We need help.........Please

We have been called to fulfill a task laid upon our hearts by God. We were lead on this journey after we were convicted by him to share our own blessings with others. We both wanted a large family full of love, like our own families growing up. Now, we have began on our journey and need both prayer and financial support.

I know that there are some people asking, why would you take this on if you can not afford it. Truth is, we had carefully planned this undertaking. We did not count on all the events that occurred over the last year. We were delayed with Emili and Abigale by much longer than we had anticipated. We should have had them home by now however, that did not work out. It wasn't on Gods time.

Many of you have been following our story as it transpired. We began our journey of adoption in November 2010 with the adoption of a child from Ethiopia. What started as 1 little girl 3-5 turned into 2 girls that are now 10. We were in the system and were submitted to court then on May 17th, that came to a halt. The adoptions were delayed and everything was on hold. There were many changes in country and with the process. Then, at the end of July, all our cases were continued. We were not given a court date before the rainy season closed the courts.

During that time, we were lead to host two beautiful Ukrainian sisters for the summer. Ania and Kristina, ages 11 and 14. They seemed to fit right in our mix. The Lord touched us and told us that they too were to be our daughters. The day that we had to put them on the plane was like having my heart ripped out. We knew then, they were a part of us. At that very second, We knew, they were destined to be ours.

On Oct. 29th, we traveled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to meet Emi and Abi. They were like warm sunshine on a cloudy day, they were already our girls in our heart and soul. All the girls know about one another, each are excited to have a family, a place to call home and most of all.....something to call their very own.

Thank you for all your prayers and supportive words. It means so much to our family. You can donate through our blog link. You will receive a receipt to your email. All donations are 100% tax deductible. Please consider donating, any amount is appreciated.

News from Boston!!!!

Talked to our friend Karen this morning!!!!!

She has received word that our Dossier for the Ukraine has been approved by the SDA. Yeah.!!!!!!!


Now tonight, we have a meeting to discuss the rest of the details! Please keep praying that our grants come through, we need help to get them here. Please pray for us!

Another Email from Mariupol!

After this upsetting week of everything going wrong, including losing my job, we did get a bit of sunshine. While I was staggering around this morning, trying to wake up........Roger said I needed to check my email. I thought of everything that it would be but never what it actually was........A email from Ania!

I thought that I would share this.

Hello, my dear mommy and daddy!
I miss you all very-very much! And I want to leave Ukraine as soon as possible. I can't wait for your arriving. I study very good. My mark for English lesson (the 1st term)  is 11 - it means exellent.
When I come to you I'll have a big serious request about my best friend. I want to help him.
How are LuKe, Adam, Kristi, mimi?
And I have one more question. Don't you mind if my friends write me on your computer when I come to you?
That's all.
With respect, 
your Ania

No News.....

We wait. I did speak to Karen and sent her a copies of our paperwork with our case number. I mailed the girls more pictures and letters. I hope they are getting them. 

You've got mail!!!!!

This morning, I get a text from my husband that reads, "You need to check your email as soon as possible!"

I was scared, excited and nervous......I had no idea what it was..........No guesses!......No ideas!.............

I raced to my computer and open my email and guess what?  I GOT MAIL!!!!!!!!! All the way from Mariupol! I wanted to share. I have cried everytime I read this.

Today is Ania's 15th birthday!

Hello, my dear mommy and daddy!
I miss you very much. I am waiting when we meet again. I want to see Luice, Adam and two new sisters, Emmy and Abigail. We are fine. I practice English but Kristina cannot study English well. And other subjects are good for us.
Why doesn't Luice write us? I wait for his letters with impatience! How is Luke, small Maddit, Kristy, grandma and grandpa? We really miss them.
Maggie told me that she would send the parcel to Tatiana Burak and then Tatiana would give it to me.
With great respect,
Anna and Kristina

Updates....

We received our case number for our Ukrainian Visa paperwork.......YIPEE!!!!!

That means we are officially listed in the Ukraine and are waiting for a invitation to travel.

                                                   yahoo!!!!!!!!

Letters from Home....

Now, My biggest girls birthday is December 5th. She will be 15! I can't believe that she is already almost to drive by American laws. I had an album made full of of their summer host pictures while they were here. I mailed it in hopes that Ania would get it for her birthday. I mailed letters from everyone here to them int he same box. We miss them so much and can not wait to have a house full of beautiful smiles and giggles.

