The Jensen's Journey

Three Days!

2011-06-05T07:39:00.000-07:00

"Three days, and I'm outta here," Nathan says!

Today we had our last visit with Nathan until he gets out of the orphanage on Wednesday. He was in an awesome mood and the weather was very nice so we got to take him out on a walk again. He's such a character! I think he wants to be the family photographer...he always goes right for the camera:0)

After hugs and kisses, he went back to his groupa and we went to pick up his meds and food he is used to eating since the next few days will be busy. Monday, we get his adoption certificate. Tuesday is running around for more paperwork and buying his plane ticket back to the capital. We get to pick him up on Wednesday after lunch. Stay tuned for gotcha day pics. I just can't wait!!!! So close!

Eight Days....

2011-05-31T02:13:00.000-07:00

Eight days until Nathan leaves the orphanage! We were able to visit him again today. The 5 days since our last visit seemed like an eternity. The director gave us permission today to come again on Saturday:-) Hooray!

They are trying something new with his legs and back to build strength in his muscles. You can see the red weights they made for him in most of the pictures. Today the fun game was cars with Dad:-)

Around Town

2011-05-29T04:10:00.000-07:00

We've seen lots of cool things on our daily walks around town. There are so many statues. Here's the first one. Have no idea who he is, but then, where's the excitement in knowing everything, right!

A view of some of the beautiful buildings...

Another statue....

This guy looks like he belongs in the Lord of the Rings movies:-) I think this is a war memorial...

While we were taking pics of the cool Lord of the Rings guy, a big procession of people came by. There were lots of girls in formal wear waving flags.

This stone cross is the symbol of Nathan's birth city.

I think this is a memorial for Victory Day which they celebrate to commemorate their victory over Hitler's army in WW2.

Here's another statue....

And something we could tell was important, but we don't know what it is:-)

This is a war memorial with an eternal flame burning. You can see it in the bottom right corner of the picture.

This is a picture of a flower dislay and walkway leading up to a church.

This is the city's triumphal arch. It was built to commemorate a victory in 1812. It was distroyed during the communist era than was rebuilt in the 1990's.
This is an important general...
All in all, it's been fun seeing Nathan's birth city. We have lots more to explore and lots of questions to ask when we next see our translator!

Hanging Out

2011-05-26T02:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon we got to see Nathan for a little while. It finally stopped raining here, so we went on a walk.

Nathan loved being outside, but I think in his opinion, stopping to take pictures was highly overrated! He wanted to go near the bushes so he could touch everything. Pretty soon, he was trying to climb out and explore, so Dad carried him:0) By the look on Nathan's face, I think he was a little disappointed that we didn't let him crawl around...and he might have been thinking, "I can't believe they made me wear this hat!" LOL!

The hour passed very quickly, and after hugs and kisses we returned him to his groupa. We'll get to see him again in about a week. Gotcha day is projected to be June 8, although I hope it will be sooner:-) Until then, we have lots of time to walk around Nathan's birth city and explore. It is truely a beautiful place.

Today we walked around near the hotel and found this beautiful church.

From what we understand, the original church was destroyed during the era of communism. It appears that it has been rebuilt on part of the original foundation. That's what we think the plaque in front of it is about, but of course we can't read it...

Because no good thing should be experienced without an effort and because this city has a lot of hills, we had a few stairs to climb to get to the church:-) This picture was taken about half way up them... Of course, Randy wasn't even winded, but I wanted to lay down and take a nap when we got to the top! After we saw the church we went down another huge stair case. Did I mention that I love going DOWN stairs? At the bottom we found a statue of a man. Obviously he's important...I think he may be a famous writer. You can't see it really in this picture, but he's holding a quill pen. Then we happened upon this pretty fountain...

There are lots of nice wooded walkways. The trees and flower displays are in bloom and the air smells sweet from the perfume of the flowers. These are just some views of the stores and streets on the way back to our hotel.

There are so many more things to see and experience. I'll try to post more pics as the days go along. We are happy to have such an opportunity to see Nathan's birth city. We'll have such cool things to tell him about as he grows up!

Overjoyed!

