AJAY

Its been November 08 since I last updated this blog. Wow I feel like we are a different family now in so many ways. We aren't living in the place that we were in for the last 9+ years. Instead we live in a tropical wonderland. It’s a great place and full of interesting people. There are many nationalities here and the diversity is evident everywhere on the street. We are enjoying it so far. The circumstances that got us weren't the most fun days of our lives. But we see His hand in it all and trust that it was for our good and His glory. I trust that he had us there for so long to refine some areas in our lives and shape us into the people He desires us to be.

Also another major change is that our adoption process isn't just a bunch of paperwork any longer. In February 2009 we finished all the paperwork and began waiting. Then in April when we "had" to move we thought that for sure our adoption process would be delayed. In some ways it was but He used it for good and knew what we needed as a family. On May 27, 2009 while checking email over at some friends house we got the email about a little boy named Ajay. Veronica and I knew right away that this little Indian boy was to be a Stringer.

We began the process of looking over his records and talking to docs. We immediately accepted the referral. We did a little more paperwork and had it all in by July 1. We were told to expect at the earliest January 2010. So we prepared our hearts for the wait and guarded them, trying not to get too excited. But earlier this month we got some surprising news that our paperwork was moving faster through the India courts than could have been expected. That actually was last week. We were told to expect a possible chance that all the paperwork might make it through the courts by the end of this month. However, just two days later we found out that the paperwork was completed and that we are legally Ajay’s guardians! That was so fast that even our agency was surprised. Praise Him for allowing it to happen so quickly.

So now we are finishing up the final bit of paperwork, updating some things, and are making our plans to travel, probably, sometime in late October to early November. We are excited beyond words. We are finally letting ourselves get excited and emotional about it all.

Ajay was born on December 20, 2008. So he’ll be around 10 months old when we go get him. He’s a cute little guy. We are eager to get to know him and start caring for him. I’ve added a pic or two at the bottom so that you can agree with me how cute he is.

We will keep updating you on how its going and post some pics of our trip to India. We want you, our friends and family, to experience the journey with us. We hope too that by walking through this with us some of you will also adopt.

Blessings