Won't be long now

This week is beginning much better than last week.
Today I tracked our documents (that were sent DHL on Friday) and discovered that they are already in Moscow and signed for. Praise God! I know that the translation process is in the works and that is another step closer to a court date.
Also, another couple adopting from the same region (Voronezh) has finally received their court date, so we can't be too far behind! We are thrilled for the Sheldons and hope to meet them in the near future. Thanks Missy for sharing your journey, our hearts are with you, and we rejoice with you.
Natalie's room now has a crib, a rocking recliner, and a dollhouse bookcase. Hopefully tonight we will tackle the changing table/dresser and hang the window treatments. I love just sitting in the recliner, staring into the crib, with the nightlight on . . . . . . soon she'll be sleeping there and my heart is bursting with anticipation!

The Paperchase Continues . . . .

It's only Tuesday, and this week has already been filled with so much craziness! We finally received the documents I sent to Richmond for apostille on Saturday, only to find out that two of them must be redone. Today I met with our FC (family coordinator) to discover that 4 of the apostilled documents must also be redone. Two of which were our medicals which are a bit difficult to obtain in the first place. For some reason they completed our medicals but not on letterhead. This is unacceptable--why didn't I catch that? As soon as I left the agency, I drove to the doctor's office to see what could be done. We go to a group of doctors, so we don't always see the same one and at this point I didn't care. I was not going to leave until a doctor, any doctor filled out our health form on letterhead. After explaining my situation to several people at the doctor's, someone finally came up with a solution to fix the documents, but their notary had already gone home for the day. Here's my "but God" moment for the day: I have a friend who is a notary and she hopped in her car and met me at the doctors to notarize the signature. Just when you think there is no solution, God steps in--I love 'but God' moments. Thank you Jesus and thank you Chelle!
Thursday I will drive to Richmond and get these fixed documents apostilled so we can DHL them to Moscow on Friday for translation and ultimately receive a court date soon. This journey just keeps us laughing, crying and on our knees. It will be so worth it when we have Natalie in our arms. Steve reminded me that Sunday was Natalie's last Easter without her family. :)

Karen

ONE more piece of paper!

I had hoped to have all our paperwork heading to Richmond tomorrow for the apostille seals .. . . . but we are still waiting for our police clearances. Pray that they come quickly, so I can send them as well. It has only taken one month to gather everything, but a month away from our little girl has seemed like an eternity. As soon as all documents are sealed, our dossier will head to Russia for translation and then we should hear about a court date. I am thankful to be near the end of this paperchase once again--hopefully the last time!

Steve and I are having so much fun getting the house ready for our daughter: putting together furniture, measuring entry ways for safety gates, cleaning out closets (o.k. this is really only fun for me), working on the baby shower registry and having great conversations that begin with "when Natalie is here . . . ." :)

So, the journey continues. Thank you for walking alongside us--you are loved!
Karen

Waiting for word

Many of you have asked what our next step is in the adoption process . . . .at this point we are waiting to receive a court date from Russia. We are praying for our court date to happen by Mother's Day!
Before this can happen there is much to be done. I thought I had completed a considerable amount of paperwork for the adoption up to this point. However, I am having to redo a majority of the previous papers and then some. The main thing keeping me from getting a bad attitude is picturing little Natalie's face. This is my focus. We are also keeping busy by getting the house ready (Steve has already bought her a pink princess couch for the basement playroom); registering for a shower our church is giving us ( I never knew there were so many cribs and strollers to choose from!); and preparing her room for her arrival.
I am also trying my best to journal and document all that has happened in our lives since we received that wonderful phone call on January 2nd.
Thank you for your continued prayers for our little girl--Keep praying for a court date soon!

Blessings,
Karen

Steve and Karen at St. Basil, Moscow

From Russia. . . . .full of love

We are now HOME! The trip was an incredible experience and we know that God was in every step of the journey.

We are in love with our little girl, Natalie Faith. She is 16 months old, happy, inquisitive and her health is better than we anticipated. We were able to spend 3 hours with her last Thursday and time seemed to stand still for us. She loved receiving kisses from us and the little doll that we brought along with us. She laughed the loudest when Steve gave her 'eskimo kisses'. When she was getting sleepy, I cradled her and she kept putting her finger up to my lips to get kisses. (o.k., I'm sitting here crying just remembering how she felt in my arms). When it was time for her to go for her nap, she clung to me----and me to her. I am thankful that our first meeting will forever be a treasure in my heart.

