Whew!

Air Force life is nothing if not interesting! More on that in a moment...

Yesterday was a gorgeous day with highs in the upper 70's! When Garin napped, I got out and mowed and trimmed the yard. I also planted a couple of hanging baskets for the front porch. It was so nice to get outside and get dirty! After Karl got home and I got cleaned up, we drove south to Milford, where there is a wonderful store that sells all sorts of fresh seafood. One side of the building is a restaurant where you can get the most delicious seafood dinner you've ever had. It is a down-home, comfortable beach restaurant - no frills, but awesome food. You just can't get seafood like that in the middle of the country. YUMMY!!! I took a few photos of our yard last night, trying to capture the azaleas. The sun was too low to show their vibrancy, but here are a few of the pics anyway:

It was a great night out, and then we came home and plopped ourselves down on the couch. Just after 10 pm, the phone rang, and it was the pilot scheduler. He needed Karl to head up a very exciting and unusual mission, but they were to leave Sunday morning! Bummer for me, as he would miss my birthday Tuesday, as well as Mother's Day. I wasted no time making alternative plans, though, and had airline reservations on hold by morning. Garin and I were going to fly down to Texas to spend the week with family. By noon today, I had all the arrangements made, but I hadn't purchased the tickets yet (thankfully). Karl had been at work all morning doing mission planning and called after noon, sheepishly saying he had some news: his mission cancelled! So as it turns out, I am not going anywhere after all, but I do get to spend my birthday with my husband. Garin and I are going to plan a trip to Texas in a few weeks instead. I may make a run to Illinois soon too, as Matt is eager to see us, and we are also missing him an awful lot.

This afternoon has been fun too! I bought the new Flip Video Ultra!!! I have been wanting a teeny digital video camera, so I can document our lives and post video here for family and friends to enjoy. I was so excited to find one at Sam's this afternoon, and it was $25 cheaper than I've seen it anywhere else. Happy birthday to me!!!!! Here is my first video....nothing spectacular, but fun nonetheless...with an extremely handsome subject!

Laughter Heals

It's been a rough day for me. I think that I was strong for Karl yesterday, and then today was my turn to be blue. My stomach was in knots all day. Thank God for good friends! Kim and Josh had us over for dinner tonight. The boys played, and we laughed....and laughed....and laughed. And I finally ate. I had been hungry all day but didn't trust my stomach. Tonight I forget about it all and just rested in the comfort of friendship. I needed that more than I realized.

I have been composing a letter in my head all day. A letter to my children - all four of them. I will write it soon, and I will post it here. I need a little more time to collect the thoughts I want to share with them.

Today is my little sister's birthday! We will be the same age until my birthday on Tuesday. I used to hate that she was the same age as I for six days of each year. Now I just wish I could stay that year younger! ;o)

There is no Plan B

I have a link to Angie Smith's blog to the side here: Bring the Rain. She and her husband, Todd, who is the lead singer of the Christian group, Selah, lost a baby girl this month, hours after her birth. Their story, their faith and God's work in their lives is incredibly moving and inspiring. This is a beautiful sermon from Cross Point church, sharing their story. It's 25 minutes long but worth every second. It's a wonderful reminder for us today that God knows the past and knows the future, and HE is in control.


Smith Family Story from Matthew Singleton on Vimeo.

There is no Plan B

I have a link to Angie Smith's blog to the side here: Bring the Rain.

The Latest...

****Update: We have hit another disappointing delay. The judge who reviewed our paperwork felt uncomfortable with the wording of one of our documents and suggested that it would be better in the long run if some changes were made before registering the dossier. Overall, we are so thankful that she took the time to make sure it was right - she certainly didn't have to. We appreciate the thoroughness of the agency staff to make sure there will be no questions later, also. But we are, of course, very disappointed by yet another delay. We do know that God is able and that He will see us through this process in His time, and we must leave it in His hands. Keep praying!****

I got an email from our caseworker this morning, indicating that she would call sometime today with an update on our case, but she gave no indication of whether it would be good news or bad news. We are waiting and will update you when we hear anything. Please continue to pray.

Table for Six

I've added this adoption blog to the list on the right, but I want to make sure you see it! This is the new blog of a dear family that will chronicle the adoption of their fourth child. We've had the privilege of knowing Bob and Jill here at Dover AFB. They have adopted two precious children from China and have a beautiful biological child as well. Bob and Jill have been encouragers for us through this adoption journey. Several months before God placed D & K on our hearts, I remember running into Jill in the commissary one day; we stood in the produce section for at least half an hour while she answered my adoption questions! Be sure you go to the bottom of the blog and watch their touching video of "Sophia's Story."

I Love a Rainy Night...

Remember the old Eddie Rabbitt song??? It's been one of those snuggle-up-on-the-couch days - cloudy, rainy and cozy. And the rain has gotten heavier this evening. It is a wonderful spring soaker! By the time the sun comes out again in a few days, I won't have such romantic notions of the rain, I'm sure, but we're enjoying it tonight.

It's been a good day, overall. I had a brief meeting this morning that went well, and then Garin and I went to buy some Lactinex. I'm hopeful that it will solve his antibiotic problems. I had a nice, relaxing afternoon except for running back and forth to check my email, hoping for some dossier news. Well, that and having to change my entire outfit after Garin had a particularly rough coughing fit that resulted in a flood of slightly used chocolate milk and Robitussin down the front of me! How is it that he always aims so that his clothes remain spotless?! It's an art, I'm telling you!

Today was my Memaw's 86th birthday! I called her this afternoon and had a nice long talk. I sure do wish I lived closer to my family. Memaw is so much fun to be around; she is very witty and one of the most kind-hearted people I've ever known.

We didn't get any news on the dossier today, but I imagine our caseworker hadn't received any information yet. Hopefully we'll hear something tomorrow! Either way, April 28th has passed, and whatever might have transpired is behind us. Now we just wait to find out. I just don't want to wait anymore! ;o)

Oh, the Nightmares!

****STILL NO WORD (4:30 pm EDT). I called at 3:30 and left a voicemail; no reply yet..... I'm guessing (just a hunch based on past experience) that there won't be any news today. Maybe tomorrow. I'm beginning to realize that my expectations are too high.****


****STILL WAITING!!!!!!! ugh....2:40 pm EDT****


****UPDATE - 11:30 am EDT - Still no word from our agency. I sent an email to our caseworker a few minutes ago, asking if she's heard anything. I'll let you know if I hear from her!****


Horrible, horrible nightmares!

