3 Months Old (by Thom)

Yesterday Miriam and Hannah had their 3 month birthday. We took pictures, of course, and today we went to the doctor for a regular checkup. What a difference 3 months make! Our girls were born in a remote village July 10th. Tragically their mom died in the process but the Lord had a plan in it all. After a few weeks they ended up in our custody and we began the adoption process. With Hannah's health problems we had a number of very difficult days and nights, but today she seems to be a different child! When we got the girls they were around 3 pounds. Today the doctor was excited to tell us Miriam is 11 pounds 9 oz and Hannah is 8 pounds. This was great news to us. Hannah gained a full pound since our last visit two weeks ago! We also got them several immunizations today. Since they couldn't get their shots on a regular baby schedule 2 months ago because of their size it seems now like another way to see how much better they're doing.
Our adoption process continues. We haven't had any changes lately, though. Legally in Mali you are supposed to go to the mayor within the first month to get a birth certificate. If this isn't done in that month you must appear before a regional judge and fill out an amazing amount of paperwork. The father didn't get the certificates like he agreed and we can't complete the process until that's finished. Our lawyer has a plan, though, and I'm not sure, but I might be going out to the remote village where they were born in the next week or two so we can get that done. This is becoming a rather urgent prayer request for us, since we can't begin the US citizenship process until the adoption is done, and we need to get that done soon since we are supposed to be returning to the US in March.
Thanks for praying for this request with us. As excited as I am for the last 3 months I can't wait to see what will happen for our girls in the next 3 months!