The Gift of Giving

We have been given an amazing opportunity to send gifts to D and K, which will be delivered by a missions group to their orphanages. Last night, we went to the mall and bought a watch for D and a purse and necklace for K. We cannot, for obvious reasons, tell them that we want to be their family or that we're trying to adopt them, but we can let them know that they are loved and hopefully encourage them. Our notes to them will go something like this:

"Dear D/K,

Every night when we go to bed in the USA and know that you are just waking up to start your day in Russia, we pray for you. We ask God to bless you and give you strength for the day ahead. We ask Him to protect you and let you feel His love. We hope that each time you see this watch/necklace, it will remind you of the many people who love you and pray for you and of Jesus, who is always with you. He has a beautiful plan for your life. You are so special.

Love....."

I am going to take pictures of the gifts before we send them, and someday soon I will show those photos to D and K to remind them that we loved them long before they knew who we were.

I am insanely busy with the craft show and the move both coming up next week. Please keep us in your prayers. We are excited but also very stressed. As of last night, the craft show nightmares have begun. Actually, that's progress. Last year, they started much earlier!

APPROVED!!!!!!!!!

Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow!!!!!! Another major hurdle behind us.

We received a phone call today from the home study case worker, who informed us that our home study will say that we are "approved for the adoption of a sibling group, ages 10-15." She will do the home safety inspection as soon as we move into the new house and will have the final home study in the mail to Buckner within a couple of days for them to decide about giving us the official referral for D and K.

We must not stop praying, though. Please continue to ask God to guide the Russian officials to complete Buckner's reaccreditation, so that we may go meet our children and bring them home. The expectation and hope is that the accreditation will be complete by mid to late November. Also, please pray for all those who will make decisions about our specific case, that they will be compassionate and speedy. Most of all, keep praying for D and K, that God will continue to guide and protect them and that He will reassure their hearts constantly that they are loved and wanted, even though they cannot know about us yet!

There is no adequate outlet for the joy we feel with each small victory on this journey. We jump, we scream, we dance, we cry, we laugh, we scream some more, and we hug until we are afraid of crushing our ribs, but we are still bubbling over and cannot express it well enough!

Thank you all for your prayers and support!!!

A Most Miraculous Week

For those who haven't heard, we reached the end of our patience with base housing. The completion of our home study was waiting solely on our getting into the new house, and the powers that be were not giving us any indication of how much longer we would be delayed. We went for a drive and came across this beautiful home for rent for only slightly more than what we are paying here! We move in a couple of weeks.

Even more wonderful for us was the package we received in the mail today from Buckner, which contained almost 2 hours of video of D and K from the summer of 2005, when they were here in the U.S. with the Angels from Abroad program!!!!! We are soaking it up, absorbing every expression, every word and every smile from these two children who have taken up residence in our hearts. If I can find a way to put some of this video on the blog later, I will try to share it with you!

HE'S HOME!!!

Two very happy fellas!

The whole gang at Red, Hot & Blue.

It was an amazing day! I can't wait to share more, but for now, these photos will prove that he really is home!!!

HE'S HOME!!!

Wow! The day was magical: the church van "finding" me as soon as I turned onto 301 and following me the last hour to the airport, the way our group reached out to and bonded with the others who were waiting, our group's determination to stay long after Karl came out to make sure that every returning military member was greeted with signs, waving flags and shouts of "welcome home" and "thank you," the smiles that we received in return, a fun lunch with our church friends

Preparations...

We hung the welcome home banner this afternoon! Tomorrow morning, we'll put out the flag, gather our posters, flags and camera and head to the airport! Karl is outprocessed, all checked in for his flight and just waiting for them to start boarding!!!

Less than a Day!

This time tomorrow, I will have my husband home again!!! I cannot express the excitement, nor can I explain how much I am blessed by our church family! At last count, I believe there are at least 10 people from our church who are riding the church van to welcome Karl home. It is an almost 2-hour trip one-way. They are making signs and bringing flags, and we are all going to share lunch on the way home. I could never have imagined such an outpouring of love, and I am so thankful and eager to share this wonderful occasion with them!

On another note, please read today's blog on http://www.bucknerprez.typepad.com/ . Our dear friend, Dr. Hall, is in Russia this week. Please take special note of his call to prayer regarding accreditation. It is so close, and it would be incredible, not only for us but for many other waiting children and families, if the process could be completed quickly! Sometimes the red tape seems to drag on forever, but they are adding agencies to the list frequently, and I pray Buckner is next!

We'll keep you posted on the exciting developments that God is working in our lives!!!