She's on facebook!

In early September Freddie got a voicemail from Lena.   We were stunned that somehow us giving money to a non-English speaking chaperone from the Ukraine in July at the airport when we brought Lena back actually resulted in Lena getting a phone and our number, and calling us. Stunned.  We were able to talk with her a bit, basically the small talk she had learned while she was here.

 Us, "How are you?"
Lena, "Good! I so happy to hear you! How are you?"
 "Good! School good?"
 "Yes, school good!"
"Good!"


That was fun the first couple of times but then it became frustrating for her because she really wants to communicate. So Freddie figured out how to get her on American Facebook (there's an Eastern European version too). And this is the coolest thing EVER.

For all of the downsides of Facebook that it's possible to experience, it has been a huge gift for me. When my dad died I was so sad thinking about losing connection to his side of the family who are spread out all over the country.  Because of FB I think I'm probably more in touch with those aunts and cousins than ever before. (Yes Laura, Jan, Nora, Judy, Michel, Anne, Aunt Lois and everyone else... I'm looking at you)!  And now, we get to be in touch with the girl who is more and more feeling like a daughter stuck abroad. She is posting pictures of where she lives, her classroom, her friends...technology is amazing. She still doesn't speak English well so she types in Russian, we open Google Translate and translate what she said, type in English and translate to Russian then cut and paste it back.  It is the BEST!

I really want to show you all some of the pix she posted but I think she wouldn't like that. They are so great. I originally posted them here but took them off after a second thought.  Believe me when I tell you, she's a cutie.

As far as when we will see her again and when she will be here:
 We will be able to host her again for a month in December (a trip separate from the adoption process).  She will come here in Dec. and have to go back in Jan. because she is not legally available to be adopted yet due to the laws in her country. We are hoping to find out this week when she is available to come here permanently and then we will start planning our trip abroad. (Prayers that she is available in January and that we can just travel back with her)!

IN THE MEANTIME..

The next big thing that feels so uncomfortable to talk about is fundraising. This whole process is so expensive. As far as the money is concerned, it's no surprise to me why there are still so many orphans when there are families who want children.  We were told to estimate $40,000.  Yikes. Writing a check for +$1000.00 - $3000.00 for 5 hours of someone's time is mind boggling.

SO,  one of the ways we are going to do fundraising is by hosting a link to Amazon.com on this blog -and advertising it on Facebook.  All you have to do is keep shopping on Amazon the way you have been (or start, it's a great thing to have stuff shipped to your house! Everyone loves a package, right?), but click THIS LINK to get to the Amazon website and we will automatically get a percentage of what you spend! SO EASY!!

Please send the link to your friends, book mark it, whatever you can to remember to go through THIS LINK and we will automatically, each month, have a total percentage of sales made through the link deposited directly to the account we have set up for Lena. Easy peasy.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, to pray for us, to buy stuff on Amazon and to just be in this with us somehow. This whole thing is a wild ride and we are thrilled to be a part of it!

xo
Andrea

P.S.  I must give a shout out to God for all of the ways we have been provided for in this- so many of you have reached out to help and support tangibly and emotionally because you too have been moved.  The process has been incredibly smooth and fast, we hope He is preparing us for her to come soon!!

P.P.S. Figuring out how to put links on this blog has taken me about 3 1/2 hours. No Joke. I laugh at how technologically challenged I am! HA!

Still feeling. She's still not here.

Lena has been gone for  two weeks now, we still get emotional when we think about it. A lot of you have had questions about why she's gone, when she'll be here for good, etc. so I thought I'd just take a minute and address some details.

The hosting program works directly with orphanages and each orphanage agrees to a certain amount of time for the children to be hosted, the children must go back to their country at the end of that time period, regardless of the family's interest in adoption.   The hosting agency wants the children to come back in December for a few weeks and will be approaching the orphanage to see if they would like to participate in that.  Our hope, of course, is that she will be able to come back in December for that time, we are praying that the orphanage will agree to this for their children!

