Wesołych Świąt

Christmas in Warsaw

Wesołych Świąt is how you say "Merry Christmas" in Polish.   Well, that's how you spell it anyway... don't ask me to pronounce it for you....

I'll keep this post short and sweet since everyone is busy and there isn't much to tell.  We are just waiting for the phone call. We won't know anything until we receive a call that says we have been matched with our children.  So we are spending this Christmas season praying for them and asking God to let them know they are loved and we are coming for them soon. 

 

 

Until then, here are some Polish Christmas decorations and traditions.

 

 

 

This is a Polish Christmas star. Isn't it pretty?  They are made in all sorts of colors and hung on the tree or in windows.  I've seen instructions on how to make them, but have not been brave enough to try it yet.

 

 

Another Polish Tradition is the Star Supper on Christmas Eve:

After sunset, the youngest child is sent to watch for the first star. This is why the wigilia dinner is also known as the Star Supper. Only then are the candles on the table lit and the dinner begun. But not a morsel is eaten before the "breaking of the oplatki."

The eldest family member takes the oplatek wafer, breaks it and shares it with the next eldest with wishes for good health and prosperity, and a kiss on each cheek. Each person then exchanges oplatek with everyone else at the table. It can be a very emotional time as grudges are forgotten and deceased family members are remembered.

Some Poles share a pink-colored oplatki with the household (and barnyard) animals because they were the first to greet the Baby Jesus at midnight. The animals also receive a taste of every course of the meal mixed in with their feed.

Instead of sending Christmas cards to friends and family not present, Poles send oplatki, first tearing off a small corner to show that the donor has broken it with them as a token of affection.

The full story can be found here http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/christmaseve/a/Polishxmas.htm

 

 

 

Wesołych Świąt from the Beach Family!

 

 

“Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy National Adoption Month!

 

 

      In honor of National Adoption Month, I would like to thank everyone who had supported, donated, listened, and uplifted us through this process.  We couldn't do this without you.  Without your generosity, orphans wouldn't have a warm home to come to and parents wouldn't have children to love.   Thank you doesn't begin to cover the gratitude we feel, but it is all we can say, so Thank You!



 

     It seems fitting that in National Adoption Month our dossier has made it's way over to Poland! We am so happy and relieved about that.  A year's worth of work is final and ready for translating to Polish.  Which is no easy task, I'm sure...  Have you ever tried to read Polish?  I've attempted to learn a few conversational words, but I can't say I've been very successful.  It should take about two months to translate all of the various documents.  Then the agency starts looking for the right two little girls that God has already picked out for us.  We have been praying for them daily and can't wait to meet them.  

     So we are currently in the "waiting" phase.  This is better than the "paperwork" phase, but still stressful as we wait for that call to come in.   We won't hear anything until they have a match for us.  As soon as we hear something, we will let everyone know.   Thanks for being patient with us.

     While we are waiting, I am working on requesting grants and fundraising.  Our current fundraising project is this beautiful puzzle which has many generously sponsored pieces.  The only problem is that I am stuck.   I got all the edge pieces and the water pieces, but can't seem to figure out the in-between pieces. I'm determined to finish though!  I will not let it get the best of me!



 

If you would like to sponsor some pieces, please visit our puzzle fundraising site here.

 

 

 

 ^"but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint."

Isaiah 40:31

 

 

 

 

 

Next Steps and Puzzling Info!

     This is the culmination of 11 months of hard work! Doesn't it all look very official?? All of our paperwork now has pretty gold seals on it which means our dossier is complete and has been sent to our adoption agency for their review.  Please pray that I did everything correctly!  I would hate to have any more setbacks at this point!   We are grateful to everyone who helped us get all these documents together. It was truly a joint effort.

