Merry Christmas

Well, MERRY CHRISTMAS, to my few followers!

Just thinking about how very thankful for the many things that have taken place in our life this year. I'm thankful for meeting Meggie, 1 year ago this week. I'm thankful for the joy that we had while being a part of her life. I'm sad that we no longer have the opportunity to be her parents but I know that God is watching over her. But He is also watching our other daughter, Liga during the holidays. She still doesn't know about the "Friend family" but I pray that God is preparing her heart to accept us and allow us to love her as our own!

We found out over the weekend that we will more than likely not get our travel dates until mid-late January, when our Latvian lawyer is back from vacation. I've told others that I truly believe she deserves this vacation but wish that it wasn't so long in the middle of our adoption. But what will probably happen is she will return and have the letter of invitation, as well as travel dates and we will travel almost immediately. That's my prayer anyway! Joe says to not have any expectations and therefore no disappointments but a momma can pray and hope, can't she?

We are excited about family coming today to spend the holiday with us. On Sat. we will get up and have our traditional Christmas breakfast of Fried Bread, we'll get ready and head over to help serve Christmas Dinner to those in our community. We'll return and have a relaxing afternoon, eat a wonderful Lasagna dinner and open Christmas presents! Joe preaches on Sunday, so I'm excited to hear him! He is such a powerful preacher and I really enjoy hearing him preach God's word!

I pray that you are warm and filled with JOY this Christmas. I know that so many have been hurt, abandoned or feel alone this year but God is with YOU and He is the ultimate healer & comforter!

We love you all and will keep you posted (as always)!

everything update...

Well, since we are waiting again... here's an update on everything else!

Joe is busy as ever; I think he prefers it that way, really. He's been chopping wood for the fireplace, building a bike path in our woods, calling on new families, teaching, preaching and most importantly being an incredible husband and daddy.

Keegan has been hard at work with Joe. He is becoming such a responsible young man. He works so hard and seems to enjoy the time he spends with his dad. He also likes earning "minutes" for the PS2 that a good friend let us borrow! He sometimes earns an hour and a half in household chores besides work with Joe.

Ethan is doing good. He turned 11 the day after Thanksgiving and was able to have a couple friends over all day Sat. The beat the tar out of each other with the giant boxing gloves (you know the ones you use with an inflatable ring?). They played with Legos & Bionicles and had (fake) sword fights! He too is enjoy the earned "minutes" for the PS2. He made a very responsible decision the other day to trade minutes in for a strike, rather than play time. If they get 3 strikes they no longer get to play with the PS2. Smart move on his part, he already had 2 strikes!

Micah is recovering well from surgery on Nov. 16th. She is still on crutches, which is longer than expected but she is an old pro with them. We go back on Dec. 20th for a 2nd post-op checkup. Hopefully, she'll be able to walk with just the boot.

We had our annual Live-Nativity this past weekend with our church. Takes dozens of people to make it work and it was a huge success! We had over 600 people drive through on Fri & Sat.

And last but not least, I am thankful for another year of life. I had my 37th birthday on Sat and it came & went like most days but yesterday it hit me, I'm in my upper 30's now and will be 40 in only 3 years. UGH! I'm getting things ready around the house for Christmas, traveling and school and also,the church christmas program. We will have our program on the 18th & 19th and I'm kinda ready for it be here.

Adoption news: we are still waiting travel dates. Our amended home study was sent to GA and rec'd on Thursday, Dec 2 and then overnighted to Latvia. Overnight really means 7-10 days but we are praying it gets there sooner. God knows that I'm ready but He also knows when it's best to travel. So... I'll on Him!

Until later...

Amedments, petitions & APostilles - Oh My!

Well, on Wed. before Thanksgiving, our amendment to our HS was finished & notarized by our HS agency. They put it in the mail & we got it Fri. Our amendment was to change the age criteria from 9-11 to 9-14. You see, in Latvia they apparently add "time" to the child`s birthdate for their age. Even though we could possibly have our adoption done before Liga turns 12, they want to "be sure". We were going to have to resubmit all our immigration paperwork USCIS but the USA submits the age of referral (which was 11). Whew! That saved us about $600 & several months!

