Arnold Family News

India Gate

noreply@blogger.com (Arnold family) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:03:00 +0000

12/15/2009
Went to audiologist yesterday and Sneha has moderate hearing loss at this point and needs to have her perforated eardrums repaired. Have to see what the surgeon says, but hopefully she will be able to hear much better after surgery in Jan or Feb. This is a piece of the puzzle for the lack of speech and deaf sounding screeching. Over all she is adjusting very well.

Dec 8, 2009 A few more pictures from India

noreply@blogger.com (Arnold family) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:50:00 +0000

President's Estate in India

India's famous gate at the president's estate

Sneha

View of life in India out of our hotel

View off hotel balcony

A Few Pictures from India December 3, 2009-First Day

noreply@blogger.com (Arnold family) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:01:00 +0000

Brent & Sneha's first meeting at the Welfare Home for Children

Good first impressions!

So glad to finally be here.

I finally have a family forever

India here we come!!!!! November 10, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Arnold family) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:39:00 +0000

God's voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth,' and to the rain shower, 'Be a mighty downpour.”-
Job 37:5-6

Two years ago today I took a journey to meet a little girl around the world. I can't explain how God has changed my heart in those two years. I needed to learn trust and patience like I have never experienced before in my life time. Love is a true journey and not just a feeling! My feelings of anger over how badly she needed a family and love and why did she have to wait sooooo long? The piece that I never could quite get was that I needed to grow in order to receive my gift from God our Sneha. I wasn't ready for his gift and it took me two years to learn. I wish I could have learned God's lessons sooner so you could have been placed with us sooner.
We leave for India on Friday so please pray for safety and understanding! God sets the lonely in families. Our trip will be very long, a long time in another country, a long time away from our children, and I must admit a long time away from my dogs! We are ready to bring our Grace Sneha home!!!!Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

John 14:18I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

November 6, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Arnold family) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:50:00 +0000

We have the article 5 letter!!!!!

November 02, 2009 Still waiting......................

noreply@blogger.com (Arnold family) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:20:00 +0000

Sneha's case was approved by NBC on October 28, 2009. The following day they were to scan and send the official approval to the embassy. As of today Nov 2, 2009 we are still waiting for the article 5 letter email and our embassy visa appointment:( Days become weeks, and frankly it drives me crazy. Last year on halloween I thought our Sneha would be going door to door for candy this year. She absolutely loves candy. I need patience to wait for our Grace Sneha to come home. (2 years, 2 weeks, and 4 days waiting for our daughter)

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)

October 31, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Arnold family) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:01:00 +0000

Random pictures October 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Arnold family) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:38:00 +0000

Out at the farm
Elijah feeding Grandpa's calf

Elise feeding Grandpa's calf

Pretty's two babies

A crazy Daisy dog, how does such a big dog wedge herself into tiny areas.

Pretty's baby

Pretty kitty-our new cat

October 20, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Arnold family) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:04:00 +0000

Proverbs 31: 8 " Speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves".

Excerpt from "China Ghosts" byJeff Gammage

" I could write a much better brochure for the adoption agencies. One that would convey all the things that soon-to-be parents don't realize, what no one tells them, what in the deepest heart of hearts, they many not really want to know.
I would say: don't think you're going to walk into an overcrowded orphanage, take on child out, leave ninety-nine behind, and be the same person when you sit down to breakfast the next morning. You won't be. It's too cruel a lottery. And your participation in it will mark you.
It would say: from now on, wherever you go and whatever you may do, the faces of the children left behind will come to you, unbidden, glimpsed in the eyes of a child scampering across the street in front of a crossing guard and in the smile of a girl skipping rope on a playground.

It would say: when you travel to China, you think you're bringing home one little girl. Only later do you realize that a host of spectators have moved in. You think you are tying your fate to the life of a single child. You find out that you have been inextricably bound to the lives of dozens of others. And that there is little you can offer those children besides prayers.

They don't tell you that the children of the orphanage are all coming home with you. That these kids with their wan smiles and growling stomachs are going to follow you across the ocean, move into your house, inhabit your dreams. They don't tell you that from now on you'll never push back your chair from the dinner table without thinking of small children-just like your daughter-whose ribs are tight against the skin. That now, when you saunter through Toys 'R' Us, your child happily choosing a prize from among rows of pink-boxed Barbie dolls, you recall that during a morning long visit to the orphanage, you did not see a single toy."

