As we wait...

We have learned that the adoption process involves a lot of waiting (and praying during that wait).  We continue to wait for the letter with the I-800a approval.

Yesterday and today there has been a heightened level of excitement in our house.  Not only is it Christmas, we all get a break from school which is much appreciated.  Our kids exchange names with each other and share their gifts to each other on Christmas Eve, and we usually give them one from us to unwrap.

We were making up cookie dough yesterday morning, and I got to thinking about what next year's Christmas will be like with S and V in our home.  My mind started to wonder about what they were doing at that time--at dinner time on Christmas Eve in their country.  Do they go to church?  Have they heard about the amazing gift God gave us in Christ and the reason for Christmas celebration?  Do they have any idea of the story of Jesus' birth?  Do they have anything special happen at the orphanage to celebrate Christ's birth?  My heart longs to be with them, to have them a part of the excitement, a part of the celebration of Jesus' birthday, to have them included in the anticipation of the day and the joy of spending time with family---eating too much, playing lots of games, and laughing often.  We were listening to a Steven Curtis Chapman Christmas CD while working in the kitchen and a song titled "All I Really Want For Christmas is a Family" came on---we both thought about how deep of a longing that must be for so many this year (and every year)---not the things that our other kids or other American kids want--but the deep-seated, God-given need for a family.  God didn't design any child to live in an orphanage.

At church yesterday, we ended up in the narthex area (it was impossible to find seven seats together).  A little 18 month old girl kept hopping past us---sweet as could be.  Bill and I talked after service and both had the same things running through our heads---what did our girls do at Christmas at that age?  What did they do every day at that age?  So many thoughts about what their lives were like pre-orphanage and in the orphanage.  We know we will find out more when we travel---all pieces of who they are.

During the songs we sang, my mind wandered to so many memories of Christmases growing up--and Dad.  How I miss him this year!  He always made our Christmases so special, spending so much time thinking about what each of us would like and also taking time to take us to Christmas concerts and activities.  Rejoicing that he is with Jesus this year but missing his presence here.  Grateful that we can spend time today with Mom!

So thankful for God's gift to us---His precious Son Jesus.  And that through Jesus, God has adopted us as His children.

For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world 

to be holy and blameless in His sight.  

In love He predestined us for adoption 

to sonship through Jesus Christ, 

in accordance with His pleasure and will--

to the praise of His glorious grace, 

which He has freely given us in the One He loves.  

Ephesians 1:4-6

May we truly understand "Immanuel"---God with us.

Got me thinking......

Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter."
Francis Chan

I want to hold your hand....

These hands--

And these---

Can't wait to be able to hold these hands and love these two sweeties!  The days are flying, but it still seems like it is a long time until we will get to meet our girls.  S, our 5 year old, will turn 6 in a month--how we would love to celebrate with her!  All in God's timing.

On other "hand" news, Jenny, Bill and I had our hands held for fingerprinting for our I-800A.  Yeah!  Last week we got a letter with a date to come in on it, but we would have had a hard time for Bill and Jenny to get off work so we decided to walk in on Friday.  Thankfully they took us!  After 20 minutes, we were done.  Now we pray that the officer assigned gets our paperwork approved quickly.

An I-800A is the US Citizenship and Immigration (USCIS) form used to initiate the adoption process for Hague countries.  It usually takes 2-3 months for this to be processed.  You send your application, along with your home study, birth and marriage certificates and a big check and then get a fingerprinting (biometric) date.  We sent our application on 11/20.  So thankful to be where we are and praying that we will get approval quickly!  Once we get that, we have it notarized and apostilled and add it to our dossier.  Then our dossier is ready to submit to the girls' country.  Can't wait!

Every day is a day closer......

Did you know...

