Hope for Haiti and My Potter

If you were to ask one of my girls (and I won't tell you which one) tonight if I am the most terrible mother in the world, she might tell you "yes". No, I don't think she'd really do that but she sure was mad at me earlier.

With that being said, I want you all to realize how easy it is to save a few dollars and send some help to Haiti. The girls and I were planning on leaving the guys at home tonight and going to a Christian concert in a town near us. $10 at the door and big names like Third Day, Tenth Avenue North, News Boys- groups we love. Okay, so we'd be spending $10x4 people= $40, right? We didn't go. I just couldn't. $40!! Do you realize what $40 would do in Haiti? It could quite possibly pay for some medical treatment that would save someones life. It could pay for enough food and water for who knows how many people. And that's not even counting the money we would have probably spent on other "stuff". What could you do without this week? We are praying about several ideas we have- I hope to share soon.

If you couldn't tell, my mind is wrapped around Haiti these days. The desperation I see. The stories I hear. Where can we, as Christ's people, start?

Yep, there she is...our potter.

Our oldest came to me a few days ago with a plan. She wanted to raffle off ALL of her remaining finished pottery pieces and send all proceeds to Haiti. If you were to see my house, you would know that "ALL" off her remaining pottery is alot! She returns to the studio again in a little over a week, but for now she has so many finished pieces she wants to share.

And she has been working her tooshie off making flower brooches. B-U-tiful flower brooches! Just take a peek. She also wants to sell as many of these as she can to help those affected by the quake.

When our daughter came to me, I had just read about "Hope for Haiti". Many big names in the blog world are participating as is my friend, Heather, from Distressed Designs. So, our daughter prays she will be able donate on large piece to the "Hope for Haiti" raffle. All other pieces will be posted over the next few days in her Etsy store- Shaping Lives Pottery. Proceeds from sales through the Etsy shop will go to Food for the Poor and Children of the Promise.

I will keep you posted about if she is able to partner with Hope for Haiti. Stay tuned....

In Him,

E

7.0

7.0.....Haiti....need I say more.


My heart has always been drawn to Haiti. At one point a couple of years ago, I felt like one day we'd be there for some reason. Actually, I still do. I am beyond words at the images I've seen over the past few hours- the aftermath of this horrific earthquake.


Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Before the quake, life was tough. Not tough like the way we think tough.....but TOUGH.


I sit praying tonight about what we might do. I pray God will use me.


Please, visit here (COTP) to get updates from a creche I hold close to my heart. Many nights I prayed that God would use me there. COTP was not physically effected but will absolutely be affected in the coming days.





Now off to ask God why them? May be selling it all and moving!!:) Pray, pray, pray.

The Presidential Palace in Haiti- before and after

In Him,
E

He's growing too fast

Sweet baby boy of mine. He'll be 5 months next Sunday- 5 MONTHS!! It feels just like yesterday I wrote this post announcing to all of you the miracle God had chosen us to receive. We are so unworthy!!

This weekend our angel reached 2 milestones-

This photo was taken right after milestone #1

1. He rolled over! He had rolled a couple of times on my bed (with me sitting there:), but those times were complete flukes. Just flops from his back to his tummy. This time he tried so hard for several minutes and when it finally happened, it was on purpose. Oh, I can't wait to tell Tracie (his therapist)!!

And milestone #2- don't get onto me for the blankets around his head. Those are actually "blankies" that he LOVES!! They are his security and I assure you, I can put them 18 inches from him and he'll find them. He puts them beside his head each night. Really- notice his hands on top of them? Don't dare move them!

2. He officially moved from his bassinet to a crib. A sad, sad day for this Mommy. "Give me a break!", right?! I laid in bed that night with my ear stuck to the monitor listening to his every breath....making sure he was okay.

This got me thinking. He's not mine. He never has been. Oh no, I don't mean because of the adoption! In that regard, I'll fight to the death for him! I mean, he belongs to our Heavenly Father. We have merely been entrusted with this amazing gift. I can sit by that monitor for days on end and the plans God has for our sweet boy will never change. And from the view I have right now, mighty, MIGHTY are the plans.

