We finally got the 'call'. We will be flying out May 18th. This is both super exciting and super nerve wracking. I haven't quite figured out how I will leave my girls this long. Hopefully, we will have a good internet connection and will be able to Skype with them. We now begin the journey of packing and getting everything in order for our stay 'over there'.
The good news is that we have almost a month. That is longer than we had last time, and we know of people who have only had a five day notice.
AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH! That is the first of many screamings we have to do. There is much to be done and relatively little time to do it. There are many many questions to be answered. There are many things to do and to prepare. We still need to do a lot of fundraising. It is nervewracking - there are so many things that could go wrong and almost all of them are outside our control. At the same time it is exciting - we draw near to the end of months of paperwork.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Adoption Update
Here is the child we have committed to through Reece's Rainbow.
"Bowen" is just over a year old. He is missing limbs. More information will be made available as we get it.
http://reecesrainbow.org/?s=bowen
This has been a more frustrating adoption process than when we got Elena and Juliana. The documents have been a persistent problem. It took six tries to get a letter from the bank regarding our house. Even when we faxed them a letter regarding what needed to be on the letter, they misspelled names (Kelly apparently goes by "Kathy"), got the address wrong, got the monthly payment wrong (they said we paid $7000 a month on our mortgage), got the square footage wrong, got the notary stamp wrong..... it is very comforting that we send them mortgage money every month.
Many of the documents from other sources have had delays, or improper notarization. OtherCountry has many rules for notarizations, the stamp must have the right orientation, date, mustn't touch any other writing on the paper, must have a date that matches the paper,....... and we tell the notaries (especially communicating long distances, like the mortgage company) all the rules - and they happily ignore it and stamp it any old way the first two or three times.
The other problem has been the children. The four brothers we committed to earlier were in process of being adopted by other people. We have inquired about several other children (at least six), only to find that they are being adopted also. The important thing is that these children who desperately need families are getting them.
We see all these delays and setbacks as our being providentially hindered. On the down days it makes us question our resolve, to question whether we are actually being called to walk down this road. However, our lives and our schedules and our timetables are never actually our own; we content ourselves with this. As Lewis put it in the Screwtape Letters: "Let him have the feeling that he starts each day as the lawful possessor of twenty-four hours .... [let them] believe that they "own" their bodies—those vast and perilous estates, pulsating with the energy that made the worlds, in which they find themselves without their consent and from which they are ejected at the pleasure of Another!"
Elena and Juliana have been very helpful too. They love important-looking piles of paperwork. Elena is honing her artistic abilities and Juliana is hoping for a career as an industrial paper-shredder. Thus far, they haven't ruined any of the adoption paperwork (they have scattered it all over) but we suspect they are biding their time waiting for an opportune moment to strike. For example, Elena had a glorious time scribbling through our income tax return paperwork with a pen (after sneaking up from her nap, without a peep, and getting it off her father's desk.... while ignoring the pile of blank drawing paper located nearby). Our babies are very clever and extremely fast - a bad combination for us.
"Bowen" is just over a year old. He is missing limbs. More information will be made available as we get it.
http://reecesrainbow.org/?s=bowen
This has been a more frustrating adoption process than when we got Elena and Juliana. The documents have been a persistent problem. It took six tries to get a letter from the bank regarding our house. Even when we faxed them a letter regarding what needed to be on the letter, they misspelled names (Kelly apparently goes by "Kathy"), got the address wrong, got the monthly payment wrong (they said we paid $7000 a month on our mortgage), got the square footage wrong, got the notary stamp wrong..... it is very comforting that we send them mortgage money every month.
Many of the documents from other sources have had delays, or improper notarization. OtherCountry has many rules for notarizations, the stamp must have the right orientation, date, mustn't touch any other writing on the paper, must have a date that matches the paper,....... and we tell the notaries (especially communicating long distances, like the mortgage company) all the rules - and they happily ignore it and stamp it any old way the first two or three times.
The other problem has been the children. The four brothers we committed to earlier were in process of being adopted by other people. We have inquired about several other children (at least six), only to find that they are being adopted also. The important thing is that these children who desperately need families are getting them.
We see all these delays and setbacks as our being providentially hindered. On the down days it makes us question our resolve, to question whether we are actually being called to walk down this road. However, our lives and our schedules and our timetables are never actually our own; we content ourselves with this. As Lewis put it in the Screwtape Letters: "Let him have the feeling that he starts each day as the lawful possessor of twenty-four hours .... [let them] believe that they "own" their bodies—those vast and perilous estates, pulsating with the energy that made the worlds, in which they find themselves without their consent and from which they are ejected at the pleasure of Another!"