     Our agency will go through everything and make sure that all the documents are in order just the way Poland likes it.  Unless you've made a dossier like this, you cannot understand the many many details that make up this packet.  I was tempted to give up along the way, I was frustrated by the bureaucracy, I was defeated by the tediousness.  But Kevin and I knew that at the end every paper cut would be worth it.  I also felt a little sad because I knew that others along this same path had given up before they reached the goal, due to cost, or being overwhelmed, or many other factors.  There are so many orphans that need mommies and daddies to give them a home.  Kevin and I are honored, with God's help, to be able to say at the end of this process that there are two less orphans in the world.

   Will you help us reach that goal? I have purchased a 1000 piece puzzle of a beautiful lake in Poland.  It looks like this:

 

This is Morskie Oko Lake, in Tatras, Poland.  The name "Morskie Oko" translates to "Eye of the Sea". According to an old legend, the lake was connected to the sea via an underground passage.  The puzzle itself is made by Castorland Puzzles which is located in Cracow Poland.   

    We are giving you an opportunity to join us and help an orphan by buying a puzzle piece for $5.00!  We will then write your name on the back of the puzzle. When all the pieces are sold we will assemble the puzzle, frame it, and hang it in our daughters' room.  You may buy as many pieces as you like.   We are using a site called youcaring.com to run the fundraiser.  This is the link here.  Thanks for your support!

 

 

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”  Romans 8:15

 

 

 



 

Fingerprints and more

     This week's part of our adventure involved going to Indianapolis to visit the Department of Immigration and have our Biometric Fingerprints taken.  It sounds very James Bond-ish but in fact was pretty unspectacular.  You may be wondering why we haven't had this done yet, but in the world of adoption, there are certain steps that have to be followed in order.  The biometric fingerprints are part of getting an Immigration clearance document.  We can't apply for that document until our Home Study is done.  We had to send them a copy and then they send us an appointment to get our fingerprints taken.  The immigration office in Indy was smaller than I expected, but the process didn't take very long once we got there.  They put your fingers on a piece of glass, kind of like a copier, and then scan them.   Very simple, no ink involved! The Department of Homeland Security then decides that we are okay to adopt and in a few weeks we should get the final form for our dossier.

Our dossier is almost done now!  This is very exciting because this is what we have been working on all year.  Collecting documents and documents and more documents.  Then getting all of these documents notarized, and then all authenticated in Indy.  I have most of our documents authenticated and I am just waiting on a few more to finish it up.  The immigration document that comes in a few weeks will be the last piece.   We will then send our completed dossier to our adoption agency and from there it goes to Poland.

A few tips for anyone who is thinking of adopting internationally:  
1.  Get your passport now.  You will need it right away.  You will need your passport number and a copy of your passport for the paperwork.
2.  Get about 4 copies of your State issued birth certificate.  It must be state issued, not from the county (at least in Indiana).
3. Get at lease 5 copies of your marriage license.

You will use these documents in a lot of places.  It seemed like every time I turned around someone was asking for these documents!

A lot of people have been asking how long it takes once our information is in Poland.  I'm really not sure how long it will be.  It takes a few months to translate our dossier and then find a match for us.  It could take a few months or longer.  We have been praying that the right children are available to us in God's timing.  Please join us in praying that our daughters will come home soon!

In the meantime, Kevin and I have had a great summer!  We were very busy and it flew by fast!  We visited the Indy Zoo, Mounds State Park, and spent some time with my family on the west coast of Michigan.  It was great to have a break from the normal routine!

Home Study Approved!

