We have NOC!!!!!!

Finally!!! Ms. Roy received our NOC today!!! According to Tami she was just as excited as we are!!!! Just after I posted my last whiny post, Tami called to tell us the good news!!!!

Thank you for your prayers!

And the days go by...

Well, another week has passed us by and we still do not have our NOC! CARA is telling us the same thing they told us 8 weeks ago... "it's on its way". I am so thankful to have such a wonderful support system to help me deal with this unnecessary wait. It doesn't seem to bother Shad as much as it does me for some reason. I guess because he gets up and goes to work every day and I don't?! I'm with the boys 24/7 and I keep imagining Pala with us at all of our little activities here and there that I "drag" the kids to. There are 11 month olds everywhere it seem s like... at camp, my God daughter is a week younger than Pala... at the boys soccer games, there's a set of twins that are her age!! If I see anyone with a baby I find myself inclined to ask how old and how much they weigh... weird eh?! More out of longing for Pala than curiosity I guess. It helps me to feel connected to her. We did receive an update on her last week and she is a little over 26" tall and 16lbs. I'm finding that most 4 month olds weigh that here in the states!!! She looks soooo much bigger than that in her pictures!! The report also said that she is doing VERY well and can pull herself up to a standing position while hanging onto her crib and walks along it. She's crawling ALL over the place. All of her reports have been positive so that helps!! I have no doubt in my mind that she is well cared for and I believe that she will be walking by the time we are able to bring her home. I wonder if I can convince them to start potty training...jk!!!! This long delay has thrown all of our plans for her for a loop! When we accepted her referral in March, I really really thought that we would be traveling close to her birthday. This long wait for NOC makes it almost impossible to make it through courts before they close for a month at the end of September. Which means... we won't be traveling to India until Thanksgiving time!!! Which means... I will miss the birth of my nephew "Cameron"! Ohhhh... (sigh... sigh...). Maybe I just need to sit back and look at this one day at a time!! I still don't have Pala's bedroom done!! Both Shad and I agreed that we would start it when we had NOC... really thinking it was going to be around Memorial Day and then we stretched it to 4th of July!!! Ha! Boy were we way out to lunch!!!

I really wasn't expecting this post to be so long so I'll save pictures of some our activities for another day.

A big congrats to Seneca and Liberty on their new referrals!! Best of luck to Kristi on your move to Boise!

Not any closer...

Tomorrow Pala will be 11 months old and we aren't any closer to bringing her home. Our paperwork has been at CARA for over 17 weeks now and they have no explanation for the delay. Families have been passing by us lickety-split while we just stand still and watch! It's sooo not fair to my baby!! Ms. Roy (orphanage director), our SW and myself have all been calling CARA with no progress. We keep being told next week! Well... next week has come and gone many many many times!!! So where is it?! Awhile back, Ms. Roy was told that it had been issued but not mailed yet. Then she received a call asking for additional paperwork, then a week later asking for the same paperwork AND letter from my boys! Someone at CARA is NOT doing their job! Our paperwork has been sent a dozen or so times. It's been emailed, faxed and DHL'd! I am at my wits ends with this!!

Some of my favorite photos...

These are just some of my favorites...
I have to save some to share on the next blog hop! :)

Austin getting ready to go on the field.

All my guys being big shots after tackling me to the ground in a game of "touch" football.
They got a little too rough for me that day! :)

The polar bear at the Seneca Park Zoo.
He scared the tar right out of Cooper when he popped his head up!

Treyton getting ready to bat.
Look at that perfect form!!

This is before Cooper even started school... we went to volunteer in one of the other boys classroom and Coop ran right over and made himself comfortable.

The boys at Myrtle Beach.

Treyton all decked out for Wacky Hair Day at school.
It was just as much fun washing it out as it was putting them in... I think NOT!! :)

Our lil'munchkin...

A big THANK YOU to Rachael for taking these pictures of Pala during her trip to bring home her little one!!

Her little expression in this one makes me wonder if she's thinking...

"when are MY mommy and daddy coming to take me home?"

If I had my way I would leave today!!!

but... of course...

we are still waiting on our NOC!!
Tomorrow will be 16 weeks, but who's counting?!
(18 weeks since our paperwork hit India)

Some summer fun...

