Enjoying Hope's first times with us

First time riding a carrousel with big brother West at Kemah

First time to a football game

First trip to the country to visit Grandpa and Nanny and ride the tractor

First time on the four wheeler

First major league baseball game

First time eating ice cream (She likes any kind if it's pink)

First annual summer vacation with cousins

First time in the playhouse with Emily at Papa and Mimi's

First road trip to Papa and Mimi's with Patches

First time to the Houston Zoo
The monkeys and elephants were her favorites.

Hope's 3rd birthday

On the day of Hope's third birthday we celebrated outside with dinner and a blow up pool for her to enjoy. Unfortunatley she was very tired, as you can tell in this picture, and so she didn't care too much about playing or celebrating. Our good friend, Krissy, brought over a cookie cake that perked her up a little and so she enjoyed a big piece of it.
Because we waited too late that night, we decided to celebrate again the next day with her original cake decorated by Dad.

Enjoying "tea" from the set Nanny and Grandpa gave

Having fun with West

First week at home with Hope

Posing for a picture

Having snacks together

Hanging out in the bathroom either washing hands or brushing teeth (two favorite things to do)

Strolling her dolls around the house with her purple purse

First night out to eat with family for Father's Day

We have all had a wonderful first week home with Hope Anjali. Her personality has come out more and more each day as she becomes comfortable, well fed, and well rested. We've discovered she really likes "girly" things (jewelry, dolls, clothes, shoes, tea parties, dressing up, etc.), taking baths now, eating cake, feeding the dogs biscuits, singing, and coloring. We are all enjoying watching her try new things for the first time too. West has been a great big brother and has shown us lots of patience with a little girl. The only thing he doesn't like is bed time b/c she doesn't like it either and that's when the tears come. She sleeps well though and always wakes up happy in the morning. Her personality is really funny when she warms up to people. We can tell she was well taken care of by her foster family. She also understands English very well and will say anything we ask her to, if she is in the mood. She has a soft voice with an Indian accent that is way too cute. ( I wonder how long that will last with our accents.) Ha!

Thanks again for all of your emails, phone calls, and notes. The transition is going well so far. We are all enjoying adjusting to a family of four. We celebrated her birthday yesterday and thanked God for allowing us to have her home by the age of 3. I'll post pics from the celebration later for yall to see.

Back home in Sugar Land

Hey everybody,

We made it home! The flight wasn't too bad and Hope did great. She slept half the way on one plane and slept part of the time on another. We had fun watching her play with stickers, books, and colors when she wasn't sleeping. When we arrived, West, all of the grandparents, and Uncle Corey and Aunt Stacy were there to meet and greet us. We were so excited to see everyone and introduce Hope Anjali. We had to wake her once we arrived and she wasn't too comfortable once she first saw everyone. ( Of course it was 2:00 in the morning India time.) She quickly though took a liking to West and wanted to be by him the rest of the day and night. They even slept together on a palette in our room.

We can tell she really feels comfortable with West and her personality is coming out with him. She has spoken several words in English with him, but has not yet with us. West has been a great big brother with her and said yesterday that "picking her up is one of the best days of my life; the other was getting my dog, Patches." We are all so thankful to be back together now as a family of four.

Again we thank all of you for your prayers and words of encouragement. God heard and answered everyone of them. We can't wait for Hope to meet all of you.

We love yall,

Scott and Kathy

Last day in India

Well we are getting things ready to leave New Delhi. We ask you to please keep us in your prayers as we travel that long flight to Amsterdam and then home to Houston. Hopefully we'll be able to rest on the plane and maybe watch some more movies. Scott and I have been amazed at the good airline services we've experienced. I am especially excited about having a diet coke with ice. Aunt Rebecca you know what I mean - there's nothing like it.

We've had a great day today and Hope has shown us more of her personality. She woke up happy and has eaten well all day. We went shopping for a little while at an Indian market outside and nearly melted. It is so hot here! We enjoyed seeing different things made here and talking with the local people. We bought some bangles and Hope loves to wear them. She also seems to love her new clothes and getting dressed up. We've had fun with her today and are so thankful she is feeling better. She hasn't left Scott's side all day and definately prefers him today. He loves that and I think it is so sweet. I can tell she already has good taste in men.

We will have dinner in the hotel again before we leave. The food has been really good, especially the desserts, as Scott wrote about on the last blog.

We look forward to seeing everyone and again we thank yall so much for all your prayers and encouragement. Please keep us and Hope in your prayers as we transition home and for West as he starts a new season of life with a sister.

