We Are Getting There

This has been a productive week!  We got our fingerprints taken locally and sent off to get the ok from the FBI.  We slid in a day early at USCIS (Immigration)  and got those fingerprints done.  I got a document from the accountant that I had needed.  We have an appointment next week to get Peyton's passport.  So our next step will be to get all the documents notarized.   A sweet friend from the bank has offered to do the notarizing.  Praise God things are going smoothly.

I have been wondering a lot lately about what it's like living in an orphanage when the holidays come around.  I think Thanksgiving is an American holiday so Ukraine doesn't celebrate that and they celebrate Christmas in January.  I asked Peyton if they celebrate birthdays at the orphanage.  She said at the boarding school the director gave her a chocolate bar (and I have to add, Ukraine has the best chocolate bars) and said Happy Birthday but no one sang Happy Birthday.  At the orphanage where we found her, they did not celebrate birthdays or acknowledge that it was even their birthday. That just makes me so sad.  When I asked her about Christmas she said they did a performance for the teachers and other children at the orphanage and they each got a box of candy. No mention of the true meaning of Christmas.  

Sooo, we have decided that since A can't be with us for Christmas, we are going to send a piece of our family Christmas to her.  The kids are going to make cards for her and we will send some pictures and a few small gifts.  We are going to pray over that box and know that when it arrives and she opens it, that she will feel the love that we already have for her.

No more Thanksgiving, Christmas or birthday alone.   We are on our way sweet girl and you will never be alone again.

~Tina

   

                   

November 15

It's the 15th again.  It seems like the months are flying by.  It is time draw another name from our Adoption Puzzle Fundraiser.

And the winner this month is BS.

She wins this cool bird whistle, handmade in Ukraine.

Just a reminder that next month we will be doing 2 drawings on the 15th.  One of those will be for those who donated $50 or more to our Adoption Puzzle Fundraiser.  And that prize will be the large matryoshka doll.

Here is our puzzle showing the pieces that have been spoken for on the black box.  We have quite a ways to go but I know we serve an awesome God that provides for our needs and He knows.

Thank you to all that have donated.  I hope that you are as blessed as you have blessed us.

~Tina

I love the words to the following song.  So I ask, what fire has God started in you that you need to pursue?

Another Step

Today we received a letter from USCIS that we have our fingerprint appointment on Nov. 23, just a little over 3 weeks after we mailed our documents to them.  Awesomeness!  So what I thought would be our last document to receive is coming early.  Yaaa, but that means we have to get moving on getting our FBI clearance, which is a new document this time. We have to go to our local police station and get our fingerprints done on fingerprint cards (not electronically).  Then mail those off to a company in Chicago that does FBI background checks.  When we receive that letter back from them, then we send that to the US Department of State in VA to get it authenticated and returned to us.  

It is all coming together and we are getting so excited to think that in a few short months we will be there to see her.  We are hoping that when our documents do get to Ukraine, that the Ministry of Social Policy (formally the State Department of Adoption) will still be open and taking applications as they close down some in Dec/Jan.  I keep reminding myself, God's timing is perfect timing!  I repeat that to myself a lot these days.

All is well on the home front and I am still sooo enjoying this stay at home mom thing.  I know my kids are so much better for it!  It is nice waking up in the morning during the week knowing I am doing what I was called to do.  Thank you God for this life you have given me!

~Tina

Another picture of A.

Off to Immigration

Today we mailed our paperwork off to Immigration.  This was the step we have been waiting on as this will be the final piece that we need to send our dossier to Ukraine.  It could take up to 6 weeks to get this approval back so if you could pray specifically for a speedy turn around we would appreciate it.  We know it's all in God's hands and His timing is perfect.

The Pampered Chef party that my adoptive mama friend had for us made $50 and the booth we had at the craft fair made about $50.  So thankful for all those that are supporting us.  We will be participating in a couple more craft fairs in December; one in Kingsville and one in Holden.

Here are some random photos of our life.

Should Math really be this hard?  Luckily
when we took Caleb to the dr, they decided he
didn't need glasses anymore but may need
corrective surgery on his eye that doesn't always
track with the other one.

I'm not sure what was happening on the
day this was packed but I guess someone
was tired of sticking a straw on each pack.

We are collecting our nuts for the Winter.

Peyton with our kitty, Panda.
It looks like he is smiling doesn't it.

 

And finally, my sweet friend sent me this card.  I want you all to know that everything you do for us; every card, kind word, donation, prayer; all of that illuminates us.  You have no idea, how, there are days that are just so hard on this adoption journey.  Days that I wonder why is this taking so long; shouldn't it be easier this time, after all this isn't our first adoption.  This girl has waited for all these years to have a family.  Why is it so difficult.  Then, God gently says, I've got this, let me.  And I am reminded that she was His first.  He knows and sees all that I can't.  So I praise Him in this waiting time.

