I've Been Surprised

So Joni arrived back to the house tonight with ISAIAH!!!, after I had emailed a few friends that the judge still had not signed.

She's funny! I didn't go to Sue's because of my health issues discussed in the previous thread. So she thought it would be fun to surprise me. Well, I was surprised... very pleasantly surprised.

So we are now officially in phase 3. We have gained custody of the little man, now we're just waiting to head back to Iowa after the inter-state papers go back and forth.

So far tonight Isaiah has been a little fuss ball. Letting us know who's boss I guess.

Also when Joni and the girls got back, I had another surprise. Miya and Kenzy were all dolled up from there Libby-Lu makeover. And to my big surprise... Miya got her ears pierced! She was pretty excited about it. I have to admit... she looks cute with them.

Not Feeling so Good

I (Derek) woke up this morning not quite feeling right. At the time I had a bit of a woozy stomach and was really thirsty.

I feel I may have doomed myself when I tried to remedy it. Instead of drinking some water and resting... I went to the coffee shop to get some work done, and at the same time consumed a grande Milky Way Dark Latte. Oops. What can say, I was ambitious to get some work done as Joni and Eryn were taking the girls out for some girl time.

So I sat at the coffee bar slowly feeling worse and worse. Some old guy sat down next to me and wouldn't shut his yapper. I couldn't understand him either. But I felt bad, I think he just wanted someone to talk too. I kind of ignored him and nodded my head. As I listened to him... what I feel, make up stories, I got really cold, dizzy, and fatigued. So I came back to the house to try and take a nap. But instead the caffeine from my drink kept me up. So I went back to the computer to try and work. But every time I work for 15 minutes, I need to rest for the same. My body is starting to feel like I ran a marathon. BODY ACHES!! Whatever. I was hoping to get a lot of work done today... but that just won't be the case.

Because of the bug, I have opted not to go see Isaiah today. Joni will be heading over there momentarily. I installed the car seat... hoping the judge signs the papers while she is there.

Otherwise. The weather is gorgeous! Unfortunately going out there only wears me out in a few minutes.

We'll get some pics posted later of the little dude. And the girls all decked out from there Libby Lu makeover!

Phase 2 Continues...

We are still waiting for the judge to sign our adoption petition. We were really hoping he would sign before the weekend, but he did not. It is very frustrating waiting for a simple signature, but we still get to visit Isaiah everyday. We are also very blessed to be in a great community here and have the emotional and spiritual support we need. We miss our family and friends from Iowa a lot, and can't wait to bring Isaiah home for everyone to meet him. We thank you for your continued prayers as phase two continues.

Kevin took us on a great tour of Holland yesterday. We saw a ton of beautiful tulips and are looking forward to exploring Holland more, especially when we get Isaiah.



We had a great visit with Isaiah yesterday as well. He was talking very loud!

Our Michigan Community

Thursday I was able to visit Isaiah while Derek and Miya stayed at our host home to hang-out. Below are a few pics of Isaiah yesterday. He was wide awake for my whole visit.

We then went to Tunnel Park for a picnic on the beach at Lake Michigan. The lake is quite cold, but very nice to walk along the beach. Miya collected some shells and we played in the sand. It was beautiful!



In the evening we were invited for dinner by another couple for Juve and Eryn's church. I wrote a grant for Hope Ministries when I worked there a few years ago with Kevin. They were very hospitable and we loved meeting them and other friends in their community. There house is one of the most beautiful settings we have ever seen! It's been great! Kevin invited us out for a tour of the rescue mission in town. So we plan on doing that today.

Isaiah's Bedroom

We've had many people ask us about Isaiah's room so let me take a minute to show you. Plus, I wanted to try out embedding a slide show from Picassa. So let me take care of both.

Here are some pictures of Isaiah's room. It's a pretty cool and special room.

Moving into Phase 2

There is much to be thankful for as we are now officially in 'phase 2' of the adoption process. The court hearing went very well and we submitted our formal legal adoption petition to the court and R (birth mother) voluntarily relinquished her parental rights. So, we are now in "Phase 2"... waiting for the judge to sign our petition and we gain custody of Isaiah. It was a very special day as we had 'the last meeting' with R and her family after the hearing. It was very special!

Miya got to meet her baby brother for the first time today as well. It was pretty amazing! She loves him so much and wants to hold him all the time. Here are some special pics and video of Miya and her new brother.



We will get to visit Isaiah tomorrow morning for a few hours. Join us in praying the judge signs before the weekend!

We miss all our family and friends in IA and are excited for you all to meet our special guy.

We have so much to be thankful for and are overwhelmed by God's faithfulness and grace.

Pictures from Yesterday's Visit