Here's a kicker: In this particular country, children are placed on a registry for one year when they first arrive at the orphanage and during that year the child is ineligible for adoption while the orphanage confirms that parental rights have been terminated and there's no other family who want the child.  In our case, Lena was not put on the registry, despite having been at the orphanage for many years, until sometime early this year-we hope she was anyway-so she is ineligible for adoption until that time is up, whenever exactly that is. Details do not come easily in this process.  (CRY!)

SO in the meantime we have:
1- completed our home study (including autobiographies, medical tests, reference letters, notes from my 3rd grade teacher- just kidding, no notes)

and are now

2-in process of filing some paperwork to secure our ability to adopt HER (as there are a few complications around that given her age)

THEN

3- when the adoption agency says NOW we have to start another round of paperwork to put together to send to her country as an application to adopt-not too soon or it could expire, not too late or we'll miss our chance.  "Completing paperwork" looks nothing short of bringing a notary to the doctor with me so that when he says I don't have all of the diseases I'm being tested for we can say he's telling the truth.  (Thank you Krissy K. for saying you will try to make it work to come with me and be my personal notary!!)

SO this is how I feel right now:

Ok and also like this:

with a little bit of banging my head against the wall. 

BECAUSE

Currently the orphanages are closed for the summer so the children from different orphanages are combined and sent to camps together, which are nothing like fun American camps but more like a concrete building where they are under little supervision, there is little structure to the day, and little for them to do. Lena was VERY unhappy about having to go there and left many of the gifts she had been given at our house because she was afraid they'd be stolen at camp.


AND BECAUSE

We have no contact with her until she returns to her orphanage sometime in September. (Getting any kind of concrete information from anyone is impossible, we have no idea when she's returning from camp).  We can then send her packages and try to call on a phone one of the chaperones will buy with some money we gave her.  It was advised that we try to get her a phone as sometimes orphanages close and then we would lose contact with her.  (WHAT?!?!?? ) It kinda makes me feel sick to my stomach thinking too much about all of the things I have no control over, including where she is and who is watching over her.  Talk about driving me to my knees in prayer. Seriously.


BUT

The Sunday before Lena left was truly a gift. A good friend of mine connected me to a woman who speaks Russian and she came over with her husband for two and a half hours and translated for us. It was AWESOME. Lena asked us all kinds of questions including why and how we chose her, if we really wanted a younger child and just ended up with her, if we will come to get her and when. She said she was worried about American school and making friends because where she has grown up there is no help if you miss taking notes in school, that the girls she has lived with have hurt her with gossip and betrayal.  The threads of our attachment to her were being sewn. It was such a vulnerable conversation and such a gift for us to be able to tell her that we chose HER intentionally, that we didn't want anyone else, that she was no mistake.  We got to tell her that we thought she was funny, sweet, beautiful, just perfect for us no matter how she does in school here or what becomes easy or difficult along the way, and that ultimately we trusted it was God's perfect plan somehow that she would be with us.  That time with her was nothing short of an amazing, beautiful gift.

She was so animated getting to babble on in Russian, like she was just uncorked, it was so fun to watch. Here are some pics:

Oh how I love this girl.  

Thanks for continuing to follow up with us, it really means a lot to know that you all haven't forgotten that we're still feeling this even though she's not here right now.  Sweet Alexa asked if we could call her tonight and was so disappointed that we have a while to wait. Ethan made her a pink God's eye the other day out of the blue.  Still feeling it indeed.  

xoxo

Andrea

So THAT was fast!

I will get to the point, I promise. But this week needs a bit of an intro.

I don't read my Bible enough. I really want to, I just don't.  I have this great daily devotional book for the kids too called "Jesus Calling, for Kids" by Sarah Young that I keep in the kitchen to read with them every day. We've read it about 5 times. In the past year. BUT each time we read it, each time I spend time reading the Bible, we are each blessed. What I mean by "blessed" is that our perspective changes, we remember that we don't have to be in charge of getting everything right, that we have a way to be made clean from all of the messes we've created in our lives and even more importantly, we are reminded that God sees us and knows us and is with us- in a very real way.   So here's what happened this past week...