Love you all!

Here are some pics from today. You know us we take lots of pictures!

Visa - YEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHHH

Hope had a date with the doctor this morning and with the U. S. Embassy. She did not have to receive the shots, so we are thankful for that. We received the needed medical screening examination from the "embassy approved" doctor and took it to the embassy. There we submitted the paperwork and paid the visa fee. Then we went back to the hotel and had lunch, and Hope ate very well. We could tell she was feeling much better today than yesterday. We really appreciate your prayers for her.Keep them coming. She is still pretty shy and warming up to us. We can tell she is a thinker like West. She observes everything around us. One thing we did discover at the lunch table was how she likes to draw. She copied Kathy's drawings and drew a picture of all of us, West included. She also wrote a few letters in English. She definately can understand everything we say even though she doesn't speak in English. Later while Mom and Hope remained in the room, napping, Dad returned to the embassy and received the visa. Tonight we ate a special and good dinner at the hotel, where Mom had a dessert buffet. Hope and Dad, until today, had never seen a woman put away so much dessert, holy smoke. Dad and Mom also had a good cup of Lazzaro coffee. It was as good and as strong as Starbucks. I think it is an Italian brand. We thank you all for the prayer. We are still overwhelmed with God's miracles and wonders.
Overall, Delhi is much less appealing to us than Bangalore. One of the Bangalore residents stated, "Delhi is more liberal," and I would agree with this. New Delhi is the big city and reflects a big city culture. In addition, the driving in New Delhi is not near as exciting as that in Bangalore. Tomorrow if Hope is feeling well we will tour some of the city. So far all we've seen is our hotel, the embassy, and the medical office. We need some new sights before we leave.
Tomorrow night we will leave for the airport at 10:00 pm. We'll try to blog before then.
We will return home on Saturday afternoon.
Can't wait for Hope to meet all of you.

P.S. Hey Karen, don't you love the dress! We do!

In New Delhi

We awoke early this morning and made it to the airport in Bangalore for our 7:25 am flight. We had to wake Hope, and she was exhausted the remainder of the day. She slept on the airplane almost the entire flight, including take off and landing. Once in New Delhi, where it is more like Texas weather, we went to the US Embassy and doctor's office. Tomorrow we repeat the process and hopefully will be finished with the Visa. Hope has to have two injections tomorrow. Thank you for your prayers; they are felt. Hope has not felt too well, today, and went to bed early. Please pray for strength, endurance and healing for her.

Pics from Tuesday

Daddy reading with his little girl

Taking a ride to the mall in a "rickshaw" (their taxi cab)

Leaving the mall with that car

Riding back to the hotel

In front of our hotel after shopping

All of the head guys at our hotel who have treated us wonderfully.

Our first day together

Good morning all,

Thank you so much for all of your posts and emails. We have enjoyed so much your comments and encouragement. Yesterday I was pretty busy so as you could tell Scott stole the blog from me. He shared with you most of our day. It was an amazing experience at the child center with all of the children and then seeing Hope Anjali finally in person. She was dressed up to a T with her nails painted, jewelry on, and pretty little dress. It was quite emotional all day for many reasons. God was so good in the midst of it all to show us so much of His compassion, love, strength, and peace. We could see His presence with us all day. The care workers were wonderful as well and the foster family was so kind and loved Anjali. It was pretty hard for them to say goodbye. We were so grateful to all of them for taking such good care of Hope. They have all taken such good care of us too and we are so overwhelmed by God's grace.

When we returned to the hotel, it was pretty tough for a little while until Hope fell asleep in my arms. She then slept over 12 hours!! She was tired. This morning she woke up happy and seemed pretty calm. Again God answered specific prayers of yours and ours as she slept. Today we have had a fun day getting to know her. She likes bubbles and for us to read her books so far.

We decided to get out a little while from the room and we went to another part of the city recommended by the hotel staff, to a mall. The mall was very nice and had pretty much all that we have back home. We had fun shopping for Hope, seeing what she liked, and shopping for West. We discovered that she and West will have a lot in common. She pointed straight to a hot wheels car and has carried it around all day. While at the mall, we ran into a girl from our church who is here on a mission trip with Baylor students. We visited with her and her friends and heard how many decisions to follow Christ have happened over the last week. It was great to see her and again hear how God is working in this city. It wasn't a coincidence we ran into her. Isn't God so good?

