I love this video, put together by a family that adopted their 3 boys just weeks after we brought William home.

How will YOU care for orphans?

Our Ukrainian Connection: The Powells

It's so amazing how God looks after His children! In February 2007, He led us to adopt from Ukraine, a country we knew nothing about. A month later, we met Jonathan & Heather Powell - Ukrainian missionaries that were home on furlough - so we felt like we had a bit of a connection to the country.

Well Ukraine is about the size of Texas, so the chances of us ending up anywhere close to them were slim.  But as I continually remind myself, never attempt to put limits on God!!  I remember calling Jonathan from Kyiv to let him know we'd be heading to Mariupol. And as it turned out, we were only about an hour or so away from them!

You can read about our previous encounters with the Powells by clicking HERE and HERE and HERE.

The Powells are currently back in Georgia on furlough for several months.  A couple of weeks ago, they came to our house and spent the day with us.  It was great to finally introduce them to William.  We spent a good bit of time with them in Ukraine, but it was before we had custody of him so they only saw him in pictures.  William had so much fun playing with their girls, Maya and Sasha. And we enjoyed spending time with our friends.  We hope to see them some more while they're here!

We also plan to host an evening sometime in the next couple of months where they will share about their ministry.  If you're in the area and are interested in attending, just send me an email here.

Unfortunately, if things stay on schedule, we probably won't get to see them while in Ukraine this time, because they'll still be in the U.S.  But hopefully we'll get to introduce them to our new child once we return home, before they head back to Berdyansk.

Busy Busy Busy

Nothing new to report with the adoption process.  We're still waiting on that very last piece of paper, the USCIS approval.  I think our facilitator is already translating everything else.  We've got plenty of time, because it's still 70 days until we get to submit to the SDA.  I'll give them a few more weeks before I start bugging them for a status!

In the meantime, we're very busy right now!  Basketball and soccer are overlapping for 2 weeks.  So we have basketball on Monday night, soccer on Tuesday night, and church on Wednesday night for this week and next week.  I'm a little concerned about March 6, because he has his first soccer game AND his last basketball game. That's also the day of the basketball banquet, and the day Solnyshko's furniture is to be delivered.  Not sure how it will end up working out, but I'm not going to worry too much about it - we'll figure it out somehow.  We don't have the soccer schedule yet, so I'm not sure if the games will be a conflict or not.  William has already decided which one will win out if that happens - those that know him well can probably guess which one fairly easily.  But he does love both sports, and excels at both.

Johnny Knoxville

Well, this is the first time I've ever seen this side of Johnny Knoxville.  It is definitely cool to hear these words from him, but I especially like the incredible words from his friend Eddie (particularly what he says at 2:01)...

Help Bring ShayleeJoy Home!

Meet Scott & Sharon, an awesome couple we've enjoyed getting to know over the past couple of years.  They are Savannah's parents (Savannah is Josh's girlfriend, Josh is Zack's brother). So they're practically family as far as we're concerned!

This lovely couple has the privilege and honor of parenting four beautiful girls, 3 of which are homegrown, and one who was born in China. And they have a fifth daughter on the way!  They've been in process for more than 2 years, seeking to adopt from China again. Just this past week, this family accepted a referral of a beautiful 2 1/2 year old. They (and we!) are so very excited as they prepare to welcome ShayleeJoy into their family in just a few short months.

You can help our friends bring their daughter home from China!  Sharon is an amazing seamstress, and she's decided to use some of her work as a way to raise funds to bring their sweet girl home this summer.  She'll also be auctioning other items that are being donated to the auction.  They've started an auction blog and you can visit it at http://ajoyfulheartshay.blogspot.com/.

While on their site, you can also read about how God led them to their daughter, and take a look pictures of the precious child waiting for them in China.

Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.

Isaiah 43:5

It's snow fun...

As I mentioned in a previous post, 4 glorious inches of snow fell on our little city last week.  That's A LOT for Georgia, and it was what I consider to be the perfect snow: it fell on Friday afternoon/evening, and by Saturday afternoon, most of it was gone. So no missed school or work, and the roads were only slick for a few hours.

We had lots of fun with family and friends while it was on the ground! (For my facebook friends, this is just a sampling of what I posted on there yesterday)...

Flashback Friday

It amazes me to look back just two years ago and see how far our boy has come!  Take a look at this post from January 2008, and particularly the video at the bottom of it.  Putting those 6 words together took so much effort and practice.  Now, the only time we can get him to stop talking is when he's sleeping!

William, preschool

William, first grade

H.R. 213

I've mentioned it before (read about it HERE), and I'm mentioning it again...

