More updates than you can shake a stick at

There are too many loose ends trembling in the breeze at Casa Blandings right now. Some are short-term, and will be resolved as soon as either Mr. Blandings or myself finally gets the chance to make the phone call/write the email/etc. that will effectively check that item off of our to-do list. Others are more long-term aspects of our lives that are building, slowly, to a momentum. They're all linked, like a giant floor puzzle that is literally covering our lives at the moment. It feels pretty messy around here. But I can't complain, really. God is good, and He's got the details so ... don't worry, be happy, right?

Update #1--Nepal. "So, how are your plans coming?" Thanks for asking! They're going quite well, actually. Together, Mr. Blandings and I recently gave our nonprofit board and our pastor our estimated monthly expenditures. I used my handy-dandy Mac to whip up not one, but two quite posh-looking videos that outline our service goals in the area. We're working on an informational packet to send out to interested individuals and churches. And God has worked wonders; we already have a very nice portion of our support pledged ...all without asking anyone for a dime. Nice touch, Lord!

Our target date for the actual move to Kathmandu is September or October of 2010. Prior to that, we'll be traveling cross-country for several weeks, visiting with family members who haven't seen us in years and making presentations to anyone (churches, Bible study groups, missions boards, homeschool groups, etc.) who have an interest in learning about Nepal and the work being done there. We're looking forward to the traveling, since it will be a greatly-expanded version of the adventure that brought us to WA seven years ago. I'm doing the bulk of the leg-work, so I get to squeeze in all the little spots we're dying to see as well as all the people we want to lay eyes on before we move into the next, thrilling adventure that God has planned for us.

Update #2--Bee's visa. "When are you thinking she'll get here?" That's a good one. We just don't know. A major snag has been hit in terms of securing a passport for Bee; her birthdate is glaringly incorrect on all of her official paperwork. We're talking the kind of error that puts the folks down at Homeland Security on major alert. So until that error can be corrected, we're in a holding pattern. We had hoped that she'd be with us for the holidays, but it's clear to us now that it just won't happen without God picking up Mt. Everest and dropping it in, say, WA state. Which He could do. We're not doubting that. But we're thinking February at the earliest, anyhow.

Update #3--Oli's adoption. "Is he yours yet?" Oliver's paperwork was postponed in its transition from the regular social worker's office to the adoption worker's office. This delay was caused by our beloved Georgie, who has yet to actually file, process, or do anything according to the time frame set forth by the federal government. I don't know how she manages it, actually. It's her super power or something.

So here it is November, and his adoption should have been finished in just four or five more weeks. But it won't be. We're looking at February at the earliest. Again.

Update #4--Mani's adoption. "Did his birthmom relinquish or what?" No, Manolin's birthmom has not relinquished. Choosing to stay firmly in what is becoming the familiar territory of foster care, in which the birthparents deny their inability to parent no matter what their circumstances, Mani's biomom is contesting the termination. From prison. With a ten year no contact order in place.

Termination trial is scheduled for ... wait for it ... February.

But you already knew that, right? :-)