Happy Thanksgiving

Yesterday marked two months since we saw the first videos and photos of our daughter.  Though we were hoping to have it done already, we are still working on the immigration update.  Our home study update has taken longer to finish that we hoped, and it has put us further behind in the projected schedule we had for getting to actually travel.  Though time frames in the adoption world are often fluid, it is frustrating to know that things are taking longer than we thought they would.  In spite of this, we are still very thankful to finally have a name and a face that we can see while we continue to complete the necessary steps to bring her home.

Today was spent with my brother who came in town for a few days, and some friends.  We spent several hours cooking, fellowshipping, and of course, eating.  It was my responsibility to bring desserts and rolls for our get together today: I made the desserts yesterday and Harris Teeter and Walmart made the rolls.  :-)  It has become a tradition in our family to allow each person to choose a pie or dessert that he/she would like.  We ended up with fudge, pumpkin, chocolate, sweet potato, blueberry, and Boston Cream (which is more like  a cake) pies, as well as a cheesecake with strawberry glaze to go on the top.  We still have quite a bit of dessert left, even after sharing it around with the others with whom we had Thanksgiving dinner.  I think I will be having pumpkin pie for breakfast tomorrow.  Mmmm! Before you judge me too harshly, it has to be bettter for me than some of the other things that are sometimes eaten for breakfast - donuts, sugared cereals, Poptarts, and coffee cakes, right?!

Pumpkin Pie with Whipped Cream...Mmmm!

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

Home Study Update

It has been a little over a month since we saw our daughter for the first time.  In that time we have been collecting everything we need for our home study update.  A home study update is exactly what it sounds like: anything that has changed since our home study was originally written is updated with the new information.  This could include anything from changing jobs or moving, to something simpler such as updating that we have all become another year older.  :D Other things that are updated include all child abuse clearances, criminal clearances, and general medical health for all members of the family.  Since our original home study, our state has also begun requiring FBI clearances.  We were fingerprinted on Monday at the local police department, and we mailed the fingerprints and the official form that is required to the company that will process it to the FBI.  (We are using a third party company to process our request to the FBI: it is much faster than going directly through them.  A third party can get results for us in about two weeks, but it can take up to four months to get results directly from the FBI.)

We also needed to have a face to face visit with our social worker, which we had today.  It lasted about twenty minutes,  and it was done. Our social worker will rewrite and update our information for us to send in with our immigration paperwork.  We have done this before...just about exactly a year ago.  We received our first immigration approval a few days before Thanksgiving, 2013.  We hope to have our second approval before Thanksgiving this year.  Once our FBI clearances show up (they should be here late next week), we can get our information out to USCIS for approval to adopt from Poland (instead of Hungary like our original paper states).

One round down, a few more to go!  See this post under "When Will We Travel" for more information about what still needs to happen for us to be ready to travel.

This is how we have felt for the last month.  :-)

Orphan Advocate - Lifesong

"Orphan Sunday isn't about charity; it's about the mission of Christ. I pray that every Gospel-transformed congregation will observe Orphan Sunday, calling all Christians to our mandate to image Christ by caring for his little brothers and sisters, the fatherless of the world." -- Dr. Russell Moore, author Adopted for Life

On November 2nd, Christians around the globe will stand together with one goal: to rouse believers with God's call to care for the orphan and what our role is in response.

Does your family, small group or church have plans for Orphan Sunday? There are so many ways that we can honor orphans collectively as the Body of Christ on Orphan Sunday. If you don't have plans or haven't heard of an event near you, here are 4 ways you can engage in this year's Orphan Sunday:

1. Advent for Orphans Calendar -- see explanation below.
2. Orphan's Table -- share a meal eaten by orphans around the world. Gather with family, small group or church for the meal, discussion and prayer.
3. Plan an Orphan Sunday event with a Partnership Package -- easy-to-follow Orphan Sunday event plan, enabling you to partner with an organization to create a simple event!
4. Contact your Regional Orphan Sunday Coordinator with questions, to seek ideas as you plan, or to let them know that you will be holding an event.

Be sure to also check out their other resources which include videos, prayer guides, sermon notes, t-shirts & more! Together, let's stand for the orphan!

To learn more about Orphan Sunday or find an event near you visit OrphanSunday.org.

Get your FREE Advent Calendar & celebrate with purpose! 

See how your family, small group or church can celebrate the anticipate the birth of our Savior in a special way that also shows love to orphans.

Limited supply of Advent for Orphans calendars available! Learn more & order your calendar today at www.lifesongfororphans.org/advent.

(Unofficial) Match!!

Yes! We have an unofficial match for a two year old little girl.  :D  The twist we did not anticipate...she is from Poland, not Hungary.  We are very excited about this and look forward to traveling to Poland to make her a part of our family early next year.  Here are the answers to some common questions we have heard. :)

Poland?!  Why did you not get a referral from Hungary?

Our agency works in four different countries in Eastern Europe.  We got a call from from them a little more than a week ago, September 26th, and with it came the question, "Would you consider switching to the Poland program? We have someone we would like you to consider for your family."  My initial reaction was that people are going to think we. are. crazy. (We really are not. :D ), but that weekend we decided that this is the direction we should go, and on Monday (9/29), we started the ball rolling to bring her home.  There was no pressure from our agency to switch, and had we desired to do so, we could have stayed in the Hungary program.

When will you travel?

Though we are not changing agencies, we are changing to a different program within our agency.  This means paperwork updates to reflect Poland (instead of Hungary) in our home study and immigration paperwork. Then our dossier will be sent to Poland for translation, and we will get an official referral.  One more round of paperwork needs to be sent in to U.S. immigration, and this one is child specific, meaning that we are getting permission to bring our daughter home.  At this point, it will be up to the local judge in Poland to give us a court date, so it will be approximately four to five months before we can travel.  

