Trusting God with the details

It's been a whirl wind of a week!

Monday we received rather bleak news and we are still uncertain how the new court change will affect the timing of bringing Titus home. However, what we do know is that God is in control and we are trusting Him for His perfect timing and provision. We are aching to get to our Titus but we know that God is holding all three of us in the palm of His hand.

Tuesday morning was our appointment day to be fingerprinted for immigration. After our last fingerprinting fiasco, I was extremely nervous that we would have another "same song second verse" on our hands. However, the wonderful man who administered our fingerprints assured me that the KBI had nothing on him and he would get a good read. :) We are praying that he is correct...

While at the immigration office Kevin and I were surrounded by so many different ethnic groups all seeking one thing, United States citizenship for themselves or someone else. As Kevin was in the office being fingerprinted and I sat in the waiting room waiting for my turn, I couldn't help but sit there and pray. I prayed for our country and that the US would be a country that Titus would love and be proud to be a citizen of. All of sudden my thoughts and prayers were interrupted by a door being thrown open and an older Asian woman screaming with joy. Her entire family erupted into celebration and there were many hugs. I have no idea the words that were exchanged, but the joy was contagious. The entire waiting room erupted into smiles. Wow-what an amazing thing to witness a fresh brand new citizen of the United States.

This morning there were tears and rejoicing as I opened Anna's email that announced we have a court date set for July 22nd. We have been praying for two weeks for this news and it is finally here. God is in the details and we are praying specifically for several things.

• That God would soften the heart of the judge and that he would issue our first decree on July 22nd or VERY soon after
• Peace for Titus' birth mom/family for her decision
• AIT would quickly give us an appointment after we receive our second decree from court
• Continued safety and health of Titus
• That we will be able to hold Titus by his 6 month birthday-August 25th. (a mama can always hope)
  
• Our fingerprints will be readable and we will receive our I-171h (immigration) approval
• The last bit of money we need for travel
• For God's perfect timing, and His glory to be recognized in everything that happens in this adoption that He alone has orchestrated!

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. I John 5:14-15

In honor of Father's Day, I wanted to post a couple of my favorite funny stories about my father and father-in-law.

I was only 19 when I knew I wanted to marry Alicia, pretty much a kid looking back. I had been to her parents' house a few times, and knew her parents fairly well when it was time to ask for Alicia's father's blessing. I was up visiting them, trying to find an opportunity to get Leon alone to ask his blessing. The opportunity finally arose and I worked up my gumption. I told Leon that I loved Alicia and wanted to marry her with his blessing. Now, Leon is a pretty quiet person with a subtle sense of humor. When I asked for his blessing, he paused, smiled, rubbed his chin and said, "I don't think I'm the one you should be asking." I told him I was pretty sure what Alicia's answer would be, but I wanted to ask him first. He smiled again and said, "Welcome to the family."

And now a slightly embarrassing story about my dad. He's told this story many times, to many people so I'm going to go ahead and share it. Growing up, the Tooth Fairy was my dad in his sleeping apparel, a white under shirt and tighty-whiteys. The house I grew up in was an old farm house that had counter-weighted windows. To open or close them took some effort and was very noisy. The house didn't have air-conditioning, so upstairs where my brothers and I slept was very hot, and we had to keep our windows open and pray for a breeze. If it started to rain in the middle of the night, my dad would get up to close our windows. The first time I remember dad doing this I was old enough to know he was the Tooth Fairy, but still pretty young. I woke up to the window closing (clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-BOOM!!!) and I saw Dad, in his usual sleeping attire. I was still mostly asleep, and I thought, "Why is the Tooth Fairy closing my window?" To this day, we still refer to Dad as the Tooth Fairy, especially when referring to his sleeping attire. :)

Happy Father's Day to both my father and father-in-law.

Titus' First Haircut

It was a big month for Titus!
Titus got his first haircut and loved every minute of it.
He just smiled and laughed as everyone oo-ed and ah-ed at how handsome he is.

He looks like such a big boy!

Along with the pictures Jess reported that Titus is doing really well. He is eating better and is now drinking 120cc (4 oz) 6-7 times a day. He is talking and smiling a lot more and has been sleeping better at night too.

We love you Titus and can't wait to hold you and love on you in a few months.