As I realized this (for the thousandth time!), I drifted off to sleep knowing that all was well. GOD SO ROCKS!! He has given me the honor of seeing this boy touch lives at a mere (almost) 5 months old. Thank you, Lord!

In Him,

E

The "V" Word

I want to hear your thoughts about the "v" word....dare I say it? Vaccinations!! I have been doing alot of research on my own and it's time to make some decisions. Angel boy has a dr appointment on Tuesday and he must have at least one vaccination because his adoption hasn't been finalized. We have to show that we are at least vaccinating him until finalization happens- prayerfully in the next couple months or so!! Not something we are happy about but there is no way around it at this point.

Our girls were vaccinated as the doctor suggested, and I didn't think twice about it back then. Now is a different story- I'm smarter now, right?!! We have found a doctor that agrees with whatever we decide- praise the Lord! That in itself is a challenge many times.

Your thoughts- I'd love to hear them! Either leave me a comment or send me an email nogreatergiftmom@yahoo.com. Knowledge is power and all of you are so smart!:)
In Him,
E

"Can you imagine?"

Loving her (adopted) baby brother

Today my middle daughter (the one who is the MOST lively, crazy person I know and who also wears her heart for the world to see) looked at me and said, "Mom, can you imagine being an orphan? I mean, not having anyone to love or love you back? Can you imagine even being a teenager and on your own without anyone?" My response (through tears) was, "No, honey, I cannot." I could see her wheels turning.


Many times she has told me that she wants to be an actress when she grows up. If you knew this girl, you would know that she'd be the next star- no doubt. A year ago or so she began telling me that she wanted to make a difference and that she thought maybe God was calling her to do something with orphans. Ask her today and she'd probably say that she will act for the orphans or something nutty like that. I don't know what God has planned for her, but I KNOW He will use her in mighty ways. She has the heart. The passion. And the ability to grab people just with her smile.


I am moved once again tonight to STAND UP for the orphan....every 147 MILLION of them!! I have my spunk back. God, thank you for sending me this angel to remind me. All along it's been right in front of me....thank you for the reminder.



"Mom, can you imagine......?"



In Him,
E


PS- You should see sweet, baby boy light up when she walks into a room. They have this amazing connection. All she has to do is look his way and he cracks up! Seriously, she has that affect on people. God has BIG plans for our girl!

CANCER FREE!!!

Many of you have joined me in praying for my dear sister-in-law, Markana, over the past 16 months. TEARS, TEARS, TEARS today as I read her Caring Bridge post. Click on her link in my right sidebar and be prepared to be touched (have your kleenex ready!).

WE LOVE YOU, MARKANA!!!

In Him,

E

Just a few pictures

I have been a terrible blogger lately. I know it and I'm sorry. I will try to do better.

I continue to be amazed at the out pour of love from so many. Thank you again and again for your encouraging words and prayers. Our family is doing well, and we can't wait to see what God has in store for us this year. We feel Him stirring our hearts.

Since I am lazy (there, I said it) and don't feel like typing a whole lot tonight, I am just going to post some recent pictures of our crew. I have so many thoughts swimming around in my head. I write blog posts in my brain all day long- doing laundry, feeding baby, driving to town- but when it's time to sit down and type, I draw a blank. So, pictures are all you get tonight.

I was trying to get a picture closeup enough so you could see his beautiful brushfield spots

but it didn't turn out like I hoped- he was just too wiggly! They look like star bursts!

And some quite unexpected white stuff last week. We were blessed with at least an inch.

It was suppose to just be rain. Yippee!!

Why does she always save some? We cleaned out the freezer a while back and found

bag after bag after bag of snow. I guess that's what we get living in the south. My poor

children are deprived.:(

Some sister love.

She is SO GOOFY!!

And my quiet one...




He is such a sweet, sweet happy boy! Oh, I just can't get enough of him!

In Him,

E

What's in my head....

Lots of things have been rolling around in my head lately. Thinking about our year and all the mountains, valleys.....a true roller coaster. I am questioning many decisions we have made. Have we done the right thing? Has God been glorified?

My heart is healing and I truly feel good. Is that wrong? How can I just move on with my life when we have had such an emotional year? How can I just move on when we had to walk away from a little girl who so desperately needed a Mommy and Daddy? Just typing those words make me feel sick. I look back at our pictures of Ukraine and Ruslana and wondered if it all really happened? Were we really there? Did we really meet her?

