Well, we have been busy busy....this seems to be an ongoing pattern! But I do think we have gotten some stuff done! Yea! Some days it seems so overwhelming and hopeless, but some days are definitely much better than others! We are waiting on some papers from the State of Colorado that will be our FIRST papers sent to Eastern Europe!!! There is something really exciting about that! It names our children and basically holds them for us to adopt! They are important papers!!!!
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!
We are almost done with the homestudy. We are hoping to have our last meeting with the social worker very soon and then once our medical appointments are done (on May 12), it should be just about finished and ready to send off to be approved by the State. Then it has to be sent off to be approved by US Immigration (USCIS). This is important as our family has to be approved by them as "OK" to adopt an orphan (internationally). All kinds of info about us will be checked out, including fingerprints, to make sure we are suitable. Because we have chosen to adopt 2 children, the fee will be a little more, at around $1500.00, plus a trip to Albuquerque to get fingerprinted. But as Mark and I keep saying...anything for our girls! We will do anything it takes...they ARE that important to us!
We are also busy trying to get many other official papers filled out and notorized so that they, too, can be sent to the State to be "apostilled" - certified as true and accurate and OK to send to Eastern Europe. This country is very particular about how they want things done, and all the papers we have done so far have had to be re-done at least twice to make sure they are right. What fun! ;)
It is a big paperchase, but we have a lot of wonderful help! The people at Reece's Rainbow are amazing! The are putting so much time into helping us figure out these documents -- and on a totally volunteer basis! An amazing testimony to how much they care about these precious orphans!!!
In the meantime....baseball season has started here in Bayfield. Our boys are so excited! It's no wonder this sport is an American pastime. There's just something about watching a baseball game that makes you feel patriotic or something.... It is a good distraction from adoption stuff, too. It helps me re-focus on the kids and their needs and helps me remember to try to balance everything. They all deserve our best time and attention and love! And we can't wait to include 2 more little ones into this. It seems like alot, but it will be okay! We can't wait!
Mark and I had a great conversation last night. We really believe that God is in this, driving this, and that He will provide for this. I needed some reminders of that lately!! And I am thankful my husband is really so level headed and just naturally seems to be able to keep things like this in perspective. A good reminder of how we compliment each other so well in different areas and what a good match we are as a couple.... :) I could not do this without him!!!!! I am truly blessed!

That's My Pan! Fundraiser

PLEASE CLICK THE LINK ON THE LEFT SIDE
OF THIS BLOG TO SEE THAT'S MY PAN! INFO.

Fundraising

We are having a couple yard sales in the next couple months. One in mid-May at the BP offices by the airport and one on June 5th (Bayfield Yard Sale Day) at our house. Anyone willing to donate items that we could sell would be awesome! You probably have something you need or want to get rid of! Nothing is too small! Every little bit helps us get closer to bringing our girls home! We are willing and able to come pick up items for you! You can leave a comment on this blog or email me for more information!

We are also selling some neat personalized cake and casserole pans with lids, utensils, canteens, and more from That's My Pan. These are cool because your name is put on the items. These make great gifts for birthdays, Christmas, etc. This is just getting started and I will try to have pictures and more info very soon.

We are trying to get these girls out of that orphanage as quickly as we can, and having the funds to do that is a big part of what is standing in our way. Any help you give is greatly appreciated!

We have our dossier packet! That is actually a big step in this journey. Not as big as it will be when we have it completed and are sending it to Eastern Europe....but still. And wow, there is a lot of paper work to be done! I think I need a personal secretary to do it all! Either that or a nanny...We already have some paperwork we have to send to Ukraine. It is called a child specific petition and it is because we already have 2 girls we know of that we want to adopt, so we have to get it over there ASAP so that their government or whoever specifies them for us. I really don't understand how all this works yet, so bear with me because on some of this I really just don't know exactly what I am talking about. :)

Anyway...it is very exciting! And just when I am thinking I am getting most of the stuff done, something else jumps up high on the priority list and I feel like I am behind again. I am thinking I will be feeling this way for awhile...

As you can see from the blog, we had already picked new names for our little girls. However, in light of finding out their given birth names, we will be making some changes to them. I may just leave them as they are but I may remove them altogether. I haven't decided, but until we have figured out for sure what their new names will be and if I can even have birth names (partial or not) made public, you will just have to wonder as to what we will do.... :) Kind of like a "to be continued" show. I am leaving you hanging!

