Dear Friends,

I've been putting off blogging in the hope that my next entry would be sharing the excellent news that we were traveling to Russia to meet our children. We were expecting that to happen in March, after our paperwork was accepted by the adoption committee. Without going into too many details, I must share with you that this trip will not happen. Although the government of Russia is willing to move forward, as we have been for over two years now, there are others who have the power to halt the process by not providing the necessary documents for the adoption. Unfortunately, because of their own negative opinions about Russian children being adopted by American families (whether for economic, political or personal reasons, we'll never know), they have chosen to make it impossible for D & K to be adopted. Our hearts are broken, but we know that God has a plan for us and for them, and we will trust His will. We know that we are called to adopt, and we will. For now, we are trying to grieve this loss and figure out where we are supposed to go from here.

I've started a part-time job as Music Administrator at our church. I'm responsible for scheduling the praise team and planning all the music for worship, among other things. I am so blessed to be able to work with people who are so special to me, and it doesn't feel like work so much as fun.

Life is great for us, overall. Please keep us in your prayers as we try to decide when, where and how we will adopt and add to our family.