Documents Headed for Astrakhan

Well, after lots of re-do's and many trips to Topeka, we have our "final" (ya right) paperwork headed to Astrakhan. We had a very hard time getting the correct wording from a CPA for our Financial Statement. Almost two weeks of drafts, final drafts, semi-final drafts... But, I think we've got it now!

It's all a bit confusing, but apparently when Russia receives these documents we will be officially registered with the Department of Education in Astrakhan. Before now we were just considered assigned to that Region. It's hard because we seem to be learning these details as we complete each step instead of beforehand. Oh, well.

Russia's adoption is moving very quickly right now. Our agency, CHI, completed three adoptions in the first two weeks of January. That's crazy fast. Two families left today for Astrakhan. They are both requesting kids under 18 months. So then, it's just us.

Last week when I was having my quite time with the Lord, I felt this urgency to pray for the Power of God to work in the heavenly realms. There is major battle going on that we cannot see. I have been praying for God's unseen strength to break through strong-holds in Russia and in the US. I would love for you to join with us as we pray for all that paperwork to fall into the right hands.

Mostly, we are praying for our little girl in Russia who needs us. She needs to be home. We want her here. God knows her name and is preparing her for us.

We are preparing for her, too. Her room is totally ready now. Paint, curtains, decorations - Will (our 8 year old) even helped me put sheets on the bed!
We're ready, Lord! Bring it on!!

The "List"

We talked with Children's Hope last week. They said we are FIRST on the list to adopt a toddler! There are two other families wanting to adopt babies under 18 months, but that does not effect us.

We have a conference call scheduled for this morning. It will include me and Rob, and the three reps in St Louis who are working with our family. This also includes the actual transalator who has direct contact with Russia. Primarily we are going to talk about where we are right now in our adoption process. All of the CHI people seem to be a little confused about the "referral" we got in September - supposedly to travel in October, etc. I know we're confused, that's for sure! Hopefully we'll get everyone on the same page and figure out what has happened.

Beginning a New Year

Happy New Year! We had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to 2009 with great expectations!




We met with our new social worker this morning. Our adoption agency Children's Hope International has closed their branch in Kansas, but they are still operating in Missouri. Because of this we have to change some of our original documents to the new social agency Family Christian Services. Also, sadly to say, our Home Study documents from last year are expiring, so we have to re-do much of our paperwork.

Our new social worker is very sweet. We are glad for that. She has been with Family Christian Services for over 25 years. So, we are hoping we will not have to change again in the future!

Our CHI representive in St. Louis will be back in the office on Monday. Hopefully we'll hear some type of update next week.

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!