Category: Uncategorized

Happy Easter everyone! We pray you experienced a glorious celebration of resurrection Sunday!

This past week was a big one on the adoption front. On Thursday we spoke with Lifeline and found out that Brazil not only approved our application, but also officially matched us with a sibling group of 4 children ages 8, 9, 11, and 14. We are very excited to have hit this major milestone and rejoice in the Lord’s provision! This response came back much faster than what we were expecting!

So what is next?

Now we officially have to accept the match, which should happen early this week. After that we begin to work on our I-800 form which is a USA government application for approval to adopt the specific children we have been matched with. Currently the projected wait time for this approval is 3-4 months. Please join us in praying that the Lord continues to gracious allow things to speed along faster than projected timelines!

After I-800 approval, the next step is getting travel approval which should happen fairly quickly and roughly 1 month from the I-800 approval we could expect to be flying to Brazil.

Please be praying for us as there are a number of things that are about to ramp up for us over the next month – finishing of final education talks with Lifeline, filling out and sending in the I-800 application, filling out plans for caring for the children after returning home, putting together a care package for each child that will be given to them when they are told about us, filling out a questionnaire for the children to get to know us, creating a welcome video introducing ourselves and our house to our kids, and then eventually scheduling a video call with the kids.

Please also be praying for the things we need to finish off around the house for everything to be ready – cleaning out areas, getting furniture built, getting sufficient clothes, etc. Pray also for the production of the car to go faster than projected (and the US dollar to regain strength…the recent events make it even more expensive for us to purchase things). And please be praying for the Lord to prepare us and those around us for after we return home. In many ways, the hardest part about adoption begins when you arrive back home…the journey to get the children, though tiring, time consuming, and expensive, is actually far easier than learning to attach and bond well.

We are so very grateful for you, your prayers, and drawing alongside us in this journey!

Before the month fully disappears, take a second to join our adventure in Germany!

Happy Easter! Even though we had to skip a month, we have brought the vlog back online! we know how shocked and utterly thrilled you are to see the video in the middle of the month – we are also excited! So grab the kids and the popcorn and settle in for a treat from a far away place!

Perhaps we need to rename these to just in the nick of time snapshots! It would help if we could stop shortening the months! In any case, it is here, so grab a seat, take a 7 minute break, and catch up with us!

Have you had your fill of turkey? Managed to snag all the shopping deals and tired of being on your feet? Have you had your fill of football? Well, two out of three isn’t bad…so check out our latest 5 minute clip!!

Happy Reformation Day! As part of your celebration why not take a few minutes to hear the latest, greatest Stannard Snapshot? Get updates from a new country!

In the nick of time…nothing like a little last second film to brighten your day!

Welcome back and welcome to our home! For our return to the world of vlogging, we wanted to give you a personal tour! Grab the kids, pets, snacks, pillows, and blankets and get a feel for our new home!

Back in time for the end of the month! Grab a snack and take 10 minutes to hear the latest and greatest!

It does seem like a frantic race against the clock…perhaps our theme for 2021? This last month has been a flurry of activity with finishing up doctoral dissertation work, preparing to transition…so much has and is happening! So we wanted to dig out a special to share with you! As part of our transition from Cru to MTW, we recently created a video for an MTW missions fair. It is brief, but helps to highlight what we are doing. So take a five minute break to enjoy and be sure to let us know when we might be able to connect to share more!