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.1 Corinthians 16:13

But after all is said and done, I feel peace. A true peace from God. You see, our plan was to complete mountains (and mountains and mountains:) of paperwork, fight the system and travel to Ukraine for our daughter. Our plan was to have her home for her 5th birthday in January. Our plan was not HIS. Were we being used the entire time to keep her from being institutionalized? Were we the promise that her orphanage director needed in order to keep her in the baby house? Were we the ones that were suppose to travel to meet this angel so we could tell others? Did God hold our hands as we walked into her orphanage for the last time knowing that her real Mommy and Daddy were half a world away? Did He know that all along? I feel like this must be it.

My Mom asked me recently if we would ever go back to Ukraine? My answer today- NO WAY!! I am terribly frightened of that place. Physically frightened. And I don't think that anyone else besides my hubby and myself will ever truly understand what happened there- the fear and uneasiness we felt. We had a bad experience- one that many families don't have. But that doesn't make our experience any more pleasant.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. 1 Timothy 1:12

And I'll be honest here (and MANY of you will have a problem with what I'm about to say- sorry if I step on your toes)- I feel like I was part of something terrible. Something dark and hidden by many in the adoption industry. Corruption. Bribery. And paying people off to look the other way or to help make things happen faster. I know this happened in our adoption, but not until after the fact and that makes me sick. Sick to know that we had a part in it all.

But regardless of what happened to us and the circumstances surrounding our time before and in Ukraine, THESE ORPHANS NEED US!!! Please, pray about how God wants to use you. Pray about what happened to us. Realize what could happen but know that it quite possibly may not. Follow God's heart.

Prayerfully, we will adopt another special angel...in God's time.



In Him,
E

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Silent night, holy night.

Son of God, loves pure light.

Radiant beams from Thy Holy face.

With the dawn of redeeming grace.

Jesus, Lord at Thy Birth.

Jesus, Lord at Thy Birth.

Christmas Eve 2009 (thanks Mom)

I pray blessings to each of you this Holy Day! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

In Him,

E

We Lost a Warrior Today- URGENT PRAYER!

The Earth lost a warrior today. Derek Loux, 37, passed away earlier this morning. I knew Derek and Renee through Reece's Rainbow. Almost one year ago they were in Ukraine adopting 3 little boys (2 with Down syndrome). They have 11 children (one in heaven)- 8 adopted. Derek was both passionate about Christ and adoption. A warrior in the true sense of the word.

Although Derek received the most amazing Christmas present just a few hours ago, Renee, their children and entire family are left here to mourn. Please lift this family up over and over and over. As broken as I am to here this news, Derek rejoices today!!!

Visit Renee and Derek's blog here.

To GOD be the GLORY!!!

E

*Derek was a musician and worship leader at International House of Prayer. Listen to him singing one of his songs here. Just click on "listen now" (you don't have to download). Perfect song for today.

How can it be?

How can it be that beneath the surface of all our Christmas shopping and buying lies an aching that none of our purchases can heal?

How is it, God, that your coming scatters our priorities, empties us of all that is not important, and hallows a place in us that only you can fill?

How can it be that the Almighty God would bend into the folds of mortal flesh just to be near us and fill us with abundant life?

May Your light ever grow in us, swelling our life with your Spirit so we might bear Your love to the world. Let it be so now, in us we pray.

Amen

*From our church service Sunday morning.

In Him,

E

Simply Christmas Decor

It's WAY simple for us this year....and I think I like it. I'm quite happy without all the stuff everywhere. Not to mention having to get it out only to put it all away a few weeks later. Feeling the urge to purge the house again. I think I do this about every 6 weeks or so. Anyone want to buy some Christmas decor?

Greens- clipped from bushes outside and our Christmas tree. I love the warmth clipped greens give a room and how much easier could it be?

One of the many ornaments my Mom has blessed my kids with. This angel belongs to our oldest. Mom gets her an angel ornament every year. I believe this one is from Ten Thousand Villages. Every year we joke that we will have to get each of them their own tree because of the collections they now have....but we aren't kidding. We (both us and my Mom) have given the kids ornaments every year so that the first tree they have on their own won't be naked.



