WE GOT A REFERRAL - AGAIN!!!!

I know that doesn`t make sense and I`m not sure I can even explain it. But apparently our referral we accepted in November was accepted but they also need a formal acceptance. So, I guess thats what we did again today! Although it`s no fun to repeat things, this email came with the promise of a quick Letter of Invitation & Travel Dates. We also had to state when we could travel. Because of a prior committment we said that we could travel anytime after February 12th. I`d be okay hopping on a plane on the 13th!

So, thats the news for today! She will be finding out really soon & we will be getting our travel plans lined out. I spoke with our travel agent & got the low-down on ticket prices from the 13th on... Just about the same price & we still get to spend the night in Frankfurt, Germany! Which right now I think is awesome, we`ll see how I feel about it when I`m ready to get home to our other three kiddos.

Until next time....

Prayer

Rec'd another email from Cathy, the consultant at our agency. It made me cry! But tears of happiness & relief. It really wasn't a major email. It just said that Daina, the lawyer is putting a call into Brigita, the processor of Int'l adoptions at the Latvian Ministry. Brigita is the ONLY processor and therefore is overloaded with many families trying to get into her country to get their children. Daina was going to check into our letter of invitation.

Prayer Requests:
***Please pray for Brigita. That she will be able to quickly get our ltr of Invitation.
***Pray for the travel dates to be in the next couple weeks because airplane tickets are at a good price. And the quicker we travel now, the quicker 2nd & 3rd trips come & hopefully we won't have to pay really expensive summer prices.
***Continue to pray for Liga. As soon as we receive that ltr, she will be finding out about Joe & me and the family. Big changes in her life!

Update!!

Nothing major has changed! No, thats not the whole update! On Monday we got an email from our agency and it was a CC of emails sent between her & the Latvian Lawyer. Cathy, our adoption consultant, asked Daina, the lawyer if the letter of invitation was in & when we would travel. She also asked if she had gotten sizes on Liga and if she knew about us yet. Daina said that she had no news from the Latvian Ministry & she hadn`t heard anything about Liga yet. UGH! So, we are waiting AGAIN!

Today, I woke up in a funk! Maybe its because we ran out of propane & although our home is in the mid 60`s (because of fireplace & large space heater thingys), it`s frustrating; maybe it`s because I have two kiddos with the sore throat, fever & awful cough Flu; maybe it`s because for the last year I have taken People at their word (you`ll travel in July or August or December or January or February) and have let my expectation get the best of me and I have been disappointed time and time again. Either way, when I went to work today, my "adoption" lifesong came on! "(While I`m Waiting" by John Waller) ANd I started to cry, knowing that NO MATTER WHAT - I`M CALLED TO WORSHIP, REMAIN HOPEFUL, KEEP A GOOD ATTITUDE, AND KNOW THAT I AM NOT IN CONTROL, HE IS & ALWAYS HAS BEEN! I took the 15 minute drive to thank God for a reminder? One that I would "get"! Thank Him for opportunities to bring other children to His throne, to pray for others needs & to wait on Him!

I`ll keep you posted!

Well, this is the week that our Latvian lawyer ends her month long "holiday". I have said all along that it was a well-deserved break but have wished it wasn`t so long or during our hurry up & wait part of the adoption. I thought that 1 month would take an eternity but it has gone rather quickly.

I have checked with the travel agency to see if our tickets have gone up/changed and they`ve only increased by a dollar or so. We also got Lufthansa`s price for extra bags. I figured it be higher but it is only $50/extra 50# bag (that is one-way).

Our adoption agency is checking again for sizes on Liga. Her suitcase is getting full & I`m not even close to being done.

I`m also trying to think of gifts for all those involved w/o breaking the bank. On Monday I have to go to COlumbia, Mo for Micah`s orthopedic surgeon & on the way home we`ll stop at the lake to find some "good buys"!

I`ve talked to our pediatrician whether there`s anything we can do when we travel and he said to wait. When we got home he`ll do a physical & decide what immunizations, vitamins, therapy, etc will be needed.

So, we are praying we have some correspondence with the lawyer by Friday. We are waiting for our Letter of Invitation & Travel/Court dates.

As the days get closer, I get more anxious about leaving the kids. I know they will be in loving, trust-worthy hands - I`ll just miss them. I miss them when I have a long day away. I`m trying to work out some of the quirks of communication while we are gone. We have a pre-paid Int`l phone card that the kids can use to call us but I`m trying to find a friend that has a laptop with a webcam so we can Skype with the kids. My digital camera has died as well, so I need to borrow an easy, good camera from someone. I`ll keep asking around.

Well, this is more than too long...I`ll post as soon as we know anything!

Super buys!

Today we went to Springfield, MO for some "day off" activities and as always we made it to Mardel`s. Micah & Ethan instantly headed for the children`s/tween area; Keegan headed to the Science section to look at books about anything "science" and then to the section with science experiments; Joe headed to the books/Bibles section & I headed for the school/curriculum. I look for "deals" for the next year or extras to use with our curriculum now. But today I found $42 of materials & purchased them for $16! One book & CD set was only .69 cents! Score! All of them will be used for Liga. Her paperwork states that she does not read English & speaks very little English; but on top of that school is a struggle because she has trouble with her short term memory. If she is consistently & repetively taught, she retains it. So I am planning on starting from scratch (Kindergarten) and going from there!

Yesterday, I spent part of the afternoon packing Liga`s suitcase. Jeans, PJ`s, sweaters & hoodies, underwear, shoes (3 different sizes) 2 dress outfits and her toiletries!

Time will tell after the 21st! Praying for quick travel & good weather!

Until next time! :)

More Pictures!!!!

Here are some that her foster family took of her. I have no idea where they are taken but she is from Riga, Latvia, which is right off the Baltic Sea. How cool is that?

Picture of our daughter!!!!

This is the first picture we received of Liga. We have several others but I'm having a hard time uploading them. This picture was taken in September at the Orphan Court. I'll keep trying with the others.

Happy New Year!

Can you believe it`s already 2011? A year ago we met Meggie & decided (on Dec 29th) to adopt that sweet girl. We then spent the next 2 weeks geeting to know her & realize she was a spit fire and a total joy to be around! Over the last year we have learned so much about adoption, orphans and all the ups & downs! We have been blessed to meet so people, whether through New Horizons for Children, adoption blogs or other friends that are adopting. We have watched 4 girls come home from Latvia, Ethiopia and Kazikstan.

As we wait for our adoption to get some thunder under it`s wings, I think alot about all that it entails. Since we haven`t met Liga yet, we will spend 3-4 weeks "bonding" with her. This is a source of stress for me (Brenna) because it`s sometimes hard to forget that we have already been rejected once. I know we have so much to offer a young girl, albeit not financial but I "worry" - is that long enough for her to "want" us? I`ve known about her for 2 1/2 months and had time to fall in love with her sweet face, blond hair, and pretty smile! Okay, I`m done! I just want whats best for her and for her to know that we are a family that will love her forever. God has been such a huge help in my fears & worries! He knows what she needs in a family & we have prayed for God to close any & every door or to open them so far that we would never question our decisions!

Right now we wait for travel dates & pray that the ticket prices remain "lower"! Also, that we have all the financial resources necessary when the time comes to purchase them.

Well, time to do devotions & put kiddos to bed! Happy New Year!