I was feeling like I was trying to figure everything out with what's going on with Lena, how every one's doing- am I doing enough? too much? and I realized I had started to believe again that I was in charge of making all of this work out right for everyone.  So I started making some prayer cards because DOING prayer tangibly often helps me focus. (This is not an original idea, I got it from a very wise man named Paul Miller and if I was more tech savvy I'd link you to his book about praying. You should get it on amazon, it's really good). So I wrote each family member's name on an index card, including Lena's, and wrote down 3 big things I want to pray for them.  Then I searched the Bible, via the index in the back, for a verse I thought would be appropriate for what I wanted for them. As I was doing this I was wondering what would be a verse I could store in my brain that would help me right now, and I realized that it would have to say something about not being afraid because I realized, during this moment of quiet, that I am feeling afraid. Really afraid. I mean, all of this is just kind of a big deal and it all seems right and "of course!" but... oh my gosh, tell me again, how did we get here???
And this is what I came to:

                           "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27

What I remembered is that God says, in the Bible, that he will ask us, invite us, lead us to do things that sometimes seem like a stretch for us but it's because he is going to give to us really good things, and not the way we're used to, like at Christmas where we just sit and receive and it's so fun the whole time, but in a way that brings deeper intimacy in relationships and healing in the whole world. To us this sometimes feels pretty unnerving, this deep healing and intimacy. Scary even, because it touches the deep places we don't go to very often.  This happens often when we take steps in faith to do what he asks us to do.

So I read that and then a couple of days later I hear in church, and then read in this awesome Tim Keller book called "The Meaning of Marriage" that DOING is love, DOING is faith. It's not really about how I am feeling. Feeling good about Lena, enjoying her is great, and that's part of love, but bringing her into our family for a month, or forever, finding ways to care for her is real love because it is action. Like all of you who have given us gift cards, clothes, books in Russian, monetary donations to help us get her here, spent time with us, invited us to be with you- you are loving Lena with these wonderful gifts! I can guarantee that I do not demonstrate love through action because I always feel like doing it or because it fits just perfectly and isn't a hassle-because honestly sometimes it is, it's actions I choose to take because I want to do what God tells us to do (in this case care for orphans) and I know that when I do what God wants, healing and redemption happens. I believe that. So we keep taking steps forward.

OK here's the exciting part, this was a big step for us.

I got a phone call from a Ukrainian woman working with our hosting agency and she wants to talk to Lena about how things are going, if she likes being in our family, and if she had the chance would she choose to live in America with us. I say, "Uh... do we need to talk about this first? Like what you're going to say, what we want to say exactly so we make sure there's no pressure, I don't know, are we supposed to be asking her this already?"  "Yes," she says, "I talk to Lena."

 At this point it has only been a few days that Freddie and I had confirmed with each other that we want to adopt her, and we had mentioned this to NO ONE.

So she talks to Lena, then to me and says to me that Lena wants to be able to stay in the U.S. (with us). I'm thinking, "OK, well that's great but was this conversation supposed to happen at 9pm in the kitchen while Freddie's putting the kids to bed? I don't really have my thoughts together at this moment and I thought the hosting agency told us not to talk about this until the last week.." So I say to this woman, "So... at some point do we need to formally ask her if she wants to be adopted?" to which she replies, "Sure." (very direct, not a lot of emotion, thick Russian accent). And I say, "Soooooo .. do I just put her back on the phone?" and she says, "yes."  So I do because it is all very surreal and this woman is very direct and I am just kind of in the moment. 
And what I hear is this:

"Da" (this is yes in Russian)
"Da."
"Da."
"DA?"
then Lena looks at me
"DAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
drops the phone and hugs me so hard I swear she's going to break my rib and whispers,

"mommy!"

I swear time stopped for a minute while I felt my entire life course shift directions. It was like nothing I have ever felt before. And if I can be completely honest here I also turned very cold and thought, oh my goodness. What did I do?

Not the response you were hoping for, right? I know. This path is one that I knew we had chosen and I would have never chosen anything different, ever, but all of a sudden in that moment I was terrified. 

                            

     "Do not be troubled and do not be afraid.." I took a deep breath and remembered, He's got it. It's ok. We are not alone in this. 