2011-05-25T01:22:00.000-07:00

The judge said yes! We are now the proud parents of Nathan Louis Jensen:-) Later we will get to go see our SON at the orphanage. We have a ten day wait, which is in accordance with the laws of Nathan's country, so we'll be hanging out, learning more about the culture and language, and counting the days until Gotcha Day!

About Me

2011-05-23T07:53:00.000-07:00

We'd better start with the obvious...my mama says I'm definitely the cutest little kid on the planet!

But, I hate to tell you, I'm not really a morning guy, no matter how hard you try....

I'm pretty much sold on any toy with lights and music....

I can guarantee you that my dad will go get this if I throw it...works every time!

And, I love to save the best for last...check out what I can do!

Our Little Family

2011-05-22T01:47:00.000-07:00

We got to see Nathan again for a little bit this morning. The facilitator needed a pic of the three of us for court, so here's our first "family picture." Hopefully in the next family photo op, we will be able to get Nathan to smile. This one was taken towards the end of our visit and he was getting tired and hungry. We learned today that he's got a one track mind once he sees the woman with the serving pans go by! Even a ride in the back of this little truck complete with sound effects from dad couldn't divert him:-)

Tomorrow we will be meeting with the agency's attorney to prepare for court, which will take place on May 24th and 25th. Please pray with us that everything will go smoothly during our hearing. We have been told that our ten day wait will definitely not be waived. Even though it will be hard to be away from home longer, this will be a great opportunity for us to pick up more of the language and to explore and learn more about Nathan's birth city and culture. We want to be able to tell him as much as we can as he gets older. Overall, we really like it here. The people we have met have been pleasant and helpful and our hotel is very close to the main city square. There are several beautiful old buildings and large flower displays. It has been rainy since we came, but we hope to be able post some pictures of the city soon:-)

Our First Vist

2011-05-21T01:14:00.000-07:00

We got to see Nathan this morning:-) He has grown and changed so much! As you can see below, he can now pull himself up into a stand. He isn't actually walking yet, but I think he's close. It makes me happy to know that we will still get to see his first steps.
Our little guy is so full of life and joy. Today we found out he is really ticklish, likes to blow rasberries, loves to play "fetch" with dad (dad gets to fetch, LOL!), and loves to rock.

Upgrades:-)

2011-05-20T14:18:00.000-07:00

It's 1:30am on Friday here and we are now safely in Nathan's birth city. Everything has been going smoothly...for the most part:-) Here's a short recap:

*After traveling for 24 hours, we landed in Moscow on Wednesday at about 11:30am. This was followed by a 1 1/2 hour ride in heavy traffic to the medical clinic...

*For the next 5 1/2 hours we were examined by 8 doctors with lengthy wait times between each-they most have known we like to power nap, LOL!

*Finally, in a near catatonic state of exhaustion, we hit our first very cool upgrade. We signed up for an efficiency apartment for the first two nights, but boo hoo! They were all booked. So the owners ended up putting us in a different "arrangement." This "arrangement" happened to be a huge two bedroom apartment with a sitting room, full kitchen, living room, big 'ole bathroom complete with a washer and a little enclosed balcony. Score! It was awesome! And the best part...the price was amazing at wayyyyy less than $200 a night. We felt totally safe even though we weren't in a hotel because of our huge burgandy "fortress" door:-)

*At 7pm today we were scheduled to fly to Nathan's city...then a mini-bummer hit. Our flight was changed to 2 1/2 hours later and we didn't really have anywhere to go in the meantime. THEN, the upgrade:-) We were bumped to first class, which was completely awesome! First we got to hang out in a spiffy newly remodeled lounge with comfy seats and complementary refreshments, then on the plane we had even more comfy leather seats and a three course meal. They even served us with real plates and gave us linen napkins. Shazaam..sure beats the cold prewrapped mystery meat they serve in economy class any day!

* I love it when God does more than we expect:-) Sometimes our clouds really do have a silver lining!

*Please pray with us that He will come through again as in my original exhausted stupor on Wednesday I misplaced a rather important piece of paper. We know He can help us overcome this hurdle:-)

In 8 hours we get to see Nathan. We can't wait! We'll post pictures as soon as possible.

FINALLY!!!!

