I'm sure by now, everyone has gotten their Christmas card from us and was accosted by all of the inserts in our card. Sorry about that! We wanted to combine our Christmas card with the letter we had to send out for our adoption--cost effective!
Did we really want to send you all of the different inserts? Did we really want to send you a letter asking for support with our adoption? No, not really, but yet we recognize that if we don't tell you we have a need, how can you help? International adoption is costly, but God has given us a heart for orphans and we feel that for us, our part in the plight of the orphan is to give them a family. Yet, we do not believe that God wants us to go into debt to do it. We could easily put all of these mounting costs onto a credit card, but we don't feel that is wise. Instead, we've stepped out in faith and are amazed to see how God has a large bank account and meets us with each financial need along the way. Often we are surprised. Now I'm at a point where I am sit back in awe but am no longer surprised. Why should I be? He delights to pour his blessings on those who believe Him--not just believe IN Him. We please Him when we understand that faith without action is worthless.
So why Kingdom Kids Adoption Ministries? We wanted to provide a place for friends and family to make tax-deductible donations on behalf of our daughter--a place where they can give to us and be assured that it is being used for our adoption. We are trustworthy--I fear the Lord would strike us with lightening if we were not good stewards with His money, yet we understand that sometimes it just feels safer when we give money to an organization rather than directly to people. No worries, we understand, that's why we've set up this account at Kingdom Kids.
There's no pressure from us, but if God lays it on your heart to give toward our daughter, please either contact us or go to the Kingdom Kids Adoption Ministries website and it will tell you how to give towards our family. Thanks so much, friends and family, every act of help whether it be physical or financial is a vote of your confidence in us and we are grateful that you believe in us!
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Monday, December 31, 2007
Saturday, December 22, 2007
How cold is it?
It appears we designated the wrong name on this blog...it is now officially 12 degrees in Murmansk, Russia.
Great. How exciting...Nate
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Great. How exciting...Nate
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
The Next Step
The next thing we need you to pray for are the things we need to have done by a CPA. Nathan needs to gather everything and find time to take it there. Pray for him to find the time and for the papers to have a quick turn around, despite the Christmas holiday.
Also, continue to pray for a few papers we are waiting to return to us--that they would return soon.
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Also, continue to pray for a few papers we are waiting to return to us--that they would return soon.
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Friday, December 21, 2007
Psychotic?
Well, we met with the Psychiatrist today. It's official:
We are not psychotic!
I wasn't sure until after we left...but, yep...it's true.
-Nate
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
We are not psychotic!
I wasn't sure until after we left...but, yep...it's true.
-Nate
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Wrap Up for Christmas
As everyone wraps up their business in anticipation of Christmas today, we will also be wrapping up a few missing items for our adoption.
I was able to get a hold of someone very helpful with Department of Justice and they re-issued a new letter for Nathan with the correct spelling yesterday. It should be on it's way. Now let's hope it's right the 2nd time around!
We will also be off to see the psychiatrist today at 3:00pm. Although we have that scheduled, we are still not "in the clear" on that one. Prayer coverage during this time would be welcomed.
More of the psychiatrist puzzle was revealed to me yesterday as I talked on the phone with the woman who I believe is the office manager for the psychiatrist. I learned that he does not usually do these one-time evaluations for adoptions. She just happened to catch wind of what we were asking. He's only doing it because his office manager has an adoption heart (she was adopted herself) and asked him to do it for us. She doesn't even know us, but somehow our story has captured her attention. It was even more interesting as I looked up the directions to the office last night and realized that they close on Fridays at 3:00. He is doing this after hours. I also know that his office manager is not scheduled to work today, but she is coming in just for us. What they are doing for us, is all so amazing since they don't even know us--yet! As I shared our story with the office manager yesterday on the phone and told her about all of the "just happened" type of things, and she realized that she was one of those "just happened" people on our journey, I thought she was going to cry!
Every part of this adoption journey is amazing--the easy and the hard--if you ever want an increase in your faith, just adopt. Nothing has increased my faith more because every day I see the fingerprints of God. I keep thinking about this verse:
Hebrews 11:1 - "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
That would be right where we are at. We take one step at a time in the direction God leads us being hopeful and yet certain, at the same time, that our daughter is at the end of this journey!
