Ben's Birthday and Matching

We have had some busy days lately! We celebrated Ben's 9th birthday on Saturday. Actually, it started out on Thursday at Sports Connection with a double birthday party for the boys. They played laser tag and had a blast! We always decorate the house with streamers and balloons for the kids birthdays. Here is what we did to Ben's picture.

Saturday, Ben chose to eat at Olive Garden for his birthday meal. We had a good day celebrating with Ben!

Also on Saturday, we found out the Ecuadorian government had the matching/assignment meeting already and we are matched with Kayla! We will get the document later this week. Wow, God is just moving fast!! We are thrilled and nervous. :) 

The next step is to send papers back to USCIS for approval for Kayla to become a US citizen. Then we will get our travel approval. At this time, it looks like we will travel in September!!

We are still waiting to hear from grants. One says we should hear from them by August 31 and the other may not be until September. We will just keep praying. 

God has been faithful through this whole process so far, so we will have the money when He wants us to go. We have the second half of the adoption agency fee due soon and then we'll need money for travel expenses. We don't get to make our travel arrangements for flights and housing, until a couple weeks before we leave, because that's when we get an exact travel date. That is a bit hair-raising for the planner in me, but it will just add to the adventure. :)  Tim will be in Ecuador around 3 weeks and I will be there for about 7 weeks.

Thank you to all who have helped us bring Kayla home so far!