A favorite cross-stitch that my Grandma worked for me. It's even stitched with the year 1981

and her initials.

Another gift from my Grandma- this chair sits by our front door.

And one of our favorite things to do together during this all too busy time of year.

Yes, I cheated and bought the pre-assembled house and mix with water icing. I just couldn't bring myself to bake gingerbread for hours on end this year. After talking to baby boy's therapist today and hearing about her amazing gingerbread houses, I may just have to bake my own next year. But for now, I am thankful my kids don't know the difference and think I'm way cooler than Martha Stewart anyway.:)

Praying each of you a blessed and simple Christmas season!
In Him,

E

My Sister ROCKS!!!

First, we are alive and settling back in to life as "normal"- whatever that may be.:) We have officially been back home a week now and my body still isn't sure when it's suppose to sleep and for how long. Sigh. I am thrilled to be home for this Christmas season and having lots of fun creating with my girls. But the real reason for this post...

J and her youngest at the Christmas tree farm

MY SISTER ROCKS!!

When we committed to Ruslana she gladly agreed to the challenge- taking care of our then 3 kids. Then August came and baby boy joined us, so she agreed to 4 kids. This is in addition to her 2 boys. Overnight she went from having 2 kids to 6!!! AND SHE DID AN AWESOME JOB!! Not only did she take care of all the daily not-so-fun duties, but she even took the kids to the Christmas tree farm to pick a tree, decorate that tree, did crafts and crafts and crafts, baked and decorated cookies, took several kiddos to her Meals on Wheels Christmas party, shuttled kids from here to there, took our oldest to the ER when she had an allergic reaction to an antibiotic (very scary, I'm sure!), changed countless dirty diapers, made sushi, and on and on!

I wish I could tell her how much I appreciate her loving my kiddos while we were away, but I truly don't think I have the words. She made my girls feel special during a time of such uncertainty.

One of our "welcome home" greetings- precious!

I'm sure she's now enjoying some calmer days at her own quiet home in her soft, warm bed.....well, maybe not!

We are so blessed!!

In Him,

E

Thank you

I just wanted to stop by and say "thank you" to each of you who have been so supportive, sent us sweet notes and continue to pray for our family and Ruslana.

After a long 47 HOUR travel from Ukraine to our front door, we arrived home at 4am Wednesday morning. I don't think I've ever been so tired but to finally be home and greeted by my mom and kids....I don't have words for what I felt. Peace. Peace is what I felt. Is that wrong? I don't believe so because within hours of being home, we found out that R had a committed family.

There are many theories as to why we have been through what we have over the past year.

1. Would we have angel boy if it hadn't been for Ruslana? Ruslana captured our hearts and was the "one" who God used to get us involved in not only adoption but Down Syndrome adoption. Did God use R to ultimately lead us to angel boy? Would we be blessed to be able to call him our son without her?

2. Where would Ruslana be today had we not committed to her in May? Some say that God used us to help keep her in the baby house until her forever family could commit and travel to get her. She should have been transferred this past spring but because she had a committed family, the director allowed her to stay. The same director is also allowing her to stay until her forever family can travel in the spring.

3. We have seen first hand what God can do through a child with Downs. We have met several families who have committed or already brought their adopted children home because of Ruslana and her sweet face.

So you see, regardless of our hurt, God did and continues to use us. For now, I am tired and kinda hope that He'll give me a rest. Physically and emotionally I'm exhausted. We have been overwhelmed by support but there are always those few who feel as if they just must throw in their 2 cents.....their not so supportive 2 cents. And although I know that we have hundreds of prayers being said for our family daily, it's those 3 or 4 negative people who somehow seem to stick in my mind. Why is that?! Hubby said something very wise the other day. He said that to judge is human, but as soon as you choose to cast the stone (of judgement) the Devil has won. At that moment you have chosen to glorify Satan instead of the Lord. And some of those stones have been hitting us in the face. Not by anyone near and dear to us but by total strangers and some who have just heard about us. Six months ago I would have never guessed that I'd be sitting here typing these words, but God knew. And so, we will continue to press on and face the stones.