How can we pray?

1)  You can pray for the preparation and transition time for our family and the daughter we have yet to meet.  Though we are not new parents, we are new to parenting this child.  Please pray for our other  children who are excited about their new sister: pray that all four children will bond together quickly as a family.  We hope to complete this part of the process soon, but it is the beginning, not the end of this journey.

2)  Please pray for as little delay as possible with all the paperwork.  We are working on getting all of our paperwork updated (The home-study and immigration approval has an expiration date.  Even if we had stayed in the Hungary program, we would have to have these updates done early in the new year.) and would like to get it overseas as soon as possible.


Feel free to ask any questions that we have not answered, but please be aware that there is some information that, for privacy reasons, we will politely decline to answer.

Watching videos of their soon-to-be-sister for the first time!  Do you think they are excited?

A Little Piece of News

Just a brief update...

We did get news on August 20th that we are now first in line for our catagory.  This means that the next girl that becomes available who fits the criteria (based on Hungary's requirements and our home study) needed for our family, will become a potential referral for us.  Our social worker feels that we will probably hear something by the end of the year.  We know that this is not a guarantee, but it has been nice to have this information. :-)

For those who are not familiar with Hungarian history (and we are still learning), I think it is neat that we got this news on a Hungarian holiday.  See here for more information about St. Stephen's Day - from what I have read, it is like our 4th of July for the Hungarian people.

Still Here

I have not kept up with the blog this summer as was my intention, but we are still here. :) Let me start by saying that there is nothing new to share right now with the adoption.  We are still waiting for a referral but know that in His time, it will come.

A brief "catch you up"....

Hurricane Arthur blew through our area on July 3rd (with very little damage, mostly lots of rain and wind), and we were so glad it was gone by the 4th.  We spent a good portion of Independence Day at home before heading to the home of friends for dinner.  We did go see some local fireworks - this is the first year that we actually went to the park where they are shot off.  We normally watch them from our backyard (a pretty good view), but the kiddos wanted to see them up closer this year, so off we went. We did enjoy the time there but were definitely ready for bed that night.

On July 15th, we began our school year again.  We did start earlier than we normally do but plan to take several days off later this month when we would usually be in school.  The ability to take time off when it works the best for our family is definitely a homeschool perk! :D We will be out of town next week and have family scheduled to come for several days at various times throughout the latter part of August.  Having already been in school for almost a month, we are ready for some time out and look forward to time spent with family.

                                     

                                           Flag being blown around during the wind and rain of Hurricane Arthur 

We have seen a lot of rain like this in the last few weeks.  June was mostly sunny, but July made up for it with days in a row of wet weather.  We have finally seen the sun for a while today - the first time in the last five days.  Here are a few recent photos.

Happy Birthday America!

Fireworks

Orphan Advocate - Lifesong

Several months ago, I signed up to be a  Lifesong Blogger.  This means that once a month, I receive an email with an adoption related post (HTML format) that I can post on the blog to share ideas, resources, and information regarding orphans around the world with you.  It is left up to me to decide if I want to share the post they send me or not and until now, I have not done anything with the posts I have received. From time to time, I will share one of these with you though probably not every month - we'll see. :D  Anyway, I will title and tag each of these posts "Orphan Advocate".  Each time you see that title, you will know that the information given is not an update about our adoption but is information about how you can pray for or be involved in orphan care around the world.  Following is this month's orphan advocate post.

Adoption is a journey. 

Like any journey, it's appropriate to think ahead, to plan and to prepare for what is come. Along the way we'll realize that it isn't all what we may have thought or expected. There are unplanned events and struggles, along with unexpected joys and surprises.

Join us as we walk down a few different paths of the adoption journey and discuss some key resources as you look ahead in preparation of bringing a child into your forever family.

Many of you may have already walked this journey. Some of seen friends or close family struggle through the path. Maybe you are just starting to "pack your bag" for your first adoption. No matter the traveler or the progress, here are a few helpful tidbits for anyone who is considering adoption (for the first, second or third time!).

3 Ways to Prepare for the Journey...

1. Pray. Fast. Read. Most importantly, seek God's direction and plan for your family. Spend significant time praying, fasting and reading His Word together for guidance, wisdom and peace. God does not call everyone to adopt, but He may be calling your family to be involved in caring for the orphan in some way. Sit and listen to the Father, He will prepare your feet for the path He has for you (Psalm 18:33).
2. Educate Yourself (With Trusted Materials). With some of the best Christian material on adoption, Empowered to Connect provides books, videos, trainings and other resources to help foster and adoptive families parent children from hard places. Prepare and receive realistic expectations ahead of time by reading books like The Connected Child or attending an Empowered to Connect Conference.  See resources & upcoming Empowered to Connect Conferences >>
3. Take a Pre-Adoption Assessment. Striving to make the adoption process less complicated and overwhelming, our friends at Loving Shepherd Ministries have helped guide over 6,000 couples in their early stages of adoption. Through their Adoption Assessment Form, their staff gives your family adoption options you are eligible to pursue, along with lists of agencies, home study providers in your area and more! Best yet, they offer this as a free service to prospective adoptive families. Learn more & fill out their Adoption Assessment Form today >>

There is wisdom in preparation, but don't forget to keep in mind that we have a Father who knows the beginning and the end. An Almighty God who is writing and arranging your family's story behind the scenes. When things don't make sense, wait on Him. His way is always best!