Last Minute Stress !

On the outside I appear pretty calm however, I am fooling everyone because things have been so stressful and I am a complete stress case! We have had to redo several documents due to our Home Study making a mistake and our Agency did not catch it until they were imformed from Russia. I have been running around redoing , notorizing and getting these documents authenticated again!The timing is so close that we will not recieve these docs until the day we leave!! Just plain stress!
In addition to the document stress we recieved a worrisome e mail regarding our little one.All this stress has obviously lowered my immune system and I am trying to kick a kidney infection. I feel like I am in a constant battle.
We are actually going and I am just trying to be strong and have faith. We will be leaving sunny seventy degree weather here in California in a few short days and heading to a cold russian winter ! ! It gives me chills just thinking about it since I pretty much wear sandles all year long ! Little one here we come!

Getting Ready !

In less then two weeks we will be in Russia!! Tickets have all been purchased and now we are just waiting on our Visa! I will be honest and say even though I am really exited I am nervous too.I know everyone always says this but, leaving the kids WILL be hard. I guess you always worry when your a mom. I have already made several lists even though the kids all know this stuff! Having a SN son makes things a bit more stressful for me too. Sometimes I just have to take a deep breath and have faith that all will be fine. We will be gone nine days because we are staying in Korea a couple days too. Lots of deep thoughts and feelings lately about what is to come.I keep praying that we will be in tune and know Gods will for us regarding this precious baby girl.

Travel Dates Trip One/ Paperwork Queen

So, our first travel dates were actually set for this week. They however needed to be changed until after the Holidays.Fortunately we had not gotten our tickets so we were fine with it. Actually I felt really relieved because we would not have returned until Christmas Day and I really did not want to be away from the kids during Christmas.Our travel dates are now that we need to be in Vladivostok from Jan 17th to the 22nd.This gives me more time to prepare ourselves and the kids for when we are gone.Leaving a household with 5 kids that go to five different schools, homework,activities plus running the household is a very tall order for others to tackle . On a positive note I have been able to get a great start on the Court Dossier.I think we can get most of it done before we travel exept the medicals.They are only good for three months and I do not want to do them over AGAIN! We just finished our home study update AGAIN plus we needed to update a few docs.

A Beautiful Baby Girl !

Three weeks ago we recieved a referral of a sweet baby girl in Vladivostok, Russia! It was not until last week that we FINALLY recieved her medicals though. We have ACCEPTED the opportunity to go meet this VERY TINY little one. This tiny petite little one is 12 months old. She was born premature and will have some catching up to do.
Our Travel dates are looking to be very soon!! I will know dates for sure in a few days. Looks like we are playing the adoption game of rushing then waiting then rushing again!
We are VERY exited but, go into this again with a guarded heart. We pray for wisdom,and divine guidance as we meet this adorable baby girl.

WAIT

Author Unknown
Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried:
Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied.
I plead and I wept for a clue to my fate,
And the Master so gently said, "Child, you must wait."
"Wait? You say, wait!" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is Your hand shortened? Or have You not heard?
By faith, I have asked, and am claiming Your Word.
My future and all to which I can relate hangs in the balance,
and You tell me to wait?
I'm needing a "Yes", a go-ahead sign,
or even a "No" to which I can resign.
And Lord, You promised that if we believe
we need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry:
"I'm weary of asking! I need a reply!
Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate
as my Master replied once again "You must wait."
So, I slumped in my chair,
defeated and taut and grumbled to God,
"So, I'm waiting...for what?"
He seemed, then, to kneel and His eyes wept with mine,
and He tenderly said "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens, and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead, and cause mountains to run.
All you seek, I could vie, and please you would be.
You would have what you want - but, you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint;
You'd not know the power I give to the faint.
You'd not learn to see through the clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there;
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me;
When the darkness and silence were all you could see.
You'd never experience the fullness of love
as the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove;
You'd know that I five and I Save, for a start,
but you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.
The flow of my comfort late into the night,
the faith that I give when you walk without sight,
the depth that's beyond getting just what you asked
of an infinite God, who makes what you have last.
You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
what it means that "My grace is sufficient for thee."
Yes, your dreams for your loved one overnight would come true,
But, Oh, the Loss! If I lost what I'm doing in you!
So, be silent, My child, and in time you will see
that the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.
And though oft' may My answers seem terribly late
My most precious answer of all is still,


"Wait."

Update

Seriously, I do not know how to begin other than to say thank you to all who have prayed,fasted and helped us in so many ways ! Being one that likes to be independent and have it all together it has been a bit difficult task to do.Having SO many kind acts of service and prayers have truly lifted our burdens.

The good news is that our son is home now and we are grateful for the progress that has been made. After driving an hour and a half each way every day to the hospital (Thanks to L.A. traffic) we are glad he is home ! Although we continue to monitor a very delicate situation we are grateful for the progress we have made.

I have been asked if we are going to still continue with our adoption plans? The answer is absolutely YES! When we are called to do something we do it! Gods timing may not always be when we might think though. Without elaborating too much I will say that everything that has happened in this roller coaster adoption journey is beginning to make more sense. My new motto is to simply relax and enjoy the journey. ( even though it is harder than one might think! ) When it is time we WILL watch the miracle of it all come together.

We are now reaching near the top of the waiting list for a girl under 2 from Russia. When that will be is hard to say exactly but, I am sure it will be the perfect timing. In the meanwhile, we are trying to regain a sense of normal back in our home. Although not completely there it WILL happen too. Perfect timing I know.

Battling the Storms !

The last month has proven to me once again how much we depend on the lord to help us.Even though I know that weathering the storms of life gives us experience and fine tunes us to be more like God it certainly is not easy !! We have been battling a frightening, stressful, and emotionally draining health issue with one of our children .We are so praying the next few weeks will be the beginning to bring the proper treatment needed.It is so hard to see your child suffer and not be able to fix it in addition realizing this will need to be very carefully treated and managed for the rest of their life.
Any extra prayers are greatly appreciated !