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
I was able to get a hold of someone very helpful with Department of Justice and they re-issued a new letter for Nathan with the correct spelling yesterday. It should be on it's way. Now let's hope it's right the 2nd time around!
We will also be off to see the psychiatrist today at 3:00pm. Although we have that scheduled, we are still not "in the clear" on that one. Prayer coverage during this time would be welcomed.
More of the psychiatrist puzzle was revealed to me yesterday as I talked on the phone with the woman who I believe is the office manager for the psychiatrist. I learned that he does not usually do these one-time evaluations for adoptions. She just happened to catch wind of what we were asking. He's only doing it because his office manager has an adoption heart (she was adopted herself) and asked him to do it for us. She doesn't even know us, but somehow our story has captured her attention. It was even more interesting as I looked up the directions to the office last night and realized that they close on Fridays at 3:00. He is doing this after hours. I also know that his office manager is not scheduled to work today, but she is coming in just for us. What they are doing for us, is all so amazing since they don't even know us--yet! As I shared our story with the office manager yesterday on the phone and told her about all of the "just happened" type of things, and she realized that she was one of those "just happened" people on our journey, I thought she was going to cry!
Every part of this adoption journey is amazing--the easy and the hard--if you ever want an increase in your faith, just adopt. Nothing has increased my faith more because every day I see the fingerprints of God. I keep thinking about this verse:
Hebrews 11:1 - "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
That would be right where we are at. We take one step at a time in the direction God leads us being hopeful and yet certain, at the same time, that our daughter is at the end of this journey!
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Needle in a Haystack
Sometimes trying to find the right person in the right office feels like I am trying to find a needle in a haystack. The prayer for today is that I would be able to track down the right person at the State Level that can re-do Nathan's letter instead of getting ping-ponged back and forth. My prayer is that I will find the right person, they will recognize it as their error, not charge us any additional money and turn it around quickly.
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Woo Hoo We've Found a Psychiatrist!
Never in a million years did I think that I would be so excited to see a psychiatrist! Apparently, I "just happened" to find a receptionist of a psychiatrist that has an adoption heart since she, herself, was adopted. She was so excited about what we are doing so she bent over backwards to fit us into the schedule. At 9:45 this morning, she was even willing to work us into a 10:30 appt! Nathan was not available then, so we have an appointment this Friday at 3:00 pm. Please be praying for us during that time.
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Monday, December 17, 2007
A Mixture of News
On Friday, Nathan and I went down and got fingerprinted to be able to obtain one of our documents. We were so elated to see it in the mail today...until we noticed that they spelled Nathan's name wrong on the letter that clears him of any criminal activity. The report itself was fine, but the letter with the state seal that clarifies that he is not a criminal was spelled wrong.
That was pretty much it for me today. I finally hit the wall where I had a good cry. The little details of adoption things, the Christmas presents to make and buy and not being able to find a psychiatrist to write a letter for us is sucking up a lot more of my time than I want them to, thus, it makes it extremely difficult to focus in on the children already living in my home!
The prayer for today is for these little things to get wrapped up smoothly! If I could just have a few days that I don't have to go anywhere unexpected or be on the phone, that would be welcomed right now. Thanks for praying!
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
That was pretty much it for me today. I finally hit the wall where I had a good cry. The little details of adoption things, the Christmas presents to make and buy and not being able to find a psychiatrist to write a letter for us is sucking up a lot more of my time than I want them to, thus, it makes it extremely difficult to focus in on the children already living in my home!
The prayer for today is for these little things to get wrapped up smoothly! If I could just have a few days that I don't have to go anywhere unexpected or be on the phone, that would be welcomed right now. Thanks for praying!
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Response to Our Letter
Nathan wrote a letter to our original agency and their response was that it was our fault that we did not have a child yet. It was not about the fact that they were not re-accredited. It was our fault for being so narrow-minded in what we are looking for in a child. We didn't realize that a healthy girl between 0-5 was so narrow-minded! For those that have not caught on to my sarcasm, we have been very generous in what we are looking for and without their re-accreditation, they cannot function in Russia. Realistically, what type of child we ask for if their license to operate in Russia is not valid, is irrelevant.
We were quite taken aback by their defensive stance and have been thinking and praying about how to respond. Please pray for us to respond in a Christ-like way and to trust that God will provide the funds that we hoped they would return. We've seen too much on this journey to worry. He is faithful and He will equip us for what He has called us to do.
