Trip 1---Coming sooooon!

So, most of you know that we will have to make 2 trips to Bulgaria. Our first trip is basically us accepting an invitation from the Bulgarian Government to come and "visit" Leanna. Then, we sign a paper saying we "accept" our match.....which just sounds crazy. details, I guess.

 

After we leave, Both the US Government and the Bulgarian Government have to start doing their work, making the adoption legal in both Countries. I don't know what all they need to do, but I know its a lot and that when I have read that info, my brain feels like it might explode.

 

When we can go pick up Leanna fully depends on how quickly both governments work. Worse case scenario, 3 months. Best case....it goes quick. But, we aren't holding out breath for that. We find that going with the longest timeline is best, as then we are pleasantly surprised when things move quicker.

 

So....all this to say.....

OUR FIRST TRIP IS IN JANUARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*****insert happy dance here*****

 

We get to spend 3 days with Leanna at her orphanage....we will stay in the town where she is. We will also have to do a few logistical things....and then there is time to take in the culture and do some touristy things.

 

Cant. Wait.

 

We have been doing some shopping for our Roma Darlin to pass the time. We have gotten a couple outfits for her, a few toys for her orphanage....and of course some snuggly blankets and lovies to leave with her. We have also gotten a couple recordable books so she can learn our voices in our absence.

 

 

 

 

News and Strangers

It feels like forever since I have posted. Trust me, it isn't for lack of adoption info...it has more to do with insane schedules and a nasty cold that has been visiting our house.....

 

Ok, NEWS!!! Today, I repeat, TODAY.....Bulgaria will be reviewing our case and, Lord Willing, tomorrow we will get news. Basically, this meeting is the final hurdle before Bulgaria recognizes Leanna as being ours. So, after this meeting, once they realize AGAIN how awesome we are, Bulgaria will send a document to our agency. Once this document is received, we will get to schedule our first visit to Bulgaria!! I get all the terminology confused....not sure if this is an "official referral", or an "official match" meeting.....you get to a point where you just nod and go with the flow.

 

This is HUGE though. We get this document, then we visit Leanna within 6 weeks!!!! THEN, the goal is to bring her home approx. 3 months after that!!!! It still feels far off, but at least there is an end in sight!

 

SOOO, another little tidbit of news, the same day we got this news, I walked out to the mail box and noticed that we had 2 letters from various grants we had applied for. One was from JSC (this one I was pretty sure we would get)....the other was from Show Hope. I opened JSC and was sooooo bummed to see we didn't get any financial aid. I almost didn't open Show Hope as I was even more certain we wouldn't get aid from them...but, I opened and BOOM! $4000 grant!! Ok, perspective here.....we got this grant letter with 15 minutes of me finding out we would be traveling....traveling costs a lot of money. How cool was Gods timing?!?!?!

 

I also want to add that we applied for 5 grants, and we got 4 of them. How amazing is that??????

 

Now, my ponderings. I have been soooooo blown away by the love and generosity of strangers. Let me explain....Sean and I have had to get some thick skin during this process. Our experience is that people either are completely passionate about adoption/our adoption....or they are completely not. There really isn't a middle. People that are passionate about adoption are always trying to find ways to love us and support us...through prayer, encouraging words, donations, hugs, facebook posts....etc. People that aren't passionate for adoption basically think we are nuts. We have too many kids. Leanna will be too much work for us. We shouldn't adopt if we don't have the money. Sean and I will never have the joy of an empty nest since we keep having children....etc.

 

The interesting thing is that it doesn't matter if we are talking about friends, church family or relatives......people are for it, or against it....so, you understand our "thick skin."

 

So, that brings me back to strangers. We have been shown so much love, kindness, and generosity from people that don't know us. They know our story. They are passionate about adoption, and they want to see Leanna come home. I have learned so much from these people. I have had strangers donate to our online stores/auctions. Not only are there donations, but many send us encouraging letters.....I have even had people include little extras for Leanna....hair clips etc. One sweet gal send her donation, and some lovely bath salts for me....saying that she was sure I could use them. lol. She was right, and I was so grateful for her thoughtfulness. I have decided that I am going to be one of those strangers. A person that just loves others. A person that encourages people, and loves people....no matter what. I am so thankful for my friends, the strangers.

Busy Busy Busy.

I know I am waaaaayyyyyy past due for a post. Trust me when I say that it has been so crazy here. Busy Busy Busy!! However, I am praising God for the chaos as I have been Blessed with several opportunities that are helping us raise money for our little Leannas adoption!!!!

 

This past weekend was Womens retreat. I was asked if I would like to do a Bingo game and a silent auction there for our little lady. The theme of retreat was "Hope" and the amazing speaker was going to be speaking on her Ethiopian adoptions. Of course, I totally jumped on board. Long story short, this led to several amazing and GENEROUS donations....most of them coming from people who don't know us, nor do they know Leanna. These people just heard our story and were happy to help us out. How cool was that???? Our auction was amazing and Bingo was a blast. People were so kind, loving and willing to do what they could to Bless our family.....whether it be financially or prayerfully.

