Laaaaaaaaaaaadies and Gentlemeeeennnn.....

I can't wait to tell our daughter the story of her mommy and daddy falling in love.
Today I found a little shirt at Target that says "Circus" and has circus elephants on it. Real cute:) I HAD to get it!
Larry and I had our first date at the circus and one day we went back to the 'greatest show on earth' and he proposed! That's right! Got down on one knee in front of everyone, and asked me to marry him!
So, the mere mention of the circus coming to town brings a smile to our faces:)
What's crazy is we have our 19th anniversary in a couple weeks. If someone had came to me on September 26th, 1992 and said, in 19 years you will be heading to Peru to pick up your daughter we would have said, "WHAT???"
On that day when we stood in front of all our friends and family, we had no idea of the incredible things God had in store for us.
It has been somewhat of a "circus". In the best possible way. Things that we were truly amazed by and we "ooooohed and ahhhhhhed". Things that made us a little frightened or anxious but still ended up thrilled with the outcome. Ultimately, enough wonderful memories that make us keep coming back for more. To see what's next!
Romans 8:28~And we know that God caused everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Everything has worked together for the good!
ALSO! Two HUGE blessings today! One was, Julie (the owner of our salon) told me that all of my rent for my station had been "taken care of" for ALL FIVE WEEKS I'll be gone!! Praise the LORD!!! Wow!! Unbelievable! The second was we received notification that the USCIS had received our paperwork and it was moving on to the next step. YIPPPPPEEEE! We will hopefully have permission to "travel" very very soon!!!
This really is the greatest show!

Why the 4 year wait????

Hebrews 12:1.....And let us RUN WITH ENDURANCE THE RACE GOD HAS SET BEFORE US.

Believe me, over the last few years that question popped into my head on a daily basis. I don't pretend to have it all figured out now but I feel like I have a little bit of a better perspective . Still somewhat in limbo land but certainly on the road to meeting our daughter, but haven't we always been?

From my current vantage point, I see the reason for the wait like this:

#1...I have said to Larry all along, "do you see the amount of people God is "gathering" along side of the road to walk this journey out with us? It is unbelievable! Obviously, countless friends and family, but tons of others you wouldn't expect. The people that have heard our story and were moved. Clients at the salon, being on the prayer list at the dentist office, the girls at the orthodontist office continuously asking if we had good news, the U-verse installer telling me that he was going to send out a prayer request to his connections all around the world, my friends in Jamaica wanting to know when I was going to get my daughter, the officers at the USCIS that yelled, "Good luck WITH YOUR ADOPTION!!" as we left. The list truly goes on and on. People touched by a story that is not ours at all...its God's plan, God's design!

James 1: 27 - Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God means caring for orphans and widows in their distress....

Psalm 82: 3 - Give justice to the poor and the orphan uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.

Psalm 10:14 - ....The helpless put their trust in you. You defend the orphans.


#2 - Speaking of God's plan, even though we have not met her as of yet, we are confident that He chose HER just for us. His word says that she was wonderfully made and that each moment of her life was laid out before a single day had passed. Her eyes had not even seen this world when He planted this "seed" in her daddy's heart while in Peru on missions. How amazing to think that He knew the plans He had to connect her with our family, WAY BACK THEN!

#3 - How can we question all the things God has allowed us to be a part of in this amount of time? Dayton and I have served in Jamaica together, twice. Larry and I went on other separate trips, to Jamaica. We've spent time on vacation making memories, skiing, jeeping, dirt bike riding, even a St Louis trip thrown in. Generally, time spent investing and loving on each other. Moments that are irreplaceable. I can't second guess the purpose of these times.


Now..the connection has been made. We wait, on pins and needles to see the face of our daughter in person. To see what makes our daughter smile, what makes her LAUGH and what makes our little girl cry. Realizing that we are taking her out of everything she knows. What she sees on a daily basis, what she hears when she goes to sleep at night. The smell of her blankie and her favorite things to eat. Her friends.
But...they have told her about her mommy and daddy and her big brothers and shown her pictures of her new home, and bedroom.
I can't wait to be with her.
Flip the page of this new chapter of our lives.
The chapter entitled...MS DELANEY MARIA THURN - COMES HOME!

at last....:)

Hi There friends & fam!


Well, I haven't blogged in quite a while, haven't had much to blog about! I figured the "we're waiting, oh we're waiting, yep - still waiting...might be sort of boring to read. But guess what? The wait is finally OVER! Well...ALMOST!!