     It has been awhile since I have updated you on our progress!  We have had a busy summer and it's not over yet!  Kevin and I have been enjoying the warm weather and doing some traveling.  We have been visiting with Kevin's family,  we spent a getaway weekend in Indy around our anniversary, and we are spending some time in Michigan with my family in a few weeks. The summer flies by too fast and it will be football season before we know it.
   First an update on the rummage sale.  It went really well!  Everyone was so generous and we even received donated items from people that we didn't know.  By the time we got to the actual sale days our garage was so full that I could barely get in it and at one point I wasn't sure if I would be able to close the garage door. We spent two hot summer days wheeling and dealing and sold almost everything.  I was exhausted by the time it was over and happy to see the garage floor again.  Our friends and family really helped us make it a success! It was a lot of work, but totally worth it. But I don't think I want to do it again any time soon.  Maybe by this time next year, I will have forgotten how much my feet hurt.
   Secondly, I received our approved home study today!  After a lot of back and forth revisions from our home study agency and our placement agency, we finally have the official copies.   This means that we can really move forward in this process.  One copy goes off to the government for immigration forms and other copies go to the state government for authentication with some of our other documents.  When we receive this back from the state, our dossier will be complete and will go off to Poland.  One step closer to bringing our girls home!
   At this point we have been actively pursuing adoption for almost 9 months.  We have relied on the support of our family and friends so much and will continue to do so.  Thanks for being there for us.  We couldn't do this without you. 

We're having a Rummage Sale!

Come one, come all! 

Thanks to the generous donations of our friends and family,

 we have lots of quality items to sell!

     Our garage is almost full!  We have been collecting items for the last few weeks to raise money to help defray the enormous adoption costs.  I have been vigorously selling shippable items on eBay and other larger items on Craigslist.   But there are lots of things that will sell better in person, so we are now to the point that we are ready to have a super rummage sale.  We have clothes, furniture, baby items, toys, bikes, golf clubs, and much, much, more.  We will have all of these items for sale at our house on Friday June 14th and Saturday June 15th.  ALL of the proceeds will go to our adoption fund.  We will also have a representative selling 31 Bags at our sale and she is donating half of her profits to our fund! If you are in the Muncie area, please stop out and visit!
      If you would like to donate items, we are still taking anything you are willing to give.  Thanks to everyone who has already donated so selflessly.  We are blessed to know so many wonderful people!  It just confirms what I have known all along about the big hearted people of Indiana!
    On the paperwork front, we are still waiting for our Home Study to be finalized.  Our report is currently at our placing agency receiving approval. We should be hearing something from them in the next few days.   After that, we send a bunch of documents off to Indianapolis to be authenticated and we apply for an immigration document.  After that, our paperwork goes off to Poland where we are eventually matched with a waiting child or two!
    Thanks for your prayers as we continue through this process. Please pray that the Rummage Sale goes well and that I keep my sanity in the next few weeks!





  

Home Study, Classes, and more

  

   I can finally say that spring has come to Indiana!  I know it has been a while since I posted, but there has been a lot going on and I have been outside enjoying the sunshine!    We had our home study visit a few weeks ago.  If you are not familiar with the process, part of the home study consists of collecting paperwork and writing an autobiography, and the other part is having a social worker come to your home for a visit.  We prepared for the visit by cleaning the house from top to bottom.  We needed to do some spring cleaning anyway. I wish my house could stay that nice all the time! 
     When the social worker came, she interviewed Kevin and I together. She asked questions about our families, why we are adopting, our history together, our views on child rearing, etc.  She then interviewed us separately about our personal histories.  After we passed that (whew!), we showed her around the house.  Our daughters' room is still a guest room for now.  It didn't need to be set up as a child's room for the home study, they just need to see the room to make sure it is a safe environment. She requested a few more documents that we just needed to make copies of and that was it.  The whole thing didn't take very long and we were happy with how it turned out.  The social worker writes up a report then and sends it to our home study agency and our placing agency.  I haven't heard yet if they have received it, but I'm sure I will hear something soon.
   As part of the adoption process, each country requires so much training for adoptive parents.  Adopted children, especially those that have been in orphanages, may require different parenting techniques.  These classes help equip parents to deal with any challenges they may face.  Poland only requires 10 hours of training and although Kevin and I had already met that requirement we wanted to attend the 4th and last class of the series that our first agency teaches. We are always glad to attend these classes and meet other adoptive parents because we share advice and valuable support.  Part of this class was about whether or not you should rename your child which has its pros and cons because your child is probably already responding to their name.  Kevin and I talked about how we are hoping to Americanize our child's Polish name so that it will be similar, but not the same. We are not sure how close we will get since the Polish language has so many different characters than our American alphabet.
    