We've had a fun day and thank God for what he is doing. Tomorrow we will leave to travel to New Delhi early in the morning. Once we arrive we will go for Hope's medical exam and then hang out the rest of the day probably at our hotel.

We have enjoyed Bangalore so much and we hope to be able to come back and visit again one day. I am attaching some pics from today. Please continue to pray for us as we travel, for Hope's medical exam, for our love and patience, and for her comfort and peace.

We love yall,

Kathy

Even more pics

More pics

Ram, the manager of the St. Mark's Hotel, had this cake sent to the room.

Hope slept on the way to the hotel. That's a good thing; she would have had nightmares about the drive home.

Hope's foster family. Her brother is 12 and her sister is 16.

Hope's friends at the child care center.

Hope at lunch.

Mommy and Hope; Dad's two favorite girls.

Gotcha Day

It took Dad many kisses to get to hold his new daughter.

Well, it has been an incredible day. We were driven to the Vathsalya Charitable Trust at 10:30. The journey took about forty-five minutes. Well, Hope is more beautiful than we imagined. We met Hope with her foster mother and sister, and Dad tried to get to know Hope while the women visited, for some time. After the introduction and visit, we went upstairs and met all of Hope's friends. We played with all of the children and sang songs to Jesus. Dad continued sneaking kisses from Hope, and she finally allowed him to hold her. Hope was most comfortable with Dad, first (because of the kisses). While upstairs, Hope's foster dad and brother came and held her. Hope's foster mother held her one last time and cried; It was a heavy experience. When Hope's foster family left, Hope became emotional and mourned her foster family, with whom she had been with for a year and a half. Later, we ate lunch with the children and workers, and Hope calmed down. Dad was taking photos outside, when Hope stepped out and posed for Dad , who took some photographs of her. Dad is her huge fan. Hope became sleepy and directed Mom and Dad to the nap room, where she soon fell asleep. Hope napped about thirty minutes. Once Hope awoke, we left the orphange. Hope mourned until she fell asleep in Kathy's lap. Once we returned safely (praise the LORD) to the hotel, the staff had to look at Hope since they heard about her and her big brother from their proud parents. Hope continued to mourn, so we took a walk. She calmed during the walk but became upset, again, once we returned to the hotel room. Dad plugged in the DVD player and blew a fuse in the room, so we lost all electricity. It has been hard, but Holy Spirit has given us His fruit and shown us that Hope is in mourning at the present. We are doing good. Please continue to pray for wisdom from above and the filling by Holy Spirit. Hope seems to be very sensitive and is warming to us. Pray for Hope to not be anxious or fearful but have peace.

Pics to follow shortly.

Scott

Another day in the city

Touring Bangalore's Botanical Garden

Scott is thinking of selling Kathy's Yukon and purchasing something more economical like this for our family to ride together; It apparently seats up to four. Wait a second, I bet we could make room for one more on top of the gas tank.

Touring the Maharaja of Mysore's summer palace

Shopping for a saree and kurtas. Scott wants to know which of these beautiful women is from Bangalore? Scott was impressed with Kathy's shrewd business deal; She talked the nice lady in the green saree down to less than half of the original asking price.

Eating pizza and pasta in Bangalore's UB City outside and on top of Bangalore's "galleria." This area reminded us of the Sugar Land Town Center. The dress, which was very casual and western, was not something we had seen in India, for most women wear sarees.

Scott found his "Starbucks" and it's much cheaper. We love the name Mom.

This is a picture taken of the city from the Botanical Gardens.

Today was a fun day again touring the city. We saw many interesting sights and met many friendly people.

Tomorrow will be the big day we've waited a year for. VCT (the orphan care center) will pick us up at 10:30 our time which is around midnight your time. We will probably arrive around 11:30am at the center. We ask you to pray for Hope as she first meets us and please pray for the foster family as well. They will be losing a very special little girl. We appreciate so much your prayers already and we can see God's presence everywhere with us. We know He prepared tomorrow and has already gone before us. We will look forward to sharing with you our day and new pictures of Hope Anjali in our arms.

We thank you too for all the emails and blog posts. We are loving reading them!

Just fyi, West is having a blast with his cousins in Keller. Now, he and my mom are headed to Louisiana and will see the rest of the Evans' clan. It's been a blessing to be able to email him and send pictures too. We are very thankful for the communication we have with all of you. We thank God for how you have been and are on this journey with us through prayer.

We love you guys,

Scott and Kathy

Scott helped write the blog tonight. He is well rested.