Who said Carolina blue was ok?
If organized chaos is a real thing, then we are living there. Beth
recently spoke with our coordinator in Virginia who informed us that
there might possibly be a chance that we could maybe be back in
Russia before the end of October, potentially... ok.
Really we have received a good word from Virginia that they are
pushing for us to return to Russia before the end of October. This
is mostly because ALL of our original paperwork, (We know that you
are confused as to which paperwork we are speaking but this is from
the first round, out of three, we have done) is set to expire in
November. Some of the paperwork depends on other government
agencies, so it would be ideal if this didn't happen.
For this to happen we need to be assigned a court date in late
October. I know to many of you outside the super-secret-in-the-know-
adoption-circle our journey has seemed complicated rought with
uncertainty and slow. However, it is actually been quite smooth.
Really this is a testament to God's faithfulness to answer the
prayers of His people. We both firmly believe that if we didn't have
a prayer covering than much of what has occurred wouldn't have.
Thank you! Please continue on-ward in this journey as we near the
next big hurdle, receiving a court date.
Other major answers to prayer include the provision of the financial
resources to make this a possibility. The up-front cost of
international adoption is prohibitive, however God has provided the
means for us to meet the bulk of the expense. PTL!
We have finished painting the boy's room.
Benny Moore's Grandma's Sweater
(Carolina blue), with horizontal strips: two, thinner Fiesta Yellow
(bright yellow) and one, thicker Feel the Energy (lime green) in the
middle of the room. Major answer to prayer that this was completed
before we received a court date. Of course my brother-in-law will
not think that is a major prayer answered, as he would have preferred
a NC State red as the majority color.
We have purchased furniture for the room at a discount (used in a
model home, received nearly 70% off). We have discovered Ross, TJ
Max, Nordstrom Rack, JC Penney, Osh-Kosh Outlet, Carter's Outlet,
Gymboree (ok not really), Target, and Kohls (!!!) are great places to
purchase clothing at a discount, given the right sale.
We continue to see God refine the two of us in this process. We
started out thinking, really assuming that we would have a couple of
birth children then we would adopt. We never considered that
adoption would be pursued first and birth children a hope for the
future. We are convinced that He is in control of our life. He has
our best interest at heart. He knows what the perfect timing will be
for us. And though we are not there yet, we have a glimmer into that
state of being where one is content.
While we don't know what a pregnancy is like, we can somewhat related
to the process. Here is our "adoption process is harder than an
actual preganancy" case: we have been pursuing the children for
nearly 12 months, insurance does not cover the cost, we have filled
out three rounds of paperwork (all signed, notarized, apostilled,
FedExed, and translated), our labor consists of traveling across two
continents, one ocean, and 10 time-zones with two children that
barely know us, don't speak any English, may be teething, have
diarrhea, a parasite or two, and dealing with the United Airlines
flight attendants... This is all to say God has been doing a number
on our hearts in bonding to these two little ones. We are very excited!
We love you. Thank you for being apart of this journey with us.
Please continue to pray for our journey!
Please pray
o for a court date in October
o provision for the adoption expenses
o protection from evil
o strength in our marriage
o provision of enough vacation time for John, (the trip and 2-3 weeks
when we return)
o Austin and Jacob would bond quickly to us
o return trip would be miraculously smooth and quiet
o patience, strength, and understanding of each other and these boys
Take care,
John and Beth (nearly parents)
4 comments:
From: Jen M
Date: September 27, 2005 1:08:29 PM MDT
Hi John,
Carolina blue was a GREAT choice, of course!!! :) This is such wonderful news. It has been really cool to see God's hand in this whole process, and we will continue to keep praying for you.
Hopefully we can get together sometime this weekend to celebrate Beth's birthday with you guys!
Jen
From: Amy H
Date: September 27, 2005 9:06:35 AM MDT
This news is so exciting. I can't wait to one day meet these little one's. It is also neat that Jacob was born 2 days after our son Parker. You are still in our prayers.
Amy and Joe
From: Anthony T
Date: October 4, 2005 6:45:42 PM MDT
John & Beth,
We are honored that you would include us in this process. We love you both and are committed to praying thru this process.
Much love, grace & peace,
Anthony, Nikki & Siena
From: Paula S
Date: September 26, 2005 3:45:28 PM MDT
Dear John and Beth,
What a fantastic email to receive!!!! Sounds like you are well on you way to parenthood. The boys' room sounds really cute and love those colors!!
Thanks for the update and we send this message with continued prayers. I received exciting news in the mail today - a baby shower invite!! Does that mean that you will both be traveling east in October? What a busy time for you!! Blessings abound!!
Love, Paula and Jim
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