Once we get a copy of our home study, I can start working on applying for grants.  Until then, our Ebay/Craigslist fundraiser is going really well!  I cannot thank enough all of our friends who have donated items for me to sell.  We have been so blessed by your support!  As you are spring cleaning this year, we are always taking donations.  I am continually putting things on Ebay and larger items on Craigslist.  We will also be having a rummage sale this summer for any extra items.  Items that sell well on Ebay include electronics, cell phones, video consoles and games, and kids items. Thanks for thinking of us!
    
We have also had a very generous offer from our friend Beth Kresja, a hairstylist at The Salon and Spa here in Muncie. She is donating $5 for every service to our adoption fund.  So if you need a new hairdo, call Beth at 744-8788!
  








 God is still moving and we are feeling His blessing. Thanks again to all of our family and friends. We couldn't do this without your support!
    

Learn to do good.

Seek justice.

Help the oppressed.

Defend the cause of orphans.

Fight for the rights of widows.

Isaiah 1:17

 

 

Easy Opportunity to Help!

     I've recently caught the ebay bug.  I know it's been going around for quite some time, but I never thought I would get it.  I was cleaning out our spare room the other day and came across some items that I didn't use anymore but didn't want to just throw away.  So I listed them on ebay and they sold!  I couldn't believe it!  So now I'm looking around and trying to figure out what else we can get rid of that might be worth something to someone else.  My husband even sacrificed his old Xbox to the cause. But I'm running out of things to sell.
     Here's where you come in. Have you wanted to help support our international adoption but not sure how you can help?  Ebay can be a great fundraising tool!  All you have to do is find items in your house that you are no longer using, but might be useful to someone else.  Items that sell well include:  digital cameras, camcorders, ipods or mp3 players, game consoles, small kitchen appliances, hand tools, e-readers, and electronic toys.  While you are spring cleaning this year, will you please put some of these things aside?  I will pick them up and sell them on ebay and all the money will go towards bringing our daughters home.  Just let Kevin or I know or you can contact us at beachadoption at gmail dot com.  Thanks for your help!

Please be praying for us this week because our home study is Saturday!  We are very excited to finally get this part done.  A lot of things can't be finished until the home study is completed, so this will move us farther along.  Please pray that everything goes smoothly.  Thanks!

Home Study and Dossier

     We are finally ready to have our home study!  When we switched agencies there were some details that needed to be worked out before we could complete this part of the process.  But now everything is sorted out and we are ready to move on.  The home study consists partly of collecting documents (which we have already done) and partly of a home visit from a social worker.  We are hoping to get this scheduled with her soon.  As with everything in this process, this is an important step that needs to be completed before we can move on.
     I also received instructions on filling out our dossier.  This is a formal presentation of our documents that will be given to the judge in Poland when we go there to adopt our daughters.  It is a lengthy processes of authenticating all of the documents we have collected.  There are some things I have been able to compile but everything else has to wait until the home study is complete.  I was a little overwhelmed when I received this latest round of work.  I have some times when I don't feel like doing this at all, and other times when I wish I could just finish it all at once.  I am working through it and Kevin is helping where he can.
     In between all of this, we are working on some fundraising ideas.  I had some luck selling a musical instrument on eBay so I have scoured the house for other items to sell.  I think I will try a few small items and see how it goes.  My husband is currently cleaning up his Xbox to sacrifice to the cause.  He even volunteered to play it to make sure it works properly...We have also considered hosting a 5k among other things.  Although it is hard to think about a 5k when there is currently up to a foot of snow headed our way.  What happened to spring?
     I have also tried to buy some things off of eBay but have not had any success.  One of the things I was bidding on was a Rosetta Stone Polish language course.  The Polish language is not something that will be easy to master so I thought I would get a head start and at least learn enough to help us get around when we are there.  I was hoping to save some money by finding it used, but I will just have to keep looking,  I have some time before I will need it.
     I know this will all be worth it someday!   I keep reminding myself that we are getting closer with each document!

