Growing, growing, growing....

Today we recieved a height and weight update. Considering that he was just over 3 lbs at birth...he's a big boy now.

He weighs 19 lbs and is 27.3 inches tall. We are so thrilled that he is gaining weight and growing. They added chicken, fish, vegetable, and dahl (?) to his diet. Obviously he's thriving.

He may be a little small on the American growth charts, but he's right on target for Indian children. I'll bet he has some of those cute baby fat rolls on his little legs :)

Passport Update :(

Well...it's Monday. The news we received today was not good. Three passports were issued, but Ian's was not one of them. Unfortunately, the three that were issued were incorrect. Apparently something is missing on them. So they have to be sent back to the passport office for correction. That correction can take 10-14 days. We're hoping when his is issued that everything will be correct. If not, then his will have to go back for correction.

We need all the prayers going up right now that we can get. So...please...pray for his passport to be issued and that it is correct.

10 Months Old

Today Ian is 10 months old. We had so hoped to have him in our arms by today. But, maybe we'll have him in our arms and home before he is 11 months old.

I often wonder what he's doing. It's about 10:45am on Wednesday in Kolkata as I'm typing this. I wonder if he's sleeping. Maybe he's eating. Maybe he's playing. I can't help but think about those things throughout the day.

My prayer continues to be his health, safety and the watchful guidance of his caregivers. And...of course....passport.

Another Week...Still No Passport

It's Monday....another week has gone by....and still no passport. Our update today tells us the same thing as last week. Passport should be issued by the end of the month. There was, however, a new piece of information....Anju (the orphanage director) says that we can probably look at travel either the first or second week in February. AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!

We just can't decide what to do. Should we go ahead and book our travel without his passport being issued? Should we wait and then pay even higher airfares? It's all a balancing act right now.

Either way....we know that before long, all of this will be a memory and we'll have our precious Ian in our arms forever.

More as we know it....

How Do You Say Thank You

As we are preparing for our trip to India, one of the items on the list to pack is "gift for ayahs and gift for Anju". There were some suggestions as to what other families have taken in the past.

When we really think about it...I don't know if there's any gift we can give them that will sufficiently say "thank you". What do you give someone who has taken care of your child for the first 10 months of his life? When I really stop to think about that...wow...it's a little daunting. We're doing a lot of the same type of things that other families have done. I just want them to know how much we appreciate them and what they've done for us. When we watch the video we received in early December, you can tell that these women care so much about these children. When they touch him, their touch looks so gentle and loving.

What remarkable women. I'm looking forward to meeting a few of the women who have cared for Ian. I wonder how I'll feel? What will I say? How will I ever thank them enough?

A Little More News

Well today brought a little more news. Not news that we'd hoped for, but a little more none the less. In an email today, Jynger told us that she spoke to Anju and that it still looks like the end of the month before passports will be issued. Based on that information, it looks like we'll be traveling around February 7th. That's 3 more weeks. It seems like a short time, but honestly, it's way too long. But...at least it's a little more for us to go on. If by some miracle his passport is issued sooner, then we'll travel earlier.

So, my new frame of mind is...we'll have a special valentine this year.

We just continue to pray for that miracle....that his passport will be issued sooner. And, we continue to pray for the health and safety of Ian, and for the wonderful women that take care of him every single day.

Passport Please!!!!

We received guardianship of Ian in December and since then we've been waiting on his Indian passport to be issued. We're STILL waiting. We were told at the very beginning that it takes 10-25 working days for a passport to be issued. Last Monday, Jynger gave us the word that it may be the end of the month before it's issued...which is still in the time frame. Now who knows, it could be issued tomorrow. There's no rhyme or reason to any of it. All I know is, I WANT THAT PASSPORT!!!! As soon as we get it, then we can book our travel and we're leaving to bring that precious baby boy home.

I'm not dealing well with this waiting right now. I can't seem to pull myself together. One minute I'm fine and the next I'm in tears. I've tried to occupy myself by doing laundry and housework...which I hate to do. It's not really helping. I just keep going into his room and sitting in there. Charlie is doing better than I am, but he still has his moments. It's kind of difficult to explain to anyone that hasn't gone through this. It's not like being in labor....at least you're in the process and you know that in a few hours the baby will be there. It's not like pregnancy even....once you're pregnant...you have a "due date". It's just this incredible longing for something you know is out there but you have absolutely no control over.

We were in church this morning and our Pastor just asked all of us to think about something that is heavy on our hearts or bothering us and just lay it at the feet of Jesus. That's what I'm trying to do. Just lay this at the feet of our Savior and He will take care of it. That's my prayer today. That I can just give all of this over to the Lord. I know He is in control.

It's amazing to me how much I love this baby already and I haven't even held him yet. He has no idea that we are about to become his parents, yet we know all about him and think about him all the time. I wonder what he'll think when he meets us?

Please continue to remember us and pray that baby Ian's passport will be issued soon.

More updates as we have them.

Happy New Year

It's 2006 and we're looking forward to an eventful and exciting year. Before long we will make our adventure to India and pick up our little Ian. As close as we are to leaving, it still seems so far away. If everything continues to move along as it has, then we should have him in our arms very, very soon.

I pray that 2006 will bring God's blessings to everyone.

Happy New Year!!