My prayer is that our story will even affect those who are judging us at this moment. Going to Ukraine was not something we did just because we thought it would be fun. We took that trip on total faith leaving all we loved behind. We were faced with many obstacles and still came home with empty arms.

In Him,
E

**And just for the record (because I know many people are talking), the man we met on the street was not drunk. He had had a drink or 2 but he was in NO way drunk- no staggering, no slurred words and he knew exactly what he was doing and saying. I realize crazy people are everywhere, but the hate we saw in his eyes I pray I'll never experience again.

Empty Arms

Good afternoon (morning in the States)! We're coming home. We just sat down with Sasha to let her know. I feel as if a part of me has died. I now understand how Patti (baby boy's birthmom) must have felt. A piece of my heart will remain in Ukraine, but for now we are coming home with empty arms.

I cannot even begin to explain where we are in this journey. Why in the world did God put us in this place and what are His plans for us? This is not a decision that we have made lightly. We have been in deep prayer about Ruslana and her needs and we truly feel like God has answered. We cannot provide the level of care she needs without our other children suffering. In order for her to heal and progress, she needs constant care and that just isn't something we can provide without putting our other children's needs aside. She is extremely low functioning and disconnected.

We want nothing more than to scoop her up and run but we know that we have to practice discernment and distinguish God's plan from our own. We've had to put emotions aside and pray that He would reveal to us what we need to do. The Bible tells us that "he who does not care for his family is worse than being an unbeliever". Right now we have to consider how this is going to affect our family as a whole. She really needs more than we can give her in order to get better, and we can't go through with her adoption just because we feel like we have to or are afraid to let people down.

We feel as if we have failed her and the other children who are being left behind, but we must focus on our family right now and try to heal. Please understand that this decision was not one that was made in haste or lightly- we feel as if we have lost a daughter.

I don't know why God sent us here but I pray He'll use this journey in a mighty way. Why did God ask Abraham to sacrifice Isaac? Is He testing us in the same manner? Is it just to see if we will follow Him persistently in preparation for what He has next?

Our dreams for this angel have been torn to pieces and our hearts are shattered. Please, understand that we and our girls need this time to try to heal.
In Him,
E

The Streets of Sevastopol

I realize it is Saturday but here is a recount of what happened to us Thursday around 5:00pm on a sidewalk in Sevastopol, Ukraine. I wrote this the night of the attack.


We left our apartment with our facilitator to find coffee for her. It was busy on the streets. There were 40-50 people (including Navy officers) on the sidewalks outside our apartment. A man heard Sasha, our facilitator, speaking English to us. I can tell more details in person but basically he hit hubby in the back, hit his face and tried to push him to the ground. Sasha started screaming for my husband to just go...start walking away. The man was screaming, "I hate Americans! Go back to America!" Noone around us did anything...just looked the other way. Sasha immediately called the police but the man wouldn't leave us alone. He told us that he worked with the police and didn't care that she called them. He chased hubby trying to kick his legs out from under him. I was screaming at him to watch out! The man only spoke Russian (except his bit about America) and grabbed Sasha and told her she should thank God she was a woman. Otherwise, he would have done something to her. This went on for about a 1/2 mile or so until the man turned around and disappeared. We waited for the police...they never came. Noone on the street batted an eye. Noone tried to help. We were afraid to return to the apartment not knowing where he was. Did he see us come out of the apartment? Eventually, we returned.

We have been beyond scared. The facilitators tell us this never happens (it just did). Sasha's husband is come to be both our driver and escort. This man was crazy, but many people here don't like Americans. What next? The anger in his eyes...I'll never forget it. Truly, we were afraid for our lives.

There have been many, many tears tonight (from both hubby and I), but enough is enough. I cannot come home single. We have 4 amazing children at home we must think about. We are taking the night to pray. Tomorrow we may be on our way home. Please, don't make this harder than it already is. We feel like failures, but in the end this system fails it's children. This system fails it's people.

God brought us here for a reason and one day we will know what that is.


Thank you for your prayers without even knowing our situation. It has been a trying week in Ukraine to say the least and I'm afraid we are far from it being over. Please, continue to lift us up. We have visited R several times now, but I will update more about that later. I am physically and emotionally exhausted.
In Him,
E

Introducing....our girl

Oh boy, what a day! It was a day full of emotion-both amazing and not so. The "not so" will be shared at a much later date. The amazing .... well, see for yourself.

