INS approval - the wait continues

Still waiting on that last piece of paper. Praying it comes very soon (like in the next week or so!).  Everything else so far has gone smoothly, and I pray that this will be resolved soon.

Two scriptures were brought to mind over the past day or so - in fact, we clung to both of these as we prepared to travel back in 2007.

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

Deuteronomy 31:8

I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars.

Isaiah 45:2

God spoke the second verse to me just before we traveled to bring William home.  He did indeed make the rough places smooth on that journey. And as I meditated on that scripture this weekend, something else interesting stood out to me that I'd never noticed before...

The reference to "their iron bars" made me think of the gates at the SDA. I remember walking up to those gates, and being flooded with a variety of emotions.

But God is much bigger than anyone or anything, including those gates! He will put us where we are supposed to be, when we are supposed to be there, with the child(ren) He has already chosen for us.  Praise Him for going before us, and for never leaving us!!

If you have a minute...

... will you please say a prayer for us?

Please pray that our final piece of paperwork (the INS/USCIS approval) will arrive this week.  If it arrives soon, we can send it with another family, which would save us the [really high] shipping costs. We'd also just like the peace of mind of knowing that all of the paperwork is completed and in the hands of our facilitator.

Thanks!

World Down Syndrome Day

In case you weren't aware, yesterday was World Down Syndrome Day - a day set aside to promote awareness of DS and its related causes. I have a feeling this important day was overshadowed by all the news coming from our nation's capitol, so I think it's more than appropriate to blog about it today as well.

In honor of this important day, I wrote an article about Reece's Rainbow, and the work that has been done/is being done for children with Down Syndrome around the world.

Click HERE to read the article and find out how you can help these children and the families that commit to bringing them home!

The Adoption Tax Credit Blog

The Adoption Tax Credit Blog

In case you haven't noticed yet, I'm a bit fired up about the adoption tax credit... and thankfully, I don't think I'm the only one.

I created a blog about it (click here), and am trying to spread the word as much as possible.  If you have a blog, you might want to mention it there (feel free to use the logo that is showing up in this post).  Might also want to add a link on any social networking or news sites you use (facebook, twitter, myspace, digg, sharethis, stumbleupon, etc.).

If you'd like to write to your congressman and senators, but you're not sure what to say, you're in luck.

The site includes sample letters!

Just a reminder - it's best to contact your senators via websites or telephone. Security measures for snail mail greatly lengthen the amount of time it takes to get a letter into their hands.

Solnyshko's domain!!

The room is ready! 

Well, it isn't yet filled with toys and clothes, but it's ready for our newest little one!

The furniture turned out great, and was a perfect fit for a smallish bedroom.

(After the pictures I added some matryoshka dolls to the dresser - a gift from our friends that are missionaries in Ukraine)

The bedding was exactly what I wanted - great for a little boy or a little girl.

And our neighbor Tammy did an outstanding job on the striped walls!

Did you notice that the brown is chalkboard paint?
So cool!

And once everything was back in place, Zack put Solnyshko's first 2 shirts into his/her dresser.

These were the shirts we ordered from www.adoptionbug.com and they finally arrived yesterday.

Solnyshko now has a blue shirt just like one we ordered for big brother William.

And a brown shirt just like the ones that Daddy, Mommy, and big brother have.

Can't wait to have a picture of all four of us in our matching shirts!

A Post Worth Sharing

Sometimes I'll read a post on a blog and it will really stand out to me. Melanie's March 12th blog post did just that.

In this particular post, Melanie is totally transparent about the fears she experienced when she & her husband went to Eastern Europe eight years ago to adopt their daughter Natalie. She is also eloquent and humble in describing how God broke her and molded her through that experience.

Please click HERE to read the post. I pray that it will move you to pursue orphan care in some capacity. I honestly don't know how you can read it and not be moved to do something.

Adoption Tax Credit series: Part 2

Click HERE to read part 2 of my series on the tax credit.

If you haven't contacted your representatives, please do so now.

If you've already contacted them, do it again. The clock is ticking, this needs to happen soon!

While you're reading my article, please click on the subscribe button and enter your email address. You'll receive a notice anytime I publish a new article!

Ukraine Adoption Blogs

I've been working on updating the blog roll (see link on the side bar to the left).  If you would like to be added, please comment on this post. Include first names of you & your spouse, your blog address, and where you are in the process.

