Timmy Has A Family!!

Oh I am SO excited to announce that Timmy has a committed family now!

Pray that Timmy gets home soon to his new family so he can get the surgery he needs so desperately!! I am PRAYING that I won't see either Timmy or Ivan again this summer...because it means they will be HOME! :)

Pic of the day:
This is how my kittens (Tika and Neko) help me write my dissertation:

Just makes me want to take a nap!

An Unexpected Blessing

I have good news and better news:

1. The good news is that our first set of dossier paperwork made it to That Far Away Land on Monday! In case you are wondering, we cannot discuss on this blog what country we are adopting from. Many of you already know, and that's fine, and if you're curious you can send me an email. But this blog is too public (I have readers?!! lol) to go into details.

2. The better news: Remember how it cost $116? Well yesterday, as I was in my Vicodin-induced zombie-like state, I got a phone call from the UPS store. There is a sweet guy who works there, K., who has taken a personal interest in this package. We live in a small town and they don't do many international shipments. Anyway, K. called me yesterday and I tried not to sound like a druggie as he told me that he was requesting a refund for us! Apparently they will only refund $106 of our $116...the other $10 is a non-refundable fuel charge. But still! I'm a bit unclear as to why we are getting the refund...?! It either has something to do with the fact that our package didn't show up as being received for over 36 hours, or that it was supposed to be delivered on the 6th and instead made it there on the 10th. One of the two, I think. Either way, thank you God!!! Of course we'll just be using that refund to send more documents to That Far Away Land in the future...but it's the little things that keep you going :).

The cough that came with The Crud is still lingering, but I think getting better. I've also taken to wrapping my chest up in an ace bandage like a corset. It's amazing how good that feels! I've also decided to avoid Vicodin and am trying out Aleve today...pray for healing! I don't want to start teaching next week with my chest wrapped in an ace bandage, using only my right arm :).

The Crud

Hi there, friends.

This post isn't going to be very witty, I'm afraid, but I need some prayer. For the last two weeks I have been battling what my husband affectionately calls, "The Crud". The Crud is some mysterious virus that just. won't. quit. I've been to the doctor three times in a week. This past Friday I was coughing so much that it feels like I cracked a rib. I went to the doctor about it, and it's probably just a pulled muscle, but HOLY COW THE PAIN. It seriously feels broken, and it's not getting better. I just took a Vicodin for the first time in my life and it's still not helping.

I told Satan yesterday that he can do whatever he wants to me, but we're still adopting Riley. I feel very strongly that this is spiritual attack. Could you please pray? Pray for my body to heal, for Satan to leave me alone, and pray for funds to come in because I haven't had the energy to do any fundraisers lately due to this illness and working on our dossier. Oh, and writing my dissertation. Don't forget about that one. UGH!

Thanks, friends. Your prayers and comments mean the world to me.

The Magic Blog?!

Remember Ivan? The boy we thought had passed away? The boy who, 4 weeks ago, had $0 in his grant fund??

The boy who received $11,250 in his grant fund just a few weeks ago??!

Yes, I'm sure you remember him. :)

I am SO EXCITED...

To let you know...

IVAN HAS A FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm starting to think my blog has magic powers :). First Anya, now Ivan...next up: Timmy, Vanessa and Lilly! (In no particular order...)

Just kidding about the "magic" part...PRAISE GOD for how He moves in peoples' hearts!

Apostilled! (huh?)

As promised, here's my post on Apostilles. I had never heard of them before we started researching international adoption. It took me a long time just to figure out how to pronounce the word (and I'm still not sure I've got it right!). To the best of my knowledge, it's pronounced "uh-POS-tle" (don't forget the "t", otherwise you are referring to Jesus' disciples!).

So what are these things anyway?

It's a state seal (in our case, from Virginia) that verifies that the notary who notarized our document is a valid notary in the state of Virginia. We have to have MANY documents notarized, and then we need an apostille for EACH one.

