The first snow!!

Wow--we have some very excited kids at our house since they were able to play in the snow after school today. Many of the neighbor kids and Austin, Mariah, Nolan and even Anjali enjoyed playing in the snow. Anjali seemed to like it but the only thing that she wasn't sure about was wearing a hat. She wouldn't let me put it on her but I am sure she has no idea what it is for and has never had one on her head before.
We had a great day today. This afternoon she went to the store with me and was great the entire time. I would show her several items in the store that we were buying and would ask her in Marathi what it is. She would say the word and then I would tell her the English word for it. She is picking up new words quickly and tries to say many words. She was singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in English throughout the store--It was precious. After dinner tonight she was playing with Austin and tickling him and was giggling so much. She has the best laugh!
The nights are the most challenging right now as her body is still on India time. She was very tired tonight since she had no nap today and played out in the snow so hopefully she will sleep longer tonight without waking up.
We are all doing well and really enjoying getting to know this precious gift that God has blessed our family with. We thank God for the things we are learning from her and the many ways He has blessed us!

We are home!!

We returned home late on Thursday night around 11:30 pm. This was later than what we had planned as we missed the flight out of Amsterdam and had to rebook for the later afternoon flight. So after 36 hours of being in an airplane or waiting at airports we were home safely and completely exhausted. We had several friends and family who greeted us at the airport--it was so great to see all of you there even though it was late. Thanks so much for coming!!
We are doing well at home. Anjali loves the kids around has even spent time playing with some neighbor kids who came over to visit. She enjoys playing and is learning new words every day. She amazes us at how quickly she is picking up new words. She is eating lots of new foods and doing well with that. The sleeping is hard right now as she is still on her India time clock. Last night she woke up crying at 2:30am and pointed to her mouth indicating she was hungry. She then ate 2 bowls of cereal and some yogurt. It is just going to take some time for her to get used to the time change between here and India. Kevin and I are dealing with the time difference yet and trying to catch up on sleep that we missed the last few days.
It has been an incredible journey so far and appreciate all this things people did for us while we were gone and those of who loved and watched the kids. We are blessed and grateful for the blessing of loving friends and family.
Please continue to pray that Anjali will adjust to life here and continue to bond with mom and dad. This is different when lots of kids are around and she wants to be with them and play. Mom and dad don't seem as cool as her sister and brothers.
I'll post some pictures of her first days at home real soon!!

Our last day in India

We can hardly believe that this is our last day in India already. We have been here over a week and the time has really gone pretty fast. We have had a great time but are looking forward to coming home and seeing the kids. The flight ahead of us seems so long but we are praying that Anjali sleeps on the flight and that she is easily entertained. We are actually in the lobby of the Taj Hotel waiting to meet a woman who has adopted an 11 month old girl from the same agency that we used. We're heading out to dinner with her and then to the airport for our flight to Amsterdam. Today was a fun filled day--we did some sight seeing and quite a bit of shopping. It was fun going to the markets but after a while it gets really tiring having people want you (beg you) to buy what they are selling. Anjali did a good job shopping and loves to try on bangles and necklaces. She thought she would try standing up while we were riding in the car today and when I told her to sit down she didn't like that too much. We think the car seat at home may be a struggle for her as she doesn't like to be confined. We also visited McDonald's today while we were out and about and this little girl loves the french fries.
We have had a great time in India and the joy this little has brought to our lives already is amazing. She has a sassy/stubborn side to her but she is full of love. We are excited for you all to meet her. Thanks so much for all of your encouragement and support on our journey. We'll see you all at home real soon! Please pray for safe travels! Tataa form India!`

We have her visa!