I shudder to think of what my dreams will be the night before we go to court if I'm dreaming like this just waiting for word that our dossier is registered! I woke up from an awful nightmare at 3:00 am which combined a bad memory from my youth with a murderous rampage. When I was a teenager, fourteen or fifteen I think, I was asked to babysit for a family in our church. They had a little girl who was five-ish and a little boy who was two. I had lots of experience with babysitting by then; how hard could it be? Well, as soon as Mom walked out the door, the little girl jumped on her bike and took off around the block. She wouldn't stop when I told her to, and I had to chase her down the street and grab the back of her bike to stop her. She turned around and spat the ugliest insult she could think of at me: "You goose!" We went back to the house and locked ourselves inside, and the next thing I knew she had gotten a steak knife and was sawing away at a cardboard tube that contained something of her father's. When she got in trouble for that, she went ballistic again. Then her little brother started climb to the top of the entertainment center! Those two had ZERO discipline, and big bad Mommy came home and sweetly told them, after I had shared our evening's events, to just wait until Daddy comes home!

Anyway, their daddy was in my dream, and he was toting a handgun and coming after me in some large building with long hallways.....very strange.

Then I dreamed of K. She was being asked by the judge or caseworker what she thought of us after she met us. She said she didn't want to go home with us. She thought we were okay, but we weren't the family she wanted. She wanted them - the wonderful family that hosted her and D when they were here in 2005. I was heartbroken because I knew that they weren't able to adopt her, and I wanted her but wasn't the Mom she wanted.

I am so eager to meet and hug my children, and I do hope we get good news today and a travel date soon!

Oh the bliss!

There is nothing better than a chocolate-covered donut....or iced cake, or iced brownies.....Come to think of it, forget the donuts, cakes and brownies! Just give me icing!!!





This last one is for Grammy Su. She'll recognize my Pooh-bear cup, as it was Daddy's when he was my size!

Less than 24 hours....

By this time tomorrow, the business day will be over in Russia, and we hope and pray that our documents will be registered and in the hands of the authorities that can invite us to head across the ocean to meet our children! As we are going to bed, our representatives in St. Petersburg will be getting up on Monday morning to start their day. Please pray as you lie down to sleep tonight that God will clear the way for them and that He will remove any obstacles that might be placed in their way. Please pray that His will should be accomplished as quickly as possible. It will be a long night and day for us until we receive word. We are so anxious to go.

Garin has had bronchitis this week, so we've had a good case of cabin fever. Fortunately, Karl was able to be home all weekend since the exercise is over, and we've had some good family time. Of course, fever and coughing keeps Garin from going into the church nursery, so we are missing worship again this morning. I'm just so thankful that Garin is on the mend though. Can anyone tell me the name of that good stuff that the pharmacist will give you that replenishes the good bacteria in your digestive system? Not acidophilus....Is it Lactinex? The antibiotics have done a real number on my poor child's intestines, and he needs something more than yogurt. ***Many thanks to Aunt Pat, Mom and Marci for filling me in on the Lactinex!!! I'm going to get some tomorrow morning!***

My team bowled yesterday at the city tournament. I bowled well, but I don't think we did too well as a team. Probably no trophies for us, but we had fun! This afternoon, we bowl doubles and singles. I'm hoping to do well.

Not much else going on around here today. I love weekends! Have a blessed day!

Shameless Bragging

Forgive a proud wife for applauding her husband: The endless hours that my husband has been working in recent weeks in preparation for the exercise this week are being rewarded! He came home this evening feeling really good about what he heard from the debrief of the first crew that returned. Apparently, he had his squadron very well trained for the exercise, and they were able to execute the tasks that were required of them well and in a great deal less time than they were allowed. The squadron's crews, from what he's heard so far, performed exceptionally! I'm so proud of him and the guys and gal who work with him! Of course, I had no doubt they would be successful. :o)

As smart as my husband is....well, I wasn't today. I was chasing Garin when he ran into my closet, scooped him up, turned around and *CRACK!* - smacked my head against the corner of the door frame. I think I must have a slight concussion, as I have been feeling goofy all afternoon with nausea, dizziness and a splitting headache. Karl wasn't very pleased with me that I didn't call him right away, but I knew he would rush home and stare at me all day, and he had too much going on at work to do that. I wasn't that bad off, but I did spend most of the afternoon on the couch. I am hoping that I will wake up feeling fine in the morning.

Nothing new to report in the adoption arena today. We're just counting down the days until Monday (4 more to go!), when our dossier is supposed to be registered!

Time Flies!

Five more days to registration!!! Not that we're counting or anything. It's hard not to think about it, but we're staying busy enough that we haven't gone completely insane watching the tick-tock of the clock. We just want to go see our kids, and we want to bring them home even more. It just can't happen soon enough! Just ask any family in the waiting stages of adoption.

Two nights ago, someone was snoring rather loudly, so I finally went to K's room and slept in her bed. As I lay there, my busy mind couldn't rest. I looked at her pretty curtains and lamp, both in various shades of pink, and flowered sheets.....an oasis of feminity in a house full of testosterone! I began to dream about the day when she will fill this room, when her spirit will bring such joy to our lives, when D's enthusiasm for life and quiet strength will enrich us all. And I prayed....and prayed....and prayed. God has brought us so far on this journey, and I have no doubt that He will see us through, but the waiting - oh, the waiting! - is so hard. It's like the anticipation of those special childhood Christmases, waking before dawn to the smells of spruce and sweets, when the silence is deafening, but then the house creaks, and you are certain you just heard Santa's footsteps in the living room. Put all of that excitement together and then multiply it by 1000, and you begin to approach our level of impatience and yearning. We can hardly wait!

I'm sorry I haven't blogged in a few days. It has just seemed like I'm meeting myself coming and going this week! I have had several meetings this week, and we are preparing for an OSC yard sale this weekend. We're cleaning out our cabinets, closets and basement to donate some things for it. I thought we'd gotten rid of everything we possibly could when we moved here six months ago, but I was already getting antsy to cut back again. It's one of the benefits, I've noticed, to the military life. Keeping down the clutter makes moving SO much easier!

Garin is sick today. :o( Poor little guy is fighting a high fever, which he always seems to get with a cold. We've been able to keep it under control with tylenol and ibuprofen, thankfully. He doesn't seem to feel too bad as long as his fever isn't raging.

He loves reading his little animals book and can say the names of many of them as well as the sounds they make. It's so cute! Tonight he was kissing them all....and I mean ALL...good night! Probably a delay tactic, mind you, but it was precious. He is so gentle with Harvey and seems to really enjoy animals. Couldn't be my child, could he? ;o)

Matt had a band trip meeting last night and is pumped for their tour this summer. They are going to Boston and NYC for a few days. I think I may go up for a day or two and be an additional chaperone. Not that I think they need more help, but I would enjoy hanging out with him and his buddies for a bit. Of course, I need his approval first. He still tells me I'm one of the coolest moms around (whether it's true or not), but that doesn't necessarily mean he wants me to crash his party either. We'll see...

