Just a few more days!

Did you look at that ticker? We have our visa's in hand and are ready to go! Well ...kind of!I can hardly imagine that in a few short days we will be meeting the newest addition to our family...our daughter! We have been buzzing around finishing up last minute details for our trip. There has been so much to do that just when I think I am done... something else pops up!
We are so excited about this blessing of adoption but I am also suffering from a mix of other emotions. I absolutely dread leaving my boys! The thought of going so far away from them is weighting so heavy on me. I know they will be in good hands with my Mom and Dad but I will miss them terribly!Today I am going to spend the day with my boys and enjoy every minute of it! My cousin,Shan, shared some advice with me some years back that I have come to rely on whenever I am faced with uncertainty or fear. She said if you just give your troubles to God he will carry you through. She said when you do it the troubles will be replaced with a feeling of peace . I have relied on this at so many times in my life and it works.So I will once again lay all of this at his feet and wait for any fears that I feel to be replaced with his peace.
Well, our next post will be from Russia! I will do my best to keep everyone updated as the events unfold.Please keep our boy's and this little girl in your thoughts and prayers!You can never have too many of those.
N

One Crazy Mama!

Since we received the call I have been running around gathering stuff for our trip! My mind has been going in a thousand different directions! I think I am suffering from some sort of sensory overload ... smoke could billow out of both of my ears at any moment!
We are so excited about meeting our daughter but sad about leaving our boys! Nick just turned 14 this past week and I think he will be OK .Now Jake is 4. He is tough as a boot on the outside but still a momma's boy! He still does not have a good grasp on time so hopefully it will go by fast for him with T and Pop! When the social worker came for our first home visit Jake thought she was bringing the baby then! He was so disappointed!He was ready to play! I pray that they are safe and having fun while we are gone!
It amazes me how God prepares you for the "birth" of a child . I am waking up earlier and earlier each night! I remember doing this with both of the boy's. I believe that this is his way of preparing you for sleepless nights ahead. Hmm...I will have to buy some extra concealer to camouflage those big bags I will be lugging around!
Well off to finish packing! I have got to try how to figure out how to fit 75 lbs. of orphanage clothes in my bags!I priced the shipping costs to Russia for the 2 boxes ...$650. ...EACH!!!!
Needless to say we will pay the airline extra $ to bring them.Congrats to all of the Families that have court this week!
N

Travel Dates!

We are happy to announce we have travel dates! We will be traveling the week of July 5th! We were completely caught of guard with the phone call! We figured that it would maybe be coming the end of the week or maybe next week . Of course we were out of town with none of our paperwork! So we returned home and frantically began making plans! We are so excited that we will be meeting our daughter in just a few weeks! Then so many of our questions will finally be answered. Who is she ,what does she look like and what is the beginning of her sweet life story. I have spent countless hours thinking about her and what it will be like when we meet her. It is hard to imagine that all of these questions will be answered in just a few short weeks! Please pray for her . My hope for her is that she has someone that has showed her the love and security that every child deserves. I hope she knows how much she is loved and that she already has such a special place in our hearts and family!
N

Toga anyone?

As we wait for specific dates for travel, I have been trying to keep busy! I have been focusing on getting her room completed. This has taken us a bit longer than we had anticipated. Getting a room ready for a "princess" has been a bit more challenging than the boys! I have two boys and I know what they like! I never thought that I would catch and hold a bug or embrace dirt the way I have over the years... but I have. I have evolved from a "girlie girl" to a woman with boys!So, trying to reconnect with that" girlie girl" again is like looking for something that you stuck in the back of the closet !But I think I have found it! Her room has been a bit challenging but really fun! I am finishing the drapes today and will have some photos up in the next couple of days. As kind of a teaser ,I am posting a picture of my drapery consultant.He decided to utilize all fabric scraps and victimize my poor shrubs! I hope this is not a glimpse of his college years! I am having flash backs of John Belushi in"Animal House"...YIKES!

N

The Call

We received a call from our agency on May 23,2008 .Yes, that was two weeks ago today!This was not just any call but "The Call" that every prospective adoptive parent waits for! Our dossier has been registered in Moscow! I think over the past 2 weeks I have experienced every range of emotion that has been possible.For those of you that know me well keeping such exciting news is not easy! But thanks to my duo of adoption angels they have satisfied that need to share this great news.With out the two of them this "labor" would be like trying to do it without your coach. And I have been blessed with not one coach but two!



I have sat down several times to post on our blog and I have deleted the post and walked away. For numerous reasons I have been a little scared to put the info out there. Maybe it would be somewhat of a jinx to announce anything or maybe she would end up with another family( her own or a Russian family ) getting to have her in the end. I have had two weeks now to absorb this info and feel ready for just about anything...well ALMOST anything!The region we will travel to is a blind region . We will receive no information about this child prior to travelling.I have spent so much time wondering what she will look like,will she like us ,what will she think when she meets us, and the list goes on.I have kept up with so many families that have been traveling to meet their children. The stories that they have shared have been so wonderful, some funny and some sad.So no matter how you look at it this entire journey is a leap of faith. We are so excited about getting to meet this special little girl! Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers along with all of the other little orphans that are waiting for a family of their own.

We will keep everyone posted as the events unfold!

N

The past week!

We have been so busy this past week! Jake had his Pre -K graduation this past Thursday.In the program he was asked to do the hula hoop.Wow ,he did a great job! He bid a sad farewell to his friends and teachers from this year.But he is filled with excitement about attending elementary school this Fall. We live in a great area filled with tons of kid's! Not to mention the security he feels that the elementary school's playground boarders our backyard fence! It is always great to know that Mom is just on the other side of that fence!

Over the Memorial holiday we went to my Aunt's bayhouse.Bret and I are horrible about photographing various events as they unfold. We always have great intentions but the camera rarely makes it out of the car!!! As for this weekend ... no exception! You will have to take my word for it that we had a great time fishing and swimming. I will leave you with the only evidence that the weekend was a blast! This is Jake in the car on the way home. I was forbidden to post the photo of Nick but I will say ...Lots of snoring and drooling was going on!

N

A wonderful suprise!

We started this journey to adopt last year at our home in Dallas. We had research agencies and countries and prayed that there would be a clear sign of where we were supposed to go. We truly believe that this adoption was planned for us long ago. Our hearts are filled with the love for a child we have never seen or met . So the lengthy research began.Along the way ,we encountered some wonderful people who shared their knowledge of the adoption process and their love for these children. One such agency ,that deals with placing special needs children , had a referral of a very special little girl.This child was far from "special needs "in our book but just incredibly special. I studied that little photo for weeks as we started gathering the necessary documents.It is amazing how emotionally invested you can become to a little photo. We received a call that another family was paper ready and officially had accepted the referral. As hard as it was to hear,We were truly happy for that little girl. She now would have a family to call her own.
Today,I was looking through some various adoption blogs when I came across a title that just caught my eye. To my surprise ...it was her! She looked amazing! How great that is to see that she received a wonderful family . She is with the family that God had chosen for her long ago.It just made my day! He certainly does work in mysterious ways!I believe that this is one of those moments sent our way to renew our patience and faith in this long journey.I take great comfort in trusting in his plan for us and faith that the daughter that he has chosen for us will be revealed soon! Now... I will return to decorating my daughters room! I sure hope she likes pink!!!!I will reveal photos soon!
Until then,
N