Today’s update on Javier…

We just heard from our adoption consultant that “the interview went well” on Tuesday morning and they were on their way back to Solola, where the children’s home/orphanage is located–about a 3-4 hour trip. So, THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PRAYERS!!! God has been gracious in allowing the meeting to go well. We still do not know exactly what this means for our case and for Javi. Please keep Javi (pronounced Ha-vee), our family and this whole process in your prayers. We will be sure to keep you posted as we know more.

Thanks again and praise God with us; HE IS FAITHFUL!!!! (Praise Him with these verses from his word:

“^(A)I will give thanks to You, O LORD;
For ^(B)although You were angry with me,
Your anger is turned away,
And You comfort me.
2“Behold, ^(C)God is my salvation,
I will ^(D)trust and not be afraid;
For ^(E)the LORD GOD is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.”
3Therefore you will joyously ^(F)draw water
From the ^(G)springs of salvation.
4And in that day you will ^(H)say,
“^(I)Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name
^(J)Make known His deeds among the peoples;
Make them remember that His name is exalted.”
5^(K)Praise the LORD in song, for He has done excellent things;
Let this be known throughout the earth. (Isaiah 12)

In His hands,

The Case family

Corn, squealing and Elmo’s rapping genius—by ezri

Well, it’s been a while since you had an “Ezri Excerpt”, so here goes:

May I call your attention to the video clips shown below… We have me, Ezri, enjoying my very first corn on the cob. You see, mom and grammy got a family meal from KFC and I normally prefer the ‘ chicken and rice ‘a la king”…that’s right…in Hong Kong, the have rice dishes at KFC–a shocker for some of you, I know. Anyway, the rice is fabulous….rice, gravy, peas, carrots and chicken! But, mom handed me this yellow mystery on a stick…and i went wild! I’ve liked whole kernel corn for some time, but this puts a whole new spin on things!

The next video, you will notice I am running. “Running from what?”, you may ask. Well, the time is about 8:00pm, and my usual bedtime is around 7:30pm…..we are out at a friend’s house, and am roaming about, being chased by grammy…just a fun time to squeal, I suppose! it is a bit of ‘toddler tazmania’ when I’m out and up too late! I am becoming quite the little walker/runner; sometimes mommy and daddy let me walk beside them now, holding their hand, of course.

And, the last shot you have here is of me getting my jam on to the best new song around: Elmo’s Alphabet Rap!!! What a great song!! I mean, my friend, Elmo, can really rap! He goes from the A to the B….then the C, D, E…you get the picture—he’s tremendous! I like bopping my head and occasionally swaying my hips a bit to the beat!

Well, that’s all for me for now. I’ll be in touch. I actually have some other photos and footage around somewhere, that I should share as well…so, we’ll keep you posted. ————– Oh, and just to give you an update on my brother, Javi: he’s still doing swell, it seems. We are currently waiting on this one office to sign our papers before processing can proceed. This office has 44 cases from Javi’s orphanage in their hands right now, and all they need to do is sign already!!! There is some fishy business going on and it seems they are asking for bribes, etc.! Please pray that these officials will do their jobs and sign off on all 44 cases, so that the babies can be united with their forever families a.s.a.p.! We’ll sure be glad to have the Javster on board with us here in HK!!!

Okay, then…check out the video footage!

–Ezri

Look Who’s coloring!

 

 So, I’ve recently become an artist–tapping into the area of visual arts–emphasis on crayons and the art of coloring!!  What fun it is to take colorful waxy objects–you got it: crayons–and color to your heart’s content!  So far, I enjoy using two different colors at once–one for each hand.  This way, I get to learn two different colors and both my hands stay happily busy!  Mommy has drawn me a couple of my favorite book characters:  namely, Millie Moo (from her farm yard adventure), Young Pip the caterpiller (from When I’m Big) and Applebee Cat (from Applebee’s Numbers).  What fun to sit and color characters while listening to my fav. stories!  My current coloring attention-span is around 20 min. max; we’re hoping to build on this.

 Anyway, what more on me?  Well, it is getting warm here in HK, so I am beginning to enjoy short-sleeves, skorts, and my new sandels.  It’s nice not to wear all those winter clothes–you can have too much of a good thing!  And, with the warmer weather comes two things:  playground fun and sickness.  One of these, I am super-keen on, while the other I could do without!  Seems HK kiddos are getting hit hard with the flu, and though I’ve not had the flu, I’ve been super-congested, had a mild ear infection, and unfortunately experienced my first bout of something that rhymes with ‘comit’ the other day (you guessed it–vomit!—yucky!)  But alas, I am doing fine.  Mommy has a full-time job just keeping my nose wiped, but I am learning how to blow my nose a bit more effectively, so that is helpful, I’m sure.

