My Birthday Wish

Whoever made the latest donation to our account, THANK YOU! Every little bit helps and it's very much appreciated!

Well, we knew some changes were coming this month. Shawna and Lindsay's country passed a law this summer that the goverment's adoption authority would undergo changes and a transition into a new department with a new name. That was supposed to take place by October 11th. And it is taking place now. We received word that it's anticipated to take 4-6 weeks to make all the changes, hiring, and transitions to get the new authority up and running. That would push our travel into mid-to-late December. :(

We were really hoping to beat this change, but we just missed the cut-off for getting an appointment to go and complete our adoptions. By one week.... Bummer! But the good side to that is, when they do start issuing appointment dates, we should be in the first group to get a date!

So now we will wait and see what happens. God is still God, and the last time I looked, He's still in the mountain-moving business (Mark 11:23). And surprises have happened before. When the new law passed, we were told that they would cease all adoptions until the new department was established, but only a few days later, they announced that they would continue adoptions for children with special needs, according to definitions by by the new law. That was a big mountain! And many children are now home with their families because of it.

So now I'm praying that God's mercy will reign and open up another opportunity on behalf of kids there. There are several families that are caught in this most-recent delay. We all have our paperwork submitted and we have done all we can do on this end. We are waiting on appointments, and waiting on others to move us to the next step.

And that brings me to my special birthday wish! My birthday is next week and I'm praying and asking God to give us a travel date to go complete our adoption of Shawna and Lindsay. It's a long shot, but God is bigger! In Matthew 18:19 Jesus said, "“Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven." So will join with us in prayer asking and believing that we will get our appointment date? And if my prayer is answered, many other families' prayers will be answered, too!

When we started this journey last May, it was my hope to have our girls home to celebrate Christmas with us. I'm still holding onto that hope. And it may take a miracle to happen. But I still believe in miracles!

Also, please pray that the list of eligible special needs will be significantly expanded. The new law drastically eliminated many, many children from eligibility to be adopted internationally before the age of 5. There are many people in-country who are working diligently with the authorities to expand the official list and allow many children the opportunity to be adopted and to get the care they need. There are many more families who are waiting on this list to be expanded so they can complete their adoptions.

TTFN,
Carrie

Just waiting... and working

It's been one week since we were submitted and we are waiting patiently for our appointment date to travel.

And yes, believe it or not, I AM waiting patiently right now.

That's because I'm still scurrying and trying to get all my little ducks lined up in nice, neat rows before we have to travel. And it's working about as well as herding cats! The sooner that date comes, the bigger the panic attack I will have if some things aren't finished.

Please pray that I can get the one BIG loose end tied and wrapped up before we get our date. Then, I can sleep a little better at night.


TTFN,
Carrie

Submitted!

Our dossier was submitted TODAY!

That means that all of our paperwork was translated and submitted to their government's Dept of Adoptions!

YIPEE!!!!

We should find out within a couple of weeks the date which we will be able to go and meet the girls. It is entirely possible that it will be the beginning of November! That's coming quickly!

I have a LOT to do! Cold weather clothes to buy. And snowsuits for the girls?! The orphanage will not let us take them outside without being fully bundled and suited for the cold weather. This Texas girl has NEVER been snowskiing and I don't think I've ever felt any air colder than 15F, unless it's coming out of my deep freezer. This will surely be an experience!

And please check out our latest fundraiser with

Mabel's Labels

http://www.reecesrainbow.mabel.ca/

Mabel's Labels will contribute 20% of the sales through this link toward our adoption grant.

If you have never seen or heard of Mabel's Labels, you MUST go check it out! These labels are designed for kids! They have labels for clothing, labels for shoes, labels for water bottles, lunches and school supplies, tags for your backpacks or bags. All their labels are dishwasher and laundry durable. You can put a cute little label on the tag inside your kids' coat or jacket and it won't have to stay in the lost and found bin at school! You can label shoes so they don't get mixed up! Check out their combo packages, too.

If your kids go to camp, these are great for labeling their clothes and all their gear that goes with them. I even have a friend that labels their pool toys so they don't get lost at the neighborhood pool. The uses are ENDLESS!


TTFN,
Carrie

It Arrived!

I just checked DHL and our packaged was delivered!

Oh my!


Please continue to pray for our childcare arrangements. There are A LOT of details to work out and decisions to be made.

TTFN,
Carrie

It's On the Way!

Our dossier has been shipped to Eastern Europe!  

If all goes well, it should arrive this Friday, the 23rd!

Once our facilitators receive it, we will wait for the documents to be translated. Then they will be submitted to the government department over adoptions. They will review our documents and, if all is found acceptable, we will be issued an appointment date to come and accept the referrals to meet the girls.

By my best guess, it will likely be the very end of October to early November that we will travel there.

I'm still working on childcare arrangements here at home, so if you could please pray over this, we would appreciate it.

TTFN,
Carrie

Thank You! And Moving Forward!

I just want to take a moment and to thank those that have donated toward our adoption grant. We received another $100 today into our FSP! I don't know who it was, but I do know that donations of any amount bless us so much!!!

We have received the final approvals on our paperwork, so we will have the State of TX to apostille each document tomorrow in Austin and then the whole package should be sent over to Eastern Europe on Wednesday. We're moving forward!

For the next step, the dossier will be translated by the facilitating team in-country and afterward it it will be submitted to the government agency that handles adoptions. At that point we will wait for word on an appointment date to travel to meet our girls!

It is entirely possible that we could be traveling to meet them by the end of October!  There are still quite a few things we need to do around here, so our energy and focus will be on completing preparations on the homefront!

Please continue to pay for our family and our new girls.


TTFN,
Carrie

"I've got a Golden Ticket!"

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is one of our favorite movies around here (the old one with Gene Wilder, not the newer remake) and I've always liked the song when Charlie and Grandpa Joe sing, "I've got a Golden Ticket!"

Well, we're singing it loud and strong today!

Because.... 

I'VE GOT A GOLDEN TICKET!

That's code in adoption language for the US government's approval to adopt a foreign child.

This is the last piece of paperwork that we needed to complete our dossier. I will get this last document signed and notarized, we will be able to send our complete package off to Eastern Europe. When it's received we will request an appointment for permission to adopt the girls!

WOW! 

It's coming together fast now!

Hang on for a wild ride!

So here are our next Prayer Requests:

• Getting childcare lined up for our kids while we are traveling. We will be gone 3-4 weeks on the first trip.
• For great airfare rates and travel expenses.
• For God to provide the remaining funds we will need for the in-country expenses.
• That God will prepare the girls' hearts and minds to meet and receive us.
• For a quick court date and a judge that has a heart for adoption.