A lot has happened since my last post. First, we received an awesome surprise in our mailbox yesterday. Here is an excerpt from it: "...we are pleased to inform you that you have received an adoption assistance grant in the amount of $3,000." We received a grant from Shaohannah's Hope! This is the organization that Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife started to aid families who want to adopt. If you remember from a few months earlier, his youngest daughter was killed in an accident in their driveway. They started a Maria Miracle Fund in her honor. The last I heard they had already received over $600,000 to help adopting families. We feel very blessed to be one of the recipients of this grant.
And, today we were excited to receive even more good news. We will have our court date scheduled in approximately 2-3 weeks. It looks like we will be heading to Russia next month or early September (this is just a guess). We are so happy that we have some kind of end in sight. It was starting to feel like we'd never get back to Russia.
So, now we are looking to make our lives super organized. We will not know how long we will be gone until the judge tells us. We are looking at 2 1/2-4 weeks! It's time to brush up on our Russian as well. I was too frustrated with the wait to even bother reviewing it.
As you can see, it should be a very exciting few weeks ahead. We may even be surprised with a court date earlier than expected. We can only hope and pray.
Kristin
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
It's All About Family
Sorry that I have not blogged in awhile. There hasn't been too much to say. You would be hearing me say the same thing over and over - "We should be hearing this week when we will go back to Russia."
Document-wise we are doing pretty good. Our medicals are updated and Evan will be getting them apostilled tomorrow. Evan also spoke to our new home study agency this morning. I think they plan on working on our addendum this week. That should be all of the paperwork that we have to worry about - for now.
Now onto the reason for my blog title. I had an interesting conversation with the cashier at Giant Eagle on Saturday morning. He seems to be the only cashier ever working there as early as I go. For the last few months, we have been purchasing various baby items. These items are usually purchased one item at a time, so they hadn't drawn any attention from the cashier - until Saturday. Since I had a $5.00 off coupon, I bought some diapers, wipes, and juice for Nicholas. The cashier must have realized that there is a baby in our life.
Cashier: "Where's the little guy?"
Me: Russia. (I love being coy)
Cashier: (With a surprised look) Are you Russian?
Me: No. That's where he lives, but he'll be home soon.
So, we got on the topic of adoption. I could tell he wasn't a fan, especially of us adopting from Russia. He asked me a lot of questions that I think stretched the bounds of our cashier-customer relationship.
This leads me to the answer I should have given the cashier when he asked why we're adopting - IT'S ALL ABOUT FAMILY. Nicholas needs a family and we have one to offer. In an ideal world, children wouldn't have to be given up for adoption and there wouldn't be any infertility either. However, that is not reality.
So, who cares if he is from Russia and not the United States? Each person, each family are lead down different paths. The bottom line is that there are children all over the world that have no families. And, there are families all over the world that have space in their hearts and lives for a child. It's all about family.
Sorry if I got on my soapbox, but I still have to deal with unwanted and judgmental looks and comments. A simple, "We're happy for you" or "Congratulations" would suffice.
Finally, I want to end by saying that sometime this week we SHOULD hear about when we are going to Russia. One of two things are supposed to happen: 1) We get an estimated timeframe of when our courtdate will be, or 2) We actually get a court date. So, please stay tuned . . .
Document-wise we are doing pretty good. Our medicals are updated and Evan will be getting them apostilled tomorrow. Evan also spoke to our new home study agency this morning. I think they plan on working on our addendum this week. That should be all of the paperwork that we have to worry about - for now.
Now onto the reason for my blog title. I had an interesting conversation with the cashier at Giant Eagle on Saturday morning. He seems to be the only cashier ever working there as early as I go. For the last few months, we have been purchasing various baby items. These items are usually purchased one item at a time, so they hadn't drawn any attention from the cashier - until Saturday. Since I had a $5.00 off coupon, I bought some diapers, wipes, and juice for Nicholas. The cashier must have realized that there is a baby in our life.
Cashier: "Where's the little guy?"
Me: Russia. (I love being coy)
Cashier: (With a surprised look) Are you Russian?
Me: No. That's where he lives, but he'll be home soon.
So, we got on the topic of adoption. I could tell he wasn't a fan, especially of us adopting from Russia. He asked me a lot of questions that I think stretched the bounds of our cashier-customer relationship.
This leads me to the answer I should have given the cashier when he asked why we're adopting - IT'S ALL ABOUT FAMILY. Nicholas needs a family and we have one to offer. In an ideal world, children wouldn't have to be given up for adoption and there wouldn't be any infertility either. However, that is not reality.
So, who cares if he is from Russia and not the United States? Each person, each family are lead down different paths. The bottom line is that there are children all over the world that have no families. And, there are families all over the world that have space in their hearts and lives for a child. It's all about family.
Sorry if I got on my soapbox, but I still have to deal with unwanted and judgmental looks and comments. A simple, "We're happy for you" or "Congratulations" would suffice.
Finally, I want to end by saying that sometime this week we SHOULD hear about when we are going to Russia. One of two things are supposed to happen: 1) We get an estimated timeframe of when our courtdate will be, or 2) We actually get a court date. So, please stay tuned . . .
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Waiting Patiently (Or At Least Trying)
Since Memorial Day we have known about a small delay in us going back to Russia. We thought it would be resolved by now, but it hasn't. In fact, the source of the delay will probably not be resolved until next week. I am sorry that I cannot be specific. I guess you can consider it an unspoken prayer request. Anyway, the communication regarding this delay has been less than ideal. I'm not sure whether it is our agency or the people in Russia. All I know is that it makes me feel helpless. I know that God is ultimately in control of this situation, but I have never been a patient person.
So, I am not sure if we are going in August or September. If a miracle happens, we could still go this month. Evan and I are already looking into different options for his Fall Semester of school. He could drop a class. He could take it at a different campus that starts later in the semester. He has some options.
All I know is that there is a little boy in Russia that is so worth this whole process - headaches in all. While we may miss the first 18 months of his life, we will have many days and years ahead to share with him.
In the meantime, we will continue to work on our documents that need updated. We will continue to get the last few items we need for Nicholas. And of course, it gives us more time to save money, which is always a good thing.
We are also happy to report that as of today, Evan is back to work!!! The doctor gave him the "all clear", except for climbing up and down ladders. I think he's very happy. He defintely was getting stir-crazy.
In closing, we will wait and hear what next week brings. We may even know sooner!
Kristin
So, I am not sure if we are going in August or September. If a miracle happens, we could still go this month. Evan and I are already looking into different options for his Fall Semester of school. He could drop a class. He could take it at a different campus that starts later in the semester. He has some options.
All I know is that there is a little boy in Russia that is so worth this whole process - headaches in all. While we may miss the first 18 months of his life, we will have many days and years ahead to share with him.
In the meantime, we will continue to work on our documents that need updated. We will continue to get the last few items we need for Nicholas. And of course, it gives us more time to save money, which is always a good thing.
We are also happy to report that as of today, Evan is back to work!!! The doctor gave him the "all clear", except for climbing up and down ladders. I think he's very happy. He defintely was getting stir-crazy.
In closing, we will wait and hear what next week brings. We may even know sooner!
Kristin
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