2011-05-05T18:51:00.001-07:00

Our agency called today and we will be leaving for Nathan's country in 11 days!!!! We are so excited and overwhelmed. We are amazed at the way God moves and are praying that He will keep ordering our steps as we arrange to travel at lightening speed. Court will be May 24 and 25th. Thank you to everyone has given and prayed so that we could get this far! I'll post more as things take shape for our trip.

The Eagle Has Landed:-)

2011-04-11T18:24:00.000-07:00

We heard today that our dossier was delivered in Nathan's birth city, safe and sound. It will be translated and "legalized" this week. I'm not really sure what legalizing is, but once these things are complete, all of our paperwork will hopefully be reviewed by the judge next week. We are praying that a court date will be set soon after that. We can't wait to see our boy again. We miss him like crazy!

Progress

2011-04-08T21:41:00.000-07:00

Our dossier is complete, and has been sent to Nathan's birth country. It will probably be at least another week before we hear about a court date since everything must be translated and reviewed. We'll update again when we have more news:-)

2 years old...

2011-02-24T15:09:00.000-08:00

Today Nathan turned two. In an orphanage. On another continent. We met him five months ago this week and never thought that it would take this long to get back to him. Please pray with us that God will keep our sweet boy safe and healthy and that He will make the path smooth with our paperwork. We miss Nathan like crazy and want nothing more than to have him at home with us, safe and sound.

Fundraising Finishline

2011-02-20T06:34:00.000-08:00

We have crossed the fundraising finishline:-) First, the glory must go to God, who has moved miraculously in this situation. And.... we would like to thank all our friends and family for their prayers, encouragement, and financial support. We couldn't have done it without you! We are also grateful to Reece's Rainbow, Gift of Adoption, and Katelyn's Fund for making Nathan's adoption possible through their grant programs.

We are so excited to have cleared this hurdle in our adoption journey. We are praying that God will continue to work on our behalf as we wait on word from our region on what final documents are necessary to finish our dossier process.

Mountains Are Moving!

2011-02-03T17:21:00.000-08:00

Less than two weeks ago, we still had a huge amount of money to raise for Nathan's adoption. $12,000 to be exact. God has been doing some serious moving of our finacial mountain. Here are some of the ways He has been working:

1. A $5000 grant from the Gift of Adoption.
2. A $3000 grant from Katelyn's Fund.
3. A $2,000 donation from our church organization.
4. $300 in donations to our Family Grant Fund at Reece's Rainbow.

Last night, after getting word about the Katelyn's Fund grant and the donation from our church organization, I was over the moon. Our son is actually in reach. We only have $1,700 dollars left to raise! I am quite sure that with God's help we will reach this goal! To get started, we are going to be hosting a Indian Taco and Menudo fundraiser this weekend in Lower Brule. Donations to our Reece's Rainbow FSP are also welcome:-) Just click on the sponsor button at the top of our blog.

So, for all of you who have prayed so hard for the finances to come in, we only havea little bit to go! Our main focus now can shift to finishing up the paperwork for our dossier. Some documents have been very difficult to get completed as the judge has tightened the requirements for families adopting from Nathan's region. Please pray that God will help us get this dossier done so that we can get a court date soon. It would completely awesome if we could have our dossier translated and submitted by Nathan's 2nd birthday on February 24th.

2010-12-16T08:07:00.000-08:00

God has been working in amazing ways with our adoption funding! Our latest rummage sale in Chamberlain made $1200 and we have received two large donations totaling $6000 to our Reeces' Rainbow Family Grant Fund! Nathan's country fee is now raised as well as all of the airfare to and from his birth country. We are still working to raise the rest of the adoption costs (dossier completion, hotels, medical exams, translators, facilitator fees, drivers, embassy fees, visa fees, and other in-country costs) and remain optimistic that we will raise the total amount needed to bring Nathan home! We are very grateful to our friends and family for helping us as we work toward our goal.

We are in the process of completing more paper work for our dossier because the judge from Nathan's region has changed some of the requirements this week. Our agency is projecting that we may be traveling in Feburary for court. We are praying that God moves the paper work and money mountains to make this happen. Nathan's second birthday is February 24th. Wouldn't it be wonderful if he could celebrate it as a son, cousin, nephew, and grandson instead of as an orphan?