To get the apostille you mail your documents to the Secretary of the Commonwealth office in Richmond and they mail them back to you with the apostilles attached (for a fee, of course). We mailed our first set of nine documents on Thursday, Dec. 30, and received them back with apostilles on Monday, Jan 3. I am VERY impressed with that turn-around time!

Here's a picture of one of our apostilles:

Now that our first packet is apostilled it is ready to be sent to Riley's country! I went to the UPS store this morning to mail them. You will not believe what it cost to mail nine documents with apostilles overseas!

Ready??

$116 !!!!!!

For those of you that are wondering, USPS does NOT deliver mail to where these documents are going, so we had to use another (more expensive) service.

Thank goodness we only have to do this a minimum of two more times. YIKES!

But...our first set of dossier documents is now ON ITS WAY!!!!

I'm A New Year Warrior...

...for Vanessa and Lilly!

Basically what this means is that I am going to be praying and advocating specifically for these two beautiful girls until they find their families in 2011! I've essentially been doing that unofficially for Anya (who now has a family!), Timmy, and Ivan (who now both have HUGE grants!).

I chose to advocate for these specific girls because both have very serious heart conditions. They will not receive surgery for these conditions in their current county (it is considered a "waste"). Both are doing ok for now, but the danger of them dying is VERY REAL if they don't get the surgeries they need. Their only hope is an international adoption.

Both girls live in the same region in the same country, but are not biologically related so they cannot be adopted together. That means we need to find two separate families to save these beautiful girls.

And now...

I present...

Vanessa!

Vanessa is diagnosed with Down syndrome and a heart condition. Isn't she beautiful??!! She was born in March 2009 and her nature is described as "calm". Go visit her page on Reece's Rainbow for more information! She currently has over $600 in her grant fund.

And last but not least...

I give you...

Lilly!

This sweet angel is also diagnosed with Down syndrome and a significant heart defect. She will turn 4 this February. That is the "dreaded age" when most children are transferred to a mental institution, and she will not live long there. She needs a family fast!! Right now she has $1000 in her grant fund. Visit her page on Reece's Rainbow for more information!

BOTH girls are available to Canadian families and single moms!

Please pray for their families to step forward soon!

A Family In Need

Our journey to adoption really began before Rob and I ever met.

It started with a family in need: Rob's friends Eric and Gina. They had a baby boy in 2004, named Gabriel, aka, Gabe.

Both Eric and Gina were working at the time and needed some help babysitting. Rob stepped in whenever he was needed, from the time Gabe was 3 months old.

Rob feeding Gabe in 2004

 

 

Gabe's 2nd birthday party, 2006

 When Rob and I started dating, I began helping take care of Gabe when it was needed.

Rob with Gabe in 2007

We always had a lot of fun with Gabe, and I especially loved taking him to the pool.

Gabe at the pool with me in 2007

Through caring for Gabe, both Rob and I came to realize how easily we could love and care for a child that wasn't biologically related to us.

Gabe with me at our wedding in 2008

Two years ago, Eric, Gina and Gabe moved to Oklahoma, but they come back to visit a few times a year as Gina has family in the area. They were in town this week and we got to spend a good bit of time with them, including breakfast at Denny's this morning.

Gabe and I at Denny's on 1-1-11

Sadly, the reason for their visit this time was for a funeral. Gina's brother, James Matthew McPeak ("Matt"), was murdered just before Christmas by his estranged wife and her boyfriend. They have two children, Gabe's cousins, E. and A. (names withheld for privacy).

Gabe's cousins

E. and A. are now living with Gabe's grandparents in Christiansburg. Eric and Gina started a blog and opened a fund for donations for these kids as they transition to a new life. So far they have raised almost $11,000! Some of the money will be used for immediate expenses, like building a bedroom for E. and A., and the rest will be saved for their future needs as they arise.

Please help us help this family in need. They could really use lots of prayers right now. The kids don't know what has happened yet, only that Mommy and Daddy are gone and not coming back for a long time. The kids cry for their daddy every night.

Prayers and donations of money or physical items (clothes, toys, etc) are greatly appreciated! Visit the blog for information on how to help.