Wow, what a birthday! ....by joel

Well, Hello again!

I am back in said unnamed eastern European country with my beloved wife and soon to be official two sons….very excited!  Today was my 36^th birthday, almost forgotten but thanks to facebook reminding all my friends to remind me, it was remembered!  Yesterday was miserable for me, I had a sinus infection set in and all that goes with it but today brought hope…hope of seeing my boys again.  We had to skip Saturday because of me feeling ill and lack of sleep catching up with me (something I would have never thought to happen but sometimes your body can’t take any more). 

Since I had flown in Thursday, I had only had two visits to the orphanage.  Avisit with both boys Thursday afternoon, and Friday’s was cut short due to timing of court and the craziness that went on there.  We felt a need for a short visit after and a desperate need to get on our knees and do some praying.  Our court has been postponed as requested by the prosecutor and all we can ask is that you pray for him, we will be seeing him and the judge again Wednesday for her ruling.

Today was hard to get around to actually going, the temperature has dropped into the mid 50s-60 and there is rain and 20 mph winds, something I did not prepare for!  We have a 10 minute walk to the metro and a 10 minute walk from the metro to the orphanage so it was cold and miserable…add the sinus stuff to the mix, a lack of long sleeved shirt or jacket and I was mentally whooped before leaving the apartment! 

But once there, Jackson really got me going…I had no choice and wouldn’t have it any other way!  He was so fully of energy and something else that I can’t put my finger on, maybe….YOUTH!  This little man was wound up and needed some of it run out, and I was the man for the job.  There was ball, drumming, banana snatching (from some unsuspecting other mom there), running….and his favorite, get daddy to block me from running down the hall or ramp to outside!  This kid is so fun and smart!  He is learning sign language in the few hours a day that Rachel was with him and copying movements and actions that we do, it is absolutely amazing what a little love and one-on-one time can do for a child!  After an hour, this dude wore me out!  Luckily, we had an hour to recover before Josiah’s scheduled time J

I was about asleep when Josiah was brought out to us, looked like he was too!  I didn’t know how this little guy would keep us occupied for our visit, but man, he too can ware a dad out!  He is so studious, and at first I didn’t know he was actually doing it for a reason…maybe just because he doesn’t have anything else to do, but then….  As he was watching my fingers move, he started moving his the exact same way and then as he watched my feet move, he was moving his feet in the exact same way!  It’s just that he needs some one-on-one time, a little love and guidance.  He is trying so hard to learn what is going on!  He even gave me some verbal communication (I think he wanted a steak and maybe some pepsi, Rachel called it baby babble) which he has not done that much.  I continue to be amazed by both of these little guys and am blessed to finally be here to witness it!

Please pray for our next court hearing on Wednesday at 11 local time, 3am central, specifically for the prosecutor.  We also ask for prayer for these boys to continue the bonding process with us.  This is a very tiring process and we ask for prayers of endurance and strength as well!