JC Penney

It's strange how you can desperately miss something you've never had. As we all sat at the breakfast table this morning, it seemed like faces and voices were missing. The more we fall in love with D and K, the harder it is to feel normal without them. We are now one year, one week and one day into this adoption journey, and for each of those days we have known their names, their faces and their locations. I would not presume to say that it is easier for parents who do not "meet" their children until after the home study and dossier are complete and registered. Who am I to say? But I do know that loving specific children, hearing stories of them from others who have been to St. Petersburg and seen them, makes the wait seem awfully long. We bought presents for them last fall and sent them, along with notes, through a mission team that was visiting the area. Of course, we couldn't hint to them that we were coming for them, but we prayed that they would somehow know. Those gifts were purchased in the jewelry department of the JC Penney store in our local mall. It never ceases to amaze me how it affects me every time I step through the door of JC Penneys. This afternoon, we went in search of toddlers' sandals for Garin - a simple enough task. The minute we walked in, Karl and I both fell silent, remembering that it has been six months since that day and how we were sure we would have had them home by now when we chose their gifts and placed them on the counter to pay for them. And suddenly, again, the tears come, and life seems much too orderly and quiet. We are ready for noise and mess and bumping into each other on the stairs!

Would somebody please remind me I said that when the kids finally come home, and I'm losing my mind over the piles of laundry, the dirty dishes and the disagreements??? I hope I don't ever forget what a blessing the chaos of children can be.

Busy, Beautiful Day

Whew! I am pooped!

I discovered late this morning that before he left for work my wonderful husband had taken the flat tire off of our riding mower, so it could be taken to the shop for repair. He also retrieved the push mower from the basement, so I could mow if I wanted. Garin and I picked up some Subway for Karl's lunch at 11:30. (We had eaten a late breakfast and weren't hungry yet.) We dropped Karl's sandwich at his office, dropped the tire off and bought some pretty flowers and herbs for our planters. We came home and had our lunch, and Garin went to bed for a nap. He was so kind to sleep for almost 3 hours today! I got the yard mowed and all of the flowers planted! This yard is really too big for a push mower, but I got a really good workout and some much-needed sun. I won't be pushing again if I can help it, though!

Tonight we bought 3 pizzas and dropped them off for Karl and the people who work for him in the mobility office. They have been there since early this morning and will be there until late tonight. They were so busy that leaving for food is an impossibility. I feel so sorry for Karl. He feels like he hardly sees us lately because of this exercise, and he had no time with Garin last night either. He is hoping that he might be able to wait until noon to go in tomorrow. At least we could go to church as a family that way....or he may want to rest. We'll see.

It's been a gorgeous day! Garin has had a great time playing outside, and I think he's finally back into a shorts and t-shirts frame of mind, thankfully. For the last few weeks, he went ballistic anytime I put something on him that didn't reach all the way to his wrists and ankles!

I'm ready to shower and go to bed! Hopefully Garin will cooperate at bedtime, in spite of his long nap.

Great Date Night!

Yesterday was another busy day, but it was incredible to get some new information on our Russian children! Each time we learn something new, we just soak it up and savor it, looking at it over and over again, trying to memorize it. It is like our little lifeline to them until we can have them here with us.

Last night was our date night at Red Square with Josh and Kim, and Karl and I had a wonderful time! We enjoy their company so much and feel so comfortable with them. We laughed hard and ate way too much. I won't even mention what the bill was! Let's just say that we won't be eating there regularly, but I don't regret doing it for a special treat. If the food we find in Russia is as good as this authentic Russian restaurant, I will come home fat!

The caviar was crazy expensive, but oh my goodness, so delicious!!! I had never tried caviar before, and I'm happy that this was my first experience. From what the other three said, they had not much cared for the salmon roe they had eaten before because it was big and sort of popped in their mouths. We all LOVED the Oscetra and Sevruga that we had last night. It's a bummer that it costs so much! It was served with creme fraiche, blinis and toast points. Oh my word, the blinis were SO good! (Can you tell I enjoyed dinner?)

Josh and I had an appetizer of crab and brie with toast (yummy again!). Karl had borsch (also very tasty). Kim had a blini with smoked salmon, capers and creme fraiche that was, of course, very good too.

For the entree, I had smoked duck breast (tasted almost like really good bacon) with French Foie Gras Roulade, roasted beets, baby greens and beet vinaigrette. Wow is all I can say! Karl had Royal Chicken Kiev. Kim had Pelmeni, and Josh had Beef Stroganoff.

I'm sorry - I realize I've gone on and on about the food. It was just such a special evening: two and a half uninterrupted hours of grownup time, experiencing just a taste of Russia.

It is another gorgeous day! Karl's flight got cancelled today, but he needs to go into the office all weekend to help with the ORI exercise that's taking place this week. I think Garin and I will make a trip to the nursery and pick up some flowers. I hope to mow while he naps and let him help me with some planting later. Have a great Saturday!

Long Day

After 9 hours on the road and a couple of minor blips with the paperwork, everything is apostilled and on its way to the agency. They'll send it on to Russia tomorrow afternoon! WHEW! We're celebrating tomorrow night by getting a sitter for Garin and going to an excellent and expensive Russian restaurant, Red Square, at Rehoboth Beach with our good friends, the Soules. It's the kind of place that parents of young children seldom go: coat and tie dress code, caviar, romance, etc. They supposedly have like 150 different kinds of Russian vodka. Big whoop - I don't like vodka. I am really excited about friends, caviar and Russian food, though!!!

Karl is scheduled for a great mission soon, too, so he's looking forward to that. Next week is crammed with OSC meetings (constitution & by-laws committee, welfare committee, meeting with ESC board), but the board year is almost over, and there's a lot to do to get ready to hand everything over to the new board.

My dad had surgery on his hand today, and he's doing well. He had a ganglion cyst at the base of his left middle finger, in exactly the same spot that I had one five years ago. Very strange. Thankfully, it's a pretty easy if rather painful fix!

In case I don't have a chance to write tomorrow, I will wish you all a fabulous weekend with beautiful weather and lots of free time in which to enjoy it!

Ca' Say Neeoooww

Garin has been working on animal sounds lately. He loves his animals book and is learning so many animal names and sounds:

Me: What does the cat say?
Garin: Neeoooww (points to cat picture)
Me: What does the dog say?
Garin: Rrrruuufff! (In a gruff, growling voice - points to dog picture)
Me: What does the duck say?
Garin: Qua' qua' co'-a-doo doo (points to duck picture)

If you're a Wiggles fan (okay, none of us are, but if your kids love Wiggles like ours does) you know the song "Quack Quack Quack Quack, Cock-A-Doodle Do" that they sing. Garin has learned those sounds from the Wiggles and whole-heartedly believes that this is what the duck says!

Karl nearly had a parental meltdown last night when Garin pointed to the cat without prompting and announced, "Ca' say neeoooww." All of sudden, the fact that Garin was in fact growing hit him like a ton of bricks. I do know that feeling! I reminded him that God was answering his prayer. Karl often prays at mealtime that Garin will "grow like he's supposed to."

