Finally -- We booked our flights! We're heading to India on Monday, February 21st!  We still don't have information about Ruthanne's passport appointment, but we decided to step out in faith and go be with our girl. Since they haven't applied for her passport, that means we have one-way tickets with no return date. We are hoping the timing will work out and we'll only be there for three weeks, but we know that everything is unpredictable and we could be there much longer. Either way, we'll be together. Our whole family together and complete for the first time in three years.  I would be lying if I didn't say that I'm terrified. "Go with the flow", "spontaneous", or "laid back" would never ever come up in a list of things to describe me. Being in a foreign country for an unknown amount of time during a pandemic is scary and it almost stopped us a few times from deciding to go ahead and go. Thankfully, my husband is the exact ...

  One year ago today, on February 2, 2021, we saw the face of our daughter for the first time. She was wearing a green dress and had the most precious little smile. We instantly knew she was going to be in our family.  A whole year has passed since this precious child has been ours in our hearts. Now, she is, as of January 18th, 2022, legally our daughter as well. She is Ruthanne Vishakha Ramage. She is a daughter. She is loved. She is wanted.  We have spent everyday of the last year praying for her. Praying for her health. Praying to be with her soon. Praying she knows that she is loved so much. Praying for the tough transition she will face leaving all she has ever known to come into our family.  We have had the great privilege of getting to video chat with her regularly over the last year. This isn't very common with international adoptions so we don't take this honor lightly! We are so glad we've gotten the chance to get to know each other, even for just an hour ...