What a day! I171H arrives Aug 17

I knew this would happen. Last week, I waited by the mailbox for that crazy I171-H. This week, the boys and I had a trip planned to visit Renee, one of my best friends from college, in Charlotte. We left on Wednesday. Our I171-H came on Thursday. YES, IT'S FINALLY HERE (I'm not complaining that I wasn't home at the time)! It took almost 2 months from the time we had our FBI fingerprinting done (they've been really backed up this summer, I hear it's usually a much shorter wait!). Scott called me this morning in Charlotte to let me know that the flights looked ok for me to fly home earlier today than planned and then fly to Austin to apostille and send our dossier to Ukraine. Before this had the chance to even be considered, I heard my friend Renee scream my name from the second floor of her home. I knew someone was hurt. By the time I got up there, she had Garrett in the bathroom trying to stop the bleeding. He was covered in blood. He was on the top bunk of a bunkbed...there were lots of high-energy boys around... there was some jumping and climbing...and the ceiling fan was on pretty decent speed. He had two gashes where the ceiling fan blades cought his head - on his forehead, just below his hairline. Is there anything scarier than a head wound? Just the blood alone makes me feel like I'm in a horror movie (yes, I have been through this before, without a ceiling fan). There was a pool of blood (NOT exaggerating) on the bed and a trail of blood into the bathroom. Sweet Renee didn't sweat it - she informed me that hydrogen perixide gets blood stains out! ...learn something new every day... Anyway, we frantically called a sitter to watch the rest of the kids and we loaded Garrett up and headed to the ER. Obviously, that earlier flight was out of the question.
7 stiches, 1 cat scan, and 4 hours later, we found ourselves with 10 minutes to pack and head to the airport for our scheduled flight at 3:20. We made it to the gate just as they were calling our names to give us boarding passes. Whew! Poor little Garrett slept most of the way. Losing all that blood took a lot out of him, but he wasn't in pain and was able to rest. Back in Texas, we spent a quiet family-night at home with Chili's take-out and the premier of High School Musical 2. Other than that, we had a great time in Charlotte. Renee and her family were such a blessing to us! Renee taught me how to smock, and I am already working on a dress for "Baby Sister". When I finish it, I'll post a picture.

Monday - headed to Austin! By noon, our dossier will be offificially on the way to Ukraine.

New Orleans

Scott and I just returned from my birthday weekend in New Orleans! What a fun place - with amazing food. We stayed one night (which is plenty for August - it was SO hot). Saturday we explored the French Quarter and ate at Nola, which is Emeril's more casual restaurant (though not really all that casual). It was one of the best meals I've ever had - super crispy buttermilk fried chicken breast served over mashed bourbon sweet potatoes with a ham gravy over the whole thing. We HIGHLY recommend it if your ever in NO. Later, we stumbled upon an art gallery night - free snacks and cocktails and all the galleries were open late. It was fun, and a nice diversion from the frat-party atmosphere of Bourbon Street. After that, we wound up at the piano bar at Pat O'Brian's, which was really fun. Sunday, we ate breakfast at Brennen's, which was good, but terribly over-priced. Next time, we'll choose a biegnet cafe instead. Then we wandered around the Garden District, which was beautiful. Reminded us of Highland Park in Dallas, but with more history. Then we paid the price for traveling as airline employees - I guess a morning flight to DFW had been canceled, so the rest of the flights were packed. We waited through 3 flights (7 hours!) and finally got on the last flight of the day. See, eventually we do pay the price for all those free trips! On the flight home, we realized the next time the two of us are on a plane together, it will be to Ukraine to adopt our little girl!

I 171-H Delayed

I got a call from the immigration office this morning. They have approved us for our I171-H. However, because of delays and backups, it will be another week to ten days before we receive it. We expected it a couple of weeks ago, so it's dissapointing. Just another reminder that it's all in God's hands (so obviously not mine!).

The Blogging World

I have just spent the last 2 hours reading other people's blogs - adoption blogs. It used to feel weird to me - like reading someones diary. Until we began this adoption process and feel like such fish out of water. Adoption blogs are where I go when I feel like it's going to be forever before we get to bring home our little girl! They are where I go when I have questions about Ukraine - the atmosphere, the food, the people, the experience. And when I wonder what that first moment will feel like - when we lays eyes on our daughter for the first time - those blogs never disappoint! The journey that is adoption changes so much about one's life! I had a great birthday - great time with family and friends, sweet gifts from the heart. My best gift? My friend and college roommate, Julie, who adopted a sweet little Thai boy last year wrote to me the story of their adoption - the trials and the victories only God could bring. I cried through the whole thing. It was exactly what I wanted - a glimpse of the miracle that is adoption. God invented adoption, and he blesses adoption. He is the defender of the orphans, and he equips the called.

The last blog I read tonight was the story of a family with 4 biological boys adopting a little girl. What an inspiring story of faith, answered prayer, and perseverance. Their little girl (adopted at age 2) showed no signs of institutionalization or attachment disorder. They had been praying against those things for many months, and the Lord answered. We, too, have been praying against these things, and more. I believe that we can spiritually battle against these things now. I ask for your prayers, to join our own as we battle for the protection of our daughter. That she will be protected by angels physically, mentally, and spiritually. A lady in my life group told me once that she had a vision of my baby - a baby girl, laying in a crib, cradled in angel wings. That is what we pray for every night - that God will surround her with his angels. The Lord confirmed for me, through that sweet lady, that he is hearing our prayers. They are working - please keep them coming! I can't wait to someday, share with others the story of our adoption through this blog - the stories of victories only God could bring.