This week we got word from our agency that Nathan is healthy and eating okay. No word though on whether he is walking or talking yet. I still wish we had been able to press a "pause" button on him...we don't want to miss another minute of seeing him grow and learn. I miss his sweet little spirit, his funny little mannerisms, his joy at the simplest things. We can't wait to hold our precious boy again! I hope it's soon:-)

Still Waiting....

2010-11-23T19:23:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I posted, mostly because there hasn't been much to report. We are still working on the second part of our dossier. Paperwork requirements in Nathan's city are in transition, so some things have had to be redone to fit the new guidelines. We're also pushing on with fundraising. Our next fundraiser will be in Chamberlain on December 4...more details will be available soon. Please pray that God will continue to provide the finances we need to finish Nathan's adoption. We know He is able and the money is slowly but surely coming in!

This adoption journey has been a crazy roller coaster of rushing, then waiting, more rushing, more waiting...but Nathan is worth it. We miss him like crazy. It's been 2 months since we saw him and I constantly wonder if he's healthy, how much he's grown, if he's starting to walk, and if he's starting to talk. I almost wish we could have pressed a little "pause" button on him when we left:-) I don't want to miss even one more moment of his life. But, God, in His wisdom has the perfect timing. So we wait for now and trust Him to hold our boy safe in His hands until we make it back!

Waiting...

2010-10-25T15:41:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe it has already been a month since we returned home from meeting Nathan. My heart longs for him and my arms ache to hold him again. I can't wait to get him home so that we can see this sweet sight everyday...

Currently, we are working to compile the second part of our dossier. Some of the documents have been difficult to obtain, but we believe our persistance will pay off! We are also in the midst of fundraising to complete Nathan's adoption. Our first priority is to finish raising his country/program fees (about $5,300 to go). Then we will move on to airfare, hotel, translator, facilitator, medical and visa fees. The money mountain seems formidable, but we are asking God to move it! If you would like to help, you can click on the "sponsor" button at the top of our blog to make a tax-deductible donation to our Reese's Rainbow Grant Fund. We would also greatly appreciate your prayers for Nathan. We are asking God to keep him healthy and safe, and to provide for his needs as well as for those of all of the children who reside in his orphange.

Regarding Natalya

2010-10-07T07:17:00.000-07:00

Natalya, the little girl we first committed to adopt, has been returned to the orphanage. If it were at all possible, we would take her home to be Nathan's sister. However, our region only allows one adoption at a time unless the children are biological siblings. Even though we have struggled to understand this turn of events, we trust God and know that he has a plan for Natalya's life.

At this point, we must concentrate our efforts on raising the remainder of the funds needed to complete Nathan's adoption. We have only a few months to come up with thousands of dollars to get him home. Once his adoption is complete, we plan on becoming Natalya's best advocates and fundraisers. She is so beautiful and we earnestly pray that someone will see her and fall in love like we did. She is tiny and fragile and needs a momma and daddy's love instead of life in an orphanage/institution.

Lu from Poppies Blooming has stepped up to help us once again by making a beautiful button for Natalya. If you have a blog, we hope that you will post her buttton. The more she is seen, the better chance she has of receiving the blessing of her very own forever family!

Leaving My Heart In Eastern Europe...

2010-09-23T04:47:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we have already started our journey back to South Dakota. We are currently at a hotel in Moscow for an overnight layover. It's rainy and cold, so no sightseeing today:0/

Yesterday we got to see Nathan twice. Our morning visit was so much fun. It's amazing to see how much our little guy has come out of his shell in only 3 days. Here's a short video of him practicing his new skill...take things out and put things in:-) I love how he sticks out his tongue when he's really trying hard. Could he be cuter?? I don't think so!

Our second visit was more difficult than I had anticipated. As hard as I tried not to, I cried on and off the whole time and sobbed as we gave him back to his caretaker. As I walked out of that orphanage, I knew with certainty that I was leaving my heart in Eastern Europe in the sweet little hands of an orphan boy.

But not for long...we are going to be working double time to get back to him as soon as possible so we can finish the process of becoming his forever family. Until then, it is a blessing to know that God has answered one of our most often whispered prayers for Nathan...that there would be a special someone in his baby home who loved him and made sure he was well taken care of. Below is a picture of our little prince with a very special lady named Valentina. She has the heart of an angel and we are so thankful that she is a caretaker for Nathan and all of the other kiddos in his groupa.

