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If you have just a couple of minutes to spare, please hop on over to read THIS POST from blogger Melanie.

One Less

Saw this on another adoptive family's blog and really enjoyed it. Hope you will too - and I pray that it will cause you to stop and consider how you can make a difference in the life of at least one orphan...

One Less by Matthew West (The Story Behind The Song) from emicmg on Vimeo.

Our God is Healer

Just over 2 months ago, we came home with a little boy who carried with him a list of health concerns and labels...

• Scoliosis
• Heart problems
• Adenoid problems
• Sleep problems
• Strabismus and probable retina damage
• Poor vision

Two months later, here's where we stand...

• No apparent scoliosis
• Heart murmur is 'completely innocent' and no cause for concern
• His adenoids are perfectly fine
• He's going to sleep without much effort, and sleeping for 10 - 12 hours a night (plus a 1 hour nap most days)
• His strabismus is almost undetectible and there is NO retina damage

Yes, he does have vision problems. Thankfully, they can be easily managed with glasses. We picked up his glasses on Sunday, and he's not really fighting them at all. Makes me think they must be working!

Shortly after arriving home, we found out that our local America's Best has an optician that speaks Russian. One of those great God-ordained moments!

While we went to a specialist for Daniel's eye exam, we went back to America's Best to order the glasses. When we arrived, we were pleased to find out Gen - the lady who speaks Russian - was there. Daniel was shocked when she began speaking to him in Russian! She was sweet and so very helpful.

I took Daniel back on Tuesday to make some additional adjustments, knowing that Gen would be there. She was helping a customer pick out frames, but upon seeing us, she occupied the customer with another section of frames to peruse, and came to see us. She got Daniel's frames adjusted perfectly, and talked to him a bit to determine if the glasses were helping his vision (and it seems they are!).

Having said all of this, I'm so thankful for our Great Physician: for totally removing most of the concerns that we were first presented with, and for putting people in place to help us with the things that needed to be addressed. Our God is Healer!

Christmas shopping!

It's definitely not too early to start your Christmas shopping - Christmas is just 3 months from tomorrow!

The Land family has some fun fundraisers that can help you do just that. Here's text copied from some of Amy's recent posts... (and you can visit their blog HERE)

• Scentsy Fundraiser - remember to click on Land Adoption on the left. Also have the items shipped to yourself.
• Sarah's Treasures - ONLY ONE DAY OCT 8 - You will need to tell her it is for Land Adoption.
• Discovery Toys - You will need to e-mail Jill and tell her for the Land Family Adoption.
• Coffee Fundraiser
• T-Shirt Fundraiser
• Donate to our Family Sponsorship Program - tax - deductible donations

Good news... for now anyway

The vote that was supposed to take place in Ukraine yesterday did not happen!!

The vote has been postponed. As far as we know, there is no established date for the next vote to take place. Many feel it will be several months. Some believe Ukraine is wanting to watch Russia and see what they do in the way of bi-lateral agreements, before moving forward with their own decision.

In any event, this is good news for families in process right, and for the children they're seeking to adopt.

But it's not over. It will most likely come back up. So please continue to pray for stability of this situation, and for the orphans of Ukraine.

Weekend in review

We had a busy but fun weekend. Lots of firsts for Daniel, and a couple for William as well.

Saturday was Zack's birthday. It started with a trip to the Suwanee Day parade: Daniel's first parade, and the first time William and I had ever been to this particular parade. It was fun, but Suwanee's got nothing on the Duluth parade. William was not too impressed.




After the parade we went to William's soccer game, then grabbed some lunch. Then it was back home to watch some football.

After a disappointing ending for our team, we took the boys to Toys r Us. This was Daniel's first time at a toy store, and he had a gift card to spend which meant it was his first time to buy something! He did great. We didn't spend a lot of time there because this store overwhelms me so I knew it could be a bit much for him. But we directed him to some things we thought he'd like. He walked away with Buzz & Woody action figures and a cool monster truck. He was so proud as he walked out with his bag. (We went to Wal-mart after that, and we laughed as we were walking in, because we realized he was still holding tight to his receipt!)



