Wow, life has been crazy! I don't even know where I last left off!
Let's see...
Last I checked in we had just put our house on the market and ran away to California for our yearly vacation. We had a blast! Madi had an unexpected seizure on the beach so we got to tour Rady's Children's Hospital, but they were great and Madi was soon back to her normal self. We enjoyed pancakes at Richard Walker's Pancake house, spent lots of time at the beach, got to see both of my birth parents, and really enjoyed ourselves!
We also got a chance to Skype with Deena while we were in California, which was really amazing! Ramya couldn't stop talking about how cool it was that she got to see her.
When we got home life got crazy fast. David left for Tucson to work more closely with his boss, we had appointments and therapies to catch up on from being gone, and of course we had to keep the house super spotless in case there was a showing. Most of our days were (and still are) spent homeschooling at my parent's house, therapy at my parent's house, and then being gone the rest of the day as much as possible to keep our house spotless. Our house still hasn't sold but we are trying to remain positive. David and I both felt strongly that we should sell before Deena comes home and free up that equity, and we know just the right buyers will come along when the time is right. Waiting is hard, but is teaching us a lot.
We got amazing news that our verbal orders were granted for our adoption. What does that mean for us? That means as soon as the written orders are received the orphanage can apply for Deena's passport. That usually takes about 4 weeks. Once the passport is received we are off to India! So, basically, in about a month I will likely be in India bringing Deena home! Madi's neurologist cleared Madi for travel to India but we still haven't decided what is the best thing to do. It would be REALLY hard to bring all the kiddos to India, but they want to go so badly. It's also REALLY expensive, and unless our house sells we do not have the money to take them. For right now we wait, but we do need to decide soon as I need to apply for visas for whomever goes. If we don't travel as a family, my friend Kariann will be traveling with me.
I think I also shared that after we had decided to list our house for sale David's boss asked us to relocate to Tucson, where he lives. David has been there this month trying it out and it's going well. They both feel like him being there will be important and helpful. Not only will it help David get back in to the grove of trading, but he can also help his boss with projects and research. David will also be able to work closely with his boss and will grow tremendously as a trader. The plan right now is to move to Tucson for about 2 years and then re-evaluate.
This weekend the kiddos and I trekked up to stay with David and look at rentals. David is currently in a VRBO he rented for the month, but we need a long-term rental before Deena comes home. This is proving to be quite difficult for us. We need a place within about 10-15 minutes of his boss, just in case we have an emergency (aka Madi has a seizure) and I need him home quickly. His boss lives in an area that is a lot more rugged than we are used to. The homes are also quite a bit older and most have multiple steps up and steps down within the interior of the home. When you add in the fact that we will soon have 4 kids, 3 wheelchairs, and I need an area to homeschool from, finding a home that is affordable is feeling next to impossible. I was hoping I would leave feeling at peace, and instead I left feeling disappointed. I truly believe in my heart that God is calling us to Tucson but the timing and the circumstances with Deena coming home soon and needing to get settled first are feeling quite overwhelming. I keep telling myself that God has a plan and that all the details are already worked out so there is no reason to stress. It's much easier said than done, but I am trying.
I think those are all of our big updates for now. We have some HUGE changes coming our way very, very quickly. Please join us as we pray for buyers for our house, an affordable rental and Tucson that would work well for our family, safe travels to India, no seizures for Madi while I/we are gone, peace, and discernment.
Thank you for praying for our family and for walking our journey with us!