Please pray that the home study goes smoothly, that the papers won't overwhelm me, and that our children will be safe in our arms soon.

Thank you!

Spring Forward

     I love this time of year!  I am so excited that the sun will be shining longer in the evening.  I am so much more motivated to get moving after work when it is still light out.  I have been running on the treadmill more these past few months but I am looking forward to being able to run outside. 
      I have been spending my time after work either exercising or working on paperwork.  With the switch to a new agency, there has been some additional paperwork to do.  Each agency has their own forms and procedures based on what the adoptive country requires.  This has been a little frustrating for me since I had hoped that part was behind us.  Every time I think we are moving forward to a new part of the journey, it seems we have to back track and start over.   But I am relying on God's timing and am trying to take this one day at a time. 
     So one of the things Kevin and I did this week was go down to City Hall and get fingerprinted.  We have never been fingerprinted before so that was a new experience.  We then sent our fingerprints off to the FBI and they will send us an "all clear" letter to prove that we are not criminals!  We also had to get more copies of our birth certificates and new medical forms.  St Mary's Adoptions has been very helpful and willing to keep in touch and answer any questions that we have.  They are currently working to get our home study ready to be scheduled. 





      Our new T-shirt store is up and running! We removed the Russian t-shirts and replaced them with different colors of the other t-shirts.  Adoption Bug doesn't have shirts for Poland yet. You can visit our new store here.    
    
We are also selling delicious coffee products at Just Love Coffee.


If you are thinking about adopting or know someone who is, here are some resources online that can help with the process and with funding:

www.resources4adoption.com/

http://showhope.org/

http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/

http://www.jeremiah29-11project.com/
 
     http://helpusadopt.org/
 

Don't forget to set your clocks forward tonight

 or you will be late for church tomorrow! 

 

Spring Is Coming

      It always makes my heart happy to flip the calendar from February to March.  I have nothing against the month of February with all of its hearts and flowers and talk of love, but I so look forward to the end of the short month.  March means the loosening of winter's hold and the beginning of warmth and greenery in Indiana.  I already have early spring plants like daffodils and tulips poking up through the cold dirt trying to find some rays of sunshine.  When I saw this, my thoughts turned to what spring in Poland would be like.  So I googled images of spring in Poland, and this is what I got

Not quite what I had in mind....

 

 

 

 

 I wanted something more like this picture of a public garden in Warsaw.

 

Or this picture of a nice Polish man riding his bicycle past some tulips.

 

 

     Anyway, I wish we were going to be there soon.  But we don't know yet what season we will be able to travel to meet our daughter(s).  We sent off the agreement to St Mary's this week.  This is just an official legal form between us and them clarifying our rights and responsibilities as well as the agency's responsibilities.  We are also working on getting new medical forms filled out.  Poland's form is much more extensive than the Russian form. We should be able to send those off this week.  Then we will schedule our home study with the social worker.  This is a major part of the process and we are ready to get his part done.

     Once the home study is done, we can really move forward with getting our grant applications in.  There are many agencies out there that will award grants to couples adopting internationally.  There are many more people applying than money available, so we are hoping to apply to many places. We are looking to apply to agencies such as Show Hope, Life Song for Orphans, and Gift of Adoption Fund.  We are glad that these organizations exist to help couples like us, but all of these places require a lot of paperwork.   Thankfully I am getting so good at filling these forms out I think I could do it in my sleep.