 

Now I am moving on to our next 2 events, one is a table at our Church Holiday Bazar (again, donations have been amazing and generous, my table will rock!). Then, after the bazar is the dinner/dance that we are putting together along with some sweet friends adopting from the Congo. That event is going to be AMAZING!!!!!

Feel free to pray for my sanity and for time management. These opportunities are Blessings, but I am always spread super thin. To say I get overwhelmed would be a huge understatement. Praise God for the friends and family that surrounds us with prayer and gives us strength and encouragement when we need it.

 

 

In regards to the adoption, we have officially submitted all of our documents for our dossier. This is HUGE. We had a doozy of a time getting 2 final documents. Our caseworker had sent everything else so that momentum didn't come to a complete hault....but, those documents were a huge stressor on us, and I am so glad we are done with that part. So, the next step is waiting for our first travel dates!!!! I cannot wait to see our sweet daughter, but I am already dreading having to leave her there. Guess I will cross that depressing bridge when I get to it.

 

 

Prayer- Please pray for strength and wisdom. Pray that our hard work will be Blessed by good attendance at our upcoming events. Pray for Leanna.....her health, her heart and her future transitions. Pray that God will use our experience to open up others minds and hearts to adoption.

 

 I was chatting with my Mom last night about that last one. I constantly have to remind myself that a lot of people just don't understand what we are doing. We hear, Why would you adopt if you dont have the money? Why would you go to another Country when there are children in the US? Why do you want ANOTHER child? Why would you ever take on a special needs child? These questions used to break my heart and offend me. But now, I welcome these questions. I welcome these opportunities to speak about our hearts and our calling to love and defend the fatherless. These beautiful children of God.

 

 



Pictures

You all may notice that I have taken down some pictures of Leanna. After a Convo with our caseworker, we decided not to post pics on our blog or facebook pages.....just to be super cautious!!

Just an FYI

Praising in the Hallway

"Until God opens the next door, Praise him in the Hallway." I LOVE this quote. My Purdy sister Chelsey told me this early on in our adoption, Then I was reminded of it again today when my dear friend, and fellow adopting Momma posted it. Story of our life.

 

Sean and I just got back from Yakima, where we got our USCIS fingerprints done. This was a big thing that we needed to accomplish, we had waited and waited for the date to arrive of our appt. So, that is done, and now we just need to get a stinkin medical form RE-DONE for Sean. Those medical forms have been a royal pain in my curvy butt!! (yes, im hostile)

 

In other news, I have officially made myself crazy. I had to put myself to bed early last night, because I was just so overwhelmed with the crazy amounts of stuff I had done during the day, and yet there is so much left to do. We have been Blessed with not 1, not 2, but 3 different fundraising opportunities (Praise God!)...Although this is a tremendous Blessing, It is also a lot of work for me. I am SO grateful that God has surrounded me with a group of Godly friends that want to ease my burden wherever they can.

 

So, please pray that things move swiftly. Pray that my hard work pays off and that these fundraising opportunities are Blessed. Pray for Leanna, as she is still in an orphanage. Thanks.

 

Leanna Girl

I know that my blog has been a yawn fest lately....well, that is because we don't have much news. We have our fingerprint apt next week, and I am currently running the dessert fundraiser, getting ready for a silent auction, AND prepping for an amazing dinner/dance in Dec (be there or be square). So, although, there hasn't been much "news".....As always, my mind and my time is consumed with our little Leanna.

After a chat with an amazing friend today, I realized that I need to get my bootie in gear as far as researching the medical professionals we will need for our lil lady.
We have been very open about the fact that our sweetie has special needs, but I don't think I have blogged about what those needs are.

Well, Leanna has incredibly limited vision. She does have SOME vision, but limited. This is due to cataracts, which we have been told she will need surgery to correct. Our prayer is that the surgery will restore some more of her vision.

Leanna also has several delays. This is totally normal and expected from children in orphanages and institutions, especially "older" children like Leanna. The good news? She may need some help, but we totally expect Leanna to make huge strides once she is home!

Lastly, our lil lady was born with clubbed feet. Although this was corrected with surgery, she never received the therapy and help she needed to regain her strength. We are so excited to have an amazing friend who is a physical therapist and who is happy to work with our sweetie.

So, I think that gives you all some more ideas of ways to pray for us. We already have started praying for our sweet girls health and development. Pray that God equips us with what we need to help and provide for our girl, and that we will find the perfect medical professionals to be part of our journey.....People that believe in miracles and believe in Leanna.

Ok, Momma out. Night

 

 

 

 

Introducing Leanna Laurie Parker "Deva"