She is beautiful and ROUND! R is quite little but so heavy. It only took her a few minutes to warm up to us and from that point on loved hanging out. Her director and "teachers" seem to love her very much. They wanted to show her off for us, so they brought in the speech therapist (yes, there is a speech therapist at this orphanage) to perform a song with her. She was very cute and followed directions quite well. We have several videos that I'd love to share but it will take some time for us to learn how to do that.

I'll be honest here- we had no idea what to expect. We didn't know how high or low functioning R would be. Is she "behind"? Yes. She is not walking unassisted and seems very much still like a toddler- she'll be 5 in January. But, at the same time, she is more advanced than we thought she'd be. After us showing her once, she tried to color alone on the magna doodle we brought.

She tried over and over to unzip and zip the zipper on the book I brought (with buttons, zippers, pockets). R loved the book with animals and fur to feel and kept flipping back to the cover to feel the chick. With the love of a family we have no doubt that the sky is the limit.

Here she is doing the famous Down syndrome split. She can go from her stomach to a sitting position without ever moving her legs....it's amazing and freaked our facilitator out a bit.

See what I mean about round!:)

We are URGENTLY seeking prayers. I cannot share the details at this moment but understand that we need prayers now. There is a spiritual battle occuring all around us and we are in the very midst of it. Satan has shown his ugly face time and time again. We cannot let him win.

I will share more later. For now, it's off to eat, look for a new apartment and go see our girl.

In Him,

E

Our journey so far...

First, thank you for covering our family in your prayers. I know that many of you are curious to know exactly what has happened to make our trip so rough up til now.

I'll just list things in order by which they happened-
1. Washington DC airport- I know sometimes there are security searches and they pull people at random. We had passed all check points, scanned our boarding passes and were literally about to turn down the long tunnel (I'm sure there's a name for it) that leads to the airplane when I was "chosen" to be searched. Lucky me, huh?!?
2. The German airport- what is it about Germans that makes me so uncomfortable? I was already a bit uneasy about having to be there in the first place. There were 2 security checkpoints. Hubby got through both....I was not so lucky. That's right- I was stopped both times. The first time they used the wand to make sure I was safe, felt me up and down, took off my shoes, etc. The second time, they used the wand, PULLED MY PANTS OUT AT THE WAIST, etc, etc. I was fuming and nervous beyond belief by the time it was over.
3. We arrived in Ukraine only to be greeted by a drive who hardly spoke any English- I mean HARDLY spoke any English (he was not the driver we were suppose to have). He sped away from the airport and immediately upped his speed to 190km/hr (118 miles/hr)!!! I didn't know if we'd make it alive to our apartment or not. He sped around town making several mysterious stops only to drop us at the door of our apartment with a "Welcome to Ukraine!" and off he sped. Hubby swears he thinks he was making some sort of drug deal. Who knows?
4. We were without a phone, internet, money, food, tv...nothing for about 8 hours. Call me a spoiled American if you want, but talk about being afraid. The phone in our apartment didn't even work making it impossible to call anyone!
5. At the airport we were told that our facilitator would be over very soon. Tick tock, tick tock-Late that evening we finally saw her. I believe she felt bad about leaving us and brought us food- bread, butter, cheese and water. Plenty to get us through the night.
6. The next day we ventured out in search of some place to exchange money as well as find groceries. Exchanging money was easy. Then came the groceries. We were minding our own business trying not to stand out. I'm not sure what happened but we were followed around the store by a security guard radioing someone on his walkie-talkie the entire time. Again...very intimidated. We couldn't get out of the store fast enough. On the way back to the apartment a policeman thought to take it upon himself to stare us down until he could see us no more.
7. We were promised phone calls from facilitators that didn't happen. We were promised internet connection that didn't happen...for days and days.
8. We had an elf bed. Really- hubby says he felt like Will Ferrell trying to sleep in that thing. It's funny now but at 2am it wasn't so humerous.:)

There is much more to the story that I just don't feel good about sharing on these pages. We've had a rough time. We have been left in "the dark" about many things and lines of communication have not been upheld. It wasn't until yesterday that we had internet and were able to get in touch with our families. YESTERDAY- TUESDAY!! We left FRIDAY!!

