Now for the Long Hike!

Hi folks! I think from here on out our blog may get a little boring. That's because we're coming to the long waiting period. Our dossier is almost ready to be sent off to Thailand. This past week it's been passed around different government offices in Washington, D.C. In about 1-2 more weeks it should arrive back in Seattle at the WACAP office. From there, they should be sending it off to Thailand. And then we are being told that it'll probably take between 4-10 months before we hear back from Thailand. Once they send us the invitation to travel we need to choose one of the two interview dates offered and plan on travelling to Bangkok about another 1-3 months later. So, we're guessing that the earliest we'd be able to go pick up Penny might be about January.

Well, Jay and I have had a little experience in hiking. On our anniversary we actually did a 7 mile round-trip hike to a beautiful lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, called Loch Vale. It was hard and tiring. Sometimes I wished we could just fast forward to the destination. However, then we wouldn't have been able to see all of the beauty along the way. I'm sure that God will continue to bless us by showing us His love through so many beautiful people around us as they cheer us on on this long hike called, WAITING. I think it's going to be especially hard on Mom, because she is so anxious to become a Grandma, again. I'll leave you with some pictures from our recent hike. We are blessed to live in such a beautiful state. I just wish we didn't have so many hot days. Perhaps, it's meant to help us feel the heat like our daughter does every day. However, Thailand's is a tropical heat and here it's like the hot, dry gust of wind that rushes out of the oven when you open the oven door.

A Family Stuck in Cambodia

If you have a moment, can you visit the following website? http://rainbowkids.com/
When you get there please read the first article about a family stuck in Cambodia. It's quite a moving story of love and devotion. If you can, please go to the link at the bottom of the page and e-mail their Arkansas state senator asking him to be an advocate to help change the immigration laws so that they can bring their children home from Cambodia. I can't imagine being unable to bring your kids back into the U.S. even though they are legally adopted. I learned of this family, because they also have one adopted daughter from Thailand and are members of the Yahoo group for families adopting older children from Thailand. I might also mention that they are followers of Jesus. No wonder they have such a big love!

One More Paper

We're doing well. We got our I-171H form today from the Department of Homeland Security in D.C. that states, "It has been determined that you are able to furnish proper care to an orphan or orphans as defined by section 101(B) (1) (F) of the immigration and nationality act." So, I guess that means that the Feds think we're OK after analyzing our fingerprints that we had taken back in February in Denver.

Record Speed!

I'd like to share the e-mail message we received from Andrea Caruthers today. It's very encouraging that things are moving along faster than usual. But, please pray for those families who are in a VERY long waiting process for getting a child from China. We joined an adoption small group at our church, recently. And one family is in that indefinite holding pattern waiting to hear from China. Here we thought of going that route. But, God directed us to a different country and to an older, waiting child and now it seems things are speeding up for the route that we're headed down. We hope it'll continue so that we can meet Penny soon. Meanwhile, I've started learning a few simple phrases in Thai. "Hello" is "Sawadee ka (for women) and Sawadee krup (for men)". The same word also means "Good bye".

Below you'll find the exciting words of the e-mail message we received today: (two days after Andrea mailed our dossier off to Olympia, WA)

We've experienced a truly unusual turn around for State verification - I found your dossier waiting for me today on my desk with the State Seal !!

I am thrilled at the fast pace things are moving...and have turned around and sent it off for federal verification & Thai Consulate approval. This should take approx. 2 weeks - up to 3... during busy times. :-)

Thank God!

We're so thankful for God's provision. Yesterday we got the news that we were approved for an interest free loan from our adoption agency. That'll certainly help out with our travel expenses. And then, as funds come in from the sale of our cookbooks we'll be able to pay back the loan. Isn't it great to know that God always meets our needs when we step out in faith? If anyone out there has thought about adoption but thought that they can't handle it financially, we encourage them to reconsider. It is possible. Nothing is impossible with God! We also got the good news that our dossier has been sent to Olympia, WA to receive the seal of the Secretary of State there. Hopefully, by next week it'll be returned to WACAP so they can send it on to Washington, D.C.

Sorry, no photos!