It's been awhile since I posted. Seems like life has been extremely busy the last couple of weeks and other things just HAD to be done. We had our first homestudy appointment today. It went well! I wasn't too nervous as we have done this before, but still, a little bit...We had a homestudy done about 8 years ago with this same social worker and it turned out to be really pretty comfortable and no big deal. Hopefully it will only take about a month and a half or so to get this part of the process done. That is good, and after that it is all about getting paperwork apostilled by the State and immigration papers filed and approved and stuff like that. Once that part is done...it might not be long before we could get a date to travel! Maybe it isn't actually that far away...like it seems. In a "typical" adoption from Eastern Europe, it is after all that is done that you wait to get a referral of a child. That can last sometimes up to 9 months or so. Since we already have children identified....it could be alot shorter. Which brings me to my next subject! Fundraising....
We have got to get busy fundraising to bring these girls home!! We only have a few short months to raise more than 25 thousand dollars and that is terrifying!!! It is of such great magnitude...getting these little ones home! They both have medical issues that need to be addressed, that is a given. But aside from that, they are living in an orphanage with many other children, in a country that seriously does not value their worth as a person, a human being, a child of God. They are not being held and loved. They are not getting adequate nutrition. I have serious reason to believe that these two little ones, that Lord willing we will soon call ours, are living on broth and milk from a bottle. They are both over a year old!! Most likely they are not taken outside for fresh air and stimulation. I pray that they are not just laying in their cribs alone for most of the day!!
I understand that this must be difficult to read for most people, but it is something that must be shared! These things are happening in the world we live in!!! We are so spoiled here the good ol' U.S.A. We have no idea what life is like for people outside of this country's safe borders! And it is so easy to ignore what is not right in front of our face!! This is something that the Lord has laid so deeply on my heart and I feel an urgent need to share it!
I also want to mention what happens to a child with Down syndrome who is not adopted from the orphanage before they are 4 or 5 years old. At around that age, these little ones are transferred to mental institutions to live out the rest of their lives... Life is not so great in the orphanage, but it gets alot worse after that. As a matter of fact, many children who are transferred will not survive that first year in an institution. And many will not live past the age of 10. This is the reality...
I will be listing some fundraisers on this blog and hope and pray that someone will be moved to do something. Whether it is help us raise money to get our girls home or to consider adopting a child themselves...

Click here to see what life is like in an Eastern Europe mental institution:
http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1kbayAdlgg

Today was a good day! A beautiful, sunny, spring day in Colorado! For those of you who live in Colorado, you know what I mean! When the HUGE piles of snow are melting away and all of a sudden it seems like there are some little green spots in the grass! Then they grow bigger and bigger and bigger... it is really a good feeling!! Next week is Easter..how fitting. Jesus dying on the cross, then being raised from the dead and giving us new life in Him. Real physical evidence of new life all around us, created by the God of the Universe, and we can just stand looking out our window and see it happening...very cool! At church this morning I heard an awesome message about this week before Easter...what life was like this week for Jesus, the week before His death. How He stepped out in faith and fulfilled what God asked Him to do. How he followed the plan without asking "why?". How He trusted in His Father and in His plan.... We can look back, reading the Bible and say how easy it must have been, easy to follow the plan knowing what the outcome would be. Even knowing the death He would suffer we can say that! (That is seriously crazy!) But in our own lives it is so difficult to see what God's plan is for us. I have struggled with that so many times in my life. But this is one time that I am so excited to say I know we are following the plan. Maybe we haven't done things exactly right or when we were supposed to, but here we are now and we are where we are supposed to be. Somehow we made it!
What is the weather like in Ukraine? That's something I want to know! Is it like it is here? Are my girls enjoying the warmer spring weather? Are they getting to go out and get some fresh air? Have they been sick this winter? Are they okay? The more I think about that stuff, the more I miss them and worry about our little Alexandria and Juliana. It has been so hard for Madalyn, I know it must be hard on them, too. And Alexandria has some heart issues still...I know she needs medical attention! Praying for God to protect them and keep them safe and healthy. We are working hard to come and get you little ones!
I mentioned fundraisers last time. My most wonderful friends are helping me and giving me great ideas on how to raise awareness and money to fund this adoption. I could not have better friends than I do! Thank you--you know who you are!! I will try to update this blog as soon as we have more ideas and plans in place!

So, we have alot of experience with adoption....or so we think anyway. We have been dealing with attachment and behavior "stuff" for about 13 years or so. We've had several different homestudies done. A couple for domestic adoptions and one for an international adoption. My point...adoption has been on our brain for years! Sometimes it seems that it is a selfish thing on my part...I just want what I want. But I know in my heart that is not true. Something much deeper is driving this...or should I say Someone?

So we have got all our formal application paperwork in for starting our homestudy. It was ALOT of work! But it seemed easy considering it is stuff we have filled out or completed so many times before! Really not, but at least it was familiar! The last couple of days we have been running around gathering marriage certificates and certified divorce papers from the courthouse. We have to have certified birth certificates, too, and eventually get them apostilled from the state! Copies and faxes and emails, oh my! ALOT of paperwork...but really it seems so easy compared to what our sweet little ones are going through -- living alone in an orphanage. Our first homestudy appointment is April 7th. Hopefully once our social worker gets going on that it will all get done quickly. We don't want our little girls to have to spend any more time away from us than necessary!

Did I forget to mention regular life? It is easy to forget about that when your mind is consumed with adoption and what all that is going to mean for your family! We had our oldest sons here for awhile...that was nice! The younger boys are busy with school and sports. There is practice for some sport almost every night. We just finished basketball, we're in the middle of wrestling, and baseball practice is starting, too. Our 2 year old is such a helper and tries to do my laundry for me! He is so sweet and smart! He takes the laundry from the washer and puts it in the dryer...and starts the dryer for me, too!! It has been a long winter and the little ones have been sick alot. Madalyn has been hospitalized twice in the last month - respiratory stuff hits her especially hard. It has been so busy, but we really don't know life any other way. We just move from one thing to the other! But it's usually always a happy busy!

Now I have to start figuring out how to fundraise for this adoption. It is going to be expensive for sure, but I know that God will provide for this! He has faithfully provided for our family through the years and we truly believe that He will continue! He has never let us down!!