Gotcha Day and more

So, I'm with our daughter and will blog it all at some point. However, I'm quite consumed with her, and internet is less predictable than we'd hoped. All that said, I'll rewind and document everything from my vantage point later. You just want pictures anyway, though, right? ;-)

Know that prayers are being answered and Dorothy is AMAZING.

For pictures, go to Jess' blog: http://www.speckledbirdart.com/blog I told you her work was incredible. Prepare to cry!

Keep praying! We have a trip home and a few days left that need to run smoothly!

"Go, Cat, Go!"

"Get out of that bag!"

I've been keeping a little secret. It's a good secret. You'll love it!

We're taking someone with us to India.

That "someone" is Jessie Baldwin of Speckled Bird Art. She's been a friend of Eric's since she started dating one of his closest high school friends, Rick. By the time Eric and I were dating, they were already married and living in Las Vegas.

Fast forward to January. I sent out our referral announcement e-mail and got this response from Jess:

"I want to go to India and take pictures of you getting your baby."

HuH????! What?!

If you haven't already, go click on her website. She is a breathtakingly talented professional photographer. It would be a dream to have her photograph us getting Dorothy, but I also knew that this adoption sapped us of a lot of resources and there is no way we were going to splurge on a photographer for our adoption. "Great fantasy, but I'm not rich", I thought.

So, I politely responded that, while we'd love that, it wasn't in our budget.

What I did not know, was that God was working in her heart; He was giving her a love for the children of India. And, if there was a way, she was planning to go to India whether it included us or not. Our referral just solidified that resolve and gave it another facet. You can read more about it here, in Jessie's own words.

So, she is coming with us! Tickets bought. Visas in hand.

I can not wait to see the pictures! People, she works MAGIC with her camera. I knew she was good, but it was never more apparent to me until this August when we were at Matt and Kristy's wedding. I was there- saw the same wedding, witnessed the same gorgeous gown, and ate the same cake. But, the difference between what I saw, and the details and emotions she picked up... remarkable! That's why she does what she does; she has a gift. (see her shots here)

My daughter, who has only ever had a handful of images taken of her, will have her first moments with Mommy and Daddy captured in gorgeous detail! Rather like making up for lost time, isn't it?

I am continually floored by how the Lord has used our adoption. It's not just about us. It's not just about Dorothy. And even if it were, that would graciously be enough! But, our generous, loving God is going to impact so many more with these images, with our time in India, with our stories. We'd don't know the half of it yet, but I am expectant.

See? I told you, you'd love this secret!

Send Off Party

Once we got guardianship back in August, it has been a guessing game as to when we might leave for India. Knowing that it must be close, my dear sister-in-law, Angela, and my amazing friend Tifany organized a Send Off party for Eric and me.

Being that Dorothy is our fourth child, we don't *need* anything baby/child-wise, so I thought a Send Off party, rather than a "shower" was a great idea! If anyone wanted to do something for us, pray for us. If anyone felt like they had to bring a gift- let it benefit the kids at the orphanage. For some time now I've had a humongous mound of donations building in the corner of our dining room to take to the children at the orphanage and have come to find out that additional bags for international flights are $150. We suggested that friends donate toward the excess baggage fees we'd incur as a result of gathering up so many donations for the orphanage.

The food was sooooo good. It was a pot luck Pasta Bar. Everyone brought a type of pasta, with the sauce separate. Then, when it was dinner time, you got to mix and match, pick and choose. Cream sauces, tomatos sauces, meat sauces. There were sides of salad, and at least 5 desserts! The aroma of garlic bread, fresh from the oven, was in the air. I don't remember a single person that entered the house that *didn't* comment on the delicious garlic scent. Mmmmmm.

Gorgeous gladiolas on the table. I always think of my mom when I see gladiolas. My dad brought them home from the Vista farmer's market almost weekly for her during my childhood.

What's a dessert table without kids asking , "Is it dessert time yet???"?

Sweet as the cake on her face, is newly adopted Harbour. They've been home about 3 months.

The crowd beginning to arrive. I was shocked how many people were there when you counted the kids. Including kids, I think Tifany said there were about 50 people. Half of them were little humans. :-) We're a family friendly bunch, that's for sure!

See? An adorable little human.

At this point, we'd all nibbled and gabbed, and everyone was gathering to pray for us.

My brother-in-law, Tim, led us in prayer while the entire group laid hands on us and stood unified.

This may have been when I started to tear up. The support we felt in that moment was tangible. So was God's fulfillment of promises, held for 3 1/2 years. Surreal.

Brother-sister embrace. God has given us incredible family, and I couldn't be happier that they are walking out this journey with us now since moving here last year.

Mr. Ken leading a group of the kids in Simon says. Amazingly, with that large of a group, everyone mostly played well and stayed occupied. Dean, in fact, had so much fun he forgot to eat dinner. We came home at about 10pm and he started crying that he was hungry! All that food- and my son was hungry! (Daddy and I quickly fed him a bowl of cereal and sent him off to bed)

learning how to walk

Oops! I think Grant was "out" here.

Doesn't baby Chloe look like she's saying, "Is Dorothy home yet? I want to PLAY!"

Sneaking a shot of Tifany through the kitchen sink window.

It was only 4 days after the party, that we were able to buy tickets to India! And now that we've started packing, I am really encouraged that all the donation clothes, rolled up *really* tight may even fit in one huge duffle. That said, if we pack everything else really light (and we're good at that!), we should be able to skip the extra baggage fees! ALL the gift money from the Send Off party ($661!) will be able to go toward blessing the kids at the orphanage! That made me super, extra, giddy happy! So, we will either go shopping for things while we're there or we will give the money to be used toward the purchase of a big item like a washing machine or water system. Either way, good is being done, love is being spread! The Lord is using our adoption to change more lives than Dorothy's. I'm overwhelmed by His beautiful plan to use us in caring for orphans.

Needless to say, we feel Sent Off/ Prayed Out and now we can't wait to GO! 2 weeks, people, 2 weeks!!!

FLIGHTS BOOKED!

Dorothy's passport didn't make it in time for traveling this weekend. However, our agency feels confident enough in it's arrival soon to permit us the ability to book travel after Diwali!!!! So, in about 2 1/2 weeks- WE'RE GOING TO INDIA! And, in about 3 weeks, we will already have our newest daughter in our arms.

More to come later.