Week of Blessings

This week has been a week full of blessings (and a little bit of frustration).

Rachael's paycheck on the 15th was docked by just over $1000 and we won't know exactly why until the office opens back up after Spring Break (Extreme Frustration!!)

Monday we cancelled the tickets we had already bought for our last trip to Russia.  That could take up to 5-13 days to get refunded (frustration).

Monday we bought the one way tickets for us to Moscow (lower cost than we first thought it would be).

About 15 minutes later on Monday, we tried to buy one way tickets for all 4 of us to come home from Moscow (extreme frustration!).  Since we had 'unusual activity' with our card, the bank flagged everything and wouldn't let anything else go through (frustration).  Finally spoke to someone that night that said all the previous charges/reversals would be cleared by 9:00 am the next morning and we could try again.  Tuesday morning I called the fraud department at the bank to notify them that we would have charges to Singapore Air going through and to mark our account for this so that it wouldn't be flagged again.  They were very nice about it and said that if we had any other problems to call them directly.  About an hour later, Singapore Air called, we placed the charges and it all went through! (blessing!!)

We have the tickets we need to go and bring our boys home!  We even have the same row of seats that we have had on the past 2 flights.  We like those seats!!

Tuesday afternoon we got the call from Wal-Mart letting us know that Chris' Leave of Absence (4 weeks) was approved and he would need to fill out the papers that night when he went in to work. (blessing!)

On the way home Tuesday, Chris called and said that he was stopping by Wal-Mart to get his battery checked (light was coming on).  He had to get a new battery and also found out that the alternator in the truck was dead (hence the battery problem).  We took the truck to our car place in Richmond and thought it would cost around $300 to get a new alternator put in.  When we went to pick it up about an hour later, they told us that there wasn't any charges! (BLESSING!!)  The people that own the car place are friends from church and we were talking with them when we dropped off the truck about how the adoption was going.  We had absolutely no idea that they were going to bless us in such a way.  God has truly blessed us this week.

Today some really good friends emailed and have a donation for us to help with our final travel expenses.  The amount is more than enough to cover the travel insurance we took out for the trip! (Blessing!!!!)

We are supposed to take small gifts for the director and caregivers at the Baby Home and Rachael has been able to find some nice things for very low prices!  Also, some of the other things we need for this trip have been a lower cost than anticipated!  (Blessings!!!)

Some other really good friends are going to take Sheba (our dog) in while we are gone, allowing us to save the $420 we would have had to spend at the kennel. (blessing!)

Sunday, we were listening to KSBJ and a song came on (I don't know the title) that seems to be our 'theme song' right now.  It was all about how God uses the little things and frustrations to bring us back to Him and to rely on Him.  Through out this process, we have trusted in God to provide and He has in so many ways!

Please keep praying for us as we get all the little things done and bring our boys home.

Hiccups and Blessings

Today has been a really long and ???????? day.

This morning started off as usual at 5:10 when Rachael got up to feed Sheba, fix lunch & breakfast for Chris and then get ready for the day (after going back to bed until Chris' alarm went off).

We both headed off to work.  Today was the 7th grade TAKS testing at school for Rachael.  Just a regular day for Chris (they mowed softball fields).

Fairly normal start to what should have been a normal day.

It developed a hiccup.  Rachael got back to her room around 10:15 to find that our caseworker had called her office and cell phones.  Upon returning the call, we found out that the judge in Russia decided that some of the papers we had submitted (and had been approved by the Ministry of Education and the judge) were 'out-dated' and need to be resubmitted with current dates.

Okay. 

Our medical evaluations & doctor's license as well as the psych evaluation (that was done 18 months ago, but not notarized until recently) needed to be updated before our court date.

Rachael took the afternoon off from school (She has a great administration and school secretary!!) to go to the doctor's office (after going by the house to get blank forms) and was able to get what we need there.

The psych evaluation is another story.  The psychologist is rather hesitant to do anything without sitting down with us first.  We are on a very tight schedule right now and he doesn't seem to understand that.  I emailed him information that he requested this afternoon as well as a sample of the letter we need him to write.  Hopefully, he will be able to get it written tonight and get it notarized tomorrow so we can pick it up.  We still have to take all the papers to Austin to get them Apostilled.  Chris can take them Thursday or Friday.  Please pray that the psychologist will get it all together and ready for us in a very timely manner (we want to have it tomorrow or Thursday).

Rachael was able to go back to school for a few hours to work on the lessons she needs to get ready for her long-term sub (her leave starts this Friday and goes through April 29).  She got 3 of the 6 weeks ready. 

