True Religion

Saw this on a frined's blog and wanted to share.

True Religion from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

 

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight

of our God and Father is this:

to visit orphans and widows in their distress,

and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

James 1:27

Reece's Rainbow on ABC tonight

For those able to watch, tune into ABC World News with Diane Sawyer tonight for a story featuring one family that adopted a little girl with Down syndrome.  There is a link to the story HERE.

All I Really Want For Christmas...

The "I raided the Christmas candy stash" Update

We finally got some news from Russia the other day.  The good news is that the issues the judge had with our paperwork were nothing big. The bad news is, none of it matters. The judge has decided that it would be better to wait until after Moriah is born for Graham to come home. This means that everything is over at least until this summer. This means that a homestudy will have to be updated, paperwork will have to be redone, medical appointments will have to be redone, we will need new visas, etc. We have already put $20,000 into bringing Graham home so that news is very frustrating!

It looks like our first visit to see Graham will still count, that is great news.  We just need to see how long the judge wants us to wait before we can go over after the baby is here.  Unfortunately, he may end up being relisted on Reece's Rainbow in the mean time so that other families can commit to him.  Depending on how quickly another family can complete the process and how long the judge requires us to wait, Graham may not be joining our family at all. 

The judge did try to reassure us by saying not worry since she is sure no one else would adopt this boy before we can come for him. For some reason that comment didn't quite comfort me... 

Brett had to remind me that Graham is God's child first.  We are hurting and frustrated but trying to lean on the knowledge that God is in control and everything that happens is to bring Him glory.

Adoption Update

Not much to update at this point.  We STILL do not have our court date.  Apparently the judge does not understand why we want to adopt Graham.  We added an addendum onto our homestudy before it was sent over to try to more clearly explain our motivation, but they still do not understand why anyone would want one of "these" children.  Right now it looks like the judge is going to be asking for more papers from us, we do not know yet what they are though.

How you can pray right now:
1.  Please pray that the additional paperwork that is being asked for can be done quickly and easily.
2.  Please pray that we will get a court date SOON!  We want Graham home before Moriah is born.
3.  Please pray for the judge.  Pray for God to guide her decision and for her to look on us with favor.
4.  Please pray for Graham, that he continues to stay safe and healthy and that he is not transfered before we can bring him home.
5.  Please pray for God to prepare our family and Graham for the transition of bringing him home.  Pray that everyone will adjust easily and that Graham will form a strong attachment to us.
6.  Please pray that the judge will waive the (now 30 day) waiting period so we can bring Graham home right away.

A break from the craziness

With all of the ups and downs lately from the adoption and the busyness that December always seems to bring, we decided we needed to get away for a couple of days so we don't forget how to enjoy each other!  So, on Monday the little ones were dropped off with Grandma and Grandpa for a night (we are trying to keep them young after all!) and the rest of us headed off to Duluth. 

 

 

Waterpark fun:

Train Museum:

The girls were so excited about the water park and we got a deal we could not pass up (even a free pizza for dinner with our room!).

Our MN Science Museum membership allowed us to get into the Depot for free too.  This includes the train museum, children's museum and other exhibits on lumber, veterans, art, etc.

The perfect mini vacation, cheap, not too far away, educational, and fun!

Fundraiser Update!

Have you seen our chip-in button on the sidebar?  You will notice right underneath that some have given money directly to us to put towards Graham's adoption.  And we are almost at our goal for what we hope to have raised by the end of the year!  We have been truly blessed by friends and family not just financially, but through their prayers and support. 

It is amazing to see the ways God has provided through this process in addition to the love he has placed in the hearts of those around us.  We saw a bill (unrelated to our adoption) for almost $1000 disappear very unexpectedly.  We have not paid a penny for any of our medical expenses in the past few months (and all 7 of us needed another round of exams/lab work to make sure, yet again, that we are fit to bring Graham home). 

