I really shouldn't be surprised.........

.............but today was just another in the long list of disappointments with our adoption. Our hearing was scheduled for 9am this morning. First of all, my interpreter didn't show up to take me to our hearing. Not sure what happened to her but I'm sure she has a legitimate explanation. I ended up taking a taxi to the court where NO ONE spoke one word of English. If I have learned anything from this experience it's that I really need to work on my Spanish! I know enough to understand that Nola was sick and not going to be able to be present at the hearing. Since Nola wasn't there, the judge would not proceed with the hearing. That doesn't make a lot of sense to me but that's the rules down here. Anyway, we have another hearing scheduled for July 2 at 10am.

My lawyer says it's very important for me to be here so I'm cutting this visit short and coming back next week. I have a copy of the document that the judge gave to all who were present that says in bold letters, she will make a ruling at this hearing.

Please continue to pray for a favorable ruling. It's getting harder to stay positive especially when nothing seems to be going our way.

Catchin' up through pictures

I've become quite the slacker lately. So to make up for lots of lost time, I'm just doing a quick recap of the last few months through pictures.

Happy 18th birthday Kelsey!

We didn't have our usual family get together at our house due to lack of time so we headed down to our favorite after church restaurant one Sunday and celebrated Kelsey's birthday.

Then it was prom time!

Kelsey looked absolutely lovely and Alex was quite handsome!

Kels, Kyle and Maria.......My Three Homebodies

Maria and her dance class all dressed up for the recital.

She had such a wonderful time and did a great job!

Here I am with my first little graduate of the year. Yes, Maria graduated from preschool this year. Now we're on to Kindergarten in the fall.

And my second graduate of the year..........Kelsey and a group of her friends just before

their graduation ceremony.

We had Kelsey's graduation party here at the house. We learned one very important thing.........we need a bigger house! We had a great time celebrating Kelsey's accomplishment.

Congratulations Kelsey!

During Kelsey's party, Mark noticed several bees flying around Maria's play set. We found out we had a swarm of honey bees that decided to make a new home under the floor slats of the play set. We called a bee keeper and he came and rounded up between 1 1/2 and 3 pounds of bees, including the queen, and took them safely away. If you look closely in the picture, you can see several bees flying around. They had just started to make some honeycomb that was attached to one of the slats. Amazingly, not one sting out of that whole mess!

One sharp looking bike!

Mark had some custom work done to his bike. He had a fairing added, hard bags and a

trunk. Now, if we can just find the time, we're ready to hit the road!



Maria is becoming quite the little fish. She's about to wear her daddy out!

"Throw me up again, daddy, throw me up again!!!

Maria and her buddy Ella had a great time at the Indy zoo last week.
They are looking at one of the hundreds of butterflies at the butterfly exhibit.

Beautiful!

This was the first time Maria had the courage to pet the sharks in the petting tank.

The girls had a great time (and so did the moms)!

Now, I think you're officially caught up, at least until the next time I slack off.

Ahhh, Finally Home!!!

It was a rough journey but they are finally a family and home where they belong!

Joshua, Alison and little Audree Suzanne. The smiles say it all.

Audree was bored with all of the fuss and would much rather have been sleeping but of course we all had to pass her around and take turns snuggling;)

Aunt Anna with Papaw and Daddy Josh looking on

Aunt Kelsey

Me...........Granny............oh, I love saying that!!!!

And Papaw getting his turn.

She is a beautiful baby and we are so thankful that she is now a part of our family.

Thank you God!

And Now, The Best Update Of All...............

.........it's official..............Josh and Alison are officially parents!!! Praise the Lord!!!! Thank you all for all of your prayers. We won't get to see the little princess until tomorrow. I'll post some pics then. For now, we're doin' the happy dance at the Lane household!!!
Woo Hoo!!!!!

UPDATED UPDATE!!!!

Well, a healthy baby girl made her debut this morning shortly before 10am. Josh and Alison were there for the delivery and Josh got to cut the cord. Although the birth mother is saying now, that she wants to go through with the adoption, there is a wait time of 24 hours before she can sign the adoption papers. We'll continue to pray for God's guidance for the birth mother and patience and courage for Joshua and Alison as they wait through what will be the longest 24 hours of their lives.

Hopefully, tomorrow, I'll be making an official birth announcement and claiming the title of "Granny" once again!

Thanks for your continued prayers!

UPDATE!!!!!

What a difference a day makes!
As I'm typing, Josh and Alison are at the hospital with the birth mother (at her request). She is in labor, a few weeks early. Please continue to pray...........for a healthy baby, for the birth mother to make the best decision for herself and her baby, and for Josh and Alison as they wait to see what the birth mother's decision will be.

I'll keep you posted.......

Needin' All Prayer Warriors Onboard

I can't believe it's been since the first of May since I last posted and even longer than that since I posted any family news. I'm soliciting your prayers to cover my son Joshua and his wife Alison. After waiting for such a long time to start their family, Josh and Alison received a call a few weeks ago that they had been chosen by a birth mother to be the adoptive parents of her soon to be born daughter. Of course, with guarded hearts, they began making plans to be parents. They attended Dr. appointments with the birth mother and had been helping her out with living expenses. Yesterday, their hearts were saddened when they got a call from their agency stating the birth mother was having second thoughts and it wasn't looking good for the adoption to proceed as planned. The baby is due in three weeks so there is still a possibility the birth mother could reconsider, but that's not looking likely. Please remember Joshua and Alison as they work their way through this disappointing news together. And remember the birth mother as she struggles to make the best decision for her unborn child.