More Reece's Rainbow Cuties

I have been thinking a lot about all the kiddos that we will be leaving behind once we bring Liza home with us in a few weeks. I really wish we could adopt more than one! Before we left I signed up to be a Christmas Warrior, just like last year and was assigned Evan. By the way, the little one I prayed for last year, Claire, has a family committed to her now! Yay! Praying I can say the same for Evan soon.

Isn't he CUTE?!

Here's the info RR has on him: 

Boy, Born June 5, 2008

Evan recently transferred to this baby house. He was born with a heart defect, but was blessed to already have surgery and is doing great now! He is so young, and all three of these little boys could be adopted together!
From one of our adoptive families who visited with him in May 2010: " Evan would give us a big smile when we would touch his hand. He loved for us to just hold him and would cry if we put him down. He sits by himself and is trying to crawl. He can scoot to get to where he wants to go" .

He has $1090 in his fund right now, and I would love to see that go up during this Angel Tree season. I know how a grant can help these kids find a family I've seen in happen over and over. There ARE families out there who would love to parent these children and only need the funds to make this desire a reality. Even if you can't adopt you can know that you're gift would help to place a child in a family. Then you are living out James 1:27 and making Psalm 68:6 a reality, and I don't know about you, but I am in awe that God would allow us to be a part of doing that kind of work. He is a good God!

Then there's Tori.

Some friends of mine really love her and desire to see her saved from the life she's living now. And YES, I say saved because if you knew what it was really like for her you would understand that her being adopted would be saving her life. Go and read what Stephanie has to say about her and about life in an institution. Then join in the fundraiser that she is running to raise money for Tori's grant. She is giving away an Ipod to one lucky person who donates. But, the biggest reward here would be knowing that you helped to place Tori in a family.

There's also Miss Alina:

How cute is she?! Poor sweet baby. She needs a Mama who will adore her. I know there has to be someone out there who has been looking for Alina, just like she's been waiting for her Mama and Papa to come. She only has $370 in her grant. Please help Alina to be placed in a family.

And of course I could not leave out my buddy Maxim.

I really need someone to adopt him who I can go and visit cause I just love this little guy! But, even if you live on the West coast and you love Maxim too, please take a chance on him. He deserves it! Besides, I am NOT afraid to get on a plane or drive across the country to see him, and you of course ;o)

Trip Update 1

I know - pitiful title but I just couldn't come up with a catchy title so that will have to do, and I probably stole it from someone else's blog. I'm blaming it on stress and jetlag - so there!

We have had quite a few eventful days and I really don't wanna share everything just yet, but I will in a few days. We are still going to get Liza, but we haven't gotten to meet her yet or even go to her region but we will be going there on Monday if nothing else changes. What can I say except, "This is ________", oh yeah I can't even say that yet. HA! HA! Those of you who have been here and done this know what I mean.

Pics? Anybody up for some of those? That I can do.



This is the door to our apartment building. (sorry can't flip it) 

The view of the building right across from us from outside the kitchen window. I just think it's so romantic looking. The architecture on some of the buildings is so beautiful.

A little glimpse of our little bathroom.



Our tiny little kitchen. It's cute. I am still trying to figure out why the stove has a sticker on it that says something about an airbag though.

   

 Yes, they really do drive and park on the sidewalks here. This is just under our kitchen window. I've noticed that they actually have marks painted on the sidewalk in some places as if those spots are parking spaces, and it seems you can even buy or rent  some of the spaces. They have these little metal bars that go up and down with locks on them. There are also some places where there are guys whose sole job it seems is to watch the cars that are parked there or direct the flow of the sidewalk automobile traffic and show people where it's ok to park.


Mr. Rick in the City that Shall Remain Nameless



Self portrait in City that Shall Remain Nameless... for now.



  I don't remember what this is called. It's really pretty, huh?

 

The beautiful church right behind the SDA office. It's called St. Andrushka (or St. Andrew's) When we were there today we saw about 5 or 6 couples going in and out. WE thought they were all doing weddings but Nikolay told us that many of them come just to have their pictures taken in and outside the church. I certainly can see why, it's absolutely beautiful!

 

 This was our attempt at getting pepperoni pizza from a pizza place we had heard good things about called Celentano's. Umm, not quite what we had in mind, but still pretty good! LOL

Just kind of random, I know but that's what I've got for now. We kinda like this city. It's fun to walk around and look at everything. some things are so much like home and some things are pretty different. Some of the people are very friendly and helpful and some of them just laugh at us, just like at home... haha

We Are Here!

And "here" would be the country that Liza lives in. We have our appointment to get her official referral on Thursday and I am really hoping we get to go to her region and meet her on Friday. This has been a long time coming and I am so ready to see her walk through those doors for the first time so I can actually lay eyes on my dream come true.

So far, things are not bad here and I think that's how they'll be. I am tired, hungry, and feeling a little lonely (cause Rick was sleeping - now getting up), but I think after I really get some good rest and some good food I will be ready to face this adventure with a big smile on my face. How can I not rejoice?! We are SO close!! Praise the Lord!