Summer is a busy time for us! We spend a lot of time at Breezy Point Campgrounds with good friends and family! The boys have made many friends over the years. Some come back summer after summer while others may only come a weekend or two. This year the boys made a great friendship with a boy named Chance. They were inseparable from the time they got up to the time they went to bed. It was sad for all of us when he went back home to Texas. All of the kids at camp get along very well and have a good time together. They fish, swim, ride the paddle boat, cookout, make s'mores, ride bikes, hike, etc.

This week past week we welcomed 4 baby buffalo to the family.
Surprised?!
Uh... yeah... just a little!
More on them later! These were taken the night Shad and his brother brought them home.
We have "joint custody" of them with Shad's brother Scott.
I'm still trying to find the humor in the whole Bison thing!

Shad is running for Town Councilman so we walked in the Balloon Rally Parade with the Republican Party last weekend. The kids got to ride on a float and throw candy. A smarty pants friend of mine decided to take my picture and post it on FB. You can check it out if you're on FB. :)

Earlier this month the boys were able to go to an autograph signing by the Allegany County Nitros. What a great way to end their Little League season!

So... that's just a little bit of what we've been up to. We've had summer theater, a family bracelet class, clay animal class, Native American craft class, and soccer squeezed in there as well. You would think that with everything going on that I wouldn't have time to worry about Pala's adoption and our NOC!! Not the case of course!!! We are entering our 15th week of waiting and beginning to think that it's never going to happen. The courts close for a week in August, then another in September and then the whole month of October! I think it's realistic to say that if we don't get NOC this week, we may not be traveling until November! My hopes of traveling in September have been completely crushed by this delay!! Please pray for a miracle!!!

Trying to stay positive...

I am about ready to pull my hair out with CARA!!! A month or so ago we were told that all of the 600 cases had been approved but not mailed and now they want an Article 5 from us! Uh... HELLO, we don't have one because we are under the old regs!!! If this was a US issue I could make some phone calls to our State Reps and Senators but of course this is an issue in India so I just have to sit back and go with it. I can honestly say that if there was anything more that could be done, our caseworker would be doing it. She has been a blessing to us through the whole process!!

On the positive side of things this week...

"Another Swedish Surprise"!!!

Sorry that some might be a little grainy, but I cropped them to protect the privacy of some of the other children that were in them.

Just plain silly...

Meet....Phoebe!!

Nope, not my dog...

my MOM's dog!!!

The color was supposed to wash out after a few washes.
It's been more than a few washes and...
needless to say, she's still PINK!!!

Just plain silly!!!!

Consumed by her cuteness!

No news this morning on our NOC but I'm dealing with it.
Instead I find myself looking at all of the wonderful pictures that I've been blessed with so far. There are some that I don't wish to share because she is crying in them but they are still precious to me. For some reason I was unable to upload Colleen's video into Windows Movie Maker but am still trying. It will be included in my next attempt at preserving our memories! I'm trying to master the program before I make Pala's homecoming video so please bear with me.

Getting impatient...

I had just told a dear friend yesterday how much easier the wait would be after she receives her referral and sees her little girl's face. The wait to get "the call" was more nail biting than after. I get to share pictures and tell our story with everyone, start washing all of Pala's little clothes, so many things to do to keep me hopping cuz I'm no longer baby proofed, ha! ...

and then... the dreaded email came this morning...

Ms. Roy still has not received our NOC!!! It was issued 3 weeks ago!! Until she has our NOC in hand we cannot move on to the local Kolkata courts for Scrutiny!!! I am really beginning to get irritated!!! Our caseworker at Dillon is diligently trying to find out what the hold up is. All 600a/600 cases have been approved and CARA assures Ms. Roy that it's on it's way! (She's been told this for 3 weeks) So, now the Dillon staff is doing all that they can to push things along by resending our 171 again to show them that we are one of the many families under the old 600 guidelines. I know that God has a reason for all of the delays but this time I'm not holding him accountable! This is a mess up at CARA. The staff was not prepared to handle both the 600 and 800's. Ugh..

Today, I'm finding the wait excruciating! I really could use your prayers today if anyone could spare the time!