Sunday morning we took the boys to Waffle House (Daniel's first time there, and he thought it was great!). Then we hopped on the MARTA train (Daniel's first rapid transit experience) and headed to the Georgia Dome. It was the Atlanta Falcons' home opener, and the first NFL game for both boys.
They had lots of fun and made it through the first half of the game. We knew we were pushing our luck to try much more than that, especially given the fact that our seats were 4 rows from the top. And there wasn't an empty seat in our section, so a certain little 5-year-old was probably getting on the nerves of some fans with his inability to sit in his chair without kicking, getting folded down into the chair, elbowing, jumping up, etc. But it was a great time for everyone, and the Falcons won big!

And here's the biggest first for Daniel...

After the game, we went and picked up Daniel's glasses. It's probably the first time he's ever REALLY been able to see. I will admit that I got teary-eyed when we walked out to the parking lot and he looked around & smiled. Zack laughed at me, but I was just overcome with the thought of where this little man was 2 short months ago and where he is now. We're praying that these glasses will be the extra boost he needs to focus better (literally and otherwise).

God, You are higher than any other

I think sometimes God likes to show off, don't you?

There is one song that, for the past year, has provided me so much encouragement: Our God (Chris Tomlin & Matt Redman). This song always seems to 'pop up' at all the right times, and its lyrics are a great reminder of the One who holds everything in His hands.

• The last Sunday at our church before leaving for Ukraine, it was one of the songs in our worship service. I felt like God was reminding us that He was with us as we set out for Ukraine.
• As I was getting ready for our SDA appointment and just about to wake Zack & William, I was listening to the iPod through speakers. The iPod was set to random, and this song came on. I stopped what I was doing and just praised God for what He was doing in the life of our family.
• No adoption is without its bumps, and we experienced some uneasy moments while in country. I was sitting in the hallway of one particularly scary government building. Zack & William were asked to wait in the car, and our facilitator was meeting with some officials. It was an incredibly dark hallway and I was alone (except for a few Russian-speaking people scattered around), and had been instructed not to talk to anyone. I sat and waited, praying for our court paperwork to be accepted. I began singing this song to myself (silently of course - didn't want to be the crazy English speaker in what was a frightening situation). Moments later, "L" emerged with good news.
• This song was playing in my head during our first night in Kyiv with Daniel. We were experiencing a rough start to being a family of four, but God was trying to remind me that He is bigger than any challenge that comes our way.
• Fast forward to last week. We were in the car, probably on the way to soccer, and this song came on the radio. Zack and I were talking, when I suddenly realized what I was hearing from the back seat. It was that little high-pitched 5-year-old voice, singing "Our God, Our God."
• Another night, I was putting Daniel to bed and we were going through our usual musical repertoire: Zaccheus, Jesus Loves Me, Seek Ye First, and the I Love You Daniel song. The radio was on in the background and suddenly he sat up and exclaimed "I like song" and proceeded to once again sing "Our God, Our God."
• And as I wrapped up this post, guess what song is playing on my radio? :)

God, thank you for gentle reminders that You are in control.

And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us?
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against?
Yes, our God is greater!! Our God is stronger!!

Here's a video that includes the song...

The Junior Joker

Be sure to turn up the volume because it's kind of hard to hear, but here's a little video of William listening to himself on 104.7 The Fish as their Junior Joker of the day!

Pray for Ukraine

Here we go again.

Ukraine’s Parliament is once again scheduled to vote on a possible moratorium on international adoptions. The vote is schedule for September 21st.

There are different speculations on exactly what this means, but it basically sounds like if this bill passes, it would place a hold on the SDA's acceptance of dossiers.

It's possible that 1) they want to restructure the program so they can better monitor the well-being of children that are adopted; 2) they want to enter the Hague convention; 3) they want to re-vamp the SDA.

Whatever the reason, I just wonder why they can't they work on it without halting everything. This same vote came up just before we travelled this summer. Thankfully, it fell short of the votes needed to pass.

Please pray that once again this bill doesn't get enough momentum to pass.

And pray for families who are in process right now. Some are already in country, others are waiting to travel, and still others are scheduled to submit their dossiers very soon. Pray that God will give them peace as they wait for answers.

