PHOTOS

After Christmas, the whole Carroll clan drove down from IL to spend the rest of December and New Year's Day with us in Destin! We scheduled family photos on the beach and took that opportunity to also do an adoption photo mini session. Can't wait to take these little ones to the beach for the first time! (The globe in these photos belonged to my Pa Fred, so it is sentimental to our family.)

Remembering While We Wait: December 25, 2012 CHRISTMAS DAY

So...During Christmas of 2011, we felt for certain that we would have our new children home by Christmas of 2012. Not so. Our children were definitely in our hearts and minds on Christmas Day, though. My sister surprised me with the most thoughtful gift...I love it so much! I love the meaning behind it, her incredible talent that she shared, and the fact that she knew what would touch my heart the most... "FAMILY" in my children's language! To top off a wonderful day of family, we returned home from several days of being away and checked our mailbox. Waiting for us was our children's I800 Approvals...the U.S. has no objection to us becoming parents to A and S! What a sweet Christmas gift from God!

Remembering While We Wait: December 2, 2012 GIFTS FOR HOPE CHRISTMAS EVENT

Adoptive families in Columbus collaborated for an adoption/orphan care fundraiser called Gifts For Hope Christmas Event at Westminster Presbyterian Church. Our crew sold crocheted flowers, survival bracelets made by the girls, handmade-in-India journals and notecards, and Scentsy. My friend's mother and aunt drove down from South Carolina to help me sell the Scentsy. I enjoyed my time with these ladies so much! An array of desserts and refreshments were served to our shoppers.

Remembering While We Wait: November 4, 2012 ORPHAN SUNDAY

We are thankful to have churches in our community such as Westminster Presbyterian and CrossPointe that participate in Orphan Sunday. It has become a tradition for us to attend Westminster on Orphan Sunday with adoptive families who have become dear friends. This year, Westminster mentioned A and S in their service. It melts my heart to know that churches around our community are praying our children home. Our other tradition is to attend the Adoption/Orphan Care Roundtable at CrossPointe Church.

Remembering While We Wait: May 19, 2012 PROJECT 5 X 7 ART AUCTION FUNDRAISER

Early in 2012, the concept of Project 5 X 7 was created. Five families bringing home seven children. After months of planning and collecting art, we held a silent art auction as a fundraiser to help the Project 5 X 7 families minimize the high cost of adoption. Due to the generosity of people who donated artwork, purchased art, and donated additional monetary gifts, the auction raised close to $8000 which was divided among the adoptive families. The money was placed in each family's Lifesong For Orphans account to be paid to the adoption agency when needed. What a huge blessing it was to put a dent in our expenses while working side-by-side with precious friends sharing a common goal!