We also needed to have psychological reports done on both Brett and I as part of our adoption paperwork.  Two days before we found out about these reports Brett sat next to a psychologist in his monthly CBMC meeting.  Brett contacted Dr. R and he offered to do the reports for us for free!  Our agency had given us the number of another psychologist that would have charged us $600 to talk with us and write up a report.  I love when God shows us so clearly that he is in control and lining everything up in His perfect timing.

Here is our progress on Graham's puzzle as of this week.  Almost finished!

For those that are interested, here are a few of the larger upcoming expenses that the money you have given will be helping to cover:


*Round trip tickets for our second trip: $1600 x 2 (estimated based on the price of our tickets for the first trip)
*Medical exams for Brett and I in country: $500 x 2
*Round trip ticket for Brett for a third trip to pick up Graham: $1600

Update. Still no court date.

Well, not the news we were hoping for this morning. Court dates are full for December.  Russia is in a holiday period after that that lasts until Jan. 10th. Court dates are only on Tuesdays as far as I understand so that means the earliest we will get a date now is the 17th of January.

When we started this process we were told Graham could be home by the end of July! We are still learning that adoption is unpredictable. I am also learning that I cannot control everything!

We are still praying to get the earliest court date possible and for a miracle in the waiting period being waived.  Please also pray for an easy transition for everyone once he is home. 

I will be spending the day thanking God for knowing what is best for everyone. This DOES mean that we will be able to spend Christmas with our children here, so that is something to find joy in right now.

Bad News

Our court papers are being submitted tomorrow (or right now with the time difference) and we have been informed that we have a slim chance of actually getting a court date in December.  That is not the worst news though.  Apparently Russia changed their waiting period over the weekend from 10 days to 30 days!  This means that we may not have a court date until sometime in January and then we would have to wait another month before we could bring Graham home.  I can't believe this happened, especially when we are so close to the end.

Please continue to pray with us for a miracle.  Please pray that we will somehow get a court date in December and that the judge will waive the waiting period for us.

Overheard...

Ben is our daily comic relief around here.  I really wish this little guy could stay two forever, he is so much fun.  Here are a couple of conversations I have had with Ben this week:

Brett made waffles one morning over the weekend while I slept in and caught up on some much needed sleep.  When I woke up I went to the kitchen and reheated some waffles for breakfast.

Ben: "That your dinner mommy?"
Me: "Yep."
Ben:  "Daddy had that dinner too."
Me: "No Way!"  Said jokingly in a shocked voice.
Ben:  "It's Yeah-Way mommy."  Said very seriously.

Today the kids did wonderful putting up with being dragged around town and missing naps, etc.  I picked up a bag of mini donuts at the store as a treat for everyone for behaving so well.  When we got home Ben snuck a donut out of the bag on the counter and one of his sisters let me know immediately, of course.  I went over to Ben and held out my hand and said, "Give me the donut please."  He looked right back at me, covered the donut with both hands, and said, "I'm just fine mommy."  Lets just say I failed at keeping a straight face and that training opportunity went down the toilet.

God is seldom early, but He is never late!

I had some problems getting the document that I needed today.  After calling a couple of times I finally decided to go into their office with 5 kids and ask again if they could rush things along to get the signature I needed.  No luck.  Monday is their busiest day.....  We went back out to the parking lot and called a couple more times and finally convinced someone to get the job done.  (I really am very thankful towards them since they usually require two days to get papers signed and they did rush this for us.)  Brett met me at the building just as I was leaving with the papers at 2:15.  He grabbed the papers and ran to get them notarized before heading to the Secretary of State's office to have them apostilled.  He got there at 3:30, they close at 4:00.  Another prayer answered.  The papers have been sent out and will be flying out of the country tomorrow.

Hopefully the papers will get where they need to be on Wednesday.  They then need to be translated and sent across that country and be in the local coordinator's hands no later than Monday. 

