Contact!

So! Remember the local kiddo that we had been contacted about a couple months ago? I hadn't heard anything back, so I just assumed that they had chosen a different family or something. I guess I was wrong, because I got a phone call from that agency today! The adoption worker asked a few questions, and said there will be a matching meeting next week! So I have no idea how many families are being considered or when we should anticipate hearing back, -- I was too surprised to think clearly enough to ask such questions on the phone! -- but I am excited :)

More details as I learn them :) Keep us in your prayers!

Back to the Drawing Board

There is a placement pending for the sibling group for whom we had submitted our homestudy. Yet again, we never heard back. I'm really frustrated with caseworkers who don't seem to let you know if you are being considered or not (or return your messages, for that matter). How long are we supposed to wait to hear something back before we look elsewhere? Until I notice the kids' picture is missing from the photolisting? It doesn't seem that difficult to send an e-mail or make a quick phone call. Even just to say we aren't being considered or we aren't a good match. But all this being left in limbo while we wait and wait and wait is making me crazy!

I'm grateful that these boys found a home. And it's back to the drawing board for us.

Cathedral at Lafayette -- Stained Glass Windows

Cemetery at Lafayette Cathedral

The cemetery at the Lafayette Cathedral, like others in the area, is all above ground because the water table is so high. The array of above-ground tombs is fascinating.

The entrance to the cemetery


A view across the cemetery


Two family tombs


We stumbled across this little piece of history -- the tomb of Franklin K Gardner, Major General, Confederate States of America! Wikipedia offers some biographical details here.

Tuesday Travels -- Lafayette, Louisiana

We drove to Lafayette, Louisiana for the wedding of some friends (one of Justin's groomsmen, and his very beautiful bride!)

We stopped at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Diocese of Lafayette, in the morning. The architecture was beautiful, and I'll do another post on the gorgeous stained glass windows and the cemetery behind the cathedral.

The cathedral from the front entrance, and then a side view, taken from the entrance to the cemetery -- stunning!

Site markers in French, Latin and English! (The nerd in me was elated!)

































I presume this is the episcopal residence -- to the left as you face the entrance to the cathedral. And to the right is a niche statue of St. John, after whom the Cathedral is named, tucked in the wall of the same building.



















The Cathedral grounds are also home to this enormous live oak tree -- the trunk is more than NINE feet diameter!

Introducing Tuesday Travels!

Our family takes a LOT of road trips! Last year, we drove about 16,000 miles in road trips! As long as we've been married, when we take road trips, we find neat places to stop along the way -- mostly interesting Catholic sites, but other things too.

So I've decided to start a series here that chronicles our travels and some of the neat places we've been able to visit.

Just last weekend, we drove to Cajun country for a wedding, and boy were there some gorgeous churches! We are taking a long road trip this summer, sure to have lots of neat stops, so I'll post pictures and explanations here. I'll post some pictures from old trips too, just for fun!

On to Another Attempt

We never did hear back about the local kiddo. Oh well. The day the social worker called about that child, we already had our homestudy in the mailbox regarding another sibling group. We pulled it out after the phone call, but it went back in the mail last week. We'll see how it goes! I'm trying not to get too excited too early (and there is so much else going on that it is easy to stay distracted)!

Still waiting... blah

Sorry to keep you all torturously uninformed with no updates for so long, but that's certainly how we feel here! Last week we received a phone call asking us to consider a particular child from this area (and less than 2 years old!). We looked over the information the case worker sent us, e-mailed back that evening that we would love to proceed, and anxiously waited! We're still waiting... haven't heard anything back at all. zero. zip. nada. I e-mailed again to be a pest, and still haven't heard anything.

I'm new to all this, so I don't really know what it means to not hear back from a case worker. She suddenly fell ill? My e-mail(s) are lost in computer la-la-land, never to be seen again? She found somebody else? Circumstances changed?

So, who knows. The ironic thing is that we had our homestudy literally in the mailbox ready to be mailed regarding a different sibling group when the case worker called last week. I pulled the envelope out before the mailman came. Not sure when I'll put it back in the mailbox... maybe today?

Waiting, Again

We replied last night to our phone call, and now we are waiting to hear back. I'm not sure how long I should expect it to take, but I sure do wish it were right now!

Phone Call!

We received a very exciting phone call this morning -- stay tuned for details, and by all means, PRAY! :)