In adoption news, we had all of our paperwork notarized and apostilled today, and our home study caseworker was at her agency's corporate office today and saw to it that the other papers we need from them were done correctly. So tomorrow I will drive to Philly and Harrisburg to pick them up and have them apostilled. They should be in the FedEx truck by this time tomorrow, Lord willing, and on their way to Russia 48 hours from now. Pray, pray, pray that all goes well! We are so past ready to get registered and go see our kids!!!

I'll update tomorrow night with good news. (How's that for optimism?)

YAY for DAFB!!!

It was announced today that Dover AFB is the best Air Force Base in the world. Check out the news release! This is a HUGE honor and accomplishment which recognizes and rewards our people for all that they do in support of country and, more specifically, in support of our troops on the front lines through airlift support. Not to mention the amazing dedication of the Port Mortuary staff who work long hours doing the emotionally draining job of respectfully preparing our fallen heroes for burial. Kudos to our men and women in blue!!!

Excitement

Wow, we're busy this week! I'm so thankful that we are able to be back on the move with the adoption, even as I dread the tiredness that will accompany it!

First, let me say that your prayers are helping. I have seen a real difference in our caseworker Friday and today. She is calling and emailing with information and is really on top of things today with regard to getting our documents ready and sent to Russia. She confessed to me today that she is an overly cautious person and doesn't move until she is sure all of her bases are covered. It seems that her greatest fear is something going wrong with an adoption because she wasn't thorough enough and missed something. That's not a bad quality to have in a caseworker, certainly, and it explains - at least to some extent - the delays we've experienced.

This week is going to be crazy! Karl is flying two locals this week, and he is also overloaded in the office right now. He got a ton dropped on his desk today and just called at 5:00 to say that he has no idea when he'll be home tonight. I have three obligations tomorrow and two on Wednesday, so both days are almost completely full from morning to night. Somewhere in there, we have to get documents notarized and apostilled in Delaware. Thursday has now been cleared and set aside to drive to Philly to pick up documents from our home study agency and then take them to Harrisburg to be apostilled. Then I have to overnight everything to our agency, so that they can review them on Friday before sending them on to Russia on Friday afternoon. But, praise God and assuming everything goes as planned, they will have them in plenty of time to translate and certify them and can register our dossier on April 28th!

Karl's stepmother had a birthday last week, and my niece has one this week, and once again I'm behind on sending gifts out. I need an administrative assistant!

Thanks again for your prayers! Don't stop!

We were excited yesterday that two other couples from our squadron visited our church! Because it is almost 45 minutes from the base, we don't see military families there often. One of the guys is the other pilot from the Sicily pictures. The other is a guy who works in the mobility office with Karl. Their wives are both active duty Air Force also. It was just fun to have them there. Karl talked to them this morning, and they said they really enjoyed it and would definitely keep coming. They had been struggling to find a church in Dover and were happy to find Connection.

Emma's Hope

Please visit the blog link, "Emma's Hope," on the right of the screen. Emma is a Down syndrome angel who was adopted from Ukraine and suffers from a heart defect and heart damage. The surgery is very risky because of her health, but not having the surgery is a death sentence. She and her family need our prayers for strength and healing.

Finally

We received the call we were waiting for this afternoon, and we have the information we needed. Again, I feel the kind heart of our caseworker, and I know that she cares. We just have to figure out how to work around our different expectations. We have a week to get the paperwork together and to her office, so that she can send it on to Russia for translation and registration on April 28. It is our hope that this time it will actually happen, although we have come to realize that there is nothing sure or concrete about this process.

It is an amazingly beautiful day here! The first high-70's day of spring with bright sun and blue skies. It feels so warm inside after the chill of winter that we are almost uncomfortable, but I refuse to start the A/C yet. It's just too soon! We are looking forward to the weekend. We're going to a birthday party tomorrow at the Soules' house. Kim's birthday (April 8) and the birthdays of both of their boys (April 2 & 4) are in the same week. Other than that and church, we have no plans. Weekends are great, aren't they?! It's funny how I live for weekends even now, when I no longer have to go to a job on the other five days. I guess it's just because business doesn't get done on those days, and Karl is usually not at work, so it still has that special, relaxing, family-time feel. I hope you all enjoy the weekend!!!

At A Loss....

We ask that you please join with us to cover this adoption process with prayer in the coming days. Our caseworker told us on Wednesday that they plan to register our dossier on April 28, but we have to redo a few documents to suit the Russian officials. She did not know how we are to change the documents but promised to get back to us with instructions.

Please pray with us for our caseworker. We are just lifting her up in prayer, that God will guide her and bless her life. We pray that she will recognize how valuable she is to the families she serves and that she will feel a real sense of accomplishment and blessing in her job. We pray that God will relieve her of any discouragement, stress or frustration that she may feel, so that she will be free to give her best to her family and to those who she is serving as a caseworker.

Thank you for your prayers. This road has been so long already, and these last few weeks have been the most difficult and painful because we feel for the first time like we don't have the full support of someone we are relying on to make it happen.

A Day's Perspective

Just thought I'd let you all know that I have simmered down a bit since yesterday's post. During Garin's nap yesterday, I spent some time in focused prayer, which I desperately needed. I asked God to take away my anger and give me understanding. I acknowledged His power and timing and just gave it back to Him. The thing is, I don't like waiting, but I know from experience that His timing is best. The real difficulty for me comes when other people seem to be imposing their own timing by lack of diligence or attention. I told God I don't expect it to happen in my time, but that I do want it to happen in His, not anyone else's. I have asked Him...again...to take control over every aspect and to accomplish His will.

There is such peace and power in just letting go of the things we can't control, but it can be so hard to do!

Anyway, we're disappointed but at peace today. We are working with a wonderful agency, but even the best agencies have blips at times. As I told Karl yesterday, we're still much better off than if we had not used the partnering agency. At least now we're moving forward, even if it's not at the breakneck speed we want to! They didn't have to help us at all!

Please pray with us that our documents will be registered on the next available date, April 22, if it is in God's will.

AAARRGGGHHH!!!!!!!!

After further consideration and a day to calm down, I have chosen to delete this entry, as I was rather harsh in my evaluation of the events of the day. Although I still believe that what happened was irresponsible, I do think highly of our agency and respect our caseworker, even when I do not agree with her.

Photos from Sicily

They really did get some good ones! Karl just brought in the goodies along with his camera, too. He brought two nice bottles of wine: one from Sicily and one from Italy. And he brought a beautiful bottle of bruschetta olive oil from Sicily. I feel like I should take a picture of it and post it too! It appears to be full of dried herbs, peppers and sun-dried tomatoes, and it looks absolutely delicious!

