Good Friday

Good Friday - - Such a strange name for such a 'sad day' of history. The day our Savior died! But looking back, it was a GOOD FRIDAY! The best GOOD that was EVER done for mankind - was done over 2,000 years ago!! It was a bit bittersweet today for us as we celebrated the life of my uncle. He left a legacy of faith, hope,love, perseverance, and humility to his children and grandchildren - and it was WELL portrayed by his son today! As far as the adoption goes, we got our receipt in the mail from immigration saying that they had received our paperwork. So, now we wait - - again! ;) We also received some $$ from one of the grants for which we applied! Thank you JESUS! Praying for V this weekend - as we celebrate our Savior - I pray that she'll have some sense that it is a special day! We introduced her to Jesus and taught her about His birth while she was here during Christmas. I can't wait for next year to teach her about his death, burial, and resurrection. (Well, we talked about that while she was here, too - but to celebrate it with her on Easter Sunday - teaching her at the same time will be AMAZING!! We still have a long way to go to raise our needed funds to be able to send our paperwork to Latvia. If you feel lead to give, please visit our fundraiser page and click the donate button! Every dollar, every penny puts us one step closer to bringing our girl home!! Thanks for your prayers! Love to you all as you celebrate our Savior this weekend!! Be sure to share it with others! Remember - Jesus is ENOUGH!!

Monday, Monday

Well, I just wanted to take a minute to write a short 'blurb'. Several things on my heart this morning as I took a walk in the cool morning breeze: My uncle Ed, my dad's brother, passed away yesterday afternoon as he napped in his chair. This comes in the midst of so much trial and heartache for their family - but we are rejoicing that he is no longer in pain. Please continue to pray for them - that God would comfort them during this loss and give them the strength they need to make it through the week. (especially, Kent, who has cancer);Our friends Mark & Lisa Tribble. Lisa was in a car accident a week ago and she remains on the vent. 14 broken ribs and 2 broken ankles will make for a long recovery but we know the Great Physician who is ABLE to do ALL THINGS; a few friends who are in the midst of big decisions - life changing decisions. May God give them wisdom and guidance; my cousin Ashley and my sister-in-law, Stephanie, who will be having babies any day now. Praying for Holt & Drake as they make their entrances into this world. May they grow to be men after Your own heart, God. Thankful to God that his mercies are new EVERY MORNING!! After my wonderful walk, enjoying the beauties of spring, I have spent most of the morning working on paperwork-mounds of paperwork. Every time I get frustrated or tired of signing my name - I just look at the sweet face of our girl - and get renewed energy to keep on keeping on. Besides our 'legal' paperwork, we are also working on grant applications. Be praying that the people who receive these applications will feel led to approve us for the grants. Every little bit helps. Now begins the waiting game!! So, we wait for approval and pray. Thanks for the prayers and words of support for so many of you! May God bless your families as we enter into a time of reflection on what Jesus did for us on that cross!!

Next step taken

We mailed our home study off today! Should be received tomorrow. Now the waiting begins - AGAIN!!! Please pray specifically for a few things: 1-pray that our paperwork will be received tomorrow by the most compassionate, christian agent in the CIS - one who has a heart for children and christian ministry; 2-pray for V - that she'll feel our love over the miles and feel in her heart that something GREAT is about to happen; 3-pray that we will TRUST God while we WAIT!!; 4-pray that if any questions arise before our approval, we will be able to answer them satisfactorily; 5-pray that God will continue to multiply our 'fundraising'-about to get to the BIG FUNDS! ;) Thanks for all you have done so far and for your prayers!! We serve a great GOD who is 'able to do above and beyond all we could ask, think or imagine'. (Eph 3:20)

They Are HERE!!

Yay! May not seem like much to most people - BUT - our Passports arrived today! This means ALOT to us for SEVERAL reasons! #1 - we can complete our home study; #2 - a completed home study means we are ready to send paperwork to Immigration; #3 - a completed home study means we can apply for all of the wonderful grants out there to help us complete this process; Finally - and most importantly - When they send us the invite to come get our girl, we can leave the country!!! :) Next prayer request - pray for us to get a WONDERFUL, GODLY Immigration agent!! Pray that our paperwork will go through w/o a hitch!! Thanks for your prayers!

Happy Birthday, V!

Happy 14th Birthday!!!! So very sad that we are not celebrating her Birthday with her - not sure how much of a birthday celebration she will be getting! But in honor of her birthday, we will be having our traditional 'birthday pancakes' for breakfast! We will sing happy birthday to her (in spirit). We will PRAY that God will let her feel the LOVE across the ocean blue!! My prayer for her this birthday is that God will fill her with anticipation that something bigger is coming! He will fill her with His peace that there's a family in Jackson, GA who love her and are trying to bring her home.
Visit our Fundraiser page and click on the donate tab  - if you have a few extra $$$ available - $14 to be exact - to give for her birthday! Let's FLOOD the LOVE today!!
Still waiting on passports to complete our homestudy. Pray they come soon!!

We talked to our daughter again yesterday!  We never know how the conversation is going to go...sometimes it is very short, and she says very little like she's distracted...but yesterday, she was upbeat and excited to talk (still very broken English, of course).  We are so ready to bring her home!!  Keep praying that we will be able to slog through the process and that all the t's will be crossed and all the i's dotted correctly, so we can bring our little girl home!!  Thank you for all your support and prayers!
Daniel

Home Study visit 3

Well, the REAL home study VISIT was this morning!! It was totally pain-free and easy! Well, maybe the PREP wasn't pain-free but you know what I mean! lol  She was here less than 30 minutes.  Hopefully, our dear ANGEL, Kelly, will get our home study completed and send it to us to 'proof' this afternoon.  Of course, we still have to wait on our passport numbers before it can be really COMPLETE!! We are anxiously awaiting the completion of our home study so that we can begin applying for grants.  People are continuing to GIVE and for that we are SO VERY GRATEFUL!!
It is getting more difficult to communicate with V when we call her each week because she is losing a lot of the English she learned when she was here. She cannot understand us very well at all anymore.  This really saddens me to think that probably in the next few weeks we may not be able to communicate at all other than "hey", "I love you" and "bye".  But, we will continue to call her regardless.  We have not told her of our intentions.  Months is a LONG time to wait for a child - well - for an adult, too. We felt it would be best not to make her have the long wait that we are having.  Furthermore, something unforeseen could happen during the process to delay it even longer - so for now, we are just praying that God will prepare her for what is to come!! I pray that God will give her a peace and anticipation that something EXCITING is waiting 'just around the bend'.
Please be prayerfully considering if God would have your join with us on our quest to bring our daughter home.  You can give via Paypal through the Fundraiser link on our blog or send me an email if you'd like our address to mail a donation.  Puzzle pieces are still available.  We will also be having several upcoming fundraisers - t-shirts; portrait sessions; etc. So - stay tuned and PRAY!!