While preparing for the benefit concert, I was pulling together some statistics and wanted to share here.  Sometimes numbers can be so hard to comprehend---they are out of our realm of understanding the magnitude.  But each number below is a child---someone with a name and a story of their own, many times with much pain that is no fault of their own but often based on where and when they were born. Only by God's grace was I born in a country where my parents could provide for us and give us medical care and an education.  Only by His grace are we able to do the same for our children, never having to decide which child gets which meal (something the moms in Mekele, Ethiopia do daily), never having to wonder how to get medication for my children (other than which cupboard it is in), and never having to decide whether or not to turn my child into an orphanage because I know if I wouldn't they wouldn't survive.  When Jenny and I were in Ethiopia, we found out this is the reality for many of the moms/families there.  Thank You God for that opportunity and for opening my eyes to the need in the world.  Help me to always see ways You have for us to help others and also appreciate Your many blessings, the majority of which we take for granted.

As you read these statistics, try to think of the number as real children---here are pictures of some of the beautiful kids we met in Ethiopia--all who may fit into one of these "numbers" below---

Every day, 5,670 children become orphans.  That is 236 per hour. Almost 4 a minute.

Depending on what you read, the estimates of orphans in the world are 147-162 million children.  147,000,000  to  162,000,000 children.  Half the population of our country.  Each child with a story---each child desiring a family.

If the numbers of orphans were a country, orphans would be the 8th largest in the world!

95% of the world's orphans are over 5.  How many of these kids are overlooked because they aren't young!

In eastern Europe, less than 50% of the orphan population will live to see their 20th birthday.  In eastern Europe, of the orphans that survive their 20th birthday, 50% will end up in organized crime, drugs, or prostitution.

To look at these statistics in a different way, think of what you did in the last hour.

In the past hour---
1,667 children under the age of five died of malnutrition and vaccine-preventable diseases
1,625 children were forced to live on the streets by the death or abuse of an adult
600 children died of starvation
257 children were orphaned because of HIV/AIDS
115 children became victims of sex trafficking

Each of these children, fearfully and wonderfully made.  Each made in the image of God.  Each treasured by Him.

We are all beginning to prepare.....

As we as a family begin to think about bringing our girls home, we are all thinking about ways to incorporate them into our lives.  We had about an inch of snow on Friday, and Nate and Ellie made snow angels.  They both said they can't wait to play outside in the snow with their sisters.

At the benefit concert, two of Jenny's friends were selling hats and scarves they make to help orphans.  They have helped fund many adoptions, including donating half of their earnings on the night of the concert to our family!  Thank you Sarah and Rachel!  They are two amazing young gals---they help adoptive families in so many ways, from traveling to babysit to advocating for so many of "the least of these".  We are blessed to know both of you!

Jenny bought two darling hats for her new sisters---

If you are interested in looking at other items they have for sale, take a look here-- a great place to shop for Christmas!  http://handiworkforelijah.weebly.com/

The paperwork is on its way---

Yesterday we fedexed our dossier documents!  What a great feeling to send this package out, one huge step closer to bringing the girls home!

The dossier is a group of documents that the girls' birth country require.  Each of these documents need to be notarized and the notarized documents all need to be apostilled (which means the notary signature is checked to see if it is legitimate).  The documents include things like our home study, medical reports for all of us in the family, birth certificates for all, financial information, background checks, etc. ---all things to allow the country to know we are who we say we are.  

Our dossier will be sent to the in country facilitator who will begin translating it while we wait for our USCIS fingerprinting.  We sent all that paperwork on Monday.  The paperwork race is almost over!

Many wonder why international adoption is so expensive---we've learned a big part of it is the cost of verifying who you say you are.  There is a cost for the majority of the documents in some way---a cost for sending, pulling info (our county charged $20 per person for background checks).  The home study is really a way to give the birth country a overview of who you are---all with a cost.  We had to have checks on every county we lived in since we were 18---many had a cost to check.  And all this is done for the safety of the adoptive children.  We have had people ask why it is so expensive---the stack of paperwork we sent yesterday had a cost to it---all completely worth it!  What is the cost of two lives? And we are thankful that the birth countries have requirements for the adoptive families to protect the children.

So thankful to have made the trip to Fedex yesterday!!  Praying that all of it will be processed quickly.

T-shirts

Joe created these wonderful t-shirts!  We were all thrilled at how they turned out!

We are selling them for $15 and have sizes small to XXL.

If you are interested in ordering, please e-mail me at mommaruthies@gmail.com

I love our models:)