Here is a photo of Mt. Etna beyond an orange grove:

Mt. Etna in the distance under Freddy's wing:

Karl and Scott (co-pilot) with Freddy and Mt. Etna (this is starting to sound redundant, huh?):

This is my favorite! Orange groves in front of a smoking Mt. Etna:

Two smokin' hot pilots (hehe) in the cargo bay...Mt. Etna...blah, blah, blah:

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

We found out today that it is unlikely our dossier will be registered on Tuesday. The home study agency is once again taking its sweet time turning in the remaining paperwork, in spite of the best efforts of our caseworker to push it along. They have promised to fax it to the agency today, but that still will not leave enough time to get everything done that must be before registering. We know that God can move mountains, and it could work out somehow, but if not, we are praying for April 22nd. Our wonderful caseworkers are doing all they can, and we have confidence that we will wait no longer than necessary if they have anything to say about it.

God's timing is perfect, as He proves time and again. In the meantime, we are learning just how patient we can be when we have to. It's a good life lesson, if not an easy one!

In happier news, after a 3-day 'vacation' in Sicily, thanks to a maintenance issue with his jet, Karl arrived home about 2 am today! He enjoyed seeing Sicily and promises beautiful photos of Mt. Etna from his jet. When he unpacks his camera, I'll post some here.

We are enjoying a lazy family day together, and we actually have a remarkably free weekend. We'll be bored by the time Monday arrives, but we all need the time to recoup and relax.

HAHAHAHAHA!!!

I got a BlackBerry message from Karl this morning in the wee hours, telling me that he was out of the Middle East and back on the ground. He had made a couple of stops to drop off/pick up stuff in the night and was supposed to land in Kuwait for crew rest before making another trip downrange. There was no room for them in Kuwait, it turned out, probably because they already had too many jets there. That happens sometimes. Karl and his crew were instead told to fly to Sicily. Now, here's the funny part. Karl had been up for 24 hours and was exhausted, so he was headed to bed.....then an hour later I get another message that he decided to grab something for dinner first: a mini microwave pizza from a box! The man is in Sicily, and he is eating cardboard nuked pizza! For some reason, the irony of it made me laugh loud and hard at 3 am. He travels all over the world and hardly ever gets to eat local cuisine because the stops are short and he's so tired.

The great news is that, because they were rerouted, he no longer has to head back in. He will be headed toward home again!

Just some tidbits...

Garin was an ANGEL today - smiling, laughing, playful and very compliant! In spite of the dreary rain, cold temps and long list of tedious errands, it was a day of joy thanks to him. I'm so thankful for good days when Karl is on a mission. It makes it easier to go it alone for a few more days. I had hoped to get an opening at the base day care for tomorrow, but they're full. After today, that doesn't seem so bad.

We got the education report paperwork delivered to the home study agency, and our caseworker has already signed it, faxed it and mailed it to our new agency! She said the other papers, which I don't think are necessary to register our dossier, will be faxed and mailed on Wednesday. We should be good to go on April 8th if there are no more surprises between now and then!

Garin and I also went to our Christian bookstore to find the book for the new women's Bible study that will be at my house on Wednesdays. They didn't have it, so we went to the mall and ordered it from Waldenbooks. They ship free to your house if you order it there. While there, we got Garin's hair cut (screams again...ugh) and grabbed him some Chick-Fil-A for lunch. I waited until I got home to eat.

We had to run to Smyrna, too, to pick up our Angel Food. Dummy me, in all the excitement this weekend over Karl's mission Saturday morning and the adoption paperwork, totally forgot Saturday was the pick-up. Thankfully, my buddy Kate coordinates it. She saved it for me because she knew something weird must have happened. (They normally donate unclaimed food to local soup kitchens.) Kate is the wife of a C-130 pilot with the Delaware National Guard, a realtor and the mother of four children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years. She, of all people, knows what it means to have too many things going through your head to remember them all!

I'm about to sit down to watch Dancing With the Stars, as soon as I take the trash to the curb. I'm waiting for it to get behind, so I can fast-forward through the commercials. Hope everyone has a great night!

Look familiar???

This reminds me of that photo of me in Daddy's boots when I was not much older than this. Guess every kids loves to wear his/her parents' shoes.

Saturday Night Live...

***This blog has been edited at the request of my family.*** ;o)

All is quiet here at the Heinrich household tonight. Our little escape artist monkey has made several attempts to unlock doors and sneak out of the house this week, not to mention all of the things he's climbed. This week has worn me out, and I'm glad for the fresh start tomorrow morning!

Karl left on a mission this morning, and we miss him so much already. It's amazing, though, how much more I accomplish at night when I'm on my own after Garin goes to bed! It's been a productive evening.

Please keep Karl in your prayers this week. As you know, there is a lot going on right now over in "Southwest Asia," and it seems that tensions are running high. He will be doing a good bit of downrange flying before he comes home, so please just remember to pray for his protection. Oh, and some prayers for patience might come in handy too! Some of you have heard my stories of the annoying flight surgeon who thinks he is the condescending host of some twisted TV quiz show. Anyway, Karl found out this morning that this guy needs to fulfill his flying requirements and is going to be on his mission! I told him to just remember that he is the commander, and if the guy gets annoying, he can tell him to sit down, shut up and obey orders. Hopefully it won't come to that. But, seriously, pray for Karl.

Other than that, things are about the usual. Hope you're all enjoying a wonderful weekend!

AWESOME!

This video debuted at #2 on this week's GAC Top 20 Countdown! It does my heart good to know that the American public still appreciates an old hymn that much. This is beautiful! I can't help but think about Papaw Risinger and singing this at his funeral.

Latest News on the Adoption

We received a big info packet from the new agency yesterday that contained lots of good stuff about adopting through them. It also contained an "Adoption Education Agreement" that has to be signed by us and by the home study caseworker, saying that we have completed their education requirements of at least 12 hours of reading and/or coursework related to adoption preparation, multicultural families, attachment issues, grief and loss in adoption and adoptive parenting and discipline. Fortunately we have way overachieved in this area, so all we need is a signature. Our caseworker emailed today and said that the Hague Treaty requires that this be in our file prior to dossier registration. We will have it to her next week, so if I understand correctly (which I often don't), we should be able to have our dossier registered on April 8.

Garin has gone from my little angel to a bundle of crazy mischief. Zero concept of danger. Thank God for His angels that keep these little ones alive!

Happy Birthday to Karl!

As usual, I didn't feel much like blogging right after Matt left on Monday. It was a great 10 days of fun together, plus doctor appointments and shopping. He is one great kid, if I do say so myself, and he is amazing with his little brother.

