Cause List #3

Our third court hearing is tomorrow on October 1st. The daily cause list just posted. This time we are number 7 on the list. Praying that this is the final hearing!

Third Hearing Scheduled!

It seems to be consistent that the court website updates around 4:00 PM eastern time the day after the hearings. I would know...I check it often enough! I got several emails, texts and phone calls throughout the day from friends and family wondering if we had heard any news. I was standing in the check out line at a Goodwill in Newnan, GA when I pulled up the website from my phone. My heart started pounding when I saw that our third and hopefully final hearing is next Monday on October 1st! We are flying through court at an unprecedented rate. I have not even seen Indian families go through this quickly. The rapid movement at this point may mean that the judge recognizes the special needs status of our children due to their age and sibling status. I am beyond grateful. We are now praying that this third hearing is the final hearing. If so, we could be traveling in four weeks! I think Jeff is in a panic, and after my hours upon hours of browsing online at salwar kameez and kurtas, there may not even be enough time to order them and have them arrive before we travel! Crazy!

Second Hearing!

The court website updated late this afternoon! We did indeed have our first hearing as well as the Irish families! Our second hearing will be tomorrow! The Irish families will have their hearing on October 3rd. This is the quickest turnaround time I've seen to date! Praise the Lord!

Another Cause List

I got an email from my Irish friend today informing me that although the court website has not been updated with the results of our recent hearings, my case is listed on the Daily Cause List for another hearing on Wednesday. I think this could mean one of two things: Either 1) Our case was not heard on the 23rd because it was so far down the list, Or 2) This is our second hearing. I asked our agent and she says it's most likely our case was not heard on Monday and was quickly rescheduled. However, she has put in an email to the attorney and hopefully we'll have some answers soon. This time we are #9 on the list. The Irish families are not on this particular cause list.

Court News!

I spent Saturday in south GA and brought the IPad along just in case the Parkisons were to FaceTime me again. I was so surprised to hear it ringing while I was visiting with my grandmother. It was so amazing to chat with Kelly from her hotel in India again and for my grandmother to experience some of the excitement. During this conversation, Kelly asked me if my court date had been scheduled. I said no, disappointed. Well, one of the Irish families had just informed her that both Irish families had been scheduled! I had not checked the court website in about 5 days, so Kelly quickly checked for me and happily announced that we had been scheduled for Monday along with the other families! Furthermore, we had been changed to a different court with the same judge that heard Kelly's case! Hooray for a good judge! I laughed and cheered like a maniac! So much excitement!!! How awesome that Kelly was the one to share the good news! Shortly after the chat with Kelly, I received the same good news from the Irish family and our agent! we are expecting this to be the first of three hearings.

Updated Court Website

Daily Cause List-- We are scheduled to be the 20th hearing of the day. The Irish families are #26 and #27.