Hanging Out With Our Little Prince:-)

2010-09-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

We started off the day today by finishing up the process to officially accept Nathan's referral from the minister of education. With the help of our translator/facilitator, everything went very smoothly, so we were able to get on to the really important business...spending time with our son:-)

When we got to the orphanage, we were allowed to take Nathan around the grounds for a little while. Yesterday, we were watched very closely with him...but today they were much more relaxed. We borrowed a stroller and went on a short stroll...until the wheel fell off, LOL! We sheepishly handed back the stoller after a bit, but they didn't seem upset. Nathan enjoyed the stroller while it lasted. The only other slight complication was the "safety strap" ...which didn't keep my little jello boy from sliding down what seemed like every 30 seconds! Check out his high tech conveyance in this pic:-)

Then we went inside and did what Nathan loves best...the therapy ball. We definitely have get one of these. I think he would play on it 24/7 if someone would let him:-)

Randy encouraged him to stand using his favorite toy...

And any boy can be coaxed to practice his crawling skills if there's a lego bus involved...

Last but not least...one of Nathan's cute little mannerisms. He often has his hands folded like this and even finds a way to do it when he is sucking his thumb and napping:-)

The Big Day...

2010-09-20T08:33:00.000-07:00

Barring a gallon of sedatives, there was not one way I was sleeping last night. To say there was excitement about today is an understatement. Think bigger than Christmas when you were six years old, then multiply by 1000! God has worked so mightily in our lives to bring us to the moment today when we met our son for the first time.

We started by going the minister of education at about 8:30am. She was very gracious and the interview went well. She gave us permission to go to the orphanage to meet Nathan. We got to spend about a half hour with him. What a sweet little guy! We are completely in love with him. He was very tired and ready for a nap, so our visit was kept short.

After lunch, we went back to the Minister of Education to pick up a document that we needed to sign with the orphanage director, accepting Nathan's referral. We were then able to spend another hour with him. He recognized us as soon as we walked in the room, gave us a huge smile and started crawling toward us. He is so good natured and cuddly. He loves being sung to and rocked, playing on the therapy ball, and playing with trucks and balls. He does not like getting his picture taken...so tomorrow we are going to have to be more sly, LOL!

In the morning, we will go to another government office to complete the last step of the official referral process. Then we get to spend more time with Nathan, whoohoo!

And now, what you've really been waiting for...check out this sweet pic of Dad and his boy having some fun:0)

Travel Date

2010-09-02T14:35:00.000-07:00

Our agency called today. We will be meeting Nathan on September 20th! I am so excited I can barely stand it, and so scared I can barely think! Please pray that God moves supernaturally to provide the remainder of the amount we need to travel for this first trip. We need about $5000...

Introducing Nathan

2010-08-19T16:40:00.001-07:00

Meet the future Nathan Louis Jensen! Isn't he simply beautiful?

We truely believe that finding Nathan was part of God's plan. Therefore, we are resisting the urge to let the fear of losing this new referral rule us, or to allow it to diminish our commitment and drive to bring him home. He deserves our whole-hearted effort, so we press on...

No changes in our paperwork were required, and the first packet of our dossier will be sent to Eastern Europe this weekend. Our first trip should occur in the next 6-7 weeks. We are working hard to raise the approximately $17,000 that is still needed to complete this adoption. Your prayers along the way would be much appreciated! We know that God is faithful to meet our needs and we can barely wait to hold our son for the first time:-)

Farewell, Natalya

2010-08-12T06:08:00.000-07:00

Nothing could have prepared us for a call from our agency letting us know that Natalya was no longer available for adoption. Our lovely girl has a happy ending. Her family has taken her home from the orphanage.

I feel selfish to be so sad, in the light of God's blessing to Natalya and her family. We are asking God to give us the courage to let her go and to go on with this journey we started. We know that there are other children in Natalya's orphanage that still face the horrors of a mental institution if they reach the age of four without being adopted. Please pray with us as we ask God to show us which child to bring home.

And to Natalya: You are in our hearts forever, sweet girl. You will never know how greatly two strangers across the ocean loved you. However, we hope your joy is complete with your birth family. May God bless you and keep you.