Yesterday was Karl's birthday (32 years young!), and we celebrated with presents and cards at lunch. We gave him a digital photo frame for his desk at work. I figure this way he can still have 1000 pictures of us on display without covering the entire wall of his office the way he does now. It's almost embarrassing (although very touching) to walk in and see the shrine to the family. ;o)


For dinner, Karl wanted Italian food at La Fontana. We had a great time! Garin flirted shamelessly with the waitress and welcomed every diner who walked past us with a hearty hello, all while making an incredible mess of his penne and meatballs. Karl had his traditional baked ziti. I, on the other hand, foolishly thought that linguine with clam sauce would somehow contain fewer calories than the tortellini alla ludovico that I usually order. WRONG! The cream sauce was thick and rich and absolutely delicious, full of whole clams and crab meat, but my poor stomach has forgotten how to process that kind of food. To top it all off, Karl's birthday "cake" was cheesecake - his favorite - from the Cheesecake Factory. I couldn't let him eat alone on his birthday. I still feel nasty this morning. Thankfully, at least so far, the scale isn't showing my indulgence this morning.

We still have no word on our dossier. I emailed our caseworker on Monday but haven't heard back from her. I am finding this to be the rule rather than the exception, which is frustrating, but it seems that they are working hard on our case. They just aren't as good as Buckner was about keeping us informed of the progress. We are so eager to know our dossier has been registered and to get a referral. My feeling is that they didn't get it registered yesterday and that we are looking at April 8th at the soonest. The closer we get, the more difficult patience becomes, but we try to remember that it won't be long compared to the year we've been waiting already.

Another family whose blog I read is currently in Russia for a referral and has been offered two very ill children. Although they desperately want to adopt, they recognize that these children are too much for their family to handle and had to turn them down. They are hoping to be offered a third child today, but there are no guarantees after turning two down. They had asked for correctable, mild medical conditions and were instead offered a child who is dying with Hepatitis C and then another who is severely paralyzed and has heart problems. I can't imagine the roller coaster of hope and despair they are on this week. Please keep them in your prayers today, that they will receive another referral for a child that they are prepared to care for.

More Messy Chocolate Bunny

The photos tell the whole story....





BATHTIME!!!!!!

Chocolate Bunnies

What instinct is it that causes us all to go straight for the ears of a chocolate bunny???

The boys each got a bunny for Easter. Matt got right into his, ears first. Garin needed no coaxing to open his, although he did need some help getting the box open. He ripped off the foil wrapper and *presto*....off with his ears! He knew just what to do with his first chocolate bunny. These are some clean pics before the chocolate was everywhere:

HAPPY RESURRECTION DAY!!!

I hope you all have had a praise-filled morning worshipping our Risen Savior! We love you and are so thankful that He has put you into our lives!

Easter Eggs

Garin's first egg-dying experience was less than thrilling for him, but Matt and I had fun! Garin was much more interested in drawing with crayons on the newspaper we had put down to catch drips. Crayons seem to be one of his favorites these days (coloring with them and breaking them); I'm just praying he doesn't get too creative and start redecorating the walls or furniture.

Several of these pictures are alike, but I couldn't pick my favorite, so you get them all.

Getting Started

Garin preferred coloring to dying eggs.

But breaking crayons is even more fun!

Daddy is off to fly the simulator.

The finished product (The orange egg has the names of all six of us; we wish all six were here today.)

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

It's been a fun and rather lazy day for the boys and me. We had a late night and slept a little later than usual this morning. Karl, Matt and I stayed up until almost midnight playing blackjack and then the left, right, center dice game. Of course, there was no money involved, but we had fun! Matt wanted to stay up and talk, so I went to his room with him and lay on D's bed while we talked for about an hour. We finally hit the wall about 1 am, and I went on to bed.

Today was spent hanging around the house until about 3:30, when we went to pick Matt's new eyeglasses. Karl met us there after his annual physical, and when we got done, he took Matt kite shopping. It's been so windy here the last few days....okay, so basically it's been windy since September. Matt's been talking about getting a kite, so they went shopping for one while Garin and I headed home to finish up with dinner preparations. Karl and Matt have been in our backyard flying that kite for the last 45 minutes. Garin and I played for awhile, too, but with a cold and without a nap, Garin's patience ran out, and we headed back inside.

Here are some pics of the fun. It's a chilly but gorgeous day! I couldn't help but miss D and K and think about how much fun it would be if they were here, too. I look forward to having four kids laughing and chasing kites together.

Family Photos!

(Interestingly...frustratingly...Dad noticed last night that Garin's nose

is running in this photo. We had completely missed that before because

we hadn't seen the photo full-size. Guess we'll have to get busy with

Photoshop!)

It's been a great day! With all of my boys slightly under the weather with colds, everyone stayed home and rested this morning. They all seem to be feeling better this afternoon, and we ran to the mall for up-to-date family portraits. Then we met our frequent dinner companions, Josh and Kim and their two boys, at Uno's for supper. Garin's bath when we got home was a family affair. He loves for Matt to splash with him. Then Matt and I had one of our famous tickle fights! He may be 6'2" and 130 lbs. of solid muscle, but he is still ticklish enough that I can take him every time. Who knows how much longer that will last, but it was a good workout for me! Hope you enjoy the new pics!

I Sold Out :o(

I'm officially a suburban housewife...a soccer mom. I have sworn for all of the almost-sixteen years of my oldest son's life that I would not drive a minivan. Not that there is anything wrong with driving a minivan or anything wrong with the driver of one. It was just a personal preference, a desire to somehow remain "with it" while still fulfilling the wonderful, joyous obligations of motherhood. But the time has come, and I caved. Karl has been talking about buying a minivan for months. The conversations began when we started trying to figure out how we could manage a family of six with our SUV. I am still in love with that 2004 Mercury Mountaineer and managed to keep Karl from selling it for quite some time, but I lost the battle today. The selling point for me was the navigation system. I sold my soul for GPS. After my adventure to Harrisburg on Friday, the desire for GPS was too strong to fight.

Truthfully, I LOVE the car from the inside: leather seats, DVD system, definitely lots more room for the family. I even like the burgundy color of the exterior, but it's a minivan. I'll get used to it. Who knows? Maybe I'll even learn to embrace the idea, but it will take me awhile. In the meantime, I'll enjoy the features and remember why we bought it. I think in the long run, we'll be very glad we did.

We got a great deal on the van and a great trade-in, and our car payment won't change more than a few cents.

In other news, we did some fun shopping for Matt and Garin this afternoon and have a very busy day planned for tomorrow. We are going to Rehoboth Beach (never made it past the Dover mall today) in an effort to find the perfect running shoe for Matt, and then we're all going to run/walk/ride in stroller in the monthly 5K Warrior Run here on base at 3 pm. Tomorrow night is an early praise team rehearsal this week, as our Holy Thursday service is in our usual practice time.

Hope you've all had a blessed day!!!

Brotherhood...

There is something special about the bond between brothers. Even when they aren't together everyday, the connection they share is different from what they have with anyone else, and it is certainly a blessing that fills the heart of this mom to overflowing.