Preparing Hearts

The Parkisons were scheduled to arrive at the orphanage on Friday, September 20th,at 10 AM India time to get their precious daughter. We received an email from our agent the night before stating that the orphanage would not be able to hold our children back from school as requested to meet the Parkisons due to scheduled exams. They said the Parkisons could return in the evening to meet our children. While I had no doubt that they would do everything in their power to meet our children and deliver the gifts we had sent, I worried about this possible scenario because returning to the orphanage would cause confusion for their new daughter. At that point, I was not planning on them meeting my children at 10 AM. Before bed at 1:30 AM eastern time, I prayed that God would just work this situation out for the good of all involved. This was an amazing opportunity for A and S's hearts to be prepared for our coming, but this was little L's day to be joined with her family...her emotional security had to be the top priority! Around the time that I was praying, God was working it all out on the other side of the world! My children had not left for school yet when the Parkisons arrived at the orphanage. They received their sweet daughter, then there was time for them to meet A and S before the children departed for school at 11:30 AM!!! Thank you Lord!!! Sometime between 3 and 4 AM eastern time, I woke up to a Facebook message from Scott saying that they had met the children and attached was a photo! I could not believe it!!! I immediately woke Jeff up and we just gazed at the photo. Could Not Believe It! God worked it out! They were able to take photos and videos of the children for us! They gave the gifts to our children and showed their photo books to them! Kelly pointed out "Mommy, Daddy, Sisters" on all of the pages that contained photos of us! Kelly showed them the photos of their bedrooms, and they nodded their heads. When A and S saw the pages that had photos of all of the framed pictures of them that are in our home, they got VERY excited! That was so good to hear! Kelly is not quite sure what all they understood, but hopefully they will be able to put the pieces together and that they understand that we are their family. Kelly gathered valuable information for us. She took measurements of the children--It looks like A will wear size 6X or 7 even though he is 10-years-old. It looks like S will wear a size 5 or 6 even though she is 9. They are teeny-tiny. As a comparison, our 9-year-old petite bio daughter is 4 inches taller than 10-year-old A! Kelly said that the children were attentive and had good eye-contact and physical coordination. While they were being video-taped, the director kept giving orders of what to sing or do next. That made things a little awkward for the children. She said the children were very compliant. The most shocking news of the day is that my children do not speak a lick of English! We were told that they attend an English Medium School, that English is the third language they are learning, and that they can speak two-word sentences in English. Well.... they did not even respond to the word Hello! "No English!" "No English!" This is what their caregiver kept saying over and over again when Kelly would try to speak to them. Ha! I am so glad to know this information now and not the day we arrive at the orphanage. We went into this adoption assuming that they would not know any English, so this has to be okay with us. Learning this information now will give me the opportunity to TRY to learn some key words and phrases in their language to make our transition smoother. I will also be looking for a good translator app.

A and S hold up their arms to show their new bracelets that were handmade by their sisters!

Kelly shares our photo books with A and S!

I was so excited to get two FaceTime sessions with the Parkisons later in the day! It melted my heart to see them with their new daughter! They took this time to share details of their trip to the orphanage, uniting with their daughter, meeting our children, and they played video footage of A and S for me!

Today was such an amazing day and it was so good for my heart! I felt like I was floating all day long! So many unanswered questions were answered and fears were laid to rest. I have been re-energized for the remaining wait. It was reassuring to see how good they looked...clean, happy, and healthy. To know that trusted friends were able to spend time with our children and to make them feel special is just priceless. We are so grateful to the Parkisons for taking time out of their special day that they've dreamed of for over two years to give us this gift. Families in the adoption world know what a treasure this truly is... We just hope that we can do the same for other waiting families in the near future!

To read more about the Parkison's Gotcha Day and their time with our children, click here. Below is a little from their blog about A and S:

"Soon Ajay and Smita arrived. They sang a song for us, and just stood there with beautiful smiling faces. They were so precious and I was so excited it worked out for us to see them. We were able to hand deliver some gifts from their parents and sisters. It was very special! One of my favorite moments was when Ajay walked in the little room he walked right up to Lyla and patted her cheek and she smiled. I was happy because they know each other, because we will definitely be seeing them again in the future. I think Ajay will be an excellent brother. Smita seems like a leader and she was very thoughtful of her brother, making sure he saw whatever she saw or that he had candy too. They are going to fit right in with the Carrolls."
LOVE!!!

Amazing Race To The Airport...Haha!

Today was a great day! I drove up to my parents' house in Atlanta to meet up with the Parkisons. Their big travel day finally arrived! After they handed off little ones and parked their car, I got the honor of driving them to the Atlanta airport where they caught their first of three flights that would take them to their daughter's city in lnd!a! We made a pit stop at Walgreen's for last minute goodies for their little girl--nail polish and coloring books of course! We grabbed lunch at Chick-Fil-A, then cruised to the airport. K and S are so much fun! It was amazing to experience their excitement at the beginning of their travel. There was a whole lot of talking, a few tears, and TONS of laughter! I know the Parkisons will be friends for life! Tucked away in one of their suitcases are our gifts for A and S. Our agent sent a note requesting that our children be kept "home" from school on Friday so that the Parkisons can meet them. We are praying that the right people received the message and that they do not forget! It will be a dream come true for us if they are able to receive the albums and meet the Parkisons!
Last minute treats for their daughter!

Love this girl!

Ready to embark on the trip of a lifetime!

Getting ready to bow up in lnd!a! Haha!