(Much of this is copied from other blogs with permission - feel free to share on your blog as well.)

Sympathy versus Empathy

Since coming home with our newest little blessing, we've gotten lots of smiles and nods and "We're praying for you" from friends & family. We appreciate the sentiments, and definitely appreciate the prayers!

But if you haven't walked in our shoes, you can't fully understand what we've experienced or are experiencing. We can try to explain it, but words don't do justice to the reality of it all. (I can say this because as prepared as we thought we were for each adoption, reality made us realize we weren't!)

That's why it is so refreshing and encouraging to connect with others who have experienced the day-in-day-out trials and triumphs of non-infant adoption.

I'm extremely thankful that we got to connect with other families while we were in Ukraine this time around. We didn't really get that the first time around. But as I've said so many times, God knows what we need, when we need it.

I'm especially thankful for the Loraine family. We met them on our first day in Ukraine back in June. We had ice cream with them the day before we left Kyiv to travel to Daniel's city. And we had dinner with them twice before coming home. They saw our pre-Daniel excitement, and our post-Daniel exhaustion. They know us in a way that few do!

So it was great to get to talk to Erin this past weekend. We chatted for probably an hour & a half, and could have gone on for hours longer I'm sure. We compared stories and kept it real. Erin is such an encouragement to me - someone I can be honest with about our struggles, and someone who will truly celebrate with me in our victories, however big or small. I pray that I do the same for her!

God knows what - and who - we need, at exactly the right time. I'm so thankful for our special adoption friends!

Larry & Erin, we thank God for both of you!!

Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Philippians 1:3

Sight!

Daniel went to the opthamologist yesterday. And once again, things were much less serious than we'd been led to believe! We're praising God for more good news.

He needs glasses, but no retinal damage and even the strabismus is virtually non-existent!
So we went to pick out frames last night. He had fun trying them on (and so did William!).

Here are some of the frames he tried on - take a guess at which pair he'll be sporting next week!


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Family Photos

While we were at our lake place this past weekend, we had some family photos taken. It's hard getting everyone to cooperate at the same time, but we came away with some great shots! Thanks to Niki for giving up her Saturday morning to snap some shots for us!
http://www.faithdesignphotography.com/

Here is a sampling of our photo session...

Getting Real

Everywhere we go these days, people ask how we're doing. How the transition is going. How everyone is adjusting. We typically give the same answer: 'We're doing pretty well, and things are getting better each day.'

And that answer is true. But there is a lot behind that answer.

I was writing an email to a friend yesterday who asked how we're all doing. I told her a little about Daniel's progress. And I told her a little about William's progress.

I didn't say anything about Zack and me. What I started to say was this:

As for us, we're doing okay. Honestly, our transition has been hard, too. I think it's because we're having to work harder on creating a positive parent/child attachment (harder than we had to with William), and he's not always ready & willing to accept us.

But as I typed & then re-read that, tears came to my eyes. I was awakened to God's desires for us. He loves us. He wants us to love Him. He wants us to become securely attached to Him. He wants us to know He's always there and will always provide for our needs. It takes us a long time to come to a full realization of those truths. But He doesn't give up on us. He remains steadfast. He doesn't change. We might wander away. But when we come back, our Heavenly Daddy is there, waiting with open arms.

That's the kind of parent I want to be, the kind of parent I need to be for both of my boys.

I'll admit, it's hard. I get discouraged. Rejection hurts. But this revelation has opened my eyes. And I try to remember that these kiddos have been through way more than we might ever know, and way more than anyone should ever have to endure.

I don't like to put too much out on a public forum like this blog. I don't know everyone that reads our blog, and some things are private and not for public consumption.

But I also know that there are a lot of families that read this blog as they're preparing for their own adoption journeys. I feel it's important to be honest and not just paint a picture that makes everything look perfect. It's not, and we're not. But we're learning to live as a family of four, and learning to love this newest little one who deserves better than he got his first five years.

Please be in prayer for us as we seek to be consistent in our love for him and create an environment that makes him feel safe and loved, by us and by our heavenly father.