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight.
We were quite taken aback by their defensive stance and have been thinking and praying about how to respond. Please pray for us to respond in a Christ-like way and to trust that God will provide the funds that we hoped they would return. We've seen too much on this journey to worry. He is faithful and He will equip us for what He has called us to do.
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight.
The List
If you are praying for us, this is a list of what is left to do:
1) Pin down a psychiatrist.
2) Have a CPA validate some of our paperwork.
3) Respond to our original agency's response to our letter to them--officially sever that relationship.
4) Wait on multiple government agencies to send me back the documents we need.
5) Have a social worker come out to our home & have her finish revising our homestudy. Please pray for her part to be done before Christmas.
6) I need to find the time to fill in the blanks on quite a few forms that Nathan and I must fill out. They are not hard, it will just take time.
And don't forget to pray for our daughter! She needs to be favored, warm and full of food!
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
1) Pin down a psychiatrist.
2) Have a CPA validate some of our paperwork.
3) Respond to our original agency's response to our letter to them--officially sever that relationship.
4) Wait on multiple government agencies to send me back the documents we need.
5) Have a social worker come out to our home & have her finish revising our homestudy. Please pray for her part to be done before Christmas.
6) I need to find the time to fill in the blanks on quite a few forms that Nathan and I must fill out. They are not hard, it will just take time.
And don't forget to pray for our daughter! She needs to be favored, warm and full of food!
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
The Beauty of a Cancellation
As I recounted the recent part of our adoption journey to a friend this weekend, I realized that because I have my running shoes on, I'd forgotten to journal some of the journey. It just amazes me how I can get up each morning and think that I know what my day holds, yet each day God blows my plans and decides to place His fingerprints all over it.
As I compile something like 23 documents on top of what is necessary to revise our homestudy--and in a hurry--it can be overwhelming. On one particular day, I felt like I did not know what end was up. Kid you not, I could sit at my computer and literally every 5 minutes, either the phone rang with info I needed or I could hit my "send/receive" button on my e-mail and receive multiple e-mails. It was in the midst of this that I was getting frustrated because the doctor of Nathan and I did not have an opening for at least 2 weeks out. I thought, "Are you kidding me? I'm in a hurry to get our daughter out of Russia. Don't they know that?" So I asked to leave a message for the doctor so I could ask for special permission to squeeze in sooner. He did not return my call and did not return my call. A day and half later, I finally called his office to see what was going on. Wouldn't you know it that when I called, they "just happened" to have a cancellation that very next day at 2:45. It was a 45 minute time-frame so it would allow both of us to go in and have our medical paperwork filled out! I felt like giving the receptionist a big hug and asking if I could send a thank you note to the person who cancelled!
Things like this keep happening and it just encourages me, in my weariness, to press on and know that a little girl in Russia is waiting at the end of this paper chase. She will be such a great reward!
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
As I compile something like 23 documents on top of what is necessary to revise our homestudy--and in a hurry--it can be overwhelming. On one particular day, I felt like I did not know what end was up. Kid you not, I could sit at my computer and literally every 5 minutes, either the phone rang with info I needed or I could hit my "send/receive" button on my e-mail and receive multiple e-mails. It was in the midst of this that I was getting frustrated because the doctor of Nathan and I did not have an opening for at least 2 weeks out. I thought, "Are you kidding me? I'm in a hurry to get our daughter out of Russia. Don't they know that?" So I asked to leave a message for the doctor so I could ask for special permission to squeeze in sooner. He did not return my call and did not return my call. A day and half later, I finally called his office to see what was going on. Wouldn't you know it that when I called, they "just happened" to have a cancellation that very next day at 2:45. It was a 45 minute time-frame so it would allow both of us to go in and have our medical paperwork filled out! I felt like giving the receptionist a big hug and asking if I could send a thank you note to the person who cancelled!
Things like this keep happening and it just encourages me, in my weariness, to press on and know that a little girl in Russia is waiting at the end of this paper chase. She will be such a great reward!
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Friday, December 14, 2007
That Darn Psychiatrist
Good news! A phone call is in to a psychiatrist. Please pray for him to return the phone call and that his answer would be favorable!