I had an extremely rough night Monday night and literally looked at my husband and said, "What are we doing?! Can't we just go home?!" I know that's not possible and it was probably Satan showing his ugly face, but that's how down I was at that point. Thankfully, we met up with Ellen and Andy Stumbo (adopting Nina- Reece's Rainbow) and Frank Garcia (adopting Kelsey, Reece's Rainbow- his wife, Renee, is already home) Tuesday and had a wonderful time. We were able to walk around Kiev a bit and have lunch together. I had no idea how much we needed those few hours- just to be able to talk with others who spoke our language.

Last night we spoke with our angels back home over Skype and oh how this momma needed that! I am still missing them more than I thought possible, but we are pressing onward. My sister is awesome and took our 4 and her 2 to get a Christmas tree yesterday....all by herself. Rock on, J!! Thank you so much for making this season special for our kids while we're away! They turned the webcam around to the tree last night so that we could see it and it is beautiful.

Yesterday we were able to meet with SDA and receive Ruslana's referral. There were 3 photos of her in the file and since they only needed one, they let us have the 2 youngest- one was taken when she was around 6-9 months and the other when she was around 18 months. I am so glad to have these as we have missed so much of her life already.

I am writing this from the train. We are headed to R's region and are about half way into the 18 hour train ride!! Hubby just fell asleep beside me and our facilitator is on her bunk reading. We have a new facilitator- one that I don't believe anyone from RR has ever used. We will arrive in Sevastopol at 6 am, get cleaned up and head over to begin paperwork around 8:30. Prayerfully, before lunch we will meet our girl. I can't believe we're really almost there.

I am tired and need to get some rest but will try to update tomorrow after meeting Ruslana. Thank you so much for your words of encouragement!
In Him,
E

We're HERE!!

***This was written and saved on our computer Sunday. We just now have internet service and many, many things have happened. Truthfully, we've had a very rough time. I'll post more tomorrow (I hope) and fill you in a little. We are leaving for Ruslana's region around lunchtime tomorrow (Wednesday).

WE’RE HERE!! It’s Sunday here in Ukraine. We arrived yesterday to a very overcast, grey, cold day. I was searched a total of 3 times at 2 different airports. Hubby- not searched once! Let me tell you, it’s very nerve wracking being searched in a German airport. Twice. At 2 different security points. We’re thinking it may have been something in my boots. Just plain ‘ole black cowgirl-type boots. I ended up having to send them through the scanner alone and it seems they have some sort of metal piece in each of the soles. Who knew?! The 3rd search happened in Washington, DC. They were just pulling people aside randomly to search and guess who was chosen?!

When we arrived in Ukraine, a driver picked us up at the airport and drove 190km/hr down the highway. I was warned by several other adoptive moms about how fast and crazy people drive. They were right. I was sitting in the back seat sqeezing hubby’s hand for dear life. We finally made it to our apartment and crashed. We had been awake for around 24 hours and traveling for about 22. After a few hours of much needed rest, our facilitator stopped by to give us our cell phone and some food for the night.

We don’t have internet in our apartment yet so for now I will have to update somewhere that has WiFi. Hopefully, it will be up and running in the apartment soon.

I’m missing our kids terribly. I haven’t been able to talk to them yet, but will boot up Skype in just a few minutes. Leaving them Friday morning was hard. SO hard. I seem to cry at the drop of a hat anyway, but telling them good-bye for 2-3 weeks was crushing. I know they’ll be fine. They are being cared for by my mom and sister and will get much love while we’re gone. But it’s hard. We’re missing our middle’s 13th birthday. It’s Christmas time- our family’s favorite season. Our baby is only 3 ½ months old- I don’t want him to grow while I’m gone.

But, as sad as I am to be away from my children, I can’t believe we’re here. Prayerfully, just days away from meeting our angel, Ruslana. Oh, how we’ve waited for that day! And yet as eager as we are, she has no idea we even exist. We have prayed and prayed for her without her even knowing about us. No reason to be excited to see us. No reason to accept us and reach for us.

Today, I’m asking for prayers for our children at home, for our process here in Ukraine and especially for Ruslana.
In Him,
E