Adam has completed his college paperwork and mailed it in for University of Kentucky. He is a wise man trapped in a teenager body.We are proud. He is going to be a missionary and spread the word of God to all. He wants to work with orphans. That is near and dear to his heart, for more reasons than just having adopted sisters..........

We are just hanging tight waiting for new information. Nothing new thus far. Happy Thanksgiving friends!
We have alot to be thankful for.

YIPEE!!!!!!

Well, this week we completed all our dossier and our 1-171H has been approved! It will be coming in the mail soon.

YIPEE! Everything is done, now our dossier will be heading for the Ukraine. Then we wait.

The girls were upset because they were not coming over Christmas break but I know they understand that we don't have the money to bring them home without knowing when we could be going back to get them, for good.

I did receive a notice from Katelyn's Fund telling me that I was not approved for their assistance. I mailed our application for A Child Waits Foundation in hope they can assist us. I pray for even a interest free or low interest loan. Either way, I do not worry for I know that God has plans for them and us. It will work out.

I have heard from some other couples that were adopting and I am so glad that they too are working away to get their kids home too. Special thanks to all the ones who are supporting us, you are priceless. Thank you!

Well, first things first.....

Good news to all........
We completed all our goals! The rest is in our Lord's hands. Strong and mighty are they. We hit this crossroad when we were not sure what the outcome was going to be in Ethiopia. Now, God has showed us exactly which path to take.


The answered was: The road less traveled. 


In the morning, we head to meet our Ethiopian girls. Emili and Abbigale are 10 and they live in an orphanage in Kamashi. We are going to court this trip and then we have to go back to get them to come home after passing the embassy.


Then, we head to Ukraine......

One step closer and closer and closer.........

Today, we have completed a MAJOR milestone. For the last several weeks since the girls left, we have tried to gather as much fundraising activies as possible to help raise money. We completed 3 goals in the last 2 weeks.

1st goal- get the care package sent to Maggie to give to the girls on her visit

2nd goal- order all paperwork, collect all data and copies needed for the Ukranian dossier

3rd goal- get all papers notarized and notary validated to get apostilled

YAHOO!!!!!

Now, our homestudy update will be done Monday night. Then we wait.........

We leave for Ethiopia this Thursday for 2 weeks to go to court for our first trip.

Need Your Help

OK folks, I need your help. A family that we have become very close with in our adoption journey is  in need. They are adopting 4 siblings. That's right folks, 4! They are selling raffle tickets for an I Pad 2. The tickets are $10 each or 3 for $25. The drawing will be Oct. 25th. These are very loving people that are doing what God has called them to do.

You will be helping them AND getting chance to win an I Pad!! You can skip lunch one day to help four beautiful children join their forever family!!

You can write me a check or give me cash and they will mail the tickets to me. They live in North Carolina. Nope, they ARE NOT Duke fans!! I know that is important to us in Kentucky.

Seriously folks, PLEASE help if you can.

Roger

A letter to warm your soul.....

Thank you cards and handwritten letters are priceless. My heart breaks daily as I think about the girls staying there any longer than they have too. I wanted to share this beautiful letter and card I received form my girls.

I have only the translation emailed to me by Dima. I choose to keep that personal to myself. None the less, they are missing home and we miss them.

On Slow down......for now

We have had nothing but a slew of things hit all at once. Seems that We need to take a step back and breath right now. The cost of this and that has been unreal. I thought we would be able to use alot of our documents on the Ukrainian dossier. We could however, alot had to be updated and new certificates. That was more than I had anticipated it being. The new certificates and background check was needed for that and my updated home study.

The cost of our new updated home study and the I-600 fees have to be paid before we can do anything at all. Honestly, we do not have it right now. So, we have decided to continue to raise our money like we have been and then, we can resume. We have requested assistance grants/loans from several organizations but have not heard anything from them. Our agency has been wonderful and supportive at helping us. We have to keep in our mind that our needs must come before our desires.

Meanwhile, I will continue to make bracelets, necklaces, collect old cell phones and sell items we don't use to help raise the money needed to get the home study completed and our 1-600 filed. What God intends for us to have, he will give us. Please continue to pray for all our children.