We were able to get the last of the agency papers signed and notarized this afternoon, thanks to our wonderful church secretary!  They will go out in the mail tomorrow (Rachael will drop it off at the post office on her way to pick up our passports with the visas in them from the Russian Consulate), along with the last payment to Buckner/Dillon.

BLESSINGS: we got a call from some friends tonight to tell us that they have a check for us to help with our adoption expenses!!  God is so great!!  When Rachael left school this morning to get the papers done, she had about 1/8 tank of gas in the van.  It wasn't really enough to get her home, doc's office and back to school, but she trusted that it would be enough to get to a gas station after the doc's office.  After praying with our pastor's wife and pulling out of the driveway to go to the doc's, she noticed that there was 1/4 tank of gas, not the 1/8 that was there just a few minutes earlier.  The 1/4 tank lasted from the house to the doc's office and to the gas station.  God surely does provide all we need!!

Please continue to pray for all involved in the process to bring our boys home: us, David & Michael, their current caregivers, the judge and her staff, the Buckner/Dillon staff in Russia, and any other government workers (Russian & American) the we will have to deal with.

The missing papers arrived today....

The papers from the psychologist came this afternoon!

Now to get them Apostilled on Monday.  Copies made then send overnight mail via FedEx. 

They should arrive at Buckner Tuesday morning.  They will send them out to Russia that afternoon.  Papers should arrive in Russia by the end of next week.

YEAH!!!

Talked with our caseworker this afternoon.  The judge that will be hearing our case has resolved his issues with the apostilles and our papers should get to his desk in time to get a court date.  Our caseworker thinks that we should be able to get a court date for around the end of February (unless it comes earlier).

YEAH!!!!

Getting closer......

Please keep praying that the process goes smoothly.  Once we get a court date, we will have to apply for multiple entry visas (a little higher cost than expected), buy plane tickets to Moscow and make sure that we have everything we think we will need in Russia for the court date.

Please continue to pray for our boys as they are waiting for us.

Oh, by the way, YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dossier Part 2

Dossier Part 2 is ready to be Apostilled! 

*The last of the papers we were waiting for came in Thursday (it took almost 11 weeks out of a possible 12 weeks for the FBI to send a paper for each of us confirming that we do not have a record with the FBI)!

*We got all of our signatures notarized this afternoon.

*Just finished printing signing, attaching to the papers the request/application paper for each of the different sets of notarized papers (and the certified copies of our marriage license).

*Now to find the directions to the Secretary of State's office in Austin so Chris and I can drive over & back this week to get the Apostille papers.

*We will then send it all (after making copies of course!) via overnight FedEx from Austin (the place I used last time is only about a mile or less walk from the SOS office).  Hopefully the package will be in Dallas on Thursday. 

*They will check it over and send it on to Russia.

*Now we will wait some more (hoping for less time to wait this time around).

Dossier Part 2 is ready to be Apostilled! 

Please continue to pray for us and our boys during this time.  We don't have any contact with them (and won't till it is all finalized), but are trusting God that they are in good health and are looking forward to being with Mama & Daddy soon!  So far, we think we are okay financially, but any extra would be helpful!

Adoption Shower at School

Thursday, November 18th, Rachael's Elective Department hosted an Adoption Shower for us at her school (Beckendorff Junior High, Katy ISD). 

 A lot of her co-workers showed up to help celebrate our boys. 

Here are some pictures:



The yummy cake.  It was half chocolate and half white.
Rachael got 1 bite and took a piece home to Chris.





Some shots of those who came to help celebrate



Amy (the other Home EC teacher) & Kari (the Tech Ed teacher)
getting ready to serve the cake and super yummy punch



Getting ready to open gifts



Matching jammies for the boys



2 sets of sheets (Disney Cars & Toy Story)

We also got gift cards, some toys (dump truck, fire engine that makes noise,mega blocks), sippy cups, snack cups, 2 outfits and a few other things.

We really appreciated the shower!

Rachael made up a collage of pictures of us and the boys to show off to those who hadn't seen them yet.  Everyone thought they looked really adorable!

We are still waiting on our FBI clearance.  Other than that, the papers are pretty much ready to get notarized, Apostilled and sent to Dallas to check then send to Russia.



Please continue to pray for us as we finish getting things ready for the boys.  So far, it seems as if we have the funds we need, unless airplane ticket prices go up or something else happens.  We know that God will provide what we need, when we need it.

On the way home....

We are sitting in the lobby of the Pur Navalok Hotel in Archangelsk waiting for our ride to the airport to begin the journey home.  It is currently 11:55 am on Saturday, October 9.  Today we will fly to Moscow, spend the night and fly out on Sunday morning (10:30 am) to Houston (arriving at 2:00 pm; same day).  We are looking forward to sleeping in our own bed!