Birthday Blessings

Today I am 35. It's not so bad. My husband has been 35 for almost a year now, and I think that has helped it not feel so old. Actually, for a few months this year, I had it in my head that I was already 35. Then I said something about it to my sister, and she said, "Julie, you're 34". I realized she was right, and I was so excited! I felt like I had been given an extra year! So, I guess I'm happy to be turning 35 and not 36.
Today I am spending my birthday with good friends and with my sweet family. God has blessed me so much! When I look at what he has done in my life over the last year, I am blown away. He has opened my eyes to his power in new ways, he has shown me that his word is truly alive and active every day, and he has revealed to us his will for us to adopt a little girl (and then confirmed it over and over). I could ask for nothing more!

...now if our I171-H would arrive today, we could really get this adoption show on the road!

Rounding up

It occurred to me that I only have a few days left where my age "rounds down" to 30. On Tuesday, I will round up to 40, which I find completely surreal. Only a teacher would think of numbers in relation to how they round, right? Why is it that 35 seems so much closer to 40 than 25 did to 30? My guess is that life just speeds up more with each decade. Why is that? Is it because life is busier? My 20's seemed busy to me, just with different things. It's just a mystery. I do know that everyone older than me says the years just come faster and faster the older you get. I took the boys to visit my grandmother in California this week. She is 81 and still leads a very active and healthy life. I asked her if she ever thought she'd be 81. She said, "Oh no...no one ever imagines it, but one day it happens!" For the first time, listening to her go on about senior benefits and AARP, I actually thought - that really is going to be me someday (Lord willing). It was a strange thought...for the first time, looking at my grandmother as more than just my grandmother, but someone who is just a little farther down this road that I, too, am traveling.
Whew - nothing like a late night and a looming birthday to get me all contemplative.
On a lighter note, tomorrow (not really tomorrow anymore) I plan to spend the afternoon celebrating my birthday with my life-long friends. This year, being the year we will adopt a girl, I'm celebrating my birthday in every girly way possible - pedicure, lunch at the tearoom, and shopping. Birthdays always calls for parties - the more the better (no matter what you "round up" to). It's the day (or week perhaps) set aside to celebrate the life God gives us. Let the birthday week begin! And for now, I will continue to celebrate my last days of "rounding down" to 30 (that's worth a party all to itself).

Why adoption?

Whenever I tell someone we are adopting, I never get the question "why?" out loud, but I often get it in the look they give...you know what I mean. Why not just have your own? Why Ukraine? Why a toddler?...the list goes on. I know people are thinking this, but not wanting to ask and risk sounding insensitive. So, I'm writing to answer these questions in a nutshell. The story of our calling to adoption is lengthy and for another time, but the nutshell version is here!
Why adopt? We felt the Lord put a desire for a third child on our hearts. I have high-risk pregnancies, plus I'm 34 (for a few more days anyway!). We had a baby girl 8 years ago who was stillborn, and we feel that since we have grieved the loss of a daughter, we have been equipped to help heal a child that has grieved parents. We believe adoption is one of those things people are called to do by God specifically. Orphans are so important to the Lord, and we believe he has chosen us to take one into our home and make her ours. We are confident that God wouldn't call us to this purpose without fulling equipping us along the way. We feel honored and priveledged to receive such a calling. It's a way for us to bring good out of the tragedy of losing a child, as well as a way to bring great joy into our family!
Why Ukraine? Honestly, we both just felt drawn to this country. We also looked into Russia, but at the time, it seemed to be a mess and it is super expensive. Just too much uncertaintly, and we didn't have peace about it. When we started looking into Ukraine, we saw that we would have the option to adopt independently (without a US agency), which we were very interested in (cut out the middle man and deal with the country directly). The time spent in Ukraine (about a month, give or take, with a 10-day waiting period in the middle, which we will come home during) is also time spent with your perspective child in the orphanage. We read many stories of parents bringing fruit, snacks, bubbles, clothing, etc to the orphanage...making it a time of really blessing the children and their caregivers. This really appealed to us - made it seem like a sort of mission experience in addition to an adoption trip. Ukraine has a relatively short adoption time-frame (at least lately) - about 9-10 months from start to finish if all goes as planned (which, in international adoption, you can never be sure!). Also in Ukraine, you choose your child from files you are shown at the adoption office in Kiev. Then you go and meet the child and make your official acceptance. We are praying that the Lord makes it very clear to both of us which child is to be ours! :)
Why a toddler? We will not come home with a baby. In Ukraine, the youngest you can adopt is about 14-18months old. This is because they have to stay on the Ukraine adoption registry for 12 months before they can be released to the international adoption registry (pluse a handful of months to get them actually in the system). It is more likely that we will come home with a 2 or 3 year old. This is great for us because she will be closer in age to our boys (who will be 5 and 7 at the time we adopt). We have requested a girl 4 or under, and since we choose when we get there, we will not know her age or anything about her until we get there. This makes for some whirlwind shopping when we return! I think I'm up for the challenge. :)

We can't wait to bring her home!

This is one of the scriptures God has given me for our future daughter...
The spirit of the Lord is upon me...
to provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.
Isaiah 61:3