Where to now?

Friends,
This is to let you know that we are completely sane! Yes, we want 6 kids........Yes, our 2 boys, 2 Ethiopians girls and 2 Ukrainian girls. During this past summer, we hosted these sweethearts and fell deeply in love with them. Most people have no idea about this part, but it is important for us to share.

During the late spring, we were really at a stand still waiting for information about Emili and Abigail....Not knowing if we would even be able to continue on, if the country was going to close or what......That lead us to not really knowing which direction to go. We listened to God and these little ones fell right into our laps. It had became more and more apparent as to what Gods plans were to us. We were intended to be their forever family.....But how? We have paid out of pocket our entire Ethiopian Adoption for one child and our church family helped along with Show Hope Grant to pay for 1/2 the second child. Now, here we stand again. Wondering, how am I going to afford another adoption?

I have friends who are helping from all angles and doing us favors to help off set the cost. Still, I sit wondering and worrying about how can I get them home to me. Nothing is free. The last adoption we have sold everything not in use, a car, jewelry, ATV, 3 TV's, Oak table and chair set, Video games and systems and had fundraisers. Now, what is next? God has plans and I know it but it seems very cloudy now as to what they are. I have applied to 3 agencies about assistance in the way of grants. I am waiting to hear from them. I ask for you to pray for the Lords will to be done.

I am working on some more fundraiser ideas.

Some people's kids??

        Well obviously, not everyone is concerned about the weather.......Some peoples kids....... :-)

We are very thankful to Marko and Lori Horb for opening their homes to our girls for the night and allowing them to call us. Marko was very kind to interpret to the girls everything that we wanted to make sure they understood. It was important for us to make sure, even though Anya is good at speaking English, that they understood things that were very important. He explained many things to them and we are so thankful for his help. 

I also received these pictures of the girls having fun on the beach before leaving Boston.

Everything has been clear so far for their trip to Kiev. Karen Medve, Maggie Scobie and Pat Throup had kept us updated on everything going on with the weather and making sure that they were safe.

Now, yes we have decided, as did they....they fit beautifully in our family. Yes, you heard right. God gives you what he wants for you to have.....That is our Motto!

                                           Yeah.........EVEN SUPERMAN WAS ADOPTED!

Deep seeded worry and fear.....

Our girls are traveling and unknowing what to expect with the upcoming weather. We have prayed to our Lord to keep our angels safe with his. ABC news had this to say in their press release.......

Hurricane Irene's fury is growing and the National Hurricane Center warned today that the storm could be upgraded from its current level of Category 3 to a more ominous Category 4 by Thursday.

The core of the hurricane is expected to move across the southeastern and central Bahamas tonight, with maximum winds near 120 mph.

As the storm clears the island and continues over the warm water of the Atlantic, its wind speed is expected to strengthen and the size of the storm could increase, the Hurricane Center predicted.

"Warm water is essentially like their fuel. It helps them strengthen and it's got plenty of that ahead of it, at least in the next few days," said John Cangialosi, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center.

The threshold for a category 4 is wind speeds of at least 131 mph.

Forecasters predict Irene could hit the Outer Banks of North Carolina on Saturday, move up to the mid-Atlantic region including Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey late Saturday or early Sunday, and hit New England late Sunday.

All good things come to a end......at least for now

This morning marks the end of our host visit. I have learned so many things about living, loving and giving. You often find yourself as a parent forgetting things about yourself that are long buried through the sandstorms of life.I had forgotten the deep pain of loving and letting go. I forgotten the feelings of loneliness when you feel as though your it. This morning, I remembered all those things. We watched our little freckled face girls walk down the ramp to their seat, only to return being escorted by the flight attendant back to see us one last time before the flight left.

What a painful thing. As parents, you can kiss bruises, clean and dress cuts, nurse them when they are ill but there is nothing you can do about a broken heart. That is the most helpless feeling and there is no way to explain that. All I can do is hold them close, remind them that it will be fine and that we love them. I felt as heartbroken as they did. We cried with them and everyone else did too. The flight attendants, gate workers and other passengers were crying.