Garin was excited to see Matt and spent the entire evening shadowing him and climbing all over him. They laughed and "talked" and got plenty of wrestling in. At one point, Matt was out of Garin's sight for all of a minute, and Garin was searching the house, saying, "Is he? Is he?" which is his version of "Where is he?" When he found him, he inhaled sharply, ran to him, put his hand on his shoulder and said, "Awwww." Then he climbed into his lap. It was precious!

In these photos, Garin was trying to sneak out of the kitchen with his "na" (banana), and Matt was having fun trying to keep him in.

Praise God, It Worked!

After a very long day, the last few documents for our dossier are on their way to our agency via FedEx! We all went to the base legal office at 8:30 am to sign the last couple of forms that had been rewritten to meet the new standards in St. Petersburg. Garin and I then went to the Secretary of State office in town, dropped off the documents to be apostilled and headed home. Within minutes of walking in the door, we heard our home study caseworker knocking at the door with the forms her agency had to redo, so Garin and I then headed off to Harrisburg, PA, to have those apostilled. (Unfortunately, all documents must be apostilled in the state in which the notary is licensed. In our case, because our agency's home office is in PA, their documents have to go there.)

Karl picked up the documents in Dover on his lunch hour and sent them off.

After three hours in the car, Garin and I arrived in Harrisburg to find it a much larger and busier town than I had anticipated! I drove around several blocks before finding parking near the State complex that wasn't dedicated to State employees. We ended up finding street parking that was three blocks away. When I went to load the meter with quarters, I discovered I had only one! I dropped it in the slot, hoping for 30 minutes....no such luck. The meter read "10". I searched the car, under the seats, my purse...everywhere. I then started praying for quarters from heaven. Truly, I asked God for quarters! None materialized, so off we went, praying instead that we would not come back to find a parking ticket.

We power-walked the three blocks and quickly discovered that the town was not meant for strollers. I carried the stroller with Garin in it up the big fancy steps into the building because we could find no ramp. I won't even go into the sidewalk issues. I can't believe that they haven't been sued for lack of compliance to ADA. Or maybe they have.

Thankfully, the apostille folks are very efficient. I no sooner wrote the check and sat down than they brought the finalized documents out to me. It seriously took less than two minutes.

Then off we sprinted to get to the car before the meter reader. And I kid you not....When we came flying around the corner, he was standing at the car in front of ours, putting a parking ticket under the windshield. Just as we passed him and got to our car, he walked back toward us. Whew! And we were 11 minutes over! I was so thankful for the nick of time!

I had written the names and addresses of two FedEx locations before I left home. I knew there was no hope of finding them and decided to wait and look in the next town. As we headed back to the interstate, there was a big sign for the exit to "Paxton St." which just happened to be the street the FedEx Kinko's was on! We hopped off and found it two blocks later!!! It felt so good to get everything in the mail and out of our hands!

Garin and I celebrated at the Starbucks next door: a diaper change and strawberries and cream frapuccino for him, a potty break and iced decaf sugar-free hazelnut non-fat latte for me. Then off we headed toward home. It took us almost four hours to get home, thanks to Friday rush hour traffic, but we did it!!!

Our documents will be in Michigan on Monday and hopefully in the mail to Russia on Tuesday. And then there will hopefully be enough time to translate them and register them the following Tuesday. That is our prayer, anyway.

I frequent several blogs of Russia adoptive parents, several of whom are in the midst of the dossier and travel process. One of these families had their documents registered on Feb. 26 and got an invitation to travel yesterday!!! They leave next Friday, March 21!!! We can only hope for such a quick turnaround. I'm starting to get a little bit scared.....in the best possible way!

Moving Along...

Just a quick note to let you all know that we got the approval on our last piece of paperwork needed to register our dossier in Russia, so we have a busy day tomorrow! We will get that page notarized, I will drop everything off at the State office to be apostilled and then hit the road to Harrisburg, PA, to have the last piece of our home study agency's paperwork apostilled. I will fedex it from PA and head home. Karl will pick up the apostilled papers here in DE and fedex them tomorrow afternoon. So, if all goes according to plan (haha...as if!), everything will be at the agency Monday and can hopefully be sent to Russia on Tuesday. There is at least a chance, then, that our documents can be registered the following Tuesday. PRAY!!! :o)

In love with all things "Daddy"

While I'm pleased to report that Mommy is still the panacea for pain and the arms of comfort, I'm also happy to announce that Daddy has, while we weren't looking, slowly risen to hero status in the eyes of a certain little boy in our household. Garin has recently taken on a very healthy toddler interest in the rituals and practices of male-dom and wan ts to be like and do things like Daddy. So fun to watch! Karl (finally) broke down and bought a new flight cap, as his was not in prime condition. The old one was passed to Garin, who wears it periodically throughout the day....not always right-side-out or straight, but he wears it. He loves to steal any hat or sunglasses Daddy wears as soon as he gets in the door.

Karl had survival training yesterday and came home in camo face paint and wearing a black stocking cap. Garin was fascinated and immediately took off with the cap. We had been worried that he might be afraid of Karl, but his reaction was quite the opposite, thankfully.


"Howdy Ma'am"


Note the crossed fingers on both hands. For some reason, he seems to enjoy doing this....a LOT. It seems like it's a way for him to occupy his hands when his mind is busy. Proof positive that he's been dipped in my family's gene pool.


Best Buddies


"See? See?" As soon as the flash goes off, Garin is always at my feet asking to see the picture. This is why you see so many close-ups from above.

WAIVER!!!

Praise God! We are back on the road toward meeting our children!

We got the call this afternoon that the Executive Director at AAI granted our waiver. They will be able to register our documents very soon - probably on Karl's birthday, March 25! We will likely travel in April or May to meet the kids, assuming no major road blocks present themselves.

Thank you all for your prayers and support!

No News...

....is good news???

We hope so.

It's 5:10pm Eastern Time, and we still haven't heard from anyone at the agency. If they did, in fact, have their meeting today, they haven't notified us of a decision. Of course, we're going through the possibilities in our minds: a) The waiver is granted, and they're going through the paperwork to decide what our next step will be before calling; b) The decision isn't made yet; or c) The decision is "no," and they didn't want to call and let us know today (which doesn't seem likely, as it seems they'd want to go ahead and be rid of us in that case). There are several other options, but I won't go through them all. No matter what the maybes are, we are still waiting. God is allowing us to practice patience! ;o)

I'll post as soon as we hear anything.

Love In Every Language

First of all, I must apologize for all of the back-to-back videos. I have not been up all night scouring youtube clips to fill the blog, but I realized this morning that this video has been on my myspace page (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=167899601) for a long time, and I never put it on here. It is a beautiful video by a couple who adopted a precious little one from Russia. (You might need Kleenex.)