Current prayer requests:
1.  That these papers get where they need to be on time.
2.  That we DO have all the papers now and they are all correct.
3.  That we will be given a court date in December.
4.  That God will give us favor in the judge's eyes and the adoption will be granted.
5.  This is the one that requires a miracle!  That the waiting period will be waived and we can bring Graham home right away.  This NEVER happens.  I figure if we are here to bring God glory we might as well pray for that one and give Him every oportunity to show what He can do!

Please Pray!

Last week we were rushing and scrambling to get all of our papers for the court dossier together in time to get them over to Graham's country.  Brett got the last of the papers and headed off to the Secretary of State's office, had them all apostilled, and ran to FedEx to overnight them. 

We heard yesterday that our papers made it over.  Yay!  We heard this morning that they all have the wrong date on the apostille!  Somehow the Secretary of State's office dated all of our apostilles for August 8th, 2011!?!?!??!  The funny part is that Brett made a comment that this week was going to be a normal week finally.  Back to work, back to school, no more running around.....  I actually laughed at him when he said that.  I don't know what a normal day even looks like anymore.

We need a miracle to happen TODAY to fix this problem.  Please pray that the Secretary of State's office will issue new apostilles to Brett today without all of our notarized papers (they are not in the country anymore, we only have copies now).  We also have one other form that needs to be notarized and apostilled.  That will be my job today, to run to the next town over to get these papers signed (5 kids in and out of car), then stop to get them notarized (5 kids in and out of car), then drive downtown to get them apostilled.  All of these papers need to be overnighted no later than TODAY if we are going to have any chance of getting a court date in December still.  Please pray!

Parental Rights

Its another.......

We had our big ultrasound yesterday and got a chance to see our wonderful, wiggly, healthy baby.  Everything looks perfect.  Baby is 13 oz and measuring exactly on for a due date of March 31st. 

We didn't get any super good pictures this time, but here is one of our precious little GIRL! 

Happy Birthday Abby Jane!

This sweet little girl turned 6 on Tuesday!

She got a couple of days of celebrating since we didn't make it out for her birthday date with mom and dad until last night.  She picked Chuck E. Cheese's of course.

Happy 6th Birthday Abby!

A trip to the zoo

Brett was going to take the girls to the Science Museum today while I brought the little ones in for their check ups at the doctor, but we didn't realize until too late that they were closed on Mondays.  So, since they were already down in the area, they went off to the zoo instead.  Here are a few photos of their adventure for those of you that keep telling me I need to put more pictures of the kids on here. 

Approval!

I called the USCIS again today to see if they had even pulled our paper out of the pile yet.  I about fell over when the man on the other end of the phone said, "Looks like that was just approved today."  I can't believe something finally went through smoothly!  They didn't ask any questions.  They didn't request any more papers.  I am shocked.  Thank you to everyone that was praying with us.  I was told it needs to go on to the supervisor there and then on to the mail room and we should have it in our hands later this week.  Yay!

We are still working on gathering the rest of our papers and getting the last few things together for our court dossier.  Once that is done it can be sent over to Graham's country and we will get a court date.  We are still praying to finish things up in time for a date in December.

Puzzle Fundraiser Progress

Here is the progress we have made on our puzzle so far:

Thank you to everyone that has given us cash or donated through the Chip-In!

Click here to read more about our puzzle fundraiser.

Teaching Thankfulness

A friend shared this and I thought it was a great idea. Our family is going to start this week. I'm curious to see how much we have to bless someone with at the end. Anyone else want to join in?

The Blessing Box

Show your children what they have to be thankful for, not what they have to have.

Day 1
One out of 5 children live in poverty lacking adequate clothing.
Give 2 cents for each pair of socks, tights, or pantyhose each child has.

Day 2
Are you thankful for the gift of electricity?
Give 2 cents for each light bulb in your house.

Day 3
Would you rather live in the dim light of candles?
Give 2 cents for each candle in your house.