Tomorrow, I`m heading to COlumbia, MO for Micah`s 2 wk post op appt. On our way home we will get the documents Apostilled & mailed to our agency in Georgia. I`ll also scan a copy for the same agency & email it so she can forward it to the Latvian Lawyer, who in turn will submit it to the Latvian Ministry & hopefully have a court date scheduled for Jan, by Dec 10th!

That`s the latest update! Pray for early Jan dates! COntinue to pray for Liga; we haven`t been notified that she is aware of what is happening. It will be such a huge adjustment. But I feel that she will thrive with the one-on-one attention and love from a Mommy & Daddy.

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Enjoy your time as a family as you all prepare for the events that will take place between now & CHristmas, as well as Christmas & celebrating the Lord`s birth!

It's a girl!

Sorry it's taken so long to post our wonderful news but it got kinda hectic around our house over the last 2 weeks. SO...

On Thursday, November 4th we got a call from our agency making sure we were still ago for the adoption of an 11 year old girl from Latvia. We confirmed this and then she said it could be as early as January and as late as May to get a referral. A referral is basically the Latvian Ministry matching our name and her name. We get a semi-detailed report for her medical history, family history, as well as, social, academic progress and various other things, including a foster parent's report.

So Joe and I prepared to wait, yet again! BUT... On Monday, November 8th, we got an email for a referral for Liga Lukasonova, 11 year old girl from Latvia. We were shocked to say the least, in fact, I struggled to say much more than "OH my Gosh!!!" We took the referral reports and took them to our pediatrician to make sure on all her "health issues" and after speaking with them and feeling confident that we must continue, we emailed back our "YES"!!!!!!!!!

Within 3 hours we were told that if it was possible that we would travel before Thanksgiving. Talk about another shock! But, the lawyer in Latvia said that it would be best to wait until early January because we might get stuck in Latvia over Christmas. Thankful for Daina (the lawyer) giving us a heads up, we were quite satisfied with going after Christmas.

Liga was a twin and was also born prematurely; with that comes possible complications considering she was born at home. We have made a decision that we will love her with all of our being for who she is, not who she will become! She struggles with school, short term memory issues and has terrible eyesight but she will be our little girl nonetheless. She has lived in an orphanage since birth, until recently she moved into a foster home.

We have to have an Addendum for our Home Study that changes the approval age from 9-11 to 9-13. Our HS agency is getting that worked up and hopefully by Dec 3rd the new petition and approval letter will be notarized, apostilled and mailed off to our agency in GA. Please pray for a speedy turnaround! I'd love for it to be done sooner and in the Ministries hands before Dec 10th, when the Orphan Court closes! God is God of the impossible ~ always has been and always will be!!!!!!!!

Pray for Liga, she doesn't even know about us right now. She will receive a "get to know you" package shortly after finding out but it will still be a shock!

As soon as we know anything more.... We will let you know!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

As we wait...

One thing about WAITING is that life still must go on.

So, we are trying our best to get all of our schoolwork done but our schedule has filled up to the brim with "stuff"!!! We have PE class with the local homeschooler group at the YMCA, every Tuesday. Every other Thursday we have Fine Arts Day with the homeschoolers. Play practice for Church every Wed 6-7pm & Sun 3-5. Jr/Sr High Play Practice every Thursday 4-6pm. I have MOPS every other Tuesday. Church Saturday night and Sunday morning. AND... I work 10-15 hours/week at DQ making cakes and decorating them. No complaints, we volunteered for EVERYTHING but we are busy. Some days Joe and I have to write out every activity to guarantee that we get to every place.

We are getting things around the house ready for Micah's surgery Tuesday, November 16. Her and I will travel to Columbia, MO and spend the night there because it's a 2 hour drive and when you have to be at the hospital around 6am... Well, you get my point. She will stay in the Children's Hospital overnight because she will have 3 major incisions and the possibility of them lengthening her Left calf muscle. She will be in a hard cast for 6 weeks, in a robo-boot for 6 weeks and possible physical therapy afterwards. So we are looking at Feb 8th, 2011 as her FREEDOM from confinement.

