Well, I'd hoped by now that I'd be able to write and announce that we've been assigned a court date in Uganda. Not yet -- so please keep praying that a date would open up for us before the courts close for the holidays. We are hoping and expecting to hear something any day now.

But we have had some exciting things happen -- we received our USCIS approval so Hannah and Joseph are now eligible for their visas to enter the US. We also received their full medical reports and based on these reports, Dan and I got to pick birthdays for each of them. How cool is that? We picked April 15 for Hannah and April 23 for Joseph.

And speaking of birthdays... This sweet and very beautiful young lady who I often refer to on the blog as "my big girl" turned 7 years old on Monday.



In keeping with the "crazy standards," we kept her celebration simple and sweet. Madeline invited three little girls over after school for cake and playtime. For reasons that are still unclear, my big girl chose to have a "dolphin" themed party. I had no idea where to get a dolphin cake so my dear, dear friend Valerie made me this amazing cake and wouldn't let me pay her a dime for it.



Don't get me wrong -- I love my children so much and I'm all for joyfully celebrating their birthdays, the day the Lord entrusted these little people to Dan and me. But why must we go to such trouble and expense to celebrate? It seems so silly to spend hundreds of dollars on parties and gifts when there are millions of children around the world (including my own dear Hannah and Joseph) who have never even heard the word "birthday." I think there has to be a better way.