It May Be Friday, But Sunday Is Coming!

I just really feel the need, the urgency, to tell you "It may be Friday, but Sunday is coming!"

The hardest day of Easter week is Friday.  It's the darkest day.  It's the day Jesus died on the cross.  It's the moment He paid the ultimate sacrifice for us.  It's the day where all hope seems lost except we know Sunday is coming.  Sunday, oh sweet Sunday, Jesus lets the world know no grave can keep Him. He is risen, and He gives hope to man.

On many sad, hard days of waiting in this adoption.  I found myself saying, "Sunday is coming."  It's that hope that got me through difficult times.  I knew the dark days of waiting would pass.  God's timing is incredibly perfect!  My jaw has dropped several times due to amazement in the past few weeks as we learned the details, the timing, of Anirudha's life.  Perfect timing that I could not see at the time allowed us to be the ones to adopt him.  There were things that had to happen so he could be ours.  AJ is a true miracle story that celebrates Sunday is coming.  Sunday, the day that made it possible for God, our Heavenly Father, to adopt us as His own.

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”  Romans 8:15

to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. Galatians 4:5

He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,  Ephesians 1:5

If you are going through a difficult time, please know Friday has to happen.  Friday requires brokenness.  Friday requires holiness.  Friday requires sacrifice.  Friday requires faith.  And when Friday is finally over, Sunday will come.  Dear Friends, Sunday's a coming!  It is.  Remain faithful and thankful until it gets here.

Have courage to be like one of the criminals on the cross beside Jesus who cried out, "Jesus, remember me."  

Luke 23:39-43

39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

In the midst of waiting in a four year Friday, I have prayed for God to remember us many times.  And He did indeed remember us! 

The song "Always" has been very special and encouraging to me.  The chorus is
Oh, my God, He will not delay
My refuge and strength always
I will not fear, His promise is true

My God will come through always, always

It may be Friday, but Sunday is coming!  Always.

Home From India

The Red Fort

Sitting here in AJ's room watching the little prince sleep, and I feel blessed!  Our first day home could not have gone any better.  He is such a happy kid!  He loves to eat, he loves to play, and he loves his big brother Brody!  Brody said this morning, "I'm so glad not to be an only child anymore." This mama's heart is just filled with thankfulness.

It's the early, early hours of morning so I won't write long in hopes of getting back to sleep, but I wanted to post a few pictures of arriving at the airport.  It was such a special moment!  Coming down the escalator to see friends and family who have encouraged us on this long adoption journey was one of the most meaningful things to me.  Knowing Brody's heart for celebrations, I could see he was delighted to have these special people there to celebrate with him.  He dropped his welcome home sign and came running towards us.  Finally our family of four was all together.  AJ was smiling ear to ear.  It was the moment I have always dreamed of.  Wearing his "Millions of orphans minus me" shirt from Christina, he could not have been any cuter.  AJ recognized Brody and Nanny immediately because we have been Facetiming daily.  He smiled, said hello, and shook hands with all of our special special friends.  Thank you Christina, Stephen, Angela, Kristina, Amy, Beverly, and Katelyn for taking the time to be there.  The fun didn't stop at the airport because waiting on the front porch were welcome home balloons from Nanny and Pops and my dear friend Heather sitting with her boys to welcome us home.  Oh happy day indeed!

Thanks to friends and family for the calls, texts, and Facebook messages to welcome AJ home!
Thanks to my best friends Julie and Kerri for having packages for AJ waiting.
Thanks friends for the gift cards that helped get things like clothes AJ needs.
Thanks to those who helped us financially travel.
Thanks for the prayers the past 19 days of traveling and past 4 years.
Thanks for the frozen meals that were put into my freezer.
 We feel very loved!

We started this blog four years ago, and Ryan named it Home From India.  That name has finally come to pass as our child is at last Home From India.  With this praise we give our upmost thanks to God who gave us a passion for orphans, gave us the courage to start the adoption, gave us provision with every bill being met at just the right time, gave us the patience to endure these years, and gave us the son we prayed for.   Our God is good!  Our God is faithful!  Our God is an Overcomer!  Our God is a provider!  Our God sets the lonely in families!  Our God is always on time!  Our God is to be praised!  And The Brice Family praises Him today and everyday!  Thank you, thank you Heavenly Father who has adopted us into His family!

Qutub Minar

Qutub Minar

Today we went to Qutub Minar.  It was built in 1193 by Qutab-ud-din Aibak. The tower has five distinct stories.  The first three stories are made of red sandstone.  The fourth and fifth stories are of marble and sandstone. At the foot of the tower is the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, the first mosque to be built in India.  There are a couple different opinions as to why it was built.  Some believe it was erected as a tower of victory to signify the beginning of the Muslim rule in India. Others say it served as a minaret to the Muslims to call the faithful to prayer.  The details on the stone are very beautiful.  It was really nice to walk around it and see this history still standing.  