Maxim

Mr Maxim is in the same region as my Liza, and as we've been in this process I have gradually fallen in love with this little boy and if we were approved to bring home 2 we would be bringing him home with Liza.

Please someone step forward for him and be the family that he absolutely deserves. Take a chance on this little boy! It will be the best bet you will ever make in your lifetime. I just know it in my bones! He will be a tremendous blessing to you and every one that his life touches. I would be your biggest cheerleader if you just step out of the boat. Please!

This is his Reece's Rainbow profile: (the link will take you to his page, he is 17 down)
"Maxim is a precious little boy who has already been sent away to the institution. He needs a family immediately!! He is 5 1/2 years old, with blonde hair and blue yes. He struggles with strabismus in both eyes and a significant tongue thrust, but surgery/glasses and OT will help with that! Please give Maxim the chance to grow up in a loving family, so he can realize his full potential!!



We have already had a family adopt from this institution, so Maxim still has an opportunity to be saved and to live the life he so richly deserves!"

A Special Date

Nope, not the kind of date where Rickydoodle and I get all dolled up and go out on the town. Is it called "dolled up" if I'm talking about Ricky? Probably not... don't tell him I said that....

Anyway! This special date is September 30th 9AM. Not 9AM our time, it will actually be 2AM our time or 11PM on the 29th if you're on the West coast. But, don't worry about all that cause what really matters is that at.........................

9AM LIZA'S TIME on the 30th we will finally be getting the official referral from her country to adopt her!!! Hallelujah!

Woo hooo!!!!! How excited am I?! I want to pack right now and buy plane tickets, go over there and just camp out outside the offices where we get this referral. I don't know how I will make it the next 3 weeks until it's really time to go. I guess I'll have to find ways to stay bus. Oh, I can NOT wait to hold her!!

Liza: "Mom? You comin' yet?"

Me: "Yes! Baby girl I am ON MY WAY!!"

Project Happy Feet

Throughout our adoption journey I have been blessed to make connections with Missionaries working in Liza's city. One of these connections brought me to Gregg Montella and his idea, Project Happy Feet. Rather than try to explain it myself I'll just paste Gregg's note here so that you can hear the need from his own words.

"There is still a tremendous need for slippers, especially with winter approaching. The two greatest needs for slippers are for the elderly in nursing homes and kids in orphanages. Floors there are typically cement which is cold and damp. Worse still is that often it can be so cold, even inside, that standing water freezes in rooms like bathrooms with broken or missing windows. Imagine not having proper socks, slippers or footware in that environment. Cold feet are miserable feet, but warm feet are happy feet!

There are many, many footborne illnesses caused by lack of proper footware. One pair of quality slippers can make all the difference for a person in need, and can even save a life.

You can bring slippers with you, or you can buy them (or have one of our staff buy them for you) in ________. A decent pair of slippers will cost about $5, with a pair of socks to go underneath (recommended) an additional $2.

Of course, you can be right there when they're given away and see the smiling, grateful faces and pray for the recipients, sharing God's love in the most real of ways."


I hope to be able to carry either slippers (croceted/knitted/bought) that folks have donated or money that can be used to buy slippers when we get there. Any monies that are sent to us and marked for Project Happy Feet WILL go to this project, they will just need to be either mailed to me privately or sent to my paypal account, NOT to our FSP (the Liza button). Thanks in advance to everyone who is willing to help us! I will definitely take pics to bring back and share with you all if we are blessed to be able to be at a distribution. Which I ABSOLUTELY want to do if we get the chance.

 Donations can be sent to:
105 Winchester Lane
Locust Grove, VA 22508
 
My hubby keeps asking where do I plan to pack all my clothes and things I will need plus all these slippers I am hoping for and I just tell him that it will all come together. :) I may just need to borrow one of those vacuum packer thingies from somebody.

Music and Life: Just A Swingin'....

And NO, not like LeAnn does it! The way she sings it in the two videos I've seen make me think she took the term "Swingin'"the way that some couples who are a little too frisky (and weird) do. Know what I mean.....?

Gotta be John Anderson singin' this song, baby! No one else. I have loved him and his voice since I was about 4 or 5 years old and since that was about 30 years ago, well, that's a long time to love somebody. Plus, I was born in Florida, he's from Florida, it just always seemed that he was meant to be one of my very favoritest singers. He definitely has a unique voice, and I think that's what I really love. No one else sounds quite like Mr. John Anderson. And NO ONE (Not even LR) can sing this song quite like he can :)



I tried to get my boys to come listen to it with me. Here's how that conversation went:

Me to Austin: "This was my favorite song when I was about 5 years old!"

Austin: (as he walks by) "Hmm, that's nice."

Me: "Humph"

ME to Noah: " Noah, wanna come hear my favorite song from when I was 5?!"

Noah: (playing his video game) "Nah, I'm good."

Me: (See my facial expression)

Sunday Snapshot: Almost There!

Now that we have been submitted, and I know longer have to stress over adoption paperwork, I find I'm getting my blogging MoJo back some.I am really happy about that.

