So what have the days been like since I last posted???

Well, let me just say that I am very sorry for not posting an update lately. Things have been moving, moving, moving! We have been busy putting every piece of paperwork together. That is a huge task...to keep it all straight. I now have a notebook that I have everything in and I carry it with me. I shudder to think what would happen if I lost it. I have every account, every personal identification, Dr. notes, etc. in there! It just keeps getting bigger and bigger.

Speaking of Dr.'s notes...there is a funny story! We decided to go up to a walk-in clinic for our appointments. My dear friend had called a Christian Dr. to make sure this was something he would do for us. He told her when he was working and that he would do this. She told me he was working the next day. Matt went into work and wrapped some things up the next morning, then we loaded up the car and took off. I tried to explain to the girls that we are a "team" and we are doing this for Isaiah, so let's work together to make this a good afternoon. We find the clinic...we had not been there before. I ran inside to see if they had time to do our international adoption physicals. She said they were slow and they had time for us. She proceeded to ask, "How many will there be?" Thinking it was just Matt and I, I think. I said, "Six of us!" She laughed, and I laughed a nervous laugh hoping that she would not change her mind. She pulled out six "new patient" clip boards and asked me to fill them out. I ran back out to the car where my waiting family was to tell them that we could all come in. I am gathering my notebook with our "lives" documented in it. Matt came around the car to unbuckle the littlest from her seat. He looks at me with a look of disgust! The littlest had fallen asleep for about 15 minutes and managed to wet her pants in that time. (For what it is worth, she had called out that she had to go potty while we were driving, but we couldn't stop so we kept going hoping she would hold it.) I am usually a prepared mom and have extra clothes "just in case", well that day the extra clothes had a drink spill on them while we were pulling out of McDonald's. At this point, I run back in and tell the receptionist what has happened, and ask if they mind if we quick run to Kmart. I grab the clipboards and out the door I go again! We run to the store, I run in while Matt fills out his clipboard. I get some dry clothes for her, and back to the clinic we go. I bring the big girls in, Matt changes the littlest and we all sit down in the waiting room. I am still filling out our 3rd,4th,5th, and 6th clipboards! The receptionist tells me they are going to bring us back three at a time. Then the nurse calls me and one of the girls...they decided to just do two at a time (I can understand). The first thing the nurse does is take my blood pressure. Now if you review the story that I just told you, you can imagine that the series of events probably would raise a mom's blood pressure. I warned her that I things had just been a little crazy...to my surprise, my blood pressure was perfect! The nurse was amazed and said, "Wow, this lady can handle stress extremely well!" (I am writing this out so I can refer to it later when I am stressed and need proof that I have been told that I can handle it "well"!) Three and a half hours later, our family of six walked out of the clinic as fine specimens of health! And boy was I relieved to get that done!!! The girls were so well behaved. They read their books and played quietly together while they waited. Can you believe that we pretty much had the clinic to ourselves the whole time we were there? As we left, the waiting room it started to fill up. God answered our prayers! Thank you to those of you that were praying for us that day!

After the appointment we went to Walmart to have our passport photos taken...why are we getting them so early might you wonder!?!? Well, the Lord, in His amazing ways, has opened the door for Matt and I to join a missions trip to the orphanage at the end of May. We will get to hold little Isaiah in our arms and spend time bonding with him. They will allow us to bring him back with us to the hotel where he will spend the night with us while we are there. We will help with projects at the orphanage and get to experience our son's country first hand. Yes, the trip home will be extremely painful and heart-wrenching to leave, but we believe that this first step in bonding with him is of great importance. We also want to extend our most sincere appreciation to the nannies and staff of For His Glory while we are there. Please pray for us as we are preparing for this trip. Pray for the Lord to prepare our hearts to serve Him. Pray for Isaiah's heart to be prepared for us. And please, please pray that the Lord will put a hedge of protection around us and keep us safe while we are there. This is a huge step of faith for a girl like me that is quite content to stay close to home! I enjoy safety and security, but the Lord is once again increasing my belief in Him! We need people that are seriously committed to covering us in prayer while we are away. If you are willing to commit to praying for us, please send me an email. I just have to say one the biggest blessings in this...during Bible with the girls, they have been praying the most amazing prayers. I have been fretting about what our schooling will look like when we bring Isaiah home. Then I hear them pray and know that we are doing the right thing. I wouldn't want to miss this bonding experience for anything. The Holy Spirit puts things on their hearts to pray for that I have been concerned about but have not talked about with them. They pray the most sincere prayers for Isaiah, for his heart, for him to not only to be their brother on earth, but that he will become their brother in Christ. They pray for his heart to be prepared to bond with ours while we are there on the trip. God is just so amazing in how He works in our lives. Please join the girls in praying for our family!

There is a glimpse of what our days have looked like! Next week we will have our psychological exam and receive all of our vaccinations.