We arrived at the Embassy this morning just as they were opening and turned in the rest of the paperwork for the visa. We waited for about a half an hour and then had the interview where they ask you a few questions about the adoption agency, the orphanage and our experience with the Embassy. After this we were told we could wait in the lobby and they would try to have it ready within a half an hour. We waited along with another family from New Jersey that we met who was adopting a 14 month old boy. After waiting about 20 minutes we received the visa and we headed off to do some sightseeing. We visited a Muslim mosque, a Buddhist temple and some other sights in Delhi and also did some shopping. We ate dinner tonight at Lodi, a wonderful restaurant in Delhi.
She definitely is opening up to us as we seen her laugh and giggle alot today and talk. It's amazing how quickly she is learning how to communicate with us. We are learning that she is not a little girl who likes to be told no-no. We said it to her a few times today when we were out and about and she said it to us tonight when she didn't want something. When heading back to the hotel room we asked her if she wanted to see Austin, Mariah and Nolan on the computer and she seemed excited about this and started blowing kisses which is what she does when she sees them on the computer. She loves to see the kids, Nana and Grandma Sherlene and Grandpa Jerry on the computer. We feel she is beginning to know who they are and we keep telling her she will see "bahu's" (brothers) and "akka" (sister) soon.
Throughout out the day we were once again reminded how blessed we are to live in the U.S.A. When driving through the city Kevin and I kept thinking that maybe the next mile will be better and less poverty and homeless people and kids and moms begging for food and money but this is not really the case. Today we were approached at one of the intersection by a one legged man begging for food. We didn't have any food to give him but Kevin did hand him a bottle of water. After he gave it to the man, the man threw it and asked for money. He was probably wanting money to go buy a drink.
Tonight we took a walk out side the hotel area and sat on the patio and Anjali had some chocolate candies. Kevin learned that having candy so close to bedtime for her was not the best to do. She had a hard time when we got back to the room and didn't want to go to sleep. When we told her "zoppa" (sleep) she shook her head no. She cried for a while but is resting quietly now. She ate really well today. She loved her yogurt with granola for breakfast, bananas and a granola bar this afternoon and fish and french fries for dinner. She likes her warm milk a couple times a day too.
Please continue to pray for a safe trip home. We are getting very excited to see the kids. We are sure that Anjali is excited to see them as well. She takes a little while to warm up to people she doesn't know but when she does she is irresistible. Thanks again for your prayers and comments on the blog. It has helped to made this a wonderful journey. It has been the trip of a lifetime that is for sure!

A relaxing afternoon

We had a nice afternoon after Anjali and dad took a nap. We hung out in our hotel room for a while and read books, colored, played with stickers and practiced counting. Anjali counted to 15 in English almost all by herself which we thought was pretty good. We are so proud of this girl and the things that she has already learned in 3 days with us. We know that she loves to watch videos as we brought some along and she enjoyed watching one tonight. We are off to bed now as we have a busy day tomorrow at the Embassy again and then some local sight seeing attractions that our driver would like to show us. We are looking forward to it. We'll post some pics of the fun we had on tomorrows post. Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and comments so far and for the prayers you continue to lift up for us. We appreciate it so much!

More pictures

Sweet and a little sassy

You may be wondering what happened to us yesterday but we did not have time to write due to a busy day and our night flight to Delhi. We arrived very late last night in Delhi and went to bed when we arrived at our hotel. We are all doing great and are truly having a great time in India! Being here has made us even more thankful for the things that we have been blessed with.
Sunday was a great day with Anjali. We went for breakfast in the morning and then ventured out to the pool again for the afternoon. The weather in Mumbai was beautiful with sunny skies and warm (high 90's). When we took our her swimsuit she looked at both of us and shook her head no. It is very obvious to us when she doesn't care for something. We still went down to the pool (Anjali with her clothes on) and she took a nap in the shade. We see her little sassy side come out when she doesn't want something, doesn't want dad to help her or isn't interested in doing something. She kinda has this on/off switch for Kevin--sometimes he's Ok and other times she shakes her head no to him when he tries to help her or walk with her. She had french fries at the pool today and loved to dip them in the ketsup. After spending some time at the pool we packed, ate dinner and walked around Juhu beach for a while. It is amazing how many people are down there and how busy it is. Trying to cross the the street is about impossible and you are basically risking your life to do so. Before we left the hotel one of the receptionists who fell in love with her asked her when she was going to come back to see her and Anjali said "soon" in Marathi and then the girl asked her who she was going home with and she said "aa-ee" and "baba" which is mom and dad. It is just the best to hear her say this!
Anjali did great on her first plane ride as she slept the whole way there and did not wake up until we got to the hotel. She was roaring to go after sleeping the whole plane ride (about 2 hours) but I read her a few books, told her it was time to go "zoppa" and she laid right down and went to sleep. This girl is the best sleeper ever. We can see that she is used to sleeping with lots of noise and probably even lights on. She sleeps so good at night!
Monday morning we woke up and needed to be ready to go with our driver to the Embassy at 9:00. We arrived there and completed what we could complete today, had her medical exam done and need to return Tuesday morning at 9:00 to complete the visa immigration interview. She was awesome the whole morning and sticks pretty close to mom's side. Every now and then she'll say something in Marathi and then looks at me and just smiles.
We were going to go out for lunch but she was getting tired (so was dad) so we asked our driver to take us back to the hotel. Anjali and dad are sleeping right now!
We continue to learn so much about her every day. Kevin and I often look at each other and can't even believe how good she is. God's plan could not be more obvious to us and the fact that He placed her in our family is just more evidence that God doesn't make mistakes. We love this little chic to pieces already! She has been so much fun in 2 days that we can't wait to see what the next few bring! Red and yellow, black and white they are precious in His sight--Jesus loves the little children of the world and so do we!