    Kevin and I are hoping to adopt two little girls from Poland.  While it costs a little more money, we would love to be blessed with at least two children and we think the transition would be easier for a child if she had a buddy.  In Poland, you can adopt two children as long as they are siblings.  So please pray that if it is God's will, that siblings are available to us when the time is right.  Please also pray that our grant applications will be accepted.

    We are holding on to the promise that God is already moving in this situation, even when we cannot see it or feel it.  

 

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.   Isaiah 43:19

 

 

 



Multi Cultural Family

    Kevin and I attended a training class on international adoption issues last Saturday.  Anyone wanting to adopt internationally is required to take so many hours of classes.  The topic for this class was how to celebrate your child's birth culture once she is home with you.  We will be a Polish American family!
We got tips on buying souvenirs to put in your child's room. Buying traditional clothing to celebrate holidays.  Maybe even getting presents to give to our child every year on her birthday from her birth country.  Each couple at the class studied some books about the country from which they are adopting.  We want to know as much about the culture as we can when we go over there and would like to bring items home that might have some importance to our daughter as she grows up.  We also learned tips on how to address questions our child might have about why she was in an orphanage and why her birth parents couldn't take care of her.
    Kevin and I really enjoy getting together with other couples that are adopting internationally. We learn from each other and support each other.  We even met some people who know a Polish woman that might be able to help us out and would like to come visit our daughter when we bring her home! Maybe she will help me fix a traditional Polish meal.  I've included some pictures on this post of Poland and some Polish kids in traditional garb.  We will try to get our daughter an outfit like this when we are there.

    On the paperwork front, out previous agency is sending our documents to our new agency.  Our new agency has accepted our application and is sending us an agreement to fill out and return. Hopefully we will be able to have our home study in mid-March.  This is the part of the process where we start to spend a large chunk of money.  I will be applying for grants from various agencies and relying on God to fulfill our needs. Most of the grants require your home study to be completed before you apply.  I am going to go ahead and collect what I can so that we can be ready when the home study is complete.       

    I want to thank those of you who have sent cards and well-wishes.  Thank you for praying for us during this process. We appreciate it more than you know.

Moving along

    Things are starting to move along again. Slow and steady wins the race, right?  We have completed the application for the our new agency, St Mary's.  We just have to get our signatures notarized and I will be able to send that out today.  Once they receive that and get our application processed, they will send us an agreement to sign and then we can schedule our home study.  I am also working on a release so that the paperwork we already sent to Hand in Hand can be sent to St Mary's.  I am so glad we don't have to collect all of that again!
    We are heading up this weekend to our first agency to complete our second training class.  All international adoptions require a certain amount of training hours for the families.  Adopting children can present some unique challenges and these classes help prepare and equip the parents.  Our first agency provides classes that we can attend and if we still need more hours, our new agency provides online classes for those that are out of state.  St Mary's is located in North Carolina.  I would love to take a trip out to North Carolina if needed though!
    We are warming up to the idea of adopting from Poland.  I look forward to learning about the culture and people of Poland.  I already heard they have good sausages...
    Please pray that this process goes smoothly and that we can bring our daughter home soon.  I look forward to the day when I can post her picture on here and all of this waiting will be worth it.  Thanks again for coming on this journey with us!

And the winner is.....

 