Since we have been submitted and we are just waiting for a date to travel to get that sweet girl we've been dreaming of for so long I decided that this week's "Sunday Snapshot" should be dedicated to her. All the pictures, or a good bit of them, that I have been blessed with since we started this journey. I know that having folks to send these to us was a total blessing because so many families adopting from her country do not have that. Each and every one was a lifeline of sorts to help me to hold on through all the hurdles that we had to go over.

 This is the first one I ever saw of her. How can you resist that face? It's REALLY hard. Wonder how much harder it will be when it's actually standing in front of me?! Oh boy....

This one was next and it made me sad in a way. Cause she was obviously growing up and I was missing it, but also there just seemed to be something sad about the way she was standing there all alone. Does anyone else see it? Or am I just seeing it through the eyes of a mom missing her little one?

I think this one is just my favorite! Her expression here tells me so much. Maybe it's because she reminds of some of Noah's facial expressions but I have a feeling that she and he have very similar personalities. Full of silly and stinkerisms! One of these days I'll post a photo I have of him making this face along with this one of hers and you all can tell me if I'm wrong.  Plus, you can see her sweet little hands here. Aren't they just the cutest? I'm gonna kiss those soon :)

Another one of my faves. It's just cute. It's almost as if she's saying she doesn't really have time for all this picture takin'. But, there's also maybe a little bit of a longing, "Here I am Mom and Dad, Where are you?" look. This is also one of the last pics I got that she still had her "baby" look to her face.

These three, I call the Red Coat Pics, I got sometime late last fall. She is just doing her own thing. Swinging, making faces, trying to call me on the phone. I'm sure she was asking just where the heck I was at. Notice how she doesn't really give a smile but it's not as if she doesn't want her pic taken? I think she's just really a stinker who loves to make faces when you want her to actually smile at the camera. I'm looking forward to finding out for sure.

This one I got in the Early Spring. Noah calls this her Strawberry Shortcake outfit... lol Yeah, she's seems real thrilled with it too, huh? :)

This is a recent one that I just got from a family that went to her region for a missions trip. They got to spend time with her and tel me about her. I am pretty sure most of my guesses from looking at her photos are pretty accurate. There's one of her famous picture faces again! hehe

Just the day before we were submitted I found these on another Missionary's blog and when I left her a comment she sent them to me. She has lost a lot of her baby look, but she is still so super cute. Even half naked with a funny hat on her head!

We are so excited to go an get her. To wrap her in a Mom and Dad's love, to teach her about Jesus - although I am pretty sure she already has heard his name before. I have pretty bows to put in her hair and new shoes and clothes. All ready for her to begin her new life. From Orphan to UnOphan, as someone I know recently said. Kep praying favor over our dossier and that Iwould find things to keep myself busy in the meantime. We are ALMOST THERE!

We've Been Submitted!!

I wish you all could have been here just now to see my happy dance. Well, maybe it's a good thing you missed it, but I REALLY enjoyed it! Best dancing I ever did :)

We have been submitted!!!

This means that we should hear something about travel in about 2 weeks and then travel about 2-3 weeks after that. So, we could very well be there meeting our precious sweetheart by Mid-Late September. WOW!!!!

Now, we do still need to pray that the Adoption Officials don't find any mistakes or problems with our dossier, and of course after all the trouble we've had it's hard for me to just believe that will go smoothly. But, I just have to believe it. We have come so far. Please continue to pray favor over our entire dossier, that not even an eyebrow would be raised over anything in it. That everything will look just the way they want it to look and we WILL get that travel date in a few weeks.

Moving Right Along

Haven't updated on the progress of the adoption since I mailed the dossier to Eastern Europe. I'm kind of surprised I didn't considering that, of course, it couldn't go smoothly and without problems.

I took the dossier to the local DHL shipper and specifically told him that we COULD NOT put a value on this package. I even wrote out the slip and put $0 on it. Well, when I left  he put a $1 value on it because he said that he was told that "nothing had no value". Because of that our dossier was held in customs for a MONTH, waiting for someone to go and pick it up in Liza's country.

THEN, we found out that four documents had to be re-done. Things had become a slight bit more picky and wording that was ok a while ago was now not ok. So, we re-did those and had them sent back there and they arrived on Monday. Praise Jesus! Just in time.

Now, we wait to be submitted. Since all of our things are there and everything seems to be in order now we should be submitted ASAP. I am SO glad. This long journey - that has sometimes felt like a battle - is actually drawing to a close. I am ready to get over there and get this girl home with us. I already have most of her stuff all together in a pile in my closet waiting for me to decide what bag to pack it in.

Please keep praying for us! Pray that our dossier would be covered with favor that there would not be even one thing that would cause the adoption officials to even raise an eyebrow. That the letters of support I am mailing to raise the last little bit of money we need would be received well. That the battle would be won in Jesus' name and he would bring us to His Promise of Victory. Thank you all!

I can't wait to get those bows I bought months ago into that pretty blonde hair! :)