What more?  Oh, yes, I’m sure you’ve heard that my brother, Javier is growing steadily.  He is so sweet; we look at his pictures often, and today when mommy said something about, “Javi…Ezri’s brother…”  I went straight over and pointed out his picture and proudly said, “baby!” and smiled!  I think that once I get over the shock of sharing mom and dad, the Javster and I will be great friends!  I can’t wait to teach him about puzzles and blocks….playing songs on the piano, coloring…riding on the train and the bus…oh, and my favorite: pushing the buttons on the elevator!–and free cookie samples at Mrs. Field’s cookie shop!

Well, that’s all for me.  Keep an eye out for  a clip or two–coming soon!

Now 15 months old,

Ezri

The Many Faces of Javi (Haciendo Caritas!)

We just received this month’s update on our son, Javi (prounounced Ha–vee, for those wh0 are wondering).  He turned 12 weeks old on Monday, November 12.  He is now 7 lbs. 6 oz., which is fabulous–he seems to be steadily gaining weight now.  And, the health report noted that he is well now–as he’d recently been hospitalized–and that he is eating and sleeping good as well. 

As you can see here, he has many expressions!  From left to right, they include: 1) The ‘almost smiling’ look, 2) The ‘beautiful brown eyes’ stare, 3) The ‘grimace’, and, last but not least, 4) The ‘sweet little old man’ pose.  At only 12 weeks, it really seems he  is becoming quite a little person! 

Thanks for sharing in this tremendous joy with us!  Please continue to pray specifically for Javi’s health and development–that he will remain well and continue to eat good and grow..and develop normally and healthy both physically and emotionally.  Pray that our God will provide all his needs and continue preparing him to be part of our family and preparing the three of us to be his family. 

Javi is better!!!

We just received an email from our adoption agency saying that Javi was released from the hospital on Friday and is now safely back home in the orphanage.  He is currently still on antiobiotics, but is now eating and doing much better.  His weight is up to 6 lbs. 10 oz.—while that is small (as he turned 10 weeks old on Monday), he is gaining weight, so that is what we are looking for!  Thank you all sooooo much for your prayers on our son’s behalf!  Keep up the good work and share in the joy of our Father’s answers with us!

Blessing,

The Cases

Just an update on us…

Hello, friends!

We just wanted to post a note here to keep you up to speed on us.  We are doing fairly well.  Jason is busy with school; Melanie is busy with Ezri; and Ezri is just plain busy!  She is into all things, all the time, but she’s doing fabulous.

We (Melanie & Ezri) went up north into the New Territories for sort of a day trip yesterday.  Where did we venture, you might ask…..answer:  Snoopy’s World!  http://www.rmlicensing.com/ENG/snoopy/snoopyworld.htm That’s right, you heard correctly, Hong Kong is home to several “Peanuts” character spots, including cafes with the characters sometimes visiting!  We took the subway and light-rail trains on about a 45 minute ride to meet a couple of other moms and babies who live in our general area of HK.  It was nice, and Ezri finally got to play with another girl her age–a rarity!

Other news….many of you received an update and prayer request on Javi this past week.  He had been placed in the hospital due to a respiratory infection and not eating good.  We are still awaiting new news on him and praying that he is gaining weight every day.  We did receive one other note from our case worker, saying that taking him to the hospital was more of a precautionary measure, to make certain that he did not get worse….so, hopefully that is accurate.

The weather here is trying to change (from hot to not-so-hot), it seems, but is reluctant.  It is a bit breezy and around 70 degrees F in the early morning and then into the 80s during the day, usually.  Really, the mornings have felt a bit ‘fallish’ over the past couple of days, so that is really nice.

Well, that’s a quick up-to-date on us.  We thank you for keeping tabs and please post or send a card or email and let us know how you and yours are doing.

–Melanie, for the Case family

Check out the below links to see Snoopy’s World, Charlie Brown Cafe, and “HK with Kids”–what to do website!  Enjoy!

http://www.rmlicensing.com/ENG/snoopy/snoopyworld.htm

http://www.rmlicensing.com/ENG/snoopy/charlie_brown_cafe/html/shop.htm

http://www.hkwithkids.com/going_out.htm