A few more pics

Our first full day with Anjali

The day went pretty well considering all of the changes that have taken place for this little girl. We woke up this morning (after she slept for 10 hours straight) and went down to breakfast. Anjali ate a great breakfast with some of it being Indian. We found out she loves eggs with some type of rice mixed with them. She also loves milk which is something that she is used to having but she likes it lukewarm and with a little sugar. After we went to eat we went out to the pool. She wasn't too fond of the pool and was just happy to stand by the lounge chair. She also didn't want much to do with Kevin at the pool. It kind of started after he took off his shirt so we thought maybe it was that she was not used to that at all. Later she warmed up and we took a walk on Juhu Beach (on the Arabian Sea) which our hotel is located on. She was giggling at Kevin after we came up from the beach and were rinsing off our feet with the water sprayer. I took her to the room after this and she said her first words to me since we took her yesterday. She became very expressive when she noticed the bag of hair accessories that I brought along for her. It was great to hear her talk even though I really didn't know what she was saying. She also gave her first kisses to mom and dad today. It was awesome and an amazing feeling especially after her sorrow yesterday.
She even looked at a picture book (thanks so much Dave and Mary)with Dad and repeated most of the words after we said them in English. I am certain she will catch on to English rather quickly. She also said her sister and brothers names today.
We hired a private taxi driver to take us Bandra tonight to do some shopping at the markets. The private drivers are responsible for your safety down there and the whole time they are with you so it was really nice to have him close to us tonight. It is like a zoo out there with so much traffic and so many people. When we arrived back at the hotel Anjali was so tired so I got her ready for bed. She was in one of her phases of not wanting Kevin to help her again. She had some milk, brushed her teeth all by herself and then I laid her down. She was very tired again tonight and fell asleep quickly. She is now sleeping soundly. We have learned so much about this precious child in one day it is amazing.

Some things we have learned about Anjlai:
She loves hard boiled eggs
She loves her hair accessories, bracelets and dresses
She is used to a routine of when she eats and sleeps
Warm milk is one of her favorite things to drink
She prefers her mommy when she is tired
She loves to look at pictures on the computer that we have taken
She doesn't care for the pool (but does enjoy taking a bath)
She is so special--People around here tell us how "lucky she is" but we are the ones that are so blessed to have this little girl in our lives.

Thanks to all of you who have sent us comments--It means more to us than you can imagine when we are so far from home. A, M and N we miss you so much and can't wait for you to meet your little sister. She is going to love you guys! Thanks R & S for all you have done--We appreciate it so much!! Thanks too for your continued prayers for our safety and our bonding with her. This whole experience is almost impossible to put into words and we are so thankful for all of you who have supported us in our call to step out in faith!!

We have Anjali

What a day it has been. This morning Kevin and I enjoyed breakfast at the hotel and then waited for our driver to get us and take us to pick up Anjali. We arrived at the orphanage and met with Anjali shortly afterwards. We brought along a bag of candy to share with the other kids in her room. She seemed so proud to be able to hand these out to all of her friends and they were so excited to be getting a piece of candy or as the kids call it "chocolate". We then played with Anjali and had a great time just getting to know her. She was doing good this morning and continued with the smiles to both of us and holding our hands. Kevin and I then left for lunch and the social worker told us that we could take Anjali for lunch with us. Kevin and I decided that this would not be a good idea to take her out and then have to take her back for the afternoon for her farewell party and our last meeting with the social worker to discuss her schedule and things like that. Turns out we made the right decision.
We arrived back after lunch and met with the social worker and then went out to see Anjali. She did not come to us as quickly now and looked at us like "you're still here?" and each of us said hi to her. This is when her wonderful world came crashing in on her. She stared to cry quietly and tried so hard to hold the tears back. At this point they still had to have the farewell party for her and she did not even look at us during this. This was heart wrenching but we both knew this was part of the process and that we knew she really did love her friends and staff workers. We talked with the social worker and she said most kids cry and that this is normal. We knew it was but it was so hard to see her heartache. We walked to the entrance of the orphanage and one of the social workers was carrying her and Anjali was crying. Kevin carried her to the cab and she started kicking, flailing and crying loudly. We knew at this point as we were driving away that we needed to let her work it out. She cried for about 5 minutes and then started settling down and sat on Carmen's lap for the hour and a half ride to our hotel. She was very quiet for the ride.
Once we got to the hotel we had a woman who spoke Marathi tell her what we were doing and that we would stay at this hotel for a few nights and then another one after that and then we would fly home on an airplane. I think it was comforting for Anjali to hear someone who spoke her language. The language is a barrier but we know with time that will come.
After we arrived at the hotel she started warming up to us again and wanted to hold our hands. We even seen the smile again tonight.We are getting eye contact and she accepts our affection and hugs and kisses although doesn't give them back yet. That will come with time. I gave her a bath tonight with bubbles and she seemed to really enjoy it. We washed her hair and she looked so cute in her new PJ's.
We are so happy to finally have her with us even though it was heart wrenching witnessing her grief and sorrow today. She is sleeping soundly right now and it only took her about 5 minutes to fall asleep. We are so in love with her already and are so excited for friends and family to meet her. She is a beautiful blessing to our family.