~The Adoption Tax Relief/Credit that currently exists is set to expire at the end of 2010~

Please write your representatives and encourage them to support its continuation.  There's so much going on now in government, and I don't want to see this get overlooked.  And of course, another good thing about so much going on is that this could be small potatoes and a slam dunk in comparison to other big ticket items. 

In addition to contacting MY representative and senator, I also sent a message to Representative Joe Wilson, who is the sponsor of this bill.  I asked for an update on the progress being made with the bill, and also spoke to the urgent need for this funding to continue. I explained that there are many families who can afford the day-to-day expenses of another child, but might not be able to dish out the large amount of money that adoption requires. This tax relief makes adoption a more realistic option, and allows more children to be united with their forever families.  You can visit Mr. Wilson's contact page HERE. 

Please, it will only take a minute to send your message and make sure your reps are on board.  Links are provided below, and there's also text you can copy and paste into your reps' contact page. 

Once you've sent your messages to your representatives, please pass this on to friends and family, and ask for their help in writing, calling, and posting on blogs and facebook. This needs to gain momentum NOW. We need an absolute ground swell of families lifting their voices together for the well-being of children throughout the world. Thanks in advance for your help!

Click HERE to email your Representative

Click HERE to email your Senator

Not sure what to say? Just copy & paste this...

My name is ___________ and I live in ___________. I am writing you regarding H.R. 213, which pertains to Adoption Tax Relief. There are over 140 million orphans in the world today, and families who are working to bring these children home are grateful for any assistance they can get to offset the high costs of adoption. The Adoption Tax credit is a significant way to help these families, and these precious children.

Many families can afford the day-to-day expenses of a child, but might not be able to gather the large amount of money that adoption requires.  This tax relief makes adoption a realistic option for them.  It provides important financial relief. But most importantly, it provides more families the opportunity to bring hope to children whose futures might otherwise be hopeless.

Please vote for the Adoption Tax Relief Guarantee Act of 2009, H.R. 213, that will keep the adoption tax credit from being repealed, and may make the tax relief measure permanent.

Thank you for your service.  We continue to pray for you and your colleagues. May God Bless you.

A Jerry Maguire moment

Valentine's Day.  I've never been a huge fan of this holiday.  I know some people love it, and I respect that. But I personally think it's awfully contrived and surely must have been thought up by some execs at Hallmark & FTD to fill in the gap between Christmas and wedding season.

So a week or two before Valentine's I reminded Zack that he should not feel obligated to spend money on flowers & candy.  And thankfully, we've been together long enough that he knows when I say that, I really DO mean it.  But my valentine did surprise me with a day that made me feel special and showed me that he knows me very well and cares so much about me. 

The day began with lots of snow on the ground.  Well, 4 inches is a lot in Georgia.  We all played outside for several hours.  After getting cleaned up, we exchanged gifts.  The boys gave me a really cute Vera Bradley purse!

We dropped William off with the grandparents, and Zack handed me a pair of movie tickets.  He'd purchased tickets to see Valentine's Day.

The movie was good.  It's definitely not a family film, and morally speaking... well, not much to speak of morally.  But it was cute and romantic and had some funny moments. And I like the style, following lots of different small stories. One of my favorite lines came when Reed asked Alphonso what made his marriage work.  I'll keep his answer to myself for those that haven't seen the movie, but I will say that I agree whole-heartedly.

After the movie and a stroll around the mall, we went to California Dreaming.  He'd made reservations several weeks in advance.  We had a delicious dinner and were able to eat at our own pace and talk to each other without any distractions.

We picked up our little Valentine, who had made a very cute card for us that served as a nice bookend to a wonderful day.  It was a great evening, and made me once again thankful for being blessed with a husband who cherishes me and treats me way better than I deserve. 

Back when we were dating, we went to the theater to see Jerry Maguire. And I was immediately struck by Dorothy's line at the end. That's how I've always felt about Zack: he had me at hello.

DIY

We love the DIY Network, and watch many of the shows as a family.  William is especially fond of any demolition that is required prior to a remodel!  And he commented the other night that his bathroom could be an episode of Bathtastic.