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Mindset
This is a passage of scripture that I have meditating on lately. It helps keep my mindset focused on Him as little things along the adoption journey go wrong or seem to take longer than I would like them to. After all, I am a Mama on a mission to bring her daughter home.
Pslams 112: 7-8
“He will have no fear of bad news;
his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
His heart is secure, he will have no fear;
in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.”
If you ever get a chance, the whole chapter of Psalms 112 is incredible.
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Pslams 112: 7-8
“He will have no fear of bad news;
his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
His heart is secure, he will have no fear;
in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.”
If you ever get a chance, the whole chapter of Psalms 112 is incredible.
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
A Few Prayers for Today
I think I may have figured out the two forms we need done that were previously eluding me. Please pray for the documents we have requested lately to be expedited. That for some reason, they would return to us quickly.
Please also pray for the medical letter that we had to have re-notarized to be available for pick up by the end of the week.
A prayer for how to respond to our original agency would be greatly appreciated as they were very defensive to our first letter. We are thinking and praying about how to respond. At this point, only a miracle from God would get us any money back.
Lastly, please pray specifically for a woman that is talking to a friend that is a psychiatrist and asking him for a favor on our behalf. She just returned from a foreign country & adopting her son so she understands our need. Please pray that we would have a confirmation and a date set for an appointment in the very, very near future.
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Please also pray for the medical letter that we had to have re-notarized to be available for pick up by the end of the week.
A prayer for how to respond to our original agency would be greatly appreciated as they were very defensive to our first letter. We are thinking and praying about how to respond. At this point, only a miracle from God would get us any money back.
Lastly, please pray specifically for a woman that is talking to a friend that is a psychiatrist and asking him for a favor on our behalf. She just returned from a foreign country & adopting her son so she understands our need. Please pray that we would have a confirmation and a date set for an appointment in the very, very near future.
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
The Forms that Elude Me
I could use your prayers today as I attempt to figure out how to obtain a few documents that seem to elude me.
There are 2 documents that I need to obtain originals from the State. Everyone I've talked to seems like this has never been requested before and they have no idea how to help me. I think I may have one figured out, but there is this one particular form that is especially difficult to get any answers about.
I am still in need of finding a psychiatrist. So your continued prayers in that area would be greatly appreciated too.
Once I have these three areas taken care of, I believe it may be easy from there on out (I'm a little afraid to say that). If you could just pray for these 3 things to be resolved by the end of the week, that would be great!
Praise - After a little mishap with one of the notaries, we have finally gotten all of the medical info on Nathan, me and the kids all taken care of. That part is done. Woo hoo!
Now if I could just get past the above 3 documents...
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
There are 2 documents that I need to obtain originals from the State. Everyone I've talked to seems like this has never been requested before and they have no idea how to help me. I think I may have one figured out, but there is this one particular form that is especially difficult to get any answers about.
I am still in need of finding a psychiatrist. So your continued prayers in that area would be greatly appreciated too.
Once I have these three areas taken care of, I believe it may be easy from there on out (I'm a little afraid to say that). If you could just pray for these 3 things to be resolved by the end of the week, that would be great!
Praise - After a little mishap with one of the notaries, we have finally gotten all of the medical info on Nathan, me and the kids all taken care of. That part is done. Woo hoo!
Now if I could just get past the above 3 documents...
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Growth Charts
Last week, we took all of our daughter's medical info and her video to our pediatrician and a few specialists so that they could give us their feedback about what may be in store for us when she arrives. It was amazing to see how excited our pediatrician was and how he bent over backwards to also talk with the specialists and to give up his lunch time to meet with us about her.
It was also interesting to learn that all of the pediatric orthopedic surgeons "just happened" to be gathering on Friday of last week. Our understanding is that since they had her info, they would go over it together and let us know their thoughts. Hmm...interesting timing, huh?
What was even more amazing was to see her growth plotted on a "growth chart". It was amazing because the charts basically tell us that she was not doing very well her first year of life, but yet when she hit 1 year, something changed. She is small, but yet she began to maintain a steady growth curve. Now what's so special about that? Well, if she's 3 years old now, that means that 2 years ago when we began this process and began praying for our "future daughter", she would have been 1. I don't know about you, but what that says to me is that prayer makes a difference. When we began praying for her 2 years ago--our prayers are that "something" that made all of the difference for her. Now isn't that awesome?