Day 4
Most of the world's population lives beyond the reach of medical care.
Give 10 cents for each box of band-aids in your house. An extra dime if they are not flesh-colored.

Day 5
Are you thankful you have a roof and doors to keep out the wind and rain?
Give 10 cents for each exterior door your house has.

Day 6
Are you thankful for all your clothes?
Give 5 cents for each closet in your house.

Day 7
Are you glad you have indoor plumbing?
Give 5 cents for every roll of TP in your house, counting all the stored away rolls.

Day 8
To people in refugee camps, even a thin sliver of soap is precious.
Give 5 cents for each bar your family has--a dime for each liquid dispenser.

Day 9
Think of something nice you can do for a poor family in your community and do it today. Maybe give them some homemade bread or make something special to brighten their day.
If you can't, put a dollar in the box and be exceedingly grateful for all your own blessings.

Day 10
Do you walk to town to get a bucket of water for washing, drinking, bathing or cooking? Or are you blessed with faucets that bring precious water to you?
Give 10 cents for each faucet you have and don't forget the outside ones.

Day 11
Still thinking of water, how did you get clean today?
Give 10 cents if you take baths, 25 cents if you take showers.

Day 12
Most of the people in this world are starving while Americans' biggest concern is being overweight.
Put in a penny for each pound your mother and father think they are overweight.

Day 13
What a blessing to be able to see and have eye doctors to help us.
Give 10 cents for each pair of glasses your family members wear--and a quarter for each pair of sunglasses.

Day 14
Many people are blind physically (as well as spiritually) and have no eye doctors to help them.
Give a quarter for each person in your house that wears contact lenses.

Day 15
Jesus loves the little children.
Give thanks and a dollar for every child in your family--do a secret good deed for each of them today.

Day 16
How would you like to live in your car as some families do?
Give a dime for every vehicle your family owns.

Day 17
What if you lived on the streets like so many in South America do?
Give thanks for your home and give 5 cents for every pillow in your home. Don't forget the decorative ones, also.

Day 18
Epidemics often follow natural disasters.
Give thanks if no one in your home has been too sick this month to work or go to school and then donate 50 cents.

Day 19
The comfort of a clean bed is an undreamed-of luxury for millions of the world's poor people.
Give 5 cents for each bed in your house.

Day 20
Did a cozy blanket cover you last night?
Give a penny for every blanket in your house.

Day 21
Was it cold enough to wear a coat today? Were you thankful for your coat?
Give a penny for every coat, jacket, hoodie or raincoat in your house.

Day 22
In some countries of the world, most people can't read. Are you thankful you can read?
Put in a penny for every book in your home.

Day 23
By now, you've started to receive Christmas cards from many loving friends and family members.
Give a penny for each card and be thankful for God's love. If you haven't received any cards yet, put in a penny for each person who will be getting a card from you.

Day 24
All around the world there are people who have never seen a supermarket. Instead, they scratch out their sustenance with primitive tools.
Give 5 cents for every garden tool in your garage.

Day 25
Many people in the world cook over an open fire. Aren't you glad your parents didn't send you out to chop wood this morning?
Give 5 cents for every burner on your stove and a dime for every oven.

Day 26

Put in 10 cents for each gift under the tree that is for you. Or, give 10 cents for each item on your Christmas list.

Day 27
Jesus was born and died for you!
Put in a dollar for every person in your home that believes in Christ!

Day 28
Unfortunately, this is the time of year in which people suffer loss in house fires.
Give 10 cents for every phone in your house with which you can dial 911 in case of emergency.

Day 29
Many people in the world suffer excruciating pain from lack of dental care. Have you ever been grateful for toothbrushes?
Give 5 cents for every toothbrush in your house.

Day 30
Do you own a pet?
Give a quarter for each pet and say a prayer for all the children in the world who can't afford to feed themselves, let alone a pet.

Day 31
Many children in the world barely get one meal a day. How many meals did you have in the past 24 hours?
Give thanks and 5 cents for each meal--10 cents for each snack.