The Wheels are turning a bit faster:-)

2010-07-30T12:43:00.000-07:00

After weeks of not much going on with our adoption, things are starting to move forward again. We got our biometric fingerprints done this morning in Sioux Falls and are hopeful that our I-600A application will now move through the system quickly.

Also, we got several documents apostilled in Pierre on Wednesday and sent them on to the agency to be translated into Russian. We are working on Natalya's room this weekend (which, by the way, has gone from purple to pink) and hope to have our photo dossier done and approved by the agency some time next week. Once that hurdle has been overcome, we'll be off for more apostilles in Pierre and the first packet of documents required for our dossier will be complete.

We are planning a rummage sale in Sioux Falls on August 28th to help raise money for Natalya's adoption. We are also busily filling out grant applications. Please pray with us that God will continue to work in the finances for this adoption. So far, we have paid about $10,000 in agency, homestudy, and dossier fees. We still need raise the $11,200 country fees as well as traveling expenses,escrow fees, visa fees, medical exam fees, etc. God is so faithful and we are trusting Him to help us as we move forward in faith.

Fingerprint Appointment

2010-07-13T19:12:00.000-07:00

We have our fingerprinting appointment with USCIS! Randy and I will be heading to Sioux Falls on July 30th to get this next step in our adoption process completed.

One hurdle finally down!

2010-06-24T16:49:00.000-07:00

We received official copies of our homestudy this morning and sent the I-600A paperwork to Dallas this afternoon! The I-600A is the second in a series of paperwork "hurdles" we must overcome to complete our adoption. It's exciting to be taking this tangible step forward toward Natalya. While we are waiting for our approval from USCIS, our adoption agency is working with us to start compiling the dossier. For Natalya's country, the dossier is submitted to the agency in two parts. The first part, described as the "easy" section, looks a bit formidable...but as always, our baby is worth it! Next week, we also hope to submit several applications for adoption grants. Please pray with us that God will continue to provide funding:-)

Happy Birthday, Reece's Rainbow

2010-06-09T11:44:00.000-07:00

Reece's Rainbow Down Syndrome Adoption ministry has been operating for four years now. This amazing ministry makes it possible for children who were once destined for a dismal existance in a Eastern European mental institution to be matched with forever families in the United States and Canada! Over 250 kids with special needs now have committed families and more than $500,000 in adoption funds have been raised through RR. What a blessing this ministry and its founder, Andrea Roberts, is!
The ministry of Reece's Rainbow is very close to our hearts because we found our baby Natalya there! We can't wait to get her home where she belongs!

Homestudy Draft

2010-06-08T17:46:00.000-07:00

Whoot! Our homestudy draft was sent to our agency today for approval! Inching closer, day by day!

Slowly Moving Forward

2010-06-03T18:23:00.000-07:00

We were excited to get the first draft of our homestudy today. It's about five weeks past the point when we thought our homestudy would be complete, but better late than never, right! Hopefully, it won't be long until we are sending off our I-600 and starting our dossier prep, hooray! Please pray that we will be able to get a few grants and do some successful fundraisers to help us along on the financial part of our journey. We still need to raise about $17,000 to bring Natalya home. It seems like a huge amount to us, but God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, so we're trusting him for the provision.

A Sigh of Relief!

2010-04-06T13:11:00.000-07:00

Today we had our second homestudy visit, along with our house inspection. Everything went very well! We are hoping to have our homestudy complete by the beginning of May.

Ninja Skills and Passport Apps

2010-03-25T16:18:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed that we have a spiffy new header and a picture button for Natalya...and it isn't due to my super ninja techie skills! We would like to thank Lu from Poppies Blooming for donating her time to create these elements of our blog. She's just amazing!

For those of you who are wondering about the ninja skills...it's something you can only understand if you have taught 6th grade boys!

This afternoon we applied for our passports...hooray! Each piece of paper we fill out is a tiny step closer to getting our baby home...We can't wait to hold her!

Passing a Small Milestone

2010-03-19T15:18:00.000-07:00

Today we had the first visit with our social worker for our homestudy. I have to admit, I was a nervous wreck before the meeting. Randy was cool as a cucumber...so unfair! Why can't he spaz while I relax for once??? When all was said and done though, the meeting went very well. Our social worker is simply wonderful!

