Merry Christmas!

Hello to all of you blog-checkers! I cannot believe Christmas is here. This is such a sweet and busy time of year. Our kids are out of school for two weeks, and I love it! We are going to have so much fun. Wearing jammies until noon, playing games, and of course - with a mother like me - doing crafts! Our latest discovery is the hot glue gun - low temp. Oh, man that can bring hours of creativity! We made a whole town out of saltine crackers, marshmallows, and sugar cones. We are so so blessed!

I'm sure you're waiting for an update on our adoption. For those who are reading our blog for the first time, I'll back up a bit and condense the past year as quickly as possible. Also, for major dates of interest you can see our "time line" in the right margin.

Well, in November of 2005 Rob and I first discussed adoption. We went through the rational reasons NOT to adopt. We have three kids already, we're a healthy, happy, strong family. Why would we want to mess that up? But, our hearts were softened, and we began to realize, what a great situation we have to offer a little child who has NOTHING. Another thing, I am a huge supporter of Life, and oppose abortion with a passion. Adoption is such an active way to take personal responsibility and thank a mother who chose life for her baby - even though we will most likely never meet her.

Through lots of prayer, research and confirmations we submitted our application to adopt in January 2008. We decided on Russia pretty much through the process of elimination. China has a three year wait, Guatemala is closed, Columbia won't adopt if you already have three kids, etc. We knew for sure we were to get a little girl and she should be "older". We have specified a little girl between 24 - 48 months old. Initially we had pictured the little gymnast with blond hair and blue eyes. But, we learned that Russia is so huge - making up 1/3 of the world's land, they have many different backgrounds. So, we are totally open to Gypsy or Asian features. Whatever, it doesn't matter to us.

We completed our "dossier" - the major pain the rear paperwork nightmare - in April. And less than two weeks later we received a referral - which means a child matched for us. That was amazing because after Russia receives your paperwork, it has to be translated into Russian before the Department of Education in Moscow will begin the process.

To make a long story short, in August, that little girl in the region of Vladivostok, ended up being adopted by her grandmother before she officially "cleared the data-base" - which is when the child is still open to domestic adoption. So we were back on the waiting list.

Then in September we received another call for a referral in the region of Astrakhan. We had to re-do some additional paperwork for that region very quickly. They asked if we could travel in October. Typically after you receive your referral from the Department of Education in Russia, you receive your official travel dates within a week. After waiting two months, there was some confusion, and that referral fell through as well. So, here we are just playing the waiting game, and back on the list.

I have gone through a series of emotions. Being excited, sad, happy, frustrated, etc. And, Rob - he's a rock. So steady and patient. He just says the time has not been right, and it will happen when it happens. What a guy! We have come to the realization that just because we are following God's call, we are not exempt from heartache. Man-kind is so full of failure. Even if the people in Russia are making a mess of things, our God can make it good. Besides, He is much more concerned about shaping our character than making things happen when we think they should. God is not bound by time. "He makes all things work for good TO THOSE WHO ARE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE". We believe that!!

It is seriously such an honor that God placed this call on our life. We know whatever challenges we will face, He will be faithful to our family. Hopefully you feel caught up on our process, so I'll wrap it up now. Rob just looked over my shoulder and said, "You're really bloggin' it up".

Please check back again! When we receive news, I always report it on this blog site. Thank you so much for caring about us! Keep praying for God's purpose to be fulfilled in us. Pray for our little girl over in Russia - her health, comfort, diet, care, etc. Love to you all.

A Step Back

We were told this week that we are back on the "waiting list" for a referral. Life goes on...
Of course we are praying that the Lord will shape us to be the best we can for Him. We trust Him to work through us to save a little girl who needs a family. We'll be right here.

A Little Note from Audrey

Audrey 6 years old:
"We're ganna get Tess soon, but we don't know when. My mommy is fancy and she has good lookin' style. Daddy is handsome every time he steps on the pathway. Blake likes football funner than everything. Will loves dogs. Me, I am wacky all the time. And I gotta say something else about May (our dog). She got married to Grammy's dog. The End."

Hangin' In There

We had a happy Halloween with our little bulldog, poodle, and Mizzou football player!

Not much news on our travel dates. I talked with our adoption agency yesterday. They said we're "penciled in for November or December". What?! What happened to October? At this point Rob and I are just planning on leaving next summer. At least the weather would be nicer! Honestly, my goodness! We are trying to save a little girl over there. I don't know why Russia makes it so difficult. We're trying to stay positive. I ordered a stocking for "Tess" from Pottery Barn that matches with ours. We'll have it hanging on the fireplace and ready to fill if she's home by then. If not, we'll fill it anyway, and give it to her in Russia!

Just Along for the Ride

Our family took a little weekend trip to St Louis. As always, we loved spending time together!

We have not heard any more on our expected travel dates for our trip to Russia. But, you know, really - we're just along for the ride. This entire adoption is God's idea. So, we're just waiting for His perfect timing. We just had a reminder that God has our entire picture in His view. Five weeks ago I broke my thumb playing volleyball. We had thought we would be traveling across the world with my hand in a cast. But, this week I have started some minor physical therapy with my hand and it gets stronger everyday. Wasn't that thoughtful of God to have us wait to travel until I am whole? It will make it much easier to carry my suitcase and click my camera!

No Travel in October

Hello blog-checkers!

I talked with our adoption agent in St. Louis yesterday. Not too surprised, but we have another set-back. Apparently, the regional representative in Astrakhan is "out of town and will not be back until November". The contact person in Russia told us, "they meant to contact us ten days ago." Oops - just a little oversight. So, there will not be any travel for us in October. Whatever - our bags are packed and we'll just be ready.

Just to re-cap and fill in our time lapses - Russia contacted our adoption agency on September 10th and asked if we could travel in October. After we said yes, we were told we would be getting our exact travel dates within a few days. After one week, they said we needed another document. After two weeks, they said they needed 3 more documents. Both times I went to Topeka and Fed-Xed the papers the very same day. As of today, we have been waiting four weeks to hear what date in October we would be traveling. That is when this new information came in that we will not be traveling at all in October.

You know, Rob and I were talking about the situation we are finding ourselves in. It's such an eye opener for us. We KNOW that God wants us to save a little life in Russia. We TRUST Him every single day to direct us. And, we desire to be OBEDIENT to His call for our family. But, just because we are walking in faith and trust in Him, we are not exempt from all the hassle and disappointments of this crazy process. Through the process God is shaping us. We are forced to learn so more when we walk through the fire, and God is with us, rather than Him leading us around the fire. However, I'm really hoping we learn our lesson soon, because I am pretty tired of waiting. ;)

We look forward to getting our little girl as soon as possible. We do not want her to be effected by any of the dictatorship. Please continue to pray for her little mind, heart and body. We know God is sheltering her with His "feathers" as she waits to get home!

Exploring

Here is a picture of Blake, Will and Audrey exploring a stream near our house. We had a successful "treature hunt". We found "butterfly shells", lots of frogs and a deer's jawbone. What more could we ask for?!
I can't help but think all the time about our little girl waiting for us in Russia. She has no idea about the world we'll be introducing her to. How fun!!