Elena and Juliana have been very helpful too. They love important-looking piles of paperwork. Elena is honing her artistic abilities and Juliana is hoping for a career as an industrial paper-shredder. Thus far, they haven't ruined any of the adoption paperwork (they have scattered it all over) but we suspect they are biding their time waiting for an opportune moment to strike. For example, Elena had a glorious time scribbling through our income tax return paperwork with a pen (after sneaking up from her nap, without a peep, and getting it off her father's desk.... while ignoring the pile of blank drawing paper located nearby). Our babies are very clever and extremely fast - a bad combination for us.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Elena and Juliana Updates
It has been awhile since an update and lots of cool things are happening in our girls' lives so here goes:
Elena is just so smart and sassy. Thanks to her awesome teachers at school, she recognizes all of her letters and is attempting to make their sounds. She is so close to being potty trained and honestly if her parents worked harder at it she probably would be completely potty trained. She is still quite bossy to her sister but has become a lot sweeter towards her also. She loves playing with baby dolls. She will rock them, sing to them and push them in a stroller or shopping cart. She also trys to teach them all the things we are teaching her like washing hands, using the potty, and eating. She, of course, is very bossy to her baby and tells her all about the things she is not allowed to do, which coincidentally happen to be the same things she gets in trouble for often, like pulling on the blinds. It is so fun to watch her grow and learn. I find myself thinking about who she will be in a few more years!
Juliana is still very sweet, but is becoming quite sassy like her sister. She has definitely learned the word, 'No'! Of course, not learned as in stopping when hearing it, but mostly in how to say it in protest to what we are asking her to do. She is no longer on heart medication! Woo-hoo for that! She knows many signs and says some words. She finally got some front teeth! Juliana first got her top molars, then her bottom molars, then 2 front bottom teeth, then 1 front tooth and a second molar on the top right side; now she is finally getting the 2nd top tooth. You would never have known she was so toothless with the amount she eats and what she eats. All 23 pounds of that little girl LOVES to eat. She is also pretty close to being potty trained. She and her sister love to cheer each other on.
Elena is just so smart and sassy. Thanks to her awesome teachers at school, she recognizes all of her letters and is attempting to make their sounds. She is so close to being potty trained and honestly if her parents worked harder at it she probably would be completely potty trained. She is still quite bossy to her sister but has become a lot sweeter towards her also. She loves playing with baby dolls. She will rock them, sing to them and push them in a stroller or shopping cart. She also trys to teach them all the things we are teaching her like washing hands, using the potty, and eating. She, of course, is very bossy to her baby and tells her all about the things she is not allowed to do, which coincidentally happen to be the same things she gets in trouble for often, like pulling on the blinds. It is so fun to watch her grow and learn. I find myself thinking about who she will be in a few more years!
Juliana is still very sweet, but is becoming quite sassy like her sister. She has definitely learned the word, 'No'! Of course, not learned as in stopping when hearing it, but mostly in how to say it in protest to what we are asking her to do. She is no longer on heart medication! Woo-hoo for that! She knows many signs and says some words. She finally got some front teeth! Juliana first got her top molars, then her bottom molars, then 2 front bottom teeth, then 1 front tooth and a second molar on the top right side; now she is finally getting the 2nd top tooth. You would never have known she was so toothless with the amount she eats and what she eats. All 23 pounds of that little girl LOVES to eat. She is also pretty close to being potty trained. She and her sister love to cheer each other on.
Friday, December 7, 2012
... or not ...
Today we learned that an Italian family is OverThere and in the process of adopting the brothers. We knew from the beginning that this is a possibility. We are not hurt by this. Do not be sorry for us or for them.
Instead PRAISE GOD, that now that they have a family - and we can begin looking anew. We got into this because we felt led to adopt and while they were on my heart, obviously my purpose in their lives was to pray for them to find a family. He has called some to sow, some to reap, and some to harvest.
Instead PRAISE GOD, that now that they have a family - and we can begin looking anew. We got into this because we felt led to adopt and while they were on my heart, obviously my purpose in their lives was to pray for them to find a family. He has called some to sow, some to reap, and some to harvest.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
And in other news....
{Post has been edited to eliminate pictures}
In other news.... we're at it again.
We know it is crazy - but we are starting the adoption process again.
Quit yelling at your computer screen.
Right now, we are targeting this group of brothers (ages 6, 5, 4, 2) from Eastern Europe. All four of them are in an orphanage. We have just started doing paperwork this week. The one in the blue shirt has developmental delays and a skin condition We don't know much additional information about them.
We can do simple arithmetic. We know that 2+4 = 6 (something many friends and family members have pointed out). We also hold the view that children need parents; we can not hold such a position and not be willing to stand in the gap.
Here is what started this latest round:
http://www.erpcsermons.org/Sermons/2012%20Sermons/2012-07-22-AM%20-%20JR%20Caines%20-%20Justice%20for%20the%20Oppressed.mp3
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