Apparently several documents that came out of court at the same time ours did had typo issues and are being re-done. Apparently ours is one of them. This basically means that the waiting will be longer. Since they still use typewriters in Congo, this may take a while....
In the meantime, God is working in our lives... He is molding our character and getting us ready for our new addition. :)

God is good, and may I just say, God is good ALL the time...

We were able to take the family to a Buffalo farm in Alabama on Saturday and had a blast! I will try to post a photo soon. We went fishing at a pond on the farm and Joshua, our youngest, caught about 3 fish!!!! The only other fish that was caught was by Hannah, but He jumped off the hook at the very last minute!!! Awwww, so sad :(  But, did we ever have a great time together! We also hope to get some Buffalo meat in the next several weeks...;)

We are currently reading some transracial adoption materials that have been very informative for us and are helping us to be prepared for what to expect...

Keep praying for our journey and we will do the same for each of you!
P.S. Tina's aunt Betty Gail unexpectantly passed away a week ago and we would appreciate your prayers for the family!
Blessings to you all!

Still no news, but in the meantime, we are checking into the vaccine's that we will need to have before we travel to Congo. Some of the ones that we will need are:
Yellow Fever (mandatory)
Typhoid
Hep A
Hep B
Malaria (pills)
Polio
Tetanus (optional)
We are planning to start these soon to avoid possible side effects when it is time to travel.
Also, we are starting to put together a travel list and purchase things that we may need for our trip...
If you are interested in sending donations for the orphanage, we will be glad to take them with us. Send us an email or call and let us know what you would like to send.

Some ideas are:
Small toys
Medicines (Childrens ibuprofen, lice medication, vasaline...)
Small dry erase boards with markers
Childrens books (simple ones with picture of item and English name)
Cloth diapers
Bath soap (bar)
Pacifiers
Sippie Cups
Inflatable toys
Small sports balls
Crib toys
School supplies (pens, markers, coloring books, etc...)
Sleepers
Baby-safe dolls
light blankets
Cash donations for food or other items...

If you are interested in sending items, please let us know within the next month so that we can be prepared ahead of time.
Thank you all for your sweet prayers and support!
Blessings to you all!!!

New Photo

Boy, I feel blessed. We got 2 new photos last week and today received one more! Our precious Isaiah is standing up in this one! It was kinda sad to see him making such progress without us, but we are so thankful to be able to see him. He is holding on to a pole and looking as sweet as can be! God is so good to us! We are trusting Him daily for His provisions and His timing!!!

Feeling so excited today! A couple that just got back from DR Congo just posted photos that they took at the orphanage while they were there....and we got to see 2 photos of Isaiah!!! He is growing so much! It was so nice to see him in the arms of one of the workers and he looked so content!
This was a much needed little blessing in the midst of our waiting!!!
God is so good! He has such a way of throwing in unexpected blessings when you most need them! Thank You Lord!!!!
Thank you all for keeping us in your prayers...
We are expecting to be getting our court documents very soon to go over and look for errors and then send them back for further processing.
God's timing is perfect and more and more we are learning to fully depend on Him...Love to All!

Waiting... patiently....

Okay, so God has definitely been speaking to us on our low level of patience. He is showing us more and more each day that trusting Him is mandatory. Resting in Him is a must. Listening to Him moment by moment is necessary.
In the news, Congo is obviously having issues.
They are coming up on elections on Nov. 27th. The last time they had elections, thousands, even tens of thousands, died. There is the threat of Civil War, again...
While this could be discouraging to us, it could also remind us that even moreso, our Isaiah needs to be with us, his forever family. But, not before God gives us the green light. Not one single moment before.
You see, our Heavenly Father Was and Is and Is to Come...that means He knows whats coming and He alone knows when certain things should happen and how they should happen. Therefore, our trust MUST be in Him and His timing. We cannot see what He sees. We cannot know what He knows. We cannot do what He can do. Why would we want to do anything else but to trust Him? We simply can't risk going our own way...it's to dangerous. Its too risky. There are too many unknowns for us. We must follow Him fully and completely, or face serious consequences.
As for us, we will Trust in the Lord!
As we await the right timing for the Certificate of Non-Appeal, please be in prayer for us, for our agency, for Isaiah, for the careworkers at the orphanage, for the workers processing the cases, and for the country that could be at war in a few short months. Please pray God's protection and provision and power over all.
Thank You All for your sweet Prayers!

The remainder of our process looks like this:

Certificate of Non-Appeal...up to 60 days (approx. 30)
Prepare and submit paperwork to DFA...1-2 weeks
Approval by DFA...4 weeks
Apply for I600 approval from US CIS (Immigration)...up to 2 months
Request Embassy Appointment
Embassy Appointment...2-6 weeks
Visa issued...1 week
Travel!!!
Submit paperwork to DGM...1 day
DGM letter Issued...2 weeks
Travel home!!!! :)

Please pray that each step will take the minimum amount of time...
Blessings to you all!!!

Our prayers have been answered!!!! We have passed court!!!! Woohoo!!! Finally, after about 14 weeks of court!!!
Praise The Lord!!!
Now, we have a few other steps to go. These steps can take anywhere from 2-5 months.
Our next step is to wait for the Certificate of Non-appeal (30 days)...
Thank you all for your prayers!!! Please continue praying as we continue this process...