Wow. We just got the news that Vietnam has stopped ALL US adoptions in response to a report the US government filed which alleged widespread baby-selling, corruption, and fraud in their adoption practices. We had, at one point, considered dropping China and switching to Vietnam. Thank God we stayed put. It's a long road to Beijing, but we will get there. Our hearts go out to those folks who are in the Vietnamese adoption process who must now be wondering, "now what?"

http://news.yahoo.com:80/s/ap/20080428/ap_on_re_as/vietnam_us_adoption

Nope, no new news... just pictures of every day life here at Casa de' Miller! ;)

Sierra fell asleep in Daddy's lap this afternoon
~ all her glory was showing~
Buddha Belly included!

Here is a picture that The Melting Pot staff took of us during Julia's Birthday Dinner. As usual, the food was DELICIOUS!

Adoption update:

This month The current status for dossiers registered with the China Center of Adoption Affairs - - CCAA has completed the matching process for families with dossiers registered through January 9, 2006. Also, it has been confirmed that the CCAA has completed the review of dossiers registered through December 31, 2006.

We've been FORKED!!
We woke up to 306 plastic forks in the front lawn! Our first inclination was we were vandalized by teenagers... Matt grudgingly went out side to begin the clean up...

..Quickly he came back in and said,"There's another element to this forking! Your "friends" left a sign for you"...

Thanks to Connie, Tracey, Crystal R., Amy & Crystal H. Julia was Birthday FORKED last night!!!

Girls, do you know what they say about payback??!
OH, IT'S ON!!!

Nothing new to share on the adoption. But, I would like to share a story that seems quite appropriate. I hope you will take the time to read a little story about an Ant and the Contact Lens: a true story

Brenda was almost halfway to the top of the tremendous granite cliff. She was standing on a ledge where she was taking a breather during this, her first rock climb. As she rested there, the safety rope snapped against her eye and knocked out her contact lens . "Great", she thought. "Here I am on a rock ledge, hundreds of feet from the bottom and hundreds of feet to the top of this cliff, and now my sight is blurry."
She looked and looked, hoping that somehow it had landed on the ledge. But it just wasn't there.

She felt the panic rising in her, so she began praying. She prayed for calm, and she prayed that she may find her contact lens.

When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but it was not to be found. Although she was calm now that she was at the top, she was saddened because she could not clearly see across the range of mountains. She thought of the bible verse "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth."

She thought, "Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me."

Later, when they had hiked down the trail to the bottom of the cliff they met another party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, "Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?"

Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across a twig on the face of the rock, carrying it!

The story doesn't end there. Brenda's father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a cartoon of an ant lugging that contact lens with the caption, "Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I'll carry it for You."

I think it would do all of us some good to say, "God, I don't know why You want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it's awfully heavy. But, if You want me to carry it, I will."

God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

Yes, I do love GOD. He is my source of existence and my Savior. He keeps me functioning each and every day Without Him, I am nothing, but with Him....I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13)