I thanked the woman on the phone and then we ran upstairs and took these awesome pictures which are blurry because everyone was just jumping around screaming:

(This is Ethan yelling and jumping)

To me this picture is what true freedom must feel like. The relief of knowing that whatever life has been like for her for the past 12 years in the orphanage, with no one to call family, is over. She belongs with us now, she is spoken for, and she is loved. And I am just today getting let in to the depth of hope she had that this day would come when she typed to me, verbatim per the messy translation app, "I still seem that I was sleeping and it is constant for a sweet dream. I could only dream of this and it turned out to be a reality."

We are awestruck that we are here. We chose to walk this path but fully believe it is a course set before us by God, who knows Lena and has loved her for her entire life, and who knows us and what he has given to us so that we can give to her. I am afraid. I am incredibly inadequate and easily fatigued and  often grouchy.  But my hope is that God will continue to be faithful to all of us as we have all agreed to trust what he has planned.  

None of this is final. We have a long way to go. More details another day...

YAY!!!!

Andrea

Diving In

Week one down, as of today.

 We have been having a GREAT time!

 Lena is a blessing to our family, really a gift, and I don't use words like that lightly.  There is SO much I want to say about our time with her so far, things I've noticed about our family that I hadn't noticed before because I am seeing things through her eyes;  ways our family does things that I didn't realize were there until we started incorporating another person into the fold (good and not so good); info that we've learned about where she's from and some about what her life is like..  I want everyone who is supporting us and encouraging us to know all of these things!

 HOWEVER.  I'm going to stick to little bits at a time because it's really a lot and I don't even have complete thoughts for most of it. I do hope that over the course of the month she's here you all will get to be with us -virtually and in person- while we are doing our best to look for where God is leading us.   Right now the bottom line for me is that the bigger perspective - God is doing something here- is more helpful in orienting me how to even think about Lena having being plucked out of an orphanage in Eastern Europe where she has been since she was three and placed into our family for a month.  She has never been in a family. She has never been to America and seen such abundance. She hasn't experienced true family relationships where we love each other in the midst of arguments and laughter, eat together and want to know each other (most of the time anyway, for both of those). But now she is HERE. In our house. A part of all of it!  I don't believe it is an accident, I do believe it's pretty amazing.

Lena is very funny, playful, easy going, sweet, excited about most things (not so much about getting up early to go to a dive meet, or getting up before 8 really) and just really present.  Right now she is in the basement with Freddie watching The Hunger Games in Russian (FINALLY we have found a movie in Russian! Nothing even has Russian subtitles), yelling out in Russian at the television, laughing, gasping, it is just the best.  Freddie and I feel like we are watching a baby we just brought home experience all of these firsts, it is a really joyful time right now.

I am also not kidding myself that it is going to be this easy all month. We are all definitely still settling in. SO in light of all of the settling in that is happening and will continue to happen, if you are a friend who prays, one of my prayer requests would be that we would stay aware and tuned in to how Alexa is doing, as she seems to be having the biggest adjustment with less one on one time and attention in general.  Also, prayer that over the course of the month Freddie and I would come to both have real clarity on if we are to pursue a conversation about adoption with her.  This is not something we are taking lightly, obviously, and I really want to be in a place where I know I am willing to make the sacrifices that would come with that invitation.   On the flip side would be that Lena would hear God's whispers in her heart so she can be prepared for whatever the end of the month conversation looks like as well.

WHEW. That was more than I intended in one sitting.  Thanks for asking me how things are going and for your encouragement and wisdom. We are feeling the love.

XOXO
Andrea

PS. A few of you have asked for what we need at this point.  We would love for Lena to get a chance to hang out with another teenage girl (Lena's a very young 15).  We are trying to find some books for her to read in Russian but have not had much luck, unless we want to pay $65 for the hunger games on Amazon.  Finally, we could use some small crafts or a project, maybe a scrapbook or something, for her to work on when she has down time if anyone has extra supplies laying around that you'd be willing to give her.
THANK YOU!!

Here are some recent pics!

This one didn't end well. But she was very courageous!

Yep, this about sums it up.

new plants!

making us Russian dumplings!