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
It was also interesting to learn that all of the pediatric orthopedic surgeons "just happened" to be gathering on Friday of last week. Our understanding is that since they had her info, they would go over it together and let us know their thoughts. Hmm...interesting timing, huh?
What was even more amazing was to see her growth plotted on a "growth chart". It was amazing because the charts basically tell us that she was not doing very well her first year of life, but yet when she hit 1 year, something changed. She is small, but yet she began to maintain a steady growth curve. Now what's so special about that? Well, if she's 3 years old now, that means that 2 years ago when we began this process and began praying for our "future daughter", she would have been 1. I don't know about you, but what that says to me is that prayer makes a difference. When we began praying for her 2 years ago--our prayers are that "something" that made all of the difference for her. Now isn't that awesome?
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Saturday, December 8, 2007
The Letter
Now that the adoption for our daughter has become "official" with a signed and approved contract, we need to write a letter to our original agency letting them know that we will not be continuing with them. We've been working with them for 2 years, but as of yet, they still have not been re-accredited to work in Russia. That means that, as their client, we cannot take any steps forward on our adoption journey.
Since our daughter has fallen into our lap and her file is with another agency, we must sever our relationship with original agency. Therefore, we ask that you would pray for us over the next few days--maybe a week--as we put our thoughts into a letter. Our biggest prayer in this though, is that by some miracle, they would be willing and able to give us at least some of our money back. I am bracing myself for no money to be returned, but yet I can testify that God is still in the business of doing the impossible!
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Since our daughter has fallen into our lap and her file is with another agency, we must sever our relationship with original agency. Therefore, we ask that you would pray for us over the next few days--maybe a week--as we put our thoughts into a letter. Our biggest prayer in this though, is that by some miracle, they would be willing and able to give us at least some of our money back. I am bracing myself for no money to be returned, but yet I can testify that God is still in the business of doing the impossible!
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Friday, December 7, 2007
Are We Crazy?
No, we're not crazy, but one of our prayer requests, right now, might make you think that we are! For our dossier, Russia--specifically the region our daughter is in--requires that we have an evaluation done by a psychiatrist. Not a psychologist, but a psychiatrist. It doesn't make sense to anyone, but we must follow their rules, no matter how outlandish they sound.
We've gotten a few leads, but so far we've learned that in order to see a psychiatrist, it will cost us $5oo per person because insurance won't cover it. Oh, and they have no openings until late January, early February. Are they kidding me? With these running shoes I've got on, I am expecting to travel to Russia for our first trip before that! We need that psychiatrist's evaluation ASAP and we need someone that would be willing to donate it to us.
So please pray that a licensed psychiatrist will quickly be willing to donate their time to certify that we are "officially" not crazy to have so many children!
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
We've gotten a few leads, but so far we've learned that in order to see a psychiatrist, it will cost us $5oo per person because insurance won't cover it. Oh, and they have no openings until late January, early February. Are they kidding me? With these running shoes I've got on, I am expecting to travel to Russia for our first trip before that! We need that psychiatrist's evaluation ASAP and we need someone that would be willing to donate it to us.
So please pray that a licensed psychiatrist will quickly be willing to donate their time to certify that we are "officially" not crazy to have so many children!
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Baby Steps
This has been quite a whirlwind of a week. Full of the fingerprints of God. I'm not even sure if my brain has been able to wrap around all of it yet. This adoption journey has been one that is so incredible because, as my friend Trina says, "It's like having front row seats at seeing all of the amazing things that God is doing." I cannot think of a better way to put it.
As I said, the actual process of compiling paperwork for adoption started about 2 years ago. It was a busy time and we were able to submit our dossier (a huge stack of really important documents that cost a whole heck of a lot of money) to Russia in September of 2006. However, the problem came when we realized that Russia was making some changes and we were caught in the middle of that. So we had to tack on some extra waiting onto the typical adoption wait time. In fact, I'd say we'd gotten bored with the waiting game and pushed it to the back of our plate, unsure of what God was doing. Our heart was still open, but we just didn't understand why were were still waiting.
It was in early November of this year that our family was able to slip away for a mini-family vacation. During that time, Nathan and I had unlimited time to talk about the adoption. We decided to "throw out our fleece" of sorts. We moved the adoption back to the front of our minds and began praying fervently--seeking God's direction in the matter. That was the weekend. On Monday, we received a surprising phone call that we had received an unexpected inheritance. Not enough to complete an adoption, but certainly enough to get back on the road and to get the message from God. We even discussed the fact that we are scared to spend it on anything else! We're pretty sure that God might strike us with lightening if we dare use it in any other way!