    I know it has been a while since I have updated you on the latest development, but I really didn't have much to say.  This process had been moving along at a good pace when suddenly we were stopped in our tracks and it was a little jarring.  The ban on adoptions from Russia really took the wind out of our sails, so we didn't want to jump into a big change without stopping to catch our breath.  We had a lot of praying and researching to do.  Since this is such a big decision, we decided to stop and wait a while. 
     We have spent the last few weeks just praying and waiting.  And in that time we decided that unless God closes another door,  Poland is the country that we are going to find our daughter!   I still mourn for the orphans in Russia, but we are adjusting to this new idea and we are looking forward to the adventures we will find there.  
   We will be staying with our current agency to do our home study this month, but we are in the process of filling out an application for our new agency.  We will be using St. Mary International Adoption agency from North Carolina. One fourth of all children adopted from Poland for the past 3 years (2011, 2010, and 2009) were adopted through Saint Mary’s, so I know they have a lot of experience here.  I have been in touch with them a few times in the past few weeks and they have been very helpful.  I'm confident that they will help make this a smooth transition. Poland is a much smaller country so the wait will probably be longer than we had anticipated, but we are clinging to the hope that God has a child waiting for us. 
     Our next steps are getting in touch with our current agency and transferring our documents to the new agency.  Hopefully most of our paperwork will work for Poland. I am in the process of filling out the new application and will be sending that off this week.  We are also working on scheduling our home study with the social worker from Hand in Hand. 

Hold On.  Never Let Go.  Keep Climbing.

    So we now are climbing a new mountain in this journey.
You can help us by praying for us as we make this transition and praying that we will have peace with God's timing. 

This song has meant a lot to me in the past few weeks and I find myself singing it often.

Be My Everything  by Tim Hughes

God in my living
There in my breathing
God in my waking
God in my sleeping

God in my resting
There in my working
God in my thinking
God in my speaking

Be my everything
Be my everything
Be my everything
Be my everything

God in my hoping
There in my dreaming
God in my watching
God in my waiting

God in my laughing
There in my weeping
God in my hurting
God in my healing

Christ in me
Christ in me
Christ in me the hope of glory
You are everything

Christ in me
Christ in me
Christ in me the hope of glory
Be my everything

If you want to see the you tube video of this song you can go here.

Uncertainty

     We still have not come to a conclusion about where we go from here.  Our adoption agency has indicated that they will be starting a new program in Bulgaria.  So we can stay with them and see if we can be part of that program, join another agency that I have already talked to about Poland, or do something completely different.   A lot of agencies have had an influx of people inquiring about different programs now that Russia is closed. This means wait times may become longer as less children are available. 
     There has been some news coming out of Russia that the children that were already matched with families may get to have their adoptions completed.  That is great news for them!  It does not help our situation because we had not gotten to that point in the process.  We still mourn for those orphans that will never find homes now. 
     Please pray for us as we still need clear direction.  It is very discouraging that we seem to be running into walls at every turn. We still plan on having our home study in February. Maybe we will have a country by then!

He's got the whole world in His hands

     I bought a globe.  I've wanted one for a while, and I figured now was an appropriate time to get one.  And it seems that every time I hold a globe the words to the song run through my head  (He's got the whole world in His hands...).   It's a good thing to remember at a time like this.
     Although we are still planning on adopting internationally, we are currently without country.  Since the Russian adoption ban went into effect and once the shock wore off, we started researching other countries.  This is where the globe came in.  We decided to stay with Eastern European countries since that is where our hearts are.  We had never heard of  some of the countries we started researching.  So we have spent some time pondering the places on the globe and looking for where our daughter might be.  I think we have narrowed it down to Poland, Bulgaria, Moldova, or the Ukraine.  There are not big programs, so we are having to research adoption agencies all over again. 

      This was the hardest part of the process in the beginning.  I was so relieved when we had an agency that we really felt comfortable with. The thought of having to find and choose a new agency at this point just makes me tired. We are going to stay with our current agency for now.  Our paperwork is being processed and we will be ready to have our home study next month.  These things have to be done no matter what agency we use.
   We cannot thank everyone enough for all of the support and prayers and kind notes.  I'm sorry if I haven't been able to tell you each individually how much your encouragement means to us, but this current bump in the road has been very overwhelming.  We are relying on our faith that God has a plan for us and He is not surprised by the latest events.  We continue to put our hope in the One who adopted us into His family and are looking forward the day when we can share His love with our own little one.  Thanks for sticking with us.
Please pray for God's guidance as we have a lot of decisions to make in the next few weeks.


 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.   John 14:27