We lived, we loved, we laughed and now we let go. We have trust that God will keep them safe and protect them. We trust that every night, they will be tucked in by angels and kept warm be his shaw. We trust that his host of angels will stand watch until our return. We trust that our Lord will remind them daily, they are wanted and they are loved.

The last family night outing

We decided on Cracker Barrel, simply because they have a variety of home cooking from fried chicken to soup beans and corn bread.

This is a really neat restaurant that is truly southern. From the rocking chairs on the front porch to the cozy fireplace in the middle eating area.

                     To mind boggling games with multiple colored golf tee's the measure your IQ level

Then, the meal.......

We are in the car, loading up to drop Luke off at Karate tonight. Then, we head to the house. Gotta rest! Morning comes early and these girls don't do morning very good at all.

         

Coming close to the end.......

I hated to break the news and be the bearer of disappointment, the time is closing to the end. I sat down last night and explained that they have 2 days left here with us. The girls understand. We have discussed several things and I am very proud to know they both have ambition to do something very important with their lives.

I worry what will happen to them. I hate that we can't give them nice things but everything gets stolen and frankly that makes me angry! I understand however, it becomes survior of the fittest in that atmosphere.

Tomorrow, we wash and begin to pack. We have coats, clothes, blankets, stuffed animals, beads, bands and pretty dresses. I hope they see those items and remember their time in America.

What do things cost in the Ukraine today?

The hryvnia, sometimes hryvnya or grivna, has  been the national currency of Ukraine since September 2, 1996. Abbreviated UAH

Banknotes come in the following denomination: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 Hryvnia (UAH)

Change coins come in the denomination: 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50 kopiykas.

Change coins of 1 Hryvnia denomination.

The minimum living standard established by law in Ukraine is 423 UAH or 84 USD per month.

Monthly average pension by age in Ukraine is 383 UAH or 76 USD. 

Minimum monthly pension - 332 UAH or 65 USD.

                                                            

 

is that our old granny??????

No its our Lacy dog......... The girls played and dressed our 8 month old sheltie up....like a little granny with her scarf and shaw. Anya and Kristina had a blast playing with her and she is such a good sport!

Today, we went to Lexington to the mall. the kids were going to get their ears pierced. On the way to the Fayette Mall, we passed a beholding sight. Being from here, we really never paid any attention to the castle on the hill. It was just there, full of mystery. Not many had been inside the walls and not much was discussed with it. Needless to say, the girls did notice. They did ask questions and it made me realize, I need to share this with those that area reading our post.

                                

    Here is Martin Castle sold, bought, renamed and rebuilt after a fire. Currently known as Castle Post.

Located on US 60 and Pisque Pike between Versailes and Lexington, KY. It sits on 53 acres, surrounded by lush green farmland and thouroughbread horse farms.

Keeneland is very close by and very popular in the spring and fall for the races. This is the horse capital of the world.

                   We traveled on to the mall on a mission.......to get those ears pierced.

                                        Straight to Claire's to pick out earrings

                                                             Who's first?

                                                 Anya picked out 3mm silver balls

                                               Kristina picked Hello Kitty earrings

                                                      Luke picked a diamond stud.

And Noah lead them 2 by 2

                                        Our day at the Louisville Zoo was AWESOME!!!!!

          We went with Brian and Christy and Maddie. the weather was great and the animals were lazy!

                              All the animals were a hit but the funniest, was the peek a boo monkey!

Then, of course pictures.....pictures and more pictures......way to many to post!

                                    The trip was fun and we love the zoo at all ages and stages in life!

a little girlie time, well sort of.......

Well , today has been a day of first for the little ladies. The girls have never had a manicure or a pedicure before. I took all the kids to Real Nails to get their pretties fluffed and buffed. I had each one pick out their colors and here we go...

                                               Anya picked green and Kristina picked purple.

One was getting her nails done while the other got their toe nails worked on.

The smiles and giggles came from everywhere.

Just to be fair, the male had to get a pedicure......he was in instant love too. It kept saying it tickles..it tickles.

                                                By the way, he didn't pick out any nail polish.....

                                                           Total cost: PRICELESS!

lessons in living.....

This morning is church, being good southern baptist, we had food after the service. It was to raise money for Awanas program on Wednesday nights. It went very well and after talking to the girls, very different than what they are use too. They enjoyed it and was a little overwhelmed with all the people. They realized that our church family was very happy to see them and would not do anything to case them harm.