So we got the message to continue on, but we didn't know where. If Russia is closed and our agency still has not received their re-accreditation, where do we go? What country? So we continued to pray. We tossed around the idea (for a second time) to switch to the Ukraine, but our agency said that even that didn't look promising at the moment. So we kept praying and waiting again.
During the week of Thanksgiving, I received a digest from one of the Yahoo Adoption Groups that I belong to. It had a post about an agency called "Until All Have Homes". They specialize in getting the word out about "special needs" children that are available for adoption. Honestly, I'd seen their link before, but never really did anything with it. For some reason I did that day. Because the Eastern Europe children are password protected, I was unable to get into their listings of "waiting children".
"Waiting children" are kids that are either classified "special needs" or they simply have gotten old enough that they are harder to place. Sadly, children that they classify "special needs" may have something wrong with them that is so simple to fix with good medical care, but yet they end up on that list because they are not "perfect". What's even sadder is to realize that generally people who adopt, want a baby so a child as young as three can be potentially be placed on the "waiting children" list just because they are no longer a baby. Sad, sad, sad. Okay, here's one more disturbing thought. While Russia has been "closed" to adoptions for the last year, what has happened to those children in the orphanages? Many have simply aged 1 year so they have graduated onto the "waiting child" list. Just think of that--something beyond their control--red tape has made them "un-adoptable". Sorry to dwell there for a moment, but it just slays me to think about it all.
Back to that link I clicked on. Since I was unable to view the Eastern Europe children, I decided to click on their blog. Right at the top was the most beautiful little girl I had ever seen. I couldn't figure out why she was on this "special needs" website. As I read more about this 3-year-old beauty, I realized that she just needed a hip surgery. I thought, "I can do hip surgery!" So I began to inquire about her. Of course I showed her to Nathan first and asked if he minded me checking her out. I didn't want to do all of this work, put my heart out there and then find that he wasn't interested. Instead, he gave me the green light.
While I gained more information about her, looking up every one of the medical terms in her file, & receiving pictures, I learned that there was video of her. So I sought that out. Meanwhile, Nathan and I have been praying and talking about her. By this point, she had captured my heart, but I didn't want to admit that. I also didn't want to pester Nathan about it because I would hate to pester my husband into something such as this and then get in over my head. Then that would begin a blame game. I knew we both had to be "in" or it wouldn't work.
The morning that I received the video, I was trying to load it onto my computer so I could watch it when Nathan came down the stairs. I said, "I've got video." He responded, "That's weird because I was just wondering if there was one of her and if we could see it." So we watched the video together...that's when I knew my heart was in trouble. I couldn't fake it anymore. I wanted to adopt this little girl more than anything, but again, I knew I needed to let Nathan have his space. He left for work saying that he'd think about it.
That was a tough day. I knew there were other families that had inquired about her and basically, it's a first come, first served type of thing. So I was ready to call, but I had to wait on Nathan. I knew logically that if she was meant to be in our family that she would be available whenever Nathan was ready. Boy, was that ever hard to wait and not take matters into my own hands! I'm glad I waited though because when Nathan came home that night, I vowed to not bring it up and he was the one who brought it up--all on his own! Woo hoo! As we talked through it, he said that he had not been able to stop thinking about her all day so he thought that we should step out in faith and call her agency in the morning. We prayed that she would already be spoken for by another family if this was not God's will.
I was up at 8:00 that morning, ready to call as soon as they opened. Wouldn't you know it that the lady was still opening the blinds when I called? I just had to laugh at myself. I guess I was excited, huh? The good news is that many had inquired, but no one had taken the leap. After Nathan had told me to call, I had stayed up until 1:00 am filling out the application so that we could send it overnight. We were "in"--for the first step. Many more steps to follow tomorrow.
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
As I said, the actual process of compiling paperwork for adoption started about 2 years ago. It was a busy time and we were able to submit our dossier (a huge stack of really important documents that cost a whole heck of a lot of money) to Russia in September of 2006. However, the problem came when we realized that Russia was making some changes and we were caught in the middle of that. So we had to tack on some extra waiting onto the typical adoption wait time. In fact, I'd say we'd gotten bored with the waiting game and pushed it to the back of our plate, unsure of what God was doing. Our heart was still open, but we just didn't understand why were were still waiting.