Our last post was in the same hotel before flying to Kotlas to meet our boys.  The airport we flew out of was a bit smaller than the one we arrived at here in Archangelsk.  The only issue Rachael had with the airport was the bathroom facility.  It was at the bottom of the flight of stairs, was labeled for women, had a sink and 3 stalls (with doors but no locks) and contained running water and toilet paper.  The issue was the fact that the 'seat' was on the floor (okay, it was a toilet shaped basin imbeded into the concrete floor) and you had 2 choices: to squat or to squat.  Apparently she still has fairly good 'aim' but isn't quite as flexible as she once was.  At least it had toilet paper.....

Chris fared a bit better in the men's room.....

The plane we flew on could hold 19 passengers & 2 in the cockpit.  It was an older model with 'storage space' for the luggage in the back section.  We knew our luggage would get on the plane, because we loaded it ourselves.  No beverage service, not even a steward or stewardess (no room on the plane for them!).  If you were thristy, you had to bring it yourself.  The flight was rather smooth for the hour and a half it took to get to Kotlas.  Our ears kept popping because of the pressure in the cabin, but it was okay.  I will post a picture of the view from my seat later.

Once we landed in Kotlas, things started moving quickly.  We met Dimitri at the hotel before we left Archangelsk, as well as another couple adopting from the same orphanage in Kotlas.  it has been great to have another couple to walk through this process with.  They are from Michigan and are adopting a sibling group of 2 as well (boy & girl).  We met Anya (our translator for our stay in Kotlas) and our driver at the airport.  They took us to the hotel to settle in.  Our room was rather nice (and newer) than some of the others in the hotel.  We had a 'suite' that consisted of a sitting room, bedroom and bathroom.  It was really nice to have the water heater in the bathroom!  I think it got hot enough to boil!  The shower was small (about big enough for one person who didn't turn around or bend over too much).

The 'Cafeteria' was one floor below us (we were on the 3rd floor) and pretty decent.  It was basically a corner area that had doorways, a counter to order from and tables with chairs to sit.  The food was good (once we figured out what to order) but wasn't the portion size we are used to (I think we both have lost a few pounds).  We had pork pieces with potatos the first night and pancakes (we call them crepes) for breakfast the next morning.  Once the girl behind the counter figured out our pointing and broken words, she was very helpful!  Yesterday when we went down for breakfast, they didn't have pancakes.  That was all we knew to order, so she brought out a tray with sliced bread that had cheese & meat slices on it to offer for breakfast.  Was pretty good.  Chai was the beverage of choice for breakfast.  Hot tea is always good when you don't know what else to order.

We were able to spend 3 different times with the children at the orphanage, Thursday morning, Thursday afternoon and Friday morning.  We got to spend about 2 hours each time.  We will tell you about all of that in another blog posting.

We ate lunch in Kotlas at Fortune Cafe both days .  Really good food (when it was cooked all the way through).  Anya joined us both times and we all had a nice time visiting.  Anya is an English teacher and was really excited about using and improving her English skills.  We were really glad to have her help us out.

We flew back to Archangelsk Friday afternoon on the same type of plane that took us to Kotlas (We know it wasn't the same because of the seat covers).  Vladimir met us all at the airport, dropped Chris and I off somewhere to another taxi that brought us to the hotel while he took Heather & Brian to the other airport to catch their flight to St. Petersberg.  We both got some sleep last night (finally!) and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast this morning before packing up and settling in the lobby to wait for our ride to the airport.

We will post about meeting our boys and the time we spent with them later.  We won't be able to post pictures of them until we get them home, so be patient as we will all have to wait!

Thank you for all of your prayers and support.  Please continue to pray as we enter this last phase of paperwork and waiting to bring our boys home.  We have signed papers here to start the official adoption process here, but we still have papers to work on at home (INS approval, FBI clearance, other papers to sign & notarize....)

Prayerfully making a decision

Chris and I met with a doctor this morning and have a big decision to make. 

Please continue to keep us in your prayers over the next few days as we discuss and pray about the decision as to whether or not we want to pursue these 2 precious boys to be our sons.

We don't want to make an emotionally based decision, so we have told our caseworker that Rachael will let her know on Friday of our decision.

Thank you for your prayers and support during this time.

????????

Wednesday I called our caseworker to check on the status of our dossier.  She had a referral ready for us!!!

We are being asked to consider 2 brothers (age 2 & 4) for adoption.