Here's a quick rundown of some of the things we have going on right now:

• Got a new front door & new crown moulding all throughout the downstairs (not DIY - our friend Mike & his dad did all of that!)
• We painted our master bath & added some slate tiles around the shower, and added a new light fixture
• Solnyshko's Bedroom - it's painted, but we're still trying to decide if we might attempt to do some decorative stripes before the furniture is delivered on March 6th.
• The Kids' Bathroom - also painted, but Zack decided to pull the old builder grade mirror off the wall. So now he's working on sanding & priming so we can get that wall painted. Then we'll get a new mirror for it. We bought quite a few accessories today for the surf/hawaiian theme. Still need a shower curtain, and some knick-knacks & wall items.
• Our bathroom - the HUGE mirror in there is also ripped down, so sanding, priming & painting are on tap for the coming days.
• Same thing in the half-bath: sand, prime, paint, mirror

We may have to take a break from all the DIY shows, because they've been inspiring us A LOT!

Making the Room

We had a great weekend! I'll have to get out the camera and upload some pictures, but for now, here's a quick rundown.

~ Friday - Mother/Son Movie Night at William's school
~ Saturday morning: went to William's basketball game and then out to breakfast with my mom & step-dad. Then our friends that are missionaries in Ukraine came and spent the day with us. They're home on furlough for several months. We had such a great time with them, and look forward to seeing them more during their time here.
~ Sunday: church, furniture shopping, super bowl party

For several months, we've been talking about and kind of looking at furniture for Solnyshko's bedroom. Yesterday, we went out with intention and found exactly what we needed & wanted! It will be delivered in a few weeks, giving us time to get all the work done in the room beforehand (minor wall repairs & painting, and possibly some closet organizers). The comforter should arrive today, so we can settle on a paint color and get started soon. Of course, with the beds we ended up ordering, we'll now need to purchase one more comforter set, and another mattress.

We've also decided to redecorate the kids' bathroom. It's a very grown-up theme (William says it's boring) and we thought it would be fun to make it more fun for them. It's also a great way to include William so he doesn't feel like all the changes & work are just for the new sibling. We're still working on details for that project, but we're thinking we might go with a surf/Hawaiian theme.

Lera

Reece's Rainbow has asked us bloggers to get the word out about a precious little girl named Lera. The family that committed to her adoption fell through. Lera is running out of time, and needs her family NOW.

Lera is in Russia, and has $8,600 in grant money available to the family that commits to her.

For more info on Lera, please click on this link (Reece's Rainbow blog).

Solnyshko's Bedroom

We've started thinking about what we'd like to do to set up a bedroom for our Solnyshko. We've been clearing out the room over the past week. We were able to relocate some of the items, some went to other family members, some to charity, and we're only left with a a curio cabinet to place elsewhere.

We want to put a twin bed in there, but we haven't found the right one yet. We're also open to the idea of a bed with a trundle, bunkbeds, or a loft bed with drawers/storage underneath. We have limited space in the room, and want to use it wisely!

We ordered a comforter set & 2 sheet sets last night. I found it online a few weeks ago and fell in love with it. This was the first - and only - set I've found that I liked for a boy OR a girl. If we end up with bunks, we'll have to buy one more comforter. But we wanted to go ahead and get it so we could pick out paint and get the walls ready ahead of other tasks.

I love that we're getting to the point of making tangible changes around the house to make room for our little one!

Child #2

With William's adoption, God specifically led us to pursue a boy. So from the very beginning of our journey, we referred to our child as Little Guy (or LG). It made things easy when speaking about him, and when blogging about. And for the most part, we were able to keep his name a secret.

Okay, confession time: Zack kept the secret throughout the entire 10 months. I slipped up once, but thankfully my baby brother kept it to himself!

This time around we are not specifying a gender. But I'd still like to have a 'nickname' to use, something a little nicer than Child #2. I tried to think of something more gender-neutral, and perhaps even a bit more culturally relevant.

So from now on, you'll begin to see references to Solnyshko. This Russian word is most closely translated as little sunshine, an endearing form of the word.

Please continue to join us in praying for our Solnyshko!

Biometrics - check!

We went this morning for our last set of fingerprints, for USCIS this time. With William's adoption we had an 8 AM appointment and the place was crazy busy and a bit chaotic. This time, our appointment was at 9:00. And it was a totally different environment; much calmer.

Not knowing what traffic might be like going down to Atlanta, we left plenty early. We arrived before 8:00. So we stopped at McDonalds and caught up on emails and just killed some time.

We arrived at the building at 8:40. Around 8:50 we decided to see if they'd let us in early. And they did! While waiting and doing all the forms, etc., we met a couple from North Carolina who is in the proccess of adopting 2 children from China (their 6th adoption). It's always fun to meet others in process and chat a bit.

So all went well, we were in and out in under 30 minutes, and now we wait on our approval from the U.S. government. That's the only piece of paper left to complete our dossier! Everything else is in route and/or being translated already!

Please pray that the approval comes quickly and without any issues.