Day 32
Would you like to have to walk to school, to church, or to the store? Most people in the world walk everywhere they go.
Give 10 cents for each bike, pair of skates, skateboard or anything else that has wheels.

Day 33
"Give us this day our daily bread."
Thank God for feeding you today and give a penny for every slice of bread in your house.

Day 34
Count all the cans/jars in your cupboard or pantry.
Give a penny for each one of them as you thank God for the technology to can foods.

Day 35
Count all the packages of frozen foods and meat in your freezer.
Thank God for refrigeration and give a penny for each you counted.

Day 36
Make a list of all the fruits and vegetables God created that you can name.
Put in a penny for each one on that list.

Day 37
Many children in the world do not have a school to attend and barely learn to read or write.
Give a penny for every pencil in your house.

Day 38
Most people in the world have never touched a computer.
Put in 50 cents for each computer in your home, and an extra 50 cents for a scanner, 50 cents for the printer, and if you spend more than an hour each day online, give an extra dollar.

Day 39
Hold a family meeting.
Donate/give away your money!

We are home.....

I have not had a chance to update the blog in the last week of craziness around here.  After over 20 hours of flying last weekend we arrived home on Monday, picked up the kids, and did some laundry at my parents house (the washing machine decided not to fix itself while we were gone...).  Then, we settled into a week of pink eye, bronchitis, and a tummy bug. 

I still have a ton of pictures to go through and share with everyone.  Hopefully I will get around to that soon!

Thursday

Our time with Graham was a lot better yesterday. He was much more calm and we had a lot of fun.  It is going to be hard to leave him in a couple of days.  He loves to give hugs and say "hi" now.  We made a photo book of us and the kids to show him and he really liked that. He holds the pictures up about an inch from his face and squeals.  When he finds the picture of Brett and I he gets really excited and starts saying dada. The social worker said they will keep the book so they can show it to him every day. 

 The coordinator here was looking at the photos of the kids and told us that Josie looks like a squirrel, LOL.

I must say the squirrels here are very cute with their little pigtails!

Graham loved the puppets!

We had a chance to go upstairs in the baby house and look around at where Graham spends his days.  We could not get a photo of the main room since the rest of the children were having story time and we are not allowed to take photos of them.  We did get some pictures of the playroom and the room where everyone sleeps.  Graham was showing us his bed, #2.

After having a look around we went outside again.

Wednesday

We have around 2 hours of time to spend with Graham each day.  Our time together is spent in a tiny little room.  It works fine, but it can get a bit cramped with a three year old boy who has a lot of energy to burn off.  Yesterday we were able to bring him outside for a while.  That was wonderful.  He seemed to calm right down. 

It was so cute when his snowpants and jacket were brought in.  They asked him to sit down and take his shoes off, which he immediately did.  He set his shoes down and I wouldn't have thought anything of it, but they said something else to him and he picked his shoes up and placed them very neatly together.  Apparently they need to be put just so.  It is obvious to us that the kids are held to high standards here.  They are VERY well behaved.  Even on the plane rides there were several very young children that we never heard a peep out of.  To me that is amazing for an 8.5 hour flight. 

It looks like Graham likes structure.  We are told he is the first to move his chair onto the line after lunch and he is the first to put his clothes away in their spot each day.  Maybe he can teach his brother and sisters a few things!

We also had an opportunity to talk with the doctor and social worker yesterday and ask any questions we had for them.  We had a TON of questions.  I think we may have overwhelmed them a bit, our translator told us that people usually dont ask that much, LOL.  I know we will be thankful later that we have so much information though. 

On our way back to our hotel we drove by the courthouse where our hearing will be on the next trip.

A few more sights from our drive:

A church, under construction of course.

A tiger, the symbol of the city.

When we got back to our hotel we went for a walk around the neighborhood.

Some railroad tracks. 

An old oriental school.