Patience

I've been told many, many times how patient I am. But, really I'm not! When I appear patient it's probably because I've just been begging God to get the ball rolling. (If you feel led to intercede on our behalf--we'd sure appreciate it!) Although things haven't gone as we had hoped, He has given us a lot of peace during this process. We aren't Christians so that things go our way, but so that at the end of the day we give God glory in every circumstance--even in the waiting.

Romans 5:3-5 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Parks

Awesome playground in Hernando, Mississippi.
Walking in the woods is a big "adventure!" She loves to walk on the tree roots--what a city girl!
It is actually hotter and more humid here than in Singapore, BUT we've still tried to keep Ana as active as possible. Sometimes, early in the morning, we head out to a park for walking and playground time. We usually leave the park by 8:30. Even this early Ana is a big sweatball, but it helps her behavior for the rest of the day.

The Clinton County Fair

Above is an elephant ear (thin deep fried dough sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar), tractors, and walking through the barn. Ana really wanted to ride all the BIG rides (by herself), but she was too short!

This was her favorite ride because it went up high. She had the same boy drive her twice and the last time she drove.

Every fair has a bracelet day. You pay one fee and can ride all day. Ana rode for two hours and the adults got tired :) The funniest thing was that there was a "Chinese dragon" roller coaster.

County Fairs are a longstanding tradition in the States. Students (with a LOT of parental help) will raise animals and enter them in the fair. Traditionally you had to win at the county level to qualify for the State Fair, but now anyone can enter at the State level. We saw llamas, horses, cows, hogs, sheep, and goats. Ana even got to go in a goat pen because Grandma and Grandpa knew the owner. The owner showed us a video of his fainting goats. It was hilarious. They get too excited/scared and they just fall over--stiff as a board.

We had a great time at the fair--it definitely used up a lot of her energy!

Lazy Summer Days

Taking a break on the grass--something I'd never do in Singapore, but Ana loved it!!!

She can never get enough swinging. Thanks good neighbors for letting us borrow your swing!

Can You Guess Her Favorite Color?

She knows what she likes!

I'm SOOOO Old

Early in July we had a great time visiting one of our supporting churches, Grace Mooresville. They have faithfully supported us for 10 years! Thanks Grace!! My first teaching job (Mooresville Christian Academy--they've also supported us for 10 years!) was near this church and I had the privilege of meeting up with two of my students. They are now seniors in high school. Living overseas makes it hard to keep up with former students, so I was so happy to see them doing well. We had a great time meeting up with old friends and sharing with the k-4th grades Sunday school classes. Thanks for having us!

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Here's some of our activities in Indiana. Ana says "hi" to everybody in Singaore. She wants to go "home" and really misses you all!

Yet Another Adoption Update

Our papers were filed at the US embassy last Wed.! Hopefully we'll hear something in a week or two. Please pray that the papers are all acceptable to them and that they don't need anything new!

On another note our US gov't fingerprints (for background checks) expire Sept. 1. This of course is cutting it very close to when we will be traveling. Our agency has strongly encouraged us to get them updated, but when we contacted Bangkok they kept saying wait. To make matters worse we're now on different sides of the planet and were at a loss of how to do it. Our agency very kindly called to get some information and for me to get fingerprinted in the States it was going to take about 45 days just to get an appointment! Matt finally got a hold of someone in Bangkok and they said, "You don't need to be refingerprinted, we'll just run the last prints again AND there is no charge." This is a minor miracle--it's all in who you talk to!

At Home in Martinsville

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Trying to get caught up. I'm shooting for one or two posts a day!!

Adoption Update

All our documents are ready to be submitted to the embassy (in less than a month!!!) There was some minor drama because the agency staff all went on holiday and hasn't checked their e-mail, but the director in Ethiopia was good enough to e-mail us directly. Everything seems to be in order now! Thus begins the wait on the US embassy--some cases are processed very quickly and others take months. We're praying for no problems in the paperwork and good dates to go pick them up.

Quick Adoption Update

Nothing is definite, but we were informed that they think our case will be submitted to the US embassy within the next two weeks! Things are slower at the embassy as there are staff changes and people on vacation. We are excited to see things continue to move! Keep praying that there are not big backups at the embassy because of staffing changes. Also, keep praying for two families that had court LONG ago and still have not received their MOWA letter. It's hard to see others around you passing and your case inexplicably sitting still.