Pretty cool story that God designed JUST FOR US!!


3 weeks ago I was eager to see the adoption list that Peru sends out once a month. I looked on my phone at work and noticed that it said that there was a placement of a 3 year old little girl to our agency, Villa Hope. That doesn't necessarily mean its to us. I decide to call them just to check, so I'd know for sure. Pat acts a little strange when she realizes it's me on the line and says she wondered if I would be calling. She tells me that they are "pretty sure" it's a referral for us but she's not sure. She has to get confirmation from Peru. I semi "freak-out" and call Larry. We decide not to tell the boys until we know for sure. I wait for around 2 hours before my cell phone rings again and Pat says, "Laci?, SHE'S YOURS"!!! The girls at work and I are SCREAMING and I immediately call the proud daddy! We seriously cannot contain ourselves!! It was an incredible feeling that we had waited on for so long. Finally, the dots had been connected ...Larry, Laci, Dakota and Dayton - plus- Ms Maria =Love!! =The Thurn Family!!

I feel like a have a new "birth" story.

Our family came over that evening to celebrate together! Celebration time!


In the days that followed, not too much happened. Her paperwork all had to be translated before we could file the last piece of paperwork giving us permission (from the US) to bring this particular child home to the United States. To 6214 S. Minter Road!! The translated birth certificate was the last thing our agency needed and it came yesterday. The required form was put in the mail to the US Embassy in Peru last Friday. Now, it takes weeks to be processed and they will finally give us permission to travel. Somehow the wait seems much more difficult now that we know her name and have seen a pic of her sweet face. They tell me that they have shown her our pictures and told her that we are coming to get her. The supposedly have someone to help her with the transition. Unbelievable really. Pretty cool! I am so thankful!


Meanwhile my crazy little boys went off the HIGH SCHOOL last week! A junior and a freshman! Wow! They both had a great day. Dakota has to start school with a sling due to the broken collar bone he received after a little tumble off his dirt bike last week in Colorado. Yikes! Anyway, we are very proud of both our boys and we're so excited to see them with their new little sis! They are excited as well:)


Any ole' who...that's the update, for now!


I will be using this as my "journal" of this journey. If it gets too lame, just speed read!

Jamaica~HERE WE COME!!

The SNA in Peru put their handy dandy little list out on December 21st (as promised) and it DID NOT say....The Thurn Family. So much for her coming home in 2009:( But....that's OK! I quickly turned that little frown upside down when I turned my eyes back to Dayton and I GETTING to go together to Jamaica. We leave in about a week and a half!! WoooooHoooo! I cannot wait! Mostly excited to serve along side of my son but also to return to Jamaica and see all of the friends I have made over the years! Surely God has plenty of incredible things to show us and our entire team. Just waiting to be led and fed!!:)
HAPPY TWENTY-TEN loved ones!!
Laci:)

Grain Valley Eagles!

Hey all!

Thought I'd share a few "proud mom" shots of Dakota starting his high school basketball season! His first game was on Monday and as you can see on the score board, they won 45 to 24! I was video taping with my camera and didn't get any pics of him on the court. Dang! Well, there's always Thursday's game:)

Adoption Front--They put another consejo out on November 30th (which actually I was surprised about) and we didn't get an assignment but as the boys both told me, "Well at least they are placing children in homes!" So True! Supposedly, the next one will be December the 21st.

Enjoy entering this Christmas Season Friends and Family:)

Creative Images ~ Support!:)

How sweet is that???? Amy went to the trouble of ordering all the girls at work Peru jerseys and they surprised me!! It was the most AWESOME day at work! It felt like I was surrounded by support and they were all behind us and this journey that we are on. The best part was, our story was told ALL DAY LONG! Even though we continue to WAIT (not on the referral list AGAIN this month) we are not alone, and we are NOT in control! God knows what He's doing....I AM SURE OF THAT!
Thanks girls at Creative Images and to all of you who are coming along with us!
Love to all!

Curve Ball!

Okey Dokey! File that under "C" for curve ball!! Found out that they did a placement on October the 17 (usually only at the end of the month) and placed 14 orphans into homes. THAT is the best news. Whether it's our home our not, at least there are 14 more children out of the orphanages. But.....it's NOT our home again, so we wait until....hmmmmm...end of October? Mid November? Or, end of November....who knows, until the next listing comes out! :) Like Dayton says, "14 closer to the top for us!":)