****News about our Sneha- Since our paper work has been done out of order our papers are at the department of state to ask for an advisory opinion ,before the embassy can issue an article 5 letter and then the consulate visa appointment. Please pray this happens quickly before our finger prints expire:( ****

October 13, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Arnold family) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:06:00 +0000

Our first picture ever of Sneha found on Reeces Rainbow. Without Reeces Rainbow we wouldn't be on our journey to bring Sneha home from India. Please visit http://www.reecesrainbow.com/ and see all the wonderful children that need homes. They are children with down syndrome and other special needs from all over the world. Ever wonder why no more children or very few are born in the USA with down syndrome? Over 90% are selectively unselected for birth and life.

It is unimaginable that in country that has everything we choose death when we have everything to help a life in need!

October 13, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Arnold family) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:03:00 +0000

What a fabulous day it was on October 10, 1992-can it be 17 years already?

Love Without Boundaries 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Arnold family) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:27:00 +0000

Please check out their website at www.lovewithoutboundaries.com. They help care for the orphans left in China. They have heart healing homes and cleft homes. They have an online store to help orphans or an orphan can be sponsored monthly either to be in a loving foster home or to pay for a life changing surgery. Their help can be the difference of a child living or not.

Sept 30, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Arnold family) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:58:00 +0000

Well another month has come and gone and Sneha is still not home! Our case is in process at the embassy, but it does not fit the protocol for the old I600 cases or the new for the I800 cases. A new person has taken over at the embassy and we need to pray without ceasing for "Paul Herman" her life is literally in his hands. Dear Lord, "I pray that Paul Herman will take notice of our case and grant us travel to pick up our dear Grace Sneha in India. We pray for the issuance of the article 5 letter and for the embassy appointment. You placed Sneha deep in hearts and thoughts and we want to follow your will and ways and bring her home. In Jesus' name, Amen.

September 22, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Arnold family) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 23:15:00 +0000

Elise, Elijah, Graedy

Close up of my crew

Graedy

Elise after her surgery, poor baby.

My throat hurts!

My jaw hurts!

I love pb&J!

My favorite!

Dali dog

Our big dog Daisy that squeezed in the small dog kennel????

DaVinci-Just rubbing my back

No news on our Sneha- still waiting for the article 5 and a travel date!!!! We just want to bring her home!!!

September 12, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Arnold family) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 19:29:00 +0000

Even though the picture is blurry- you know that you are in small town when hay bales line one side of the soccer field!

Elise at Elijah's first soccer game.

Graedy at Elijah's first ever soccer game.

Elijah on the run.

Watching the ball.

Posing for pictures instead of listening to the coach.

Picture-cheese

So proud to be playing soccer! We didn't think he would ever be able to play sports, but his head is healing and he is running so well with his brace. The surgeon ok'd him for basket ball and soccer, he just can't be goalie because of the chance of hitting his head. He had an excellent first game.

No news on our Sneha, we are just waiting for our Article 5 letter from the embassy and our letter to confirm a consulate appointment. I just hope and pray that she will be home now before Christmas!!!!

Missing Montana and remembering how our journey began- Sept,08,2009

noreply@blogger.com (Arnold family) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:53:00 +0000

Montana is the most beautiful place with lots of fond memories, but once a time is finished that chapter of the book of our life closes for good, never to return to be the same. I have to say I loved our time in Montana, but without moving back to Colorado we wouldn't have Elijah. We would have never been pursuing our Sneha in India. I am just so ready to travel and get Sneha out of the orphanage and into a family so she can begin the life she deserves as a child of God. She needs love, attention, and place to call her own.

How do we know that adoption is right for us? Let start start at the foundation of all of our knowledge of right and wrong-The Bible. "Once our eyes are opened we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know and holds us responsible."Proverbs 24:12 Now that we have the knowledge of suffering and know that God's children wait and are waiting for us to be the hands and feet of our savior. Faith without action is ...........? I know everyone is not called to adopt, but we are all called to help ,give, and act.

How do I know that we are not done with adopting after our Sneha comes home? There is an epidemic comparable to the Holocaust happening in today's age and times. AFRICA . How can we ignore the cries of people suffering and devastated by Aids and HIV? Maybe it is the myth that they did this to themselves and they deserve it-aids is preventable? Knowledge sets us free with-out the knowledge of how the disease is spread how can they stop it and what about the orphaned children? Is it their fault that someone made a bad choice for them? What about the myth in Africa that a virgin's blood kills the aids virus? Was it the virgins fault? How can we turn our backs on those in need?Jesus went and healed, fed, and loved those in the greatest need."He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien giving him food and clothing." Deuteronomy 10:18

What will I sacrifice do to help a starving and suffering child? Do we in American sacrifice the daily latte? The price of a daily latte can save a child from starvation? Do I really deserve the new car and new clothes with every season? We are sold the lie the we in America deserve because we have worked hard to earn it. We buy the lie daily and we being the privileged need to take care of those who can't care for themselves.

