Myles to Go

Our original court date was supposed to be this week, but thankfully that's barely been a blip on my radar. Chris and I have so much to do and so much excitement ahead that I haven't had time to dwell on what might have been. We're still optimistic about our August 7th court date, and we appreciate your prayers!

We're back in preparing for Myles mode at the Hollomon house. Our to-do list is a mile long, but I don't know where to start! There are a few odds-and-ends that I'd like to do around that house that aren't necessary but I prefer to do before Myles gets here (shampoo the carpet, pressure wash the house, clean baseboards, etc.). I have a few decorative things to do to the nursery before it's finished, but the bulk of it is done. I'm also thinking about foods I can make ahead and freeze for when we return from Africa.

And we're so excited to have a baby shower this Sunday!!! Myles is clearly loved by many already, for which we are very thankful. I'll try to post some pictures early next week.

We have a few friends with court dates this Friday, so know that we are thinking of you! Give Myles a squeeze for us when you travel!

A Cautiously Optimistic, Pretty Good, Not Too Bad Day

We got the call yesterday that we have a new court date: August 7th!!!

Whew! That's a huge sigh of relief. We obviously still covet your prayers, as we are not home free yet. We need for the weather to hold out, for the necessary people to issue a positive opinion, for the judge to appear on our court date, for the judge to show us favor, for all of our paperwork to be in order, and so on and so on. But we have hope!

In other big news, we decided on a name:

Myles E* Hollomon

(Yes, this is the name that won in our poll.)

Myles turned 4 months old yesterday. A sweet adoptive mom sent me pictures this past weekend from when she traveled to pick up her little one, and I can't believe how grown-up he looks! He's too cute for words. And he did NOT like the outfit we sent. :-/

We also got busy registering at Babies R Us, Target, and Amazon.com because we have our first baby shower coming up in only 11 days! It's a church-wide shower on Sunday, July 26, from 3:00-5:00 p.m. in the World Cup Cafe. I can't wait!!! I love to go to baby showers, so I can't imagine how much fun it is to get presents for OUR BABY!

Thanks for everyone praying us through this past week. It was really, really tough. We can't wait to be able to share the news that Myles is legally our son!

A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

We got some bad news today. Our court date, which was supposed to be two weeks from today, July 22nd, was postponed.

We are obviously so sad and disappointed. We were prepared not to get a court date in the first place, but we certainly were not prepared for this scenario. I, in particular, don't deal so well with surprises, and I'm extremely cautious about getting my hopes up. But when we got our court date last Tuesday, my hopes skyrocketed. I didn't allow myself to think about the "what-ifs," so this really hurts.

But this is adoption. It's unpredictable, it's emotional, and it's not easy. We know this. Ask any adoptive family.

But it still hurts.

Please pray for us and the other families who are affected by this. We need these mountains to move:
1. That we would get a speedy court date before the closures on August 7th.
2. That there will be no more obstacles in our way to passing court before the closures, from paperwork to judges being unable to appear to power outtages, and anything else I can't even think of.
3. If we're not able to pass before the closures, that we'll have a quick court date in early October.
4. That God will give us strength to make it through this tough time.
5. That Baby E will stay healthy and strong.

Court Date and Update!

We have been out of town all week at student ministry camp with no Internet access, but....

Our caseworker called on Tuesday to let us know that we have a court date!!!! July 22nd. Please continue to pray for us.

We also got an update and a new picture of Baby E:

“E* is such a happy and content little baby! He both smiles spontaneously as well as smiling whenever I held up the camera to take his picture. I went through his photo album with him and pointed out the pictures of his mommy and daddy and other family members and he smiled while I was doing that. He loves when you talk to him and he absolutely lights up. You can really tell that he loves to interact with people!”

In the new pic, E has a huge grin on his face. It is so sweet!

Can't wait to catch up on blogs to hear about some more good news!