***Adoption Update: Nothing much other than we did hear from agency and lawyer that we can move forward on this other little girl. But that doesn't mean she will be ours until her name is on her Birth Certificate! I'm not being cynical just realistic. We will not get to meet this child until we travel and spend 2-3 weeks with her during the "bonding time". We have chosen to take this step of faith because we believe that God put us on the road of adoption. We have to accept the decision of Meggie and the Orphan Court. We also know that some may think that this is moving WAY TOO FAST but first of all adoptions don't move fast "normally" but God is the God of the impossible. He can take a wounded heart and heal it, renew it, restore it and prepare it for the next journey. That's where we are. The kids are starting to talk about this new little girl and the things they will do with her. They ask questions and have opinions but they are on board with this. They are ready to move forward too! Please pray for Meggie. She just doesn't understand.

I have a friend that is adopting Meggie's foster sister and they are in Latvia right now. They will not see their little girl until Tuesday but on that day they will see Meggie too. I have asked them to hug her and tell her how much we love her. I wish I was there to tell her myself but it's just not that way. God knows the future for Meggie and He has her in the palm of His hand!

*** hopefully soon I'll be able to share a new fundraiser idea!

Thanks!

Let this begin with a huge Thank You for your prayers & letters of encouragement.

But I also have to give all the glory to Jesus Christ who is the ultimate comforter and healer of broken hearts. He has made it possible to talk about what is going on and not break down. He has began the process of healing for myself, Joe and the kids. It is obvious that people are praying because I can see a dramatic change in Micah. She still doesn't care to be around when someone asks me what is going on in the adoption but she is opening up more and isn't crying as much!

On Saturday afternoon, Micah and I cleaned her room, but more specifically we cleaned Meggie's side of their closet. We organized and through trash away. But this opened the door for Micah to start asking questions and "deal" with all the junk/rejection. God is good!

So here we are waiting again... But this time we are waiting for news on another young girl. We have lots of questions we are still waiting for our agency to answer but she has to wait for the Latvian Lawyer to get back to her. Until we know more or are able to say more... please pray for this young girl. She is 11 and she has long, blond hair and wears glasses. She's actually built a lot like Micah and her bio is like reading Micah's bio! WEIRD!

So as we receive more info. we will fill you in.

Thanks again for all the prayers and encouragement. God is moving & we're gonna step back and watch His handiwork!

Things are changing ....

I have tried to write at least 10 posts since Sept 11 and each won`t post and it was getting so frustrating. So I`m praying that this one will post and I am able to relay a few of the changes that are taking place in our adoption!

We were told during the 1st week in Sept that Meggie`s dad was appealing his loss of parental rights. Over the next 2-3 weeks she was fine but the calls and emails were shorter & more strained. Then on one of our weekly phone calls she wouldn`t talk at all but we tried to ask questions and she continued to be silent. Until she started talking in Latvian with her Foster Mom and then got back on the line & said she didn`t want us to adopt her. She said she wanted America but not us. We have written her in Latvian, had our Latvian Lawyer call her foster family, we`ve tried to call back but she is standing her ground & is maintaing that she doesn`t want us to adopt her. The Orphan Court is now involved and we are waiting for their report.

Although we are waiting for the report, we having been praying for God`s leading. We have spoken with our agency & have started looking at other options.

We have always felt that she was our little girl. She has chosen that she doesn`t want that to be. We don`t to force her to be our daughter and by all intense & purposes, we can`t, she has the final say. We will continue to love her whether she lives in America with us or another family or if she is in Latvia. The time she spent with us this summer will not be in vain. Seeds were sown and she was shown an example of a functional, loving family. She was coming to understand what sin was & how it effects not only us but those around us.

Anyway, the decision to look forward has been tough but done with lots of prayer (and of course, tears)! This is not easy & we ask for your prayers! Our children are all dealing with the rejection in different ways but Micah is having the hardest time "dealing"! They don`t understand why and neither do we!

Please also pray for Meggie... she is making an immature, life changing decision. She doesn`t understand how this is going to change things for her.

I will do my best to keep you posted as things change or if she changes her mind.

Until next time!