This all may seems harsh, but when my time to die comes I want my life to have made a difference at least to the life of a few children. "A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling."Psalm 68:5

And so we will wait and be filled with a hope of better things to come.

First Day of School 08/26/2009

noreply@blogger.com (Arnold family) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:00:00 +0000

Elijah's first day as a second grader

Elise as fourth grader

Graedy my sixth grader who dodged the alone photo. Sneha is still missing from our family and she needs to go to school since she has never been and is 8 years old. So we are still waiting, it is a good thing we aren't holding our breath while waiting or we would be long gone.

August 19,2009

noreply@blogger.com (Arnold family) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:03:00 +0000

We are still waiting for a confirmation of our consulate appointment for Sneha's visa. I think once that happens we can buy our tickets and plan a trip. The good news is that the temperature in India will continue to go down and not be soooo hot. The airline tickets are also more resonable out of the summer travel season.

School starts here on August 26th. At least I will be able to get the kids settled in to their new schools. Graedy is already in 6th(middle school) and will start playing the Baritone. Elise is now in the 4th grade. Elijah is in 2nd grade and cleared to play soccer. The ability to play sports was his goal after the cranio-plasty and he is cleared by the surgeon for soccer and basketball, he just won't be able to be goalie because of the risk of direct hits to his head. He is so excited and we are just waiting for the coach to call.

August 13, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Arnold family) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 19:34:00 +0000

Sneha after she had been cleared for adoption and living at the orphanage in 2004.

Sneha right after she was found and brought to the orphanage in 2004.

Sneha the big girl that she is today.

Elijah and his first pony ride at the fair this August.

August 11, 2009 Legacy of the Adopted Child

noreply@blogger.com (Arnold family) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:43:00 +0000

Once there two women who never knew each other
One you do not remember, the other you call mother

Two different lives shaped to make one
One became your quiding star, one became your sun

The first one gave you life, and the second taught you to live
The first one gave you a need for love. The second one was there to give it.

One gave you a nationality. The other gave you a name.
One gave you talent. One gave you aim.

One gave you emotions. The other calmed your fears.
One saw your first sweet smile. The other dried your tears.

One sought for you a home that she could not provide.
The other prayed for a child and her hope was not denied.

And now you ask me through your tears,
the age old question, unaswered through the years.
Heredity or environment, which are you a product of?
Neither, my darling neither, just two kinds of love.

Anonyomous

India here we come!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Arnold family) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:16:00 +0000

We knew we loved you before we ever met!!!

Great News-Praise to God!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Arnold family) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:50:00 +0000

We have the I-800 approval, yeah!!!!! We are also waiting on the article 5, and an email from the visa department in New Delhi. It seems so unreal, we will go to pick up our Grace Sneha very soon. So much to do, but I am ready to get going:)

John 14:18 (New International Version)
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

James 1:27 (New International Version)
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Psalm 119:130
"The unfolding of your words gives light, it gives understanding to the simple."

August 4, 2009 Sneha has a passport!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Arnold family) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:44:00 +0000

Sneha now has her passport, but we are still waiting for USCIS approval to bring her home even though we did receive the I797C. We thought they would email yesterday, but no such luck, so today we wait for the answer if we will be able to bring our Sneha home or not.

July 28, 2009 No news and so we keep busy and wait :(

noreply@blogger.com (Arnold family) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 22:05:00 +0000

Well ,we are in the process of a review from USCIS so we can go pick up Sneha. Our case fell between 600 and 800 and I visited her in Nov 2007 and that is not allowed with Hague cases and we are a Hague case. Our agency thought we were a pre-hague and everything was done, but it turns out that it was not. When we started according to the "old rules" we had to visit a special needs child in order to commit. I just can't believe that it can be so hard to bring a child into a family that wants her. She has waited in the orphanage for over five years now and other families wanting to adopt rejected her before we even met her. The good news is that she probably isn't even aware that we are coming to adopt her. What does a family even mean to a child that has no concept of the word. She only knows that she is one of many in competition for food, love, toys, and a bit of attention. She is so broken hearted that she doesn't ever speak so in a room filled with others competing for attention with voices and vibrance she is left behind. We don't know if the love of a family will bring out her voice or if silence will forever be. The wait is not making me patient it is breaking my heart.

Who is this picture???? Flash back in time!

noreply@blogger.com (Arnold family) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:40:00 +0000

Brent is on the far left, many years ago -Grandma Barb, Uncle Kevin, and Pappa Ken