It was in early November of this year that our family was able to slip away for a mini-family vacation. During that time, Nathan and I had unlimited time to talk about the adoption. We decided to "throw out our fleece" of sorts. We moved the adoption back to the front of our minds and began praying fervently--seeking God's direction in the matter. That was the weekend. On Monday, we received a surprising phone call that we had received an unexpected inheritance. Not enough to complete an adoption, but certainly enough to get back on the road and to get the message from God. We even discussed the fact that we are scared to spend it on anything else! We're pretty sure that God might strike us with lightening if we dare use it in any other way!
So we got the message to continue on, but we didn't know where. If Russia is closed and our agency still has not received their re-accreditation, where do we go? What country? So we continued to pray. We tossed around the idea (for a second time) to switch to the Ukraine, but our agency said that even that didn't look promising at the moment. So we kept praying and waiting again.
During the week of Thanksgiving, I received a digest from one of the Yahoo Adoption Groups that I belong to. It had a post about an agency called "Until All Have Homes". They specialize in getting the word out about "special needs" children that are available for adoption. Honestly, I'd seen their link before, but never really did anything with it. For some reason I did that day. Because the Eastern Europe children are password protected, I was unable to get into their listings of "waiting children".
"Waiting children" are kids that are either classified "special needs" or they simply have gotten old enough that they are harder to place. Sadly, children that they classify "special needs" may have something wrong with them that is so simple to fix with good medical care, but yet they end up on that list because they are not "perfect". What's even sadder is to realize that generally people who adopt, want a baby so a child as young as three can be potentially be placed on the "waiting children" list just because they are no longer a baby. Sad, sad, sad. Okay, here's one more disturbing thought. While Russia has been "closed" to adoptions for the last year, what has happened to those children in the orphanages? Many have simply aged 1 year so they have graduated onto the "waiting child" list. Just think of that--something beyond their control--red tape has made them "un-adoptable". Sorry to dwell there for a moment, but it just slays me to think about it all.
Back to that link I clicked on. Since I was unable to view the Eastern Europe children, I decided to click on their blog. Right at the top was the most beautiful little girl I had ever seen. I couldn't figure out why she was on this "special needs" website. As I read more about this 3-year-old beauty, I realized that she just needed a hip surgery. I thought, "I can do hip surgery!" So I began to inquire about her. Of course I showed her to Nathan first and asked if he minded me checking her out. I didn't want to do all of this work, put my heart out there and then find that he wasn't interested. Instead, he gave me the green light.
While I gained more information about her, looking up every one of the medical terms in her file, & receiving pictures, I learned that there was video of her. So I sought that out. Meanwhile, Nathan and I have been praying and talking about her. By this point, she had captured my heart, but I didn't want to admit that. I also didn't want to pester Nathan about it because I would hate to pester my husband into something such as this and then get in over my head. Then that would begin a blame game. I knew we both had to be "in" or it wouldn't work.
The morning that I received the video, I was trying to load it onto my computer so I could watch it when Nathan came down the stairs. I said, "I've got video." He responded, "That's weird because I was just wondering if there was one of her and if we could see it." So we watched the video together...that's when I knew my heart was in trouble. I couldn't fake it anymore. I wanted to adopt this little girl more than anything, but again, I knew I needed to let Nathan have his space. He left for work saying that he'd think about it.
That was a tough day. I knew there were other families that had inquired about her and basically, it's a first come, first served type of thing. So I was ready to call, but I had to wait on Nathan. I knew logically that if she was meant to be in our family that she would be available whenever Nathan was ready. Boy, was that ever hard to wait and not take matters into my own hands! I'm glad I waited though because when Nathan came home that night, I vowed to not bring it up and he was the one who brought it up--all on his own! Woo hoo! As we talked through it, he said that he had not been able to stop thinking about her all day so he thought that we should step out in faith and call her agency in the morning. We prayed that she would already be spoken for by another family if this was not God's will.