~Tina  

One Month Closer to A

It is time to do another drawing from our Adoption Puzzle Fundraiser.  If you are just now joining in, the Adoption Puzzle Fundraiser is to raise money to help bring A home.  When you donate, your name will go on a piece of this puzzle.  For every $10 donated, your name will go into a drawing.
For example, if you donate $30 your name will be put in the drawing 3 times.  Because A's birthday is on the 15th, on the 15th of each month until we travel I will draw out a name and you will win something that we bought when we were in Ukraine.  On December 15, if you have donated $50 or more I will do a separate drawing for a big Matryoshka nesting doll.

The winner for October is SB.

And she wins this.

We finished up our T-shirt Fundraiser on September 15 and raised $121.  If anyone is interested in a t-shirt I have a few extras; limited sizes.  Also, if enough people are interested in buying one, I can do a re-order.  There is a minimum that has to be ordered before they will print.

Tonight is the Pampered Chef FB party that my sweet adoptive mama friend is having for us.  We don't know each other in person, just through adopting from Ukraine and our blogs.  She contacted me to see if she could have a party for me to help us with our adoption.  How awesome is that!!!  If you are interested in joining in at 7 tonight just send me a request to add you to the group.

This Saturday Peyton and I will have a booth at the Crest Ridge PTO Fall Craft Show.  It runs from 9-3.  We are selling necklaces, winter scarves and handmade decorative bowls.  If you are local, come on out.  It looks like there will be some great vendors and crafts.

I am hoping that our homestudy will be in my hands by tomorrow and I can send it on to USCIS (Immigration).  It can take up to 6 weeks to get the "Golden Ticket" back from them.  This is usually the final document needed to be able to submit our dossier to the department in Ukraine that will approve us and give us a travel date.

And so we patiently wait and pray for A.  Every night at dinner time my kids pray for her and they talk about the things they will do when she gets here; where she will sit at the table; the things they will teach her; what color will she like.  I love that my kids already see her as their sister.

Thanks to everyone who has donated or helped in any way.  Keep the prayers coming.

Tina

3 Years Ago

Three years ago today was the end of a long wait and we finally got to take Peyton and Caleb from the orphanage.  What a bitter sweet day it was.  It was really hard for me to leave so many children behind just knowing I would never get to see them again.  They had forever changed me and I am so thankful for that.  Yes, the things they taught me I already knew, but they just sharpened it all for me.

Like:

Kindness - If one orphan had several apples, they didn't keep them all but made sure everyone had one. Even if that meant giving up the last one you had and running to the orchard for more.

Patience and Goodness -  I couldn't communicate because of the obvious language difference but they were so patient with me when I would try and speak Ukrainian. They would keep saying the word until I got it, always sweet and kind.

Joy and Faithfulness- After we were there a few days and they got used to us, they would come running as soon as they saw us.  It was a faithfulness we came to count on at such a hard time and always with joyful faces;

Gentleness and Self-Control - What would you do if you saw a mouse?  Yeah, not these children. They had a pet mouse and would hold it so gently and even when it bit them, they still were so gentle with it.

Peace  or Contentment -  The children wore the same clothes day after day and took a bath once a week.  The outside toilets were less than ideal; imagine a small wooden shed with a concrete floor and three holes cut in the concrete.  Yes, squatty, potty.  I never once heard them complain about this and I know, what good would it have done. But, wow, how much it taught us about being content with all that we have.

Love - Our sweet A.  This girl was so shy and standoffish when we got there.  We could see the longing in her eyes that she wished we were there for her, not a jealousness at all, just a desire to be chosen and loved.  By the time we left there we definitely were in love with her.  I will not forget this day, that look on her face and those tears rolling down her face, because the likelihood of us coming back was just not possible.

But............. what an awesome God we serve, that 3 years later and 1 week after I quit my job, He would have me follow a FB post that would lead me to find A's picture.  A hosting agency was trying to find a family to host her for the Summer.  We decided we wanted to be that family but we would just go and adopt her instead.

So today on Peyton and Caleb's Gotcha Day I am just so humbled that God chose us to be their parents and is leading us back to the one we could not forget.

~ Tina  

photo from 2012

So, My News

The facilitator that we are working with in Ukraine has been trying to get to A's orphanage for a while now to talk with her.  I sent some photos of our family for her to share with A and she took some cookies and candies for A and her friends.

So, today I received several photos and an email that read, "She is such a nice girl!!! Everyone in the orphanage loves her, she has a very positive nature, she is very friendly and sweet.  She remembers you and recognized (Yulia) Peyton and ........ she definitely wants to be a part of your family, no doubt."

How is that for some news?!  I am overJOYed that she is choosing us!  That we get to be her mom and dad; her family!  And, well, I think she looks a little like my husband.  God is good like that isn't He?  He is in all the details!

So, well, the waiting is just so hard!  Sending prayers up for her that God will give her peace in this waiting time and that she would be comforted in knowing that she is wanted and loved so much already!

And, not sure if you noticed when you looked at her picture but yeah, I see a big heart!

~Tina