In the Same Timezone

I just had a chance to read Hope's last blog. This blog has been her project but now I must add something. Barry and I are in the Beautiful Country of Aruba on a trip he earned through work. For those of you who may not know it is 15 miles off the coast of South America. Last night we were sitting on the beach. I commented that we have 6 children (three not yet home from Colombia). Four are in the same time zone with us-our son in college in Florida and the three we are to adopt. And two are 4 time zones behind us-our daughters Hope and Beau. We have had a wonderful time here and it has given us time to talk about what is ahead. We have had a LOT going on and it has been a winding road as all of you adopting understand. We had a set back with a home addition we had planned just hours before getting on the plane for this trip. We had to undo plans we had made in our mind and rethink a few things. At first we were disappointed, then relieved that God is watching out for us. And in the end we stuck with our favorite motto: ATTITUDE is EVERYTHING. Our kids have heard this a million times. We now feel we have a plan to make our home stretch a little until we can revisit the addition idea next spring. We are even quite excited about it.

Now we are waiting for our psych eval. to be finished and our I171 to arrive (hopefully with no snags or hold ups). Julie emailed us three weeks ago about a group of three. The oldest is a girl who is 8, the next is a girl who is 6 1/2 and the youngest is a boy who is 4 1/2. She only knows they are from the Florencia area. CHI has not heard anything else in three weeks, only that more information is coming. I can't help but wonder if that is because we are still finishing our last bit of paperwork. God is in control of the timing of our adoption. I feel so confident in that. So things are moving well and we can't wait to meet our new babies. I have been praying daily for these children. If they are meant to be ours the we say YES and if not then I ask God to please bring them their forever family quickly. I feel so honored to partner with Barry and parent more children. I love them so much already. As a couple WE feel honored that the Lord would allow us to bring more children into our home. God knows their names and He has more invested in these young lives than we do. He is watching over them.

It has been so nice to see all the Colombian referrals and to follow along with the families that are traveling. I am also standing in faith for those families that are on the Vietnam waiting list. I have a dear friend I met through CHI who has been waiting for over 600 days. She has amazing grace and maturity. Meeting her is a highlight of my adoption process. Please pray for this CHI program and these families as these are unsure times for all of them.

One more thing. Aruba is the nicest tropical place I have ever been. The people are amazing and it is so lovely everywhere you look. Many tropical places are nice in the tourist areas but just beyond the native people are suffering. I have a very hard time tuning this out when I travel. (Maybe that is a good thing.) It is not the case here. The economy seems to be good for everyone. It helps a compassionate person like me to "check out" and relax.
Jan