I was up at 8:00 that morning, ready to call as soon as they opened. Wouldn't you know it that the lady was still opening the blinds when I called? I just had to laugh at myself. I guess I was excited, huh? The good news is that many had inquired, but no one had taken the leap. After Nathan had told me to call, I had stayed up until 1:00 am filling out the application so that we could send it overnight. We were "in"--for the first step. Many more steps to follow tomorrow.
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Where It All Began...
So how did we get here? Well truly, our adoption journey began at least 8 years ago. My husband, Nathan, has had a desire to adopt a little girl from Russia since I can remember. The problem with that is that when he had this dream, I was popping out a baby a year--for four years straight. I was not closed to the idea. I just thought he was crazy! I always told him to keep praying for my heart to be softened to the idea.
Well, apparently his prayers worked because about 2 1/2 years ago, I began to understand the plight of the orphan and being a lover of children, I couldn't stand the thought of not doing anything about it. Now I don't think that adoption is for everyone, but everyone can do something for those that are called whether it be volunteering, praying or giving money. Everyone can play a part, but I believe God has in mind for our family to be one of those that gives an orphan a home. It just took me awhile to catch on.
I remember those tentative conversations with Nathan about adoption as my heart began to blossom with the idea. The moment is still clear to me when we attended our first "purely informational" meeting about adoption. Nathan was ready to sign on the dotted line, but I was not quite there yet. I wanted to ease into the idea, but on the way home from that meeting I had a conversation with God that I will never forget. It went something like this:
Me - "Okay God. I give up. I'm "in", but I'm just really scared to death because it costs so much money. That part makes me want to give up right now because we don't have anywhere near the amount of money that it requires to do this."
God - "I know, B (that's what He calls me :)), but I have a question for you."
Me - "What God?"
God - "If all the money was in the bank right now, would you do it?"
Me - "Well, of course God!! Who wouldn't?"
Silence
Me again - "What? (In a whining voice) Are you trying to make a point?"
God - "Don't I have all the money in the world?"
The light bulb goes on.
Me - "Oh!! I get it, God. You want me to basically take a leap of faith and leave the money up to you?"
God - "Yep. You got it."
Me - "Okay God. I got the point. I'll obey. Here we go..."
So that's how it all began for us 2 years ago. It has been a long 2 year process full of lots of waiting. I have a feeling that I'm not done learning how to wait since that is what a lot of adoption involves. Surely there's a lesson in all of this somewhere, right?
I won't bore you with the details of the last 2 years. Well, maybe another day, but for today this is enough. Right now it seems we're making up for all of that waiting because I feel like I'm wearing my running shoes now.
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Well, apparently his prayers worked because about 2 1/2 years ago, I began to understand the plight of the orphan and being a lover of children, I couldn't stand the thought of not doing anything about it. Now I don't think that adoption is for everyone, but everyone can do something for those that are called whether it be volunteering, praying or giving money. Everyone can play a part, but I believe God has in mind for our family to be one of those that gives an orphan a home. It just took me awhile to catch on.
I remember those tentative conversations with Nathan about adoption as my heart began to blossom with the idea. The moment is still clear to me when we attended our first "purely informational" meeting about adoption. Nathan was ready to sign on the dotted line, but I was not quite there yet. I wanted to ease into the idea, but on the way home from that meeting I had a conversation with God that I will never forget. It went something like this:
Me - "Okay God. I give up. I'm "in", but I'm just really scared to death because it costs so much money. That part makes me want to give up right now because we don't have anywhere near the amount of money that it requires to do this."
God - "I know, B (that's what He calls me :)), but I have a question for you."
Me - "What God?"
God - "If all the money was in the bank right now, would you do it?"
Me - "Well, of course God!! Who wouldn't?"
Silence
Me again - "What? (In a whining voice) Are you trying to make a point?"
God - "Don't I have all the money in the world?"
The light bulb goes on.
Me - "Oh!! I get it, God. You want me to basically take a leap of faith and leave the money up to you?"
God - "Yep. You got it."
Me - "Okay God. I got the point. I'll obey. Here we go..."
So that's how it all began for us 2 years ago. It has been a long 2 year process full of lots of waiting. I have a feeling that I'm not done learning how to wait since that is what a lot of adoption involves. Surely there's a lesson in all of this somewhere, right?
I won't bore you with the details of the last 2 years. Well, maybe another day, but for today this is enough. Right now it seems we're making up for all of that waiting because I feel like I'm wearing my running shoes now.
II Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)