We had our first physicals yesterday and got a clean bill of health. Next on our list is applying for our passports this coming week so that they are back in time to work on our dossier. So, the process marches on! And may I say, it can't happen fast enough! I don't know how it's possible to miss someone so much that I haven't yet met, but there's a hole in each day where Natalya belongs. Please continue to pray with us as we work to bring her home!

Odds-N-Ends

2010-03-09T16:31:00.000-08:00

All of our paperwork is now completed and turned in to our homestudy agency! We figured out the FBI fingerprinting process, and those are on their way as well. So now, we are going around the house and sprucing it up in anticipation of our first homestudy visit...although there's not much we can do about the mudpit of a yard we have right now because the spring thaw! All the same, I am so glad I married a "handy" guy! He's changed an electrical outlet, put in new heating vent covers, installed a smoke detector downstairs and hung new fire extinguishers upstairs and down this week!

We are brainstorming ways to fundraise for our adoption. We had a nice little chunk of change up front, but it's going quickly with homestudy and agency fees. We still need to raise a minimum of $17,000. A big yardsale in Sioux Falls is in the planning process, and we have our grant page set up on Reece's Rainbow. There is a link on the right side of this blog under the Reece's Rainbow button. One of these days, I'm going to get some more super ninja tech skills and make a button for Natalya! Anyway, we are also planning on applying for every adoption grant we can find once our homestudy is done. If anyone reading this blog has other fundraising ideas, don't be shy, leave a comment!!!!!!!

Meanwhile, I'm trying to make myself focus on the final stages of my master's degree program...which is completely not interesting in comparison to Natalya! So pray for my concentration skills! Methinks my brain is scrambled! Really though, my projected graduation date is this June! Hooray!

Sometimes the Joy is in the Little Things

2010-03-07T19:11:00.000-08:00

Tonight I was in the baby section at Walmart to pick up diapers for a friend of mine. As I stood there, surrounded by cute little dresses and other baby items, it suddenly hit me: It won't be long until we are picking up our daughter's things here! This may sound like a crazy small thing, but after walking through the valley of infertility, it is an amazing thought. In the first year or so after finding out we couldn't have kids, I used to walk through the baby isles at Walmart and cry. It was a loss as real as a death, and in some ways more difficult because the people around us didn't understand the grief and said some amazingly insensitive things. Then there were the following years as foster parents, and the inevitable feelings of loss over long term kids that eventually moved on. After a while, the dream of having a child of our own begin to wither and die...until I saw the children on Reece's Rainbow.

Our RR angel, Natalya, is such a gift from God. Its so amazing how God is able to take the broken things in our lives and in turn give us more than we could have ever hoped for! We are in such anticipation of the day that we will carry her out of that orphanage forever! As the psalmist, David, wrote "You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to You and not be silent! Oh Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!" Psalm 30:11

A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with the First Step

2010-03-05T14:09:00.000-08:00

We are at the beginning of the process to bring home our daughter, Natalya Grace, from Eastern Europe. While our journey may not require any physical "trekking," the mountain of paperwork and lenthy process spanning two continents seems epic! Last night we dutifully completed pages and pages on our homestudy paper work and went to the police station to get our first of at least three sets of fingerprints. Today at school, I mentioned that I had been finger printed last night. One of my students, quite concerned, asked me what I had stolen, and if I would have to go to jail...I was happy to assure him that I would not be missing school to "sit out my time," but that we were getting to adopt a baby! Meanwhile, I tried not to laugh aloud at his look of relief!

I can't even describe our feelings about the prospect of bringing Natalya home. It is so much more than just the longing for a child and the anticipation of FINALLY being parents. It is the knowledge that God has allowed us to be part of something so much bigger, to be a part a special group of people who pour their hearts and energy out everyday to advocate for orphans with Down Syndrome. Without being adopted, orphans with disabilities in Eastern Europe face a life time of misery in overcrowded mental institutions where noone will ever love or nurture them. I can't imagine such a fate for my sweet, beautiful baby girl. So, we embark on this adventure full of faith and determination, believing God to guide us on the lengthy and possibly difficult road ahead. We know that He is able to do more that we can ask or think, that He loves Natalya even more that we can, and that HE will walk beside us every step of the journey to Eastern Europe and back again!