You may be wondering why we're not showing any photos of our darling girl. We were told that there are vigilantes out there who will do evil things to children and/or to people trying to adopt them. The Thailand government is very careful to try and protect these kids. So, until the Thailand government approves our dossier we are not supposed to post any photos on the internet. Sorry! Use your imagination or come visit our house to ask to see her picture. And, so we'll continue to use the nickname we gave her, "Penny", to keep her safe. Thanks for your understanding!

Lots of Exciting News!

Yeah! We've recently received even more new video footage of our darling daughter. They resent the one CD that they had sent before which had no sound. And now we could finally hear the sound! It was so cool to be able to hear her singing the song that went along with her dance. The footage is from when she was eight and nine years old. And now the one we got today was just taken on May 24th. While there, they asked her if she would be interested in being adopted. The good news is that she answered, "Yes." We also received some more photos of Penny. We think she's adorable, but I guess we're a little biased. Jay said last night after watching the video footage, "I'm smitten!" To think, it's almost Father's Day and soon he'll be a daddy. In the recent report written up after Andrea visited with Penny and the social workers in Udon Thani we got even more of a sense that Penny has a lot in common with us. Many things about her especially remind me of myself. As Jay said, "I think God used the same recipe when he made you two, but just added a little more cinnamon in making Penny." It was fun to watch a couple of videos showing her doing Thai dances. I can't wait for her to teach me them. We did find out that she only speaks Thai (no Lao). We also found out that her favorite food is pizza! Well, she should make that adjustment to American culture quite smoothly. When they asked her what she'd like to do when she grew up she said, "Be a teacher." And when asked what kind of teacher, she replied, "an English teacher." Andrea found that amusing and mentioned to the Thai workers that it's kind of amazing since the couple who are interested in adopting her are both teachers.

Another exciting thing we received today was the proof for our cookbook. It looks like it'll be pretty cool. They should be all printed up by around mid-July. So, we should be able to bring some with us when we travel back to South Dakota in early August to sell to any relatives or friends back there who would like to purchase one.

Yesterday we sent back all the papers required to put Penny on hold. And the tracking info showed that our dossier reached WACAP on June 1st. So, things continue moving forward. We hope that if all continues moving as they have been that we could possibly go pick up our daughter by around Christmas time. Now that would be the best Christmas gift possible!

Almost on Hold

Well, this week we received the paper work to fill out in order to have Penny offically put on hold for us. We need to send that back in this coming week. We also received a CD rom with old video footage of her. One was of her doing a Thai dance. Another showed her running around smiling and giggling outside. Sometimes she was leading other younger children around. Perhaps an indicator that she'll want to be an older sister someday? The bummer was that the sound was completely garbled. But, it was still fun looking at the pictures of our bright, smiley future daughter. I hope she'll keep smiling even if she comes to America. I'm sure it'll be a very big shock for her. I asked the Thailand coordinator at WACAP (Andrea) if Penny knows anything about us wanting to adopt her. She said they still haven't told her any specifics. But, they did give her the gift from us (without our names on it). And she said that typically when a child at an orphanage receives a gift from overseas like that they get the hint that there is a family interested in adopting them. So, she's probably beginning to suspect something. But, they won't tell her more until the time comes closer for us to go get her. We sent off all of our dossier materials for Thailand. It should pass through several hands in the U.S. First it'll go to Olympia, Washington (since WACAP is located in Washington state). Next it will make it's way to Washington D.C. to visit with Homeland Security. After that, back to WACAP and then finally on to Thailand. (Perhaps by July?!...we think.) And then we wait probably anywhere between 3-6 months until we hear from Thailand. They will give us a scheduled day to meet with government officials in Bangkok to make our petition to adopt Penny. That travel date will probably be anywhere from 1-3 months after they send us the invitation. So, we're guessing that the earliest possible time we could be travelling to Thailand would be around Christmas. The latest would possibly be next summer. Not quite like getting a nine month due date. But, in the end, if it's God's will I'm sure that we will have our child. One of the things we plan to do as we wait is to begin to learn Thai.

Photo of Udon Thani street

This week we're looking forward to receiving the recent video footage they took of Penny when Andrea recently visited Thailand a couple of weeks ago. Andrea told me that she can't describe in words what a bright smile Penny has when you meet her in person. She said that she just sparkles. I can't wait until we travel there, ourselves and see that sparkly smile.