THE WAIT BEGINS

Our meeting with IAG in Pittsburgh went great.  We feel even more confident about working with them.  They have such an amazing story about how they got into adoption.  Also, Larisa (the head of the agency) has spent so much of her own time over the past 20 years cultivating relationships and improving the orphanages in Russia.  She has made such a difference in so many little lives.  She truly sees the children has hers and wants to find the right families for them.  Not find a child for the family.  

Now we wait....wait for our referral.  Our home study is now complete and official.  We have to send off for our I600A approval which is part of the advanced immigration process for the children we adopt.  The approval could take up to 2 months to receive.  We really can't do a whole lot until that comes back.  Our Dossier is complete as well.  We are so anxious to get a referral but we know it all has to be in God's time.  I just wish He worked a little more on my time!  ;)

We continue to pray for the girls every day (in fact it is 12:22 am as I write this, they should be fast asleep!).  We are praying for health both physically and emotionally.  I am not sure about now but at one point Russia's national religion was Atheism.  So we are praying that the girls' hearts will be open to hear and accept the message of Jesus.  Then the normal prayers of travel safety for us, finances, and our own hearts to be prepared.  Ultimately, God is in control and we have faith in God.

Another Step Closer

Last Tuesday we had the home study visit.  Everything went very well.  The rough draft of the study is done and being sent to our agency today!  God has been so good to us!  Our dossier is finished as well (except for the home study).  St. Elizabeth's and our social worker, Jo Anne, were so gracious to work on such a quick time frame.  Jo Anne, said that they normally take 4-6 weeks to get a home study done.  Ours was done in a few weeks.  Just goes to show you how inefficiently we work sometimes.  I am sure there is a reason for the time they take.  I am just glad they made an exception for us.

Our next stop is to meet with our adoption agency, IAG, this week.  After that, it will just be finalizing the home study and dossier.  And ultimately, waiting for our referral.  Besides chasing down paperwork, we have been trying to prepare for the girls.  However, I am finding that extremely difficult!  This is harder then pregnancy!  At least when you are pregnant, you know you will be getting an infant.  So, you know exactly what they need...a crib, 0-3 month clothes, and all the rest of the baby gear.  We could get girls anywhere from 9 months to 5 years old.  I guess I should just focus on getting the boys' room arranged and organized so that when the time comes, I won't be trying to do both rooms.

Life is good!  Still praying for travel safety, for the girls' hearts to be prepared, and for the four of us to be prepared as well.  Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!!

Tuesday

Time for our home study!  The social worker is coming Tuesday for our home visit.  I can't believe how fast this is all moving.  I know there will be road blocks at some point but I am thanking God for each step we clear.  It is a little unnerving to have some stranger come to your home to determine your fitness as parents.  I feel like I have a thousand things to do before Tuesday.  The reality is that I know they are all meaningless.

I love how God puts little reassurances in our lives in the most unexpected places.  Last week, Eric and I were both having doubts.  Not doubts about what we are doing but doubts about if we could handle it, if we were choosing the right country, etc.   Luke gets the Secret Agent Adventures from Highlights.  Each month the adventure takes place in a different month.  This month was Russia! 

Tongue Tied!

I guess God wanted us to make sure we had a feel for what winter is like in Russia!  Ice storm and then frigid temperatures...just glad we only have 3-4 months of it.  This weather has allowed us to stay home long enough to get our paperwork done.  All of the paper work for our home study is now complete.  Now we wait for the social worker to come for a home visit.  Then she gets the lovely task of writing a 10-12 page report on our fitness as parents.  We received a list for the dossier (the packet of papers to send to Russian government for approval).  No big surprises.  Should have dossier done in a few weeks.       We had heard the nightmares about the paper chase.  So far, we have not had any problems.  Praise God for that. 

First Russian lesson today.  Man, that is a hard language.  We love our vowels...they love their consonants!  I am sure I will pick up enough to get me by but it has been a long time since I tried to learn foreign language.  The boys will get their first lesson later today.  I am sure they will put me to shame!

If you would like to pray for us as we go through this journey, we would greatly appreciate it!  I am going to start including specific prayer requests on each post.  Our prayer requests for today:

• The children God has chosen for us are being well taken care of, loved and protected.
• God's timing on everything
• Eric and I, as well as the boys, are also prepared for the changes our family will encounter