After eating lunch, there was piano in be fellowship hall. I knew Kristina could play the piano a little but I had no idea that they both could play beautifully. They have such a wonderful talent and others there enjoyed their joyous sounds.

As days go by I see the gates and bars slowly lower. I still see some behaviors from them that are directly related to being in a institution. The food hoarding has stopped, still easily overwhelmed by things. Those will improve with time. I know that I should expect them but you have no idea until you see and deal with these.

We look at pictures of their school, swimming,beach and so on. They are very surprised to see them. They are exhausted now. It has been a busy weekend. Swimming, parties and a visit to the nail salon.......

instant fun......just add water!

Well today was the first day at the pool. We have a great local public swimming pool here and its made.for fun of all ages.
We did find out that not only do we have two cities, we have three cute little fishes. They love to swim and are pretty good at it too. Kristina could use a few more lessons to strengthen her skills. The waterslide, was a instant hit of course.

Anya and Luke burned the diving board up.

Needless to say, by the end if the day......exhaustion! Ramon noodles are a wonderful snack.

2 sister + 3 dollar dress= hours of fun.........

After being sick, the girls slept and laid around most of the day. They are feeling better now after a few doses of antibiotics in their systems. They slept late late today trying to get over jet lag and being exhausted. I see so many things that as time as passed as a grown up, I have forgotten about. The excitement of bicycle riding, playing tag and catching someone, finally being taller than someone else, eating ice cream before supper, telling ghost stories with a flash light and the simple giggles at silly jokes.

Today, we went to Goodwill and went shopping for a few things that the girls would need. They each picked out shirt's, pants and a jacket each. The Ukraine has very cold winters with a lot of snow, so they need to be warm. The have nothing that is only theirs, they share everything with all other children. I see now why everything is so precious and appreciated. If it is special, they hide it under their pillow in the bed with them,. Thief is a serious issue at school and I assume that's why they had all their treasures hidden. I was so touched.

I have watched them laugh, talk and cry together. I can see that all of Anya's life she had to be the caregiver to her sister and never been able to be a child. That breaks my heart because I know that every child needs to experience the carefree life of being little. Yesterday, Anya cried over her sister being sick. I hugged her and told her that it would be fine that we would take care of her. I know directly from being a step mother that in a case like that, someone can not come in and take over everything, I am only here to help.  That worked beautifully too. I actually mean it too, I will help her and that is exactly what we did.....guess what, that cry and fear has turned into a united team!

Now, Anya dressed Kristina up in her dress and they played for ever. They had a wonderful girlie time.

Flying with the birds.......

                         Last evening before the sun went down, we jumped on the trampoline.

                            My Mama came by to meet the girls and bring them a welcome gift.

They visited with her and played with Laci, the other furry human......shhh she doesn't know she's a dog.

Then Uncle Brian and Aunt Christie came by to bring Maddie to meet my girls. They brought the girls a purse each filled with goodies. Mimi is 2 and she enjoyed eating ice cream with the girls. She called them by name......even if it was her name for them...Ritina and Anna.....

Close enough, they made friends quickly. Kristina, Minnie and MiMi sat together watching Anya dance and sing. Kristina had a headache.

This morning, I fixed breakfast and Anya come into the kitchen to tell me Kristina was crying, she had a headache. I found her laying in bed, crying and HOT! Guess where we went? Yep! To see the doctor! They are OK and doing just fine now. They had spaghetti, salad and bread for supper. Tylenol and antibiotics are a wonderful thing. They are back to dancing and singing to us. Life is Good!

Our Kiddos speak Russian........Ukranian.........

This has been such a blessed experience for us! Seeing the excitement and wonder of our world through their eyes has been such a deeply touching experience. we bought flip flops and undergarments and they each picked out one pair of flip flops and 1 pair of undergarmets.

I was so moved by this, I wanted them to get several pairs of those items, they need them. They are very kind and Anya loves her little sister deeply. She watches out for her. What a blessing we have in front of us. The boys are enjoying this time as well.

At the airport.....

Welcome to our Ukrainian Girls

Fresh off the plane!

The comment when they walked in their bedroom, "WOW!"

Its all worth it!