We have an appointment with a doctor at Texas Children's Hospital International Clinic at 10:00 am Tuesday to go over the pictures, papers, etc that we have.  We are praying that all looks good regarding their health.  We will make a decision after we meet with the doctor as to whether or not we want to pursue the boys in adoption.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we meet with the doctor and consider these 2 boys.  Also, keep the boys and their current caregivers in your prayers.

Right now, we are about $8000 short of what we anticipate needing for all of the travel expenses and fees.  Please keep our financial situation in your prayers as well. 

Home Study Update update

Not the best hour & forty-five minutes of our adoption so far.

She called at 1:30 to let us know that she was running late and that she would call again when she was leaving her house. She called just after 4 pm and didn't get to our house till almost 5:15. She left at 7:00.

She kept mentioning that she didn't feel prepared because she didn't have our updated forms (I sent them off this afternoon) and she needed them for the update. She should get her copy tomorrow in the mail. Love the US Post Office Flat Rate Priority Mail!!

She kept referring to "at DePelchin, we....." even though our adoption is through Buckner. She works for DePelchin, so I can understand, but really?

Last Russian Adoption Home Study she did was in 1986. Things have changed since then. A Lot Has Changed Since Then!!

She asked about things we weren't told that we needed to update: physicals for us, Fire & Environmental Health forms (CPS forms), etc. When I showed her the letter I received from Kristen (coordinator for Home Study paperwork for Dillon), she wrote down the forms listed that we filled out and said, "Well at DePelchin, we update all parts of the Home Study, not just some of the things". Again, really? This is NOT an adoption through DePelchin!! Forgetting that are we? I know that the state requires certain things, but REALLY??

When she asked about if we had been working on the things the psychologist suggested in his report, we asked What Things? We were never told of any things to work on! After 5 minutes of conversation and her looking at her notes, she realized that we have apparently improved in those areas. Never did find out what she was referring to. We didn't get a copy of the original Home Study, so I have nothing to look at. I guess whatever she referred to wasn't an issue to Buckner as they never mentioned anything. We figured they would have said something if it was important!

After about 30 minutes into the meeting, Chris started getting nervous. He Never Gets Nervous or Anxious!! Not a good sign, because that just made me wonder if we did something wrong, forgot stuff, or would have to go through this again!

I emailed Kristen our concerns regarding the meeting on Sunday and she seemed to appreciate my comments. After she talks with the Adoption Supervisor, she will get back to me about it. Hopefully nothing will be delayed because of all this. I don't want to get the lady in trouble or have to go through this with someone else, but, Really?? Not a good sign when you make your client nervous and the client isn't sure why!

Please pray that all goes well with this situation!!

News....

Chris was offered a position on the Fort Bend ISD Athletic Crew!! Yeah!! Now we don't have to decide what to do. He doesn't know all the details, but he did tell me that it should be the same pay & hours. He isn't sure where the Athletic Crew will be located (he is currently working out of the Hodges Bend Bus Barn), but it doesn't matter to him. The two possible locations aren't that far away. He will still be able to work his part-time position at Wal-Mart as scheduled. This is great news for us!

Regarding the incident that has been in the news lately about the adoptive mom who sent her adopted child back to Russia, we are not concerned. I got an email from our Buckner Caseworker today that basically said to not be concerned or worry that it will slow or stop the process. Until they hear specifics, things will progress as anticipated. If there are any changes or such, it will take time for anything to be done.

Please keep praying that things will go well. God has His hands all over this adoption (as seen in all the really cool things that have happened lately) and we just need to trust in Him.

Good; no, it's GREAT News!

I got a call Saturday night from Chris' dad with some wonderful news! His sister Sue has been talking with the family (Grandma, Grandpa, Aunts & Uncles in California) about helping with our adoption fund. I talked with Aunt Sue last Tuesday night about how things were going. The news that Mel had to share Saturday night was that the family was going to help us out with most (if not all) of what we need for the adoption! What excellent news! It really made our Easter very special.

I spent the next hour on-line getting information from the USCIS website, downloading the I-600A form that we need to send in. This is the "Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition" that is required by the US Immigration Service we need to submit to get approved to adopt from Russia. It will also include getting fingerprinted. I spent time today trying to get more information (clarify a question regarding translating Chris' birth certificate from Spanish to English) and eventually had to send an e-mail (I really hate computers on the phone....). I hope to get an answer soon so we can send in the paperwork. The sooner it is processed, the sooner we can send our Dossier to Russia!

We are really excited about this new turn of events! Just when we thought that we would have to wait several months or a year to continue the process, God blesses us with this!!! God is so wonderful!!