Thank you for all your prayers on our behalf. It was so evident that God was going before us as we found favor with so many of the people who are in place to make this all happen for us. Keep praying! We still haven't brought her home with us and there is much to be done to make this happen. We now wait for a court date that is set by their court system.

Please pray for a quick court date ( I would turn around and go back this morning if they would let me!); and pray for continued protection and health over Natalie.

Love to each of you,
Karen and Steve

p.s. we will post pictures of Natalie when we are able . . . . :)

Packing and Praying

We are five days away from our departure to Moscow, and I am in the process of trying to fit everything in a carry-on piece of luggage! Those of you who know me are probably laughing at this. I am known to overpack a bit for all those "in case" situations. So this is truly an adventure for me!

Today I went to the travel clinic at our doctors and escaped the vaccinations they wanted me to get (they'll need to be updated for trip two)but I did walk out with my Cipro prescription (for 'just in case' sickness).
We have secured our clean cash--new bills with no folds or markings; purchased three outfits for her to try on for sizing, along with a Build a Bear with our voices in its paws and other toys for us to play with; and bought postcards of where we live to give to her caregivers. We have our warm clothes and dress clothes for our Minister of Education appointment ready to go. And I have packed meds for ALL the 'in case' moments. Steve is working on making sure we will have all computer and phone capabilites once we are there. And he is putting together a little photo album of us/our home to leave with her.

Please keep us in your prayers---we feel your love and support during this incredible time in our life. What would we do without the family of God?

with much love,
Karen

"Don't be afraid! For the Lord your God has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty Savior. He will rejoice over you with great gladness. With His love, he will calm all your fears. He will exult over you by singing a happy song."
Zeph. 3:16-17

We have received a referral!

Dear Friends,

Much time has past since our last update. We have waited together so long but we do have a new update to share. On Wed., January 2nd, we received a call from our family coordinator with a referral for a little girl! Steve and I both cried as she told us about this little one. She is 15 months old and has such a sweet face, I think I am already in love!

There are some health/medical concerns that we must face, and after meeting with two International Adoption Specialists, we have decided to go and see her for ourselves. So, on February 4th we will be boarding a plane to Moscow. From there, an overnight train to Voronezh, where we will meet with the Minister of Education for that region. The next day we will get to meet her and the specialists have given me a list of ways to check her cognitive and motor skills as we play with her and get to know her.

God has a plan for her life and for ours too. We believe that He will reveal this plan to us. So, we are asking you to please pray that we will have the wisdom, discernment and peace concerning this HUGE decision.

We love each of you and I cannot tell you how blessed we are by your love and support. God is so good!

Karen

In Wait Mode

Hi friends!

Our paperwork is now in Russia (as of August 25th). Now we wait for God's perfect timing and His plan to unfold!
Please pray that we will be assigned to a region that:
1. will not require more paperwork from us till we travel
2. is moving children quickly into "forever families"
3. that is easily accessible via Moscow for travel purposes.

You can pray for us as we:
1. wait . . .wait . . . .wait
2. continue to work out our finances for this endeavor
3. prepare our hearts to be parents!

we love you all---Steve and Karen

Our First Baby Blog

Dear Friends and Family,

Knowing that you care about us and this season in our lives as we wait for our beautiful 'forever child', we have decided to keep everyone updated, at the same time, through this blog site.

Here's our first update:

Our dossier(a collection of official papers, including home study report, criminal background clearances, and financial affidavits) is COMPLETE after 8 months of collecting, notarizing and being apostilled by the state. This means we are about halfway through this process. The next
step will be a referral from Russia via our adoption agency. We will take whatever information they supply about the child to a medical adoption specialist for their opinion. Upon acceptance of the child that they refer, we will be going to see her!

We are asking that you help us pray during this 'wait time'. Even before we know our baby's name or her face, we pray that God will keep our baby safe; that she will be nourished properly and cared for perfectly. Pray that all the paperwork will be accepted by the Russian government and that any other documents we will need to provide will be accessed easily.

We have started working on the nursery (Karen has to keep busy!). Steve's sister, Rebecca helped paint the room a cheery green. John Wilhelm Sr. just put up the beadboard for us this past Monday. The room looks beautiful--even though it's empty!

Thank you again for your prayers and for your incredible love and support.
Blessings,

Steve and Karen