Signed, Sealed, and Almost Delivered

Hague Adoption Certificate 

We had a successful trip to the US Embassy.  AJ got his visa for his passport, and we got the sealed envelope of important papers to turn into immigration.  This completes the last of the papers we need in India. Praise The Lord!  It feels so good that it's all done on this side.  We will chill out over the weekend and do a little sight seeing.

AJ calls me mommy when asked who I am or seeing pictures of me. If  he is wanting something, my name becomes a repeated maaaaMA, maaaaMA, maaaaMA, maaaaMA!  He is very persistent with my name until I have done what he wants.  It's cute!

Our little Indian boy sure does like Chinese food.  He especially likes noodles.  Some foods he will play around with, but he will stuff noodles in his mouth as fast as he can.  AJ thinks fried rice and spring rolls are pretty great too.  I got tired of Indian food earlier this week and switched to Chinese and French fries which AJ decided he needed to try as well.  Don't worry folks he is still getting Indian food the other two meals.  I'm just thankful he is enjoying trying new foods.

Embassy Appointment

AJ giving kisses to mirror AJ.

I didn't take pictures today as there are no cameras allowed at the US embassy.  Getting to the embassy was so easy this morning.  It's Election Day in India, and almost everything is closed.  It was the eeriest feeling riding along with very little traffic.  There was a crowd outside the embassy of people trying to get visas so they can travel to America.  I was thankful not to be in that line.  Once inside we turned in all of our paperwork.  The interview was short with only a few questions. We will go back tomorrow to pick up his passport with visa and a sealed envelope to give to the US government at customs once we land at the airport next week.  AJ will become a US citizen then.  We got asked about his full name today which was a first in all the paperwork.  We proudly told them we were keeping Anirudha as his first name, and his middle name is James.  James is a family name after Ryan's grandmother.  We hope his Social Secruity card will come with his full name on it since we gave it in this paperwork.  All in all it was an easy process this morning.  We will let out a big sigh of relief once we have it all in our hands tomorrow.  This is the last thing we have to do in India.  I wished we were getting to fly home tomorrow, but we allowed for an extra business day in case we didn't get his paperwork the next day.  So we will leave on Monday night.  I'm ready to be home.  India is great, but I want Brody, my bed, Community Coffee, and I want to wear my jeans.

Firsts-
AJ tried Chocolate Milk at supper, and of course he loved it!  

Making Progress & Feeling Blessed

He may not have my eyes.  He may not have my smile.  But AJ has my heart!

Sitting here watching AJ sleep, I am amazed how blessed we are.  He has already changed so much in a week and a half.  He becomes a little more free each day.  Free in just being able to cry, and he knows his cry is heard and we care. This afternoon we hit a milestone when he became frustrated at his balloon getting stuck.  Tears came to those sweet brown eyes to show me this is important to him and he needs help.  It was a big deal for him to show that emotion to me.  It shows he trusts us a little more now.  When he fell running today and got his first boo boo with us, AJ welcomed me holding and rocking him.  We are making progress daily getting his trust.  The best way I can describe this kind of trust action is like having a newborn baby.  A baby cries and learns these people will pick me up when I cry.  The baby cries again and learns these people will fed me.  Over and over a baby will learn to cry to get her needs met.  A baby in an orphanage will cry and nothing may happen.  After a while an orphanage baby will give up making her need known and will self soothe. Make sense?  Maybe? Well, just take my word for it and know today's actions were important.

Something that hits me everytime we do a bath or I'm putting lotion on him is I have no idea how he got some of his little scars.  It's strange not knowing how your child got a certain scar.  They are just little reminders of how much of his life I have missed.  This is something I had not put any thought to before adoption.  Just a little detail of the lives of our children not to be taken for granted.

So back to the blessed part! While it's only been a short time of having AJ, it feels like he's been in our life much longer.  The kid has my heart!  My heart melts when he smiles at me.  I like watching him enjoy food.  I love watching him experience things for the first time.  His curious look makes me laugh. He is a delight to have in our lives!  What a special treasure we have been given!  I feel so blessed to be Brody and AJ's mother.

*Medical appointment went well.  TB test was negative.  Tomorrow is our embassy appointment.

Humayun's Tomb

Today we adventured out to Humayun's Tomb in New Delhi.  AJ enjoys being outside and walking around so it was a good choice.  This is one of the largest tombs in the India, and it really is quite beautiful.  Walking in a building built in the 1500's amazes me.  I like to think his wife must have truly loved him to go to such great lengths.  Lots of pictures so enjoy! 

Before we left for India, Brody requested we take a picture of a snake charmer.  I was not sure if we would come across one, but we did as we were going to the car.  Brody was delighted to see the pictures of the not one but two cobras.  It was good to see Brody smile about it on FaceTime.