It's time for our I-600A biometric appointment!

 Happy kids on the farm!

Marshall and Rosemonde at the village! 

Silas James Wilsmith (2) and Scarlet Rose (8)

I haven't kept up on my blog as good as I should have, and I would like to tell you a little more about the children. We started out adopting a different little boy, and God had a different idea. We've always whole-heartedly believed God would bring the exact children He meant for our family. We were completely devastated when we couldn't bring home the first little boy, but just believed God was in control. It's always been hard for me to think of "choosing" based on a picture, but this was a little boy Mallori had spent a lot of time nurturing and nursing back to health. He was the reason we started the adoption process again. The doctor had said he was mentally retarded, but we didn't care. She started working with him and by the time a week had passed, he was sitting up, smiling, making eye contact, and responding to her. He wasn't mentally retarded at all, as far as she could tell, he had suffered from no human stimulation except feeding and changing. He was lethargic. He had gurgles in his lungs, so she started him on anti-biotics right away. He was just shy of his 1st birthday. She was deeply in love with him and asked Barb if her family could adopt him. Barb said yes! We got news later that he was going to another family. All glory be to God, He knows best. There was nothing we could do but trust.

Then, Mallori sat visiting with Barb in the office. We had already also accepted the referral for Scarlet earlier that year. Our dossier was nearly complete, but since we couldn't have Bubba, we thought, "Why not add one more child just in case a sibling group comes available?" Often, sibling groups are split up and it is so terribly heartbreaking. Besides, we had already added three sibling groups to our family, and knew what a blessing they were. Mallori told Barb about our decision and she said, "Well, here's two who have been waiting for nearly two years." The baby had some kind of abdominal surgery, his mother said she took him in for a stomach ache, and she didn't know what they did to him. There was an eight inch scar on his tummy. He had a seven-year-old brother, who was not staying at the village and their mom wanted them to be adopted together. Most moms request this, but it is just not always possible. Scarlet's biological brother, Daniel, is living with a family in Argentina.

Anyway, Barb said, "These two would be great for your mom and dad. What I like about your parents, is- they don't say no to anyone!" So, they started paperwork for them to come to our family! Mallori then emailed me and asked if we would be interested in Willsmith and Fritzly. Ha, ha, ha... and she didn't tell me the paperwork had already been started! I said, "Let us pray about it; I'll let you know in a couple days." Fritzly wasn't exactly the age we thought would fit best in our family, but we figured what do we know?  God is in control, and we trust Him.  I emailed Mallori and told her we'd accept the referral!

We are headed to Fargo on the 11th for our I-600A biometric appointment (fingerprints)! We are so excited to bring these three little sweeties home soon (and Daniel who is not pictured). Please pray that God provides the extra funds needed for legalization, which is the next step! (we need another 3000.00) We trust that He will! Mallori is back in Haiti for a month, and then travels to Ethiopia to help with the beginnings of a new medical clinic!