I know our first time around, I was always thankful to find blog rolls where I could follow other families and see the latest goings-on in Ukrainian adoption.  Hopefully this blog roll will do the same for someone else!

I'm a writer!

I recently applied for a writing position with a website.  I learned on Friday that I got the position, and I published my first article yesterday.

I am now the Atlanta Adoptive Families writer for Examiner.com.

My home page is HERE.

And you can read my first article HERE.  I decided to start off writing about the adoption tax credit. There is so much to say, so it's going to be a multi-part series!

*** If you are in the metro Atlanta area and would like to weigh-in with your opinions on the tax credit/relief, please email me by clicking HERE. ***

Pay is based on the amount of traffic my articles get, as well as the number of subscribers, amount of time each person spends on the site, etc.  So please stop by and visit!

And if you like to write and want to make a little extra money, visit Examiner.  They're looking for writers in a ton of different metro areas, for a number of different interest areas.  Please use me as your reference - thanks!

The furniture is here!!!

As expected, Saturday was a CRAZY day.  William played in most of his basketball game, then changed uniforms and played in his soccer game.  He did well in both, but it is obvious that his favorite is soccer! 

Thanks to my awesome MIL for staying at the house in the AM for the furniture to be delivered while we were at basketball.  We got back from the games and were very pleased with the furniture.  It looks so good, and I can't wait to see our Solnyshko enjoying it!

I thought about posting photos, but decided to make you wait.  Tammy is coming over Thursday & Friday to do some cool decorative painting, so I want to wait until everything is finished before 'unveiling' it to our blog friends.

We also had fun on Saturday at the Lady Vols SEC tourney game against Vanderbilt.  It was a W for our team, and advanced them to the championship game on Sunday (which they won!).  We took lots of pictures, but I don't have any of them on my computer. Will have to post later.

Hope everyone is having a great week.  Less than 2 months until we get to submit our dossier!!!

2 months!!!

Renovation Realities

(I know, shocker: 3 posts in one day!)

Renovation Realities is yet another show we like to watch on DIY.  We make bets on how quickly the wife will end up crying (I'm guessing it happens in 2 out of 3 shows where a couple is involved), and we gawk at how DIY-challenged some people are.  I mean, if you are going to rip out a shower, don't you think you should learn about shutting off the water first?

Well, no major renovations at our house, just a few updates here and there. I've never been a big fan of plate glass mirrors, but Zack was convinced that if we took ours down, it would rip the walls apart.  So imagine my surprise a few weeks ago when I walk in from work and he'd decided to rip them down in all 3 bathrooms!  We had our friend Mike help us do some sheetrock repair, and then we were ready for paint and new mirrors.  I think they turned out great!

We've also redecorated the kids' bathroom in a surf/Hawaiian theme.  It's finished in that it's functional and very cute, but we still might add a few more details here and there.

Next up, Solnyshko's room! The furniture arrives Saturday, and my friend Tammy is coming over next week to paint some cool stuff on the walls.  I'm really excited about what she's going to do!

Here are a few pics of our work so far.

The half-bath:

The master bath:

And the kids' bath:

Star Wars Mania

If you've been around William for more than 5 minutes, you likely know about his love for all things Star Wars.  Well, he got a real treat last weekend when Zack's friend Geoffrey gave him his original Millenium Falcon. I'm talking the first generation, not the reproduction.  William was thrilled!  He spent all of Sunday afternoon setting up a "scene" on the coffee table, and insisted I take pictures. 
Here are a few of them...

Thanks for the awesome gift, Geoffrey!

Still waiting...

We continue to wait for our US approval to complete our dossier.  I'm a little relieved to find out that 2 other families were fingerprinted the week before us and haven't gotten theirs yet either.  Gives me hope that our paperwork didn't get misplaced again!

We have lots going on this weekend.  Tomorrow includes William's last basketball of the season, his first soccer game of the season, Solnyshko's furniture should be delivered in the AM, a possible trip to the women's SEC bball tourney, and William's basketball banquet.  Should be lots of fun!

I made a new bloggy friend over the past few weeks!  She and her husband are in the midst of the fun of a Ukrainian adoption, and they just started a fundraiser auction site, too.  Take a peek by clicking the picture below (isn't it so cute?!?!)...

Don't forget to check out our friends' auction blog. Some really cute items!!