"Who Am I?" by Casting Crowns

The Lord of all the earth knows my name, my hurt. He knows my children, present and future. He knows every child who longs for a family, and He knows YOU.

The God of the Universe, who can command the ocean to be still, cares enough to calm our inner storms.

Wow....

"Walk by Faith" ~ Jeremy Camp

Jeremy Camp wrote this song on his honeymoon. His bride had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer prior to their wedding, and the future was uncertain. She went to heaven a few months later at the age of 21. I can't imagine the faith it took to go on.

"Beshert"

Beshert is a Jewish word that means "fated" or "destined". My Jewish friend, Penny, told me last Thursday that this word describes the adoption of our future children. I agree, and I have thought about that conversation several times this weekend.

Thanks to all of you who continue to pray with us. Please pray earnestly that God's will might be accomplished tomorrow. The decision regarding our ability to go forward with the partnering agency will be made sometime tomorrow. We desperately want our children home soon, and we are praying that this will be yet another obstacle that God removes from our path. At the same time, we know that He has led through this past year of waiting and working toward this adoption, and we will accept whatever decision is made with the peace of knowing that He is in control and will guide us on.

Karl's mission that was to leave tomorrow has been cancelled, so he is now scheduled for a week of annual training that will keep him home for at least a few more days. If the agency does waive their birth-order policy for us, this will make us both available for the agency and to put together any paperwork that needs signatures. If not, it will allow us to regroup together. Either way, I see it as a good thing, even though Karl would certainly like to have flown. Again....God has His plan.

It seemed as if the theme of today's worship was meant just for us. It was about endurance and persevering through those times in life where the pressures and trials make us want to quit. Not that Karl and I wanted to quit on our children. We committed ourselves to them and to God's call, and quitting is not an option, but I'd be lying if I said we never wondered what on earth we're doing sometimes. We have no question about the kids or about adoption, but it is definitely not an easy way to build a family, at least not Russian adoption.

Mom made the comment last week that I had to write a book about our experiences when it was all over, and I told her that I couldn't do that because no one who read it would ever consider adoption again. I was half-joking, and I actually plan to write about this faith journey eventually, but it isn't a neat little story in a pretty little package. But you know, none of our lives are. That is why we each of us is a little miracle story....thanks to the grace of God.

Two of the songs we sang in worship today, "Who Am I?" by Casting Crowns and "Walk By Faith" by Jeremy Camp were especially meaningful to me. I encourage you to take a moment to listen to them, especially if you don't already know them. I will post them shortly. God's blessings on you all...

Life Sure Is Interesting..

Yesterday, we learned that things were moving quickly. Our dossier had been handed to the new agency's people in St. Pete and would be ready to register as soon as our final few documents got there and translated. We were hoping for them to be registered on Karl's birthday, March 25, which is one of the two registration days allowed in March. We also got word that our final document from our home study agency would be here on Tuesday. Yay!

Well, in the way to which we have grown accustomed, the euphoric day was followed by a disappointing one today.

This afternoon, I heard from the new agency that they have a policy that they do not adopt out of birth order. In other words, adopted children must be younger than the youngest child in the home. The caseworker and Director of European Adoptions will be meeting next week with the Executive Director to explain our situation and request a waiver.

Although this is upsetting news, we know that God is in control. If this door is closed, we will go back to waiting for Buckner's accreditation to come through, but we hope that the waiver will come. We can wait, even though we don't want to, but we do not want our children to have to wait any longer for a family.

Please pray with us that God will touch the heart of the Executive Director and that He will give the caseworker and Eastern European Director the right words with which to convince her. But above all, please pray that God's will be done.

UPDATE: The caseworker has asked me to put our "moving story" in writing, sharing about how God has brought so many things together to make this adoption happen, so she can share it with the Executive Director. I told her that asking me to write was like asking me to breathe! I promised it by Monday.

We have been so blessed by Irina, our wonderful Buckner caseworker. She is such a kind, understanding (and very hard-working!) woman. She will be traveling to some meetings with the St. Petersburg staff of the new agency next week and will hopefully see our kids! Please pray for her as well.

On top of that, Karl has been assigned a mission for next week. Good news for him! Garin and I will hang around here, try to get this adoption on the road as fast as possible, and get the house ready for Big Brother's arrival next Saturday!!!!!

That Little-Boy Smell

Ahhhh....there is something so invigorating, and at the same time so revolting, about that earthy, almost sulfuric smell little boys bring inside from an afternoon of play!

After a trying morning spent listening to whining and fighting an incessant battle of wills, I took Garin straight from his bed after naptime and out the back door, where we put on his shoes and socks and played for an hour. It's so easy, as your children get older, to forget the sheer joy that comes from sitting in a pile of sand, teaching a little one what a rock is and why he shouldn't eat it and then watching as he proceeds to try to bury every pebble he can find under the pile.

Or trying to get sand out of his eyes while explaining that we don't sweep a handful of sand into the wind.

Or walking the length of the retaining wall at least twenty times, trying to stay close enough to catch him should he fall but not so close that he knows what you're up to and tries to push you away.

Or laughing hard together when the wind manages enough strength to blow him over.

Or celebrating the absolute magnificence of a week-old pair of new shoes which suddenly look worn, thanks to their first significant scuffing and dirt bath.

And for me today, it was the victorious feeling that I am a success in life, if only because my barely-two-year-old counted to three! Over and over he counted, once he figured it out. And, no, he wasn't counting apples or blocks. He was counting horseshoes - dirty, rusty, heavy horseshoes - as he tossed them out of the weed-infested horseshoe pit in our backyard and then back in again. Horseshoe Number Four was completely ignored, but I didn't mind, and I doubt it did either. "UNG! DOO! DREE!"....over and over. And silly me, fighting back tears and saying, "YAY! YAY! YAY!"

Playtime ended when he decided it was time to wander and didn't want to come back to me. When he reached the driveway, I went after him and took his hand, but in another wonderful display of toddler development, he jerked his hand away......and landed face down on the concrete. We came in and cleaned up the scraped tips of his nose and chin and the little cut on his lip, and with a few kisses and some juice, all was well again. Another privilege of motherhood, come to think of it: the ability to comfort and to turn this upside-down world right again for at least that one little soul.

Giddy-up

The doorbell rang at 9:00 this morning, and Garin made a bee-line to the front door to welcome our visitor. What he found instead was a big box from Grandma and Grandpa! I think the photos below capture his reaction better than any attempt I might make at explanation:


Oooooooohhhhhh........


MINE!!!

A new "night-night" for the boy who loves all things soft! He was actually so excited about the afghan Grandma made that I couldn't draw his attention back to the box. I finally coaxed him into looking further and he found.....

The stick horse that Grandma made!!! And off he went......

YEE-HAWWW!

Mom, I think it's a winner! Thanks for taking the time to make those for him! They'll be lifelong keepsakes.