Please continue to pray for us during this time of paperwork; pray for our children and their current caretakers; pray for our family as they help us out with the funds; pray for Chris' work situation (should know something around the 15th of April).

Bad news & Good news.....

We have bad news & goods news.

As of April 30, 2010, Chris will no longer be employed as a groundskeeper with Fort Bend ISD. They have 'outsourced' the groundskeeping department. The good news regarding it is that Fort Bend ISD will keep 14 of the guys on the Athletic Crew and 6 on a new HVAC (not quite sure what that all entails) Crew. There are 6 positions available in the Custodial department that those not chosen for the other 2 crews can interview for. Chris thinks that he has a decent/good shot of being selected for one of the Crews (the selection process is being done in the 'office' and the guys don't have any say-so in the process) based on the criteria they were told last week. They have been told that they will know if they are selected for a crew around the 15th of April (or so they were told....) we we will have to wait and see what happens.

Either way, Chris still has his part-time job with Wal-Mart and there is the possibility that he will be able to go full-time if he needs to.

I will be back at Beckendorff Junior High next year (turned in my contract this past week) teaching the same thing with a new name. The class name is changing from "Personal & Family Development (PFD)" to "Principles of Human Services (PHS)" but it is still Home Economics.

So far we have about half of the funds we need to continue the paperwork for the Adoption. Because of things going slower than anticipated, we are now looking at starting the paperwork this fall, hoping that we will be able to meet our children and bring them home next summer (unless God provides for things faster; He is in the Miracle business.....).

Please continue to pray that we stay on track. As things have slowed down, it is easy to get discouraged about all of this.

Please pray for my sister and I as we have 3 craft shows coming up: Seven Lakes High School Garage Sale (April 10), Fishers of Men Lutheran Church Mom's Market (April 24) & St. Andrew's Episcopal Church Spring Craft Fair (May 15).

Chris and I are planning a Garage Sale at our house on April 17. Please pray for us as we prepare for it and that we have a good turnout (good profit).

January 29: Update

Since my last post, there hasn't been a whole lot of new stuff to report:

**Sold the baby blankets on Monday and deposited the check on the way home from their office. :)

**Meeting up with my dad on Saturday (while Chris is at work) morning to check prices and go over stuff for the Ham Fest on March 6. Worked on it this week and just need to get prices before figuring out how much of each item we need to purchase. They had about 800 people last year and Dad estimates around 1000 this year. I plan to get the one day food vendor permit application turned in late next week (have to wait till I get paid Monday).

**Waiting to get my passport in the mail. Hopefully it will be here soon.

**Chris has been reading a book, Parenting with Love & Logic, to fulfill this quarter's education requirement. I will read it when he is done.

**My sister is going to have a booth at the Ham Fest to sell our items (check out our store: www.landrdesigns.etsy.com ) She is also getting information about a local craft fair at a church in Sugarland on Saturday, April something. Obviously I don't have much information yet......

**Our adoption fund is just over $8000 today! Please continue to pray that we will see a steady (and large) increase. We know that God has it all under control, but it is getting harder every day to be patient.

**I posted a baseball card that a friend gave us to sell to raise funds. There are about 2 days left for the auction, and no bids yet. Check it out on eBay: 1973 Rookie Third Basemen (Rey, Hilton, Schmidt). If it doesn't sell this time, I will repost it and continue praying! I also plan to post several other items in the next week or so.

Update

It's been a while since my last post; here's what is going on right now....

1. Working on 10 blankets right now (ordered by Family to Family Adoptions to give to their new adoptive families). 6 are completed and 4 are still a work in progress. The proceeds will go into our Adoption Fund.

2. Working on menu and stuff for a concession stand at the Greater Houston Ham Fest (run by Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club) on Saturday, March 6. Our stand is called "DX Kid's Cafe" and we are hoping to bring in a fair amount of money for our Adoption Fund.

3. My students at school are now working on their sewing projects and I am really enjoying it!

4. Chris is working at Wal-Mart, with his paycheck going into our Adoption Fund. He is still a cashier, but is hoping that they will move him to another area soon.

5. My sister is donating a portion of items that she makes and sells (from today till January 31) through our Etsy shop: www.landrdesigns.etsy.com to Compassion International that will go to help those in need in Haiti. Stop by our shop and check it out.

6. I sent the paperwork yesterday to renew my passport. Pray that it gets processed quickly.


It doesn't seem like much, but we are busy!

Please keep us and our children in your prayers! We currently have just under $7,000 in our Adoption Fund. We need about $40,000 before we can send our paperwork to Russia.

Back to the blankets; they won't make themselves!!