Are you crazy????

We seem to be asked this question a lot by people lately. And the answer is "Duh!!" Who on earth is in their right mind would adopt a baby when they have a little over two years left of having kids in the house? Who is sane and spends tens of thousand of dollars to travel half way around the world twice in the dead of Russian winter? We realize we have mental health issues, but we like them. Don't worry the are you crazy comments don't offend us. Deep down I think a few people are envious of our decision. We both love kids and love being parents.

Thank you everyone for all of your support and congratulations! We are very happy, excited and nervous all in one. We will not be traveling until February. The baby will be about ten month old when we get him home. As we get closer in time I will share more of the details with everyone. We have lots to do to get ready. Of course I have shopping lots lately.

The girls all seem to be fairly excited. I think it is a little unreal for them as it is us. Once he is home I know they will love him. It would be hard at 15, 17 and 23 to have a baby brother all of a sudden.

Michelle has been visiting the last couple of days and it was fun to share all of the travel things and baby things with her. I want the girls to be interested and happy about this too.

Happy Day!!! We got a Thanksgiving surprise!

We got a referral on Wednesday evening for an infant boy!! I know when you least expect it, boom it happens. We are very excited but apprehensive at this point. We will not travel to Russia until early February for our first trip. Between now and then a Russian family could come and adopt or foster him. This is unlikely but still a possibility!! Anyway, we are truly thankful that God found our son for us and pray that He will continue to watch over us on this journey and hold him safely in His arms until we can get him home!

Happy Thanksgiving

I just wanted to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Not much new to say. It is doubtful that we will receive a referral this year. So I am going to put my energies in to having a wonderful Christmas that isn't all about money and gifts but about the love and joy we should have around this wonderful holiday! I will put all of the Christmas trees up, bake tons of cookies and breads and probably make a bunch of gifts. I am hoping to find the energy!

Wish I had something new to say

Hi all! I so wish had something new to report. I guess we are getting close, our agency has started talking to us about updating our documents. Now that I am no longer working certain things will need to be redone. Also, many of our documents have expired since they are only good for 90 days or 180 days, by Russian standards. Of course this means more money to spend. But what the heck, you can't take it with you. But I could get a new purse or some shoes with it instead. Don would want to pay a bill or put in savings. Go figure!

We have also been told that our dossier will probably be registered in a region very soon in anticipation of a referral to that region. I know a few people who have already done this. One of them, my friend, Marie left Saturday to meet her son on trip one. It is my understanding that this has been done for a long time but it is becoming more prominent. Since the re-accreditation in July the process has slowly been evolving and it is just not the same as it was before.

It would be nice to get a trip in before Christmas but at this point, I am just not sure. There will be U.S. (embassy) government closings for the holidays and once again the Russian government closes for the first few weeks in January for Russian New Year. Gotta love it, lots of holidays. The Europeans have the right idea, less work and more play!!!

I am currently enrolled in Guardian Ad Litem (child advocate) training. I hope to be certified next weekend and get my first case at the same time. It has been something I wanted to do for many years. At this point in our lives we are not ready to be foster parents but probably will some day. In the meantime, this is something I can do to hopefully have a positive impact on a child or two involved in the scary world of child dependency. My time commitment is minimal (4 hours or so a month) and I plan to continue to do this once we have a little baer.

I have to share what my sweet daughter did for me yesterday. While I was at training all day for the GAL program, Brynn went shopping and then to the boat show with Don. When I got home I had a wonderful little gift bag waiting for me. In it were a thermal body suit, warm sweat pants, bear slippers, and some skin balm. They were all for her little brother to use in Russia. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it!! What a sweet girl she is. She knows lately I have been down in the dumps about the adoption and it is so wonderful that she takes an interest and tries to cheer me up. This is one of the moments when I know that we are doing the right thing adding to our family. The sweet rewards of being a mom, seeing love in your child's heart!

Brynn is now playing soccer, a nice change from her beloved volleyball! I enjoy the evening games in the great outdoors. Especially now that fall has arrived in South Florida. She is driving with Don (I just cannot do it) and just turning in to a beautiful, young woman. She was confirmed a couple of weeks ago. Poor kid has done 4 years of confirmation!

I think Don and I have finally gotten beyond the disappointments that we have experienced in our delayed wait. At this point (as it was all along) we know it is in God's hands and He has a plan for us and we are just waiting for Him to show it to us. It isn't always easy but you have to just roll with it sometimes. I am honestly ready to be done and move on to the next step, being parents to a little one again.

I hope everyone has a truly blessed Thanksgiving!

The nursery

Ok I have no news on the adoption front. All we keep hearing is "anyday now". So we keep dreaming, hoping and praying!

The big news is I am learning about photos, our camera and how to upload photos on to here. So, I thought I would show everyone the nursery! Of course it is all done in fire trucks! Don would have nothing else. I did get the pretty cream beadboard with a picture rail I dreamed of. It was a happy compromise. I think it is a dreamy little boys room!

We already have the fire truck pedal car ready and waiting.

Sorry I haven't posted anything in so long, but there really is nothing new to share. We honestly don't have much idea when we will be getting a referral or traveling to Russia. It seems that is taking a while for things to get up and running after the summer holidays and re-accreditation process. We continue to hope and pray for a referral soon but we just don't know. Luckily Brynn is keeping us busy with volleyball games and tournaments. She has dramatically improved and is a wonderful player! Not to mention she is captain of the team and take her responsibility seriously. I promise to post as soon as we know something more.

July Update

Just a quick note to say things are starting to look up but we are also trying to stay grounded about it all. It is rumored that the Russian government will be issuing accreditation certificates on the 4th of July. Our agency is already seeing an increase in the number of referrals this past week. Hopefully, something will be happening for us this month but they are saying September if not sooner.

I am no longer working outside of the house. That is except for church where I have been busy volunteering at vacation bible school and now I am doing meals on wheels. Things will quiet down next week as Brynn is off to Servant Camp in Key West and vbs is over. I have many things to do before we travel to Russia.

I had to change the ticker since I found a bear to use. We are tossing around names and are pretty sure on a family name, just waiting to meet him to make sure it fits. I hope you all have a wonderful July 4th.