More pictures

The pictures

Here are the pictures from today.

A day to remember

Hello from Mumbai India! We made it on time and things went very well. Thanks for all of your prayers for safe travel as we definitely felt God's peace and protection. After 4 hours of sleep we woke up this morning to go to the orphanage to meet Anjali. The excitement driving there was unbelievable and the driver even got lost a few times so the ride was a little longer than expected. The sights that we saw on the way were at times very difficult to see and it made us really appreciate what we have been blessed with.
We arrived at the orphanage and first of all meet with the director who talked with us about Anjali and told us a little bit about her and how they have been preparing her for her parents to come. Hearing her say "Anjali's parents" was so great to hear. We couldn't believe we were so close to finally getting to meet our daughter. We waited on the couch just inside of the building for the staff to bring her out and we imagined what she would look like and how she would react to us. She came peering around the corner like she was "Miss India" herself. They had dressed her in an Indian dress with shoes and a headband in her hair so she would look beautiful. Many of her friends followed behind her. The staff then said to her "Anjali here are your parents-Mommy and Daddy."She walked over to us and we both held her on our laps.It was a feeling we had never experienced before and it was amazing.
We then hung around the orphanage with her and walked around to the different areas of the building. She was quiet the first half and hour but then did start warming up to both of us. As we took pictures of her several other kids wanted to look at the pictures on the camera with her and they would say her name and then at one point she said "mommy and daddy" while pointing to us in a picture. It was priceless!!
We were able to be in the lunch room as all of the kids ate and she was doing great laughing with the other kids and even wanting mommy to help her finish her food. We even heard giggles from her today.
We'll tell more of the details later but for now we have some pictures of our first meeting today. We are so excited for her to meet her brothers and sister, other family members and friends. God's plan has been revealed to us with the blessing of Anjali. We both walked away today as we left the orphange that God placed her in our family according to His perfect plan. She is definitely a blessing from God.

Our last post from home

We are leaving for the airport in about an hour!! We can hardly believe this time has come but we are so excited. We are trusting in our great and powerful God who knows the path before us and the journey He has put us on. If you would pray for the following things we would be so grateful. Please pray for safety while traveling (the next 19 hours), our first meeting with Anjali and her bonding/attatchment with us, our health, and that God will be close to our kids at home as we will miss them so much! I know this is several requests but we pray that God will answer each one as He sees fit. We thank you so much for your encourgaemnt and prayers that have led us thorugh this amazing journey and that will sustain us the next nine days. We give God all the praise! Our next post will be from India!! Thanks for praying!

The waiting is almost over!

In one week from today Kevin and I will be on our way to Mumbai!! We fly to Detroit with a stop in Amsterdam and then on to Mumbai with a total travel time of about 19 hours. We will arrive in Mumbai at about 1:00 in the morning their time Thursday which is about 1:30 in the afternoon Wednesday our time. We are busy packing away and getting all of those last minute details figured out and in place. This has been an amazing journey for our family and we are looking so forward to finally meeting this little blessing that God has given to us. We thank Him for the many ways in which he has guided us in this journey and pray that his protection and peace will be with us as we travel and for the kids at home. Pray that Anjali will do well with meeting us as the world that is familiar to her now is about to change so much. We can't wait to finally see her in person in 8 days!