Soaking in the Rays

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A lovely end to a day. I received a phone call from, Beth, a friend through this adoption, telling me about some photos she had come across on facebook of Leia. I was super excited. Then, I received another message from the person who actually took the pictures. I was so excited. Her name is Sara, and she lives in Taiwan with her sister Christel. They are from the states. I know Sara teaches at a school there. They help His Hands out and take the babies on outings and give the nannies a break. Christel, Sara's sister, kept Leia over Chinese New Year and keeps her on weekends some too. Sara says her sister has taken lots of pictures of Leia and plans on making a photobook to give to me when we travel to Taiwan. These women are truly amazing, just like all the others who are involved with His Hands. They truly show their love for orphans in a way that we all should. I am so thankful that my baby girl is in such wonderful care. I mean, she has already seen the ocean and has squished her toes in the sand. What more could a girl want than to soak up some rays? She looked like she had blast. They all tell me "she is such a doll." I would have to agree that she is a doll. I can't wait to meet Sara and Christel when we travel and personally thank them for the love they have shown Leia. She is truly a special little girl.
Trena says she has not heard if our homestudies have been submitted and to just pray that they have. She said all we are waiting for is our court decrees, and then I can say, "Leia, here we come." Please pray for us that we may receive our court decrees. That is all we are waiting on. Also please pray for the Brodines. They are in the same stage of the waiting process as we are. There are two other families that should be traveling in the next few weeks. Please pray for the Smiths as they are soon scheduled to leave. And please pray that the Farmers will receive one last piece of paper from the United States so that they can book their flights and pick up Miss Mylee who is already legally theirs and has been waiting for her forever family for 8 months. I'm praying that final court decrees will be granted next week....with God anything is possible.
Carson had his adenoids out today and tubes placed in his ears. He has been a little crank pot, but I am sure it was from all the drugs. I think he will feel like his normal self tomorrow. We hope so.
Thursday we made a very hard family decision and gave Candy a new home. For those of you who do not know, she was our Shih Tzu that we have had for almost 10 years. With 3 children and one more soon to come home, I just did' think she was getting the attention she deserved. I tried to do this a few months ago and I just couldn't break Olivia's heart. I told her then when we sold our house that we would have to give her away when we moved. Our friends Angie and Tim would dogsit Candy when we would go out of town and had a friend that has wanted Candy every since they kept her 2 years ago. He has asked several times if we were ready to let her go. I know she will be well taken care of and will get lots more attention where she is at now. Olivia managed. The compromise was we would buy a fish. We took Candy to "the man's house." Olivia went to the door and asked if she could look where Candy was going to live. I stayed on the porch so I could watch the boys in the car. When she came back to the front porch she said, "It is okay here. I like it and she will be fine here. He has 2 cats she can play with. And she has a place to sleep and eat." So there we have it...she inspected the situation and we were done.
Now off to find some fish. My idea was a fish in a bowl...the end. Well, well, my kids had another idea. Olivia wanted a purple fish and Logan wanted a Nemo fish. Do you think they have fish that look like that and can live in a bowl. HA!! No! Then the guy shows us the tanks and bowls, and what does Olivia see? A Mermaid tank. So, yes, we have a very small saltwater tank, and indeed it is Ariel inside the tank. They were devastated when they learned we couldn't buy the fish til tomorrow due to the water prep. So, we go tomorrow to buy "Nemo" and Olivia's purple and yellow fish that does not have a name yet. I sure hope we don't kill these fish, because it will be a travesty.