She said yes!

In comparison to most of our friends and co-workers, Brett and I got married at a pretty young age. I was just shy of 20, and Brett was 23. The most common question asked of Brett was, "How did you know she was the one?" Seeing as we were going to a Bible school with an emphasis on evangelism, Brett's response was always well thought, deep, and theological:

"Well....She said yes!"

In my experience, when faced with big life decisions; when you boil them down and take off all the fluff and frills and big words, the answer really is as simple as, "she said yes".

Our decision to adopt 'Elle' has been no different. Yes, it was made easier by having the opportunity to spend three weeks with her in our home environment, but as romantic as the idea of adoption can be, the reality is, that it's an intimidating thing to commit to. Adoption is not a cousin coming to stay for the summer. Adoption is not a new puppy. Much like marriage, it is a lifetime commitment to love and care for a person for the remainder of their existence on this planet! Of course, "She said yes," was never good enough for inquiring friends. They wanted details! So, what have been our 'yeses'?

The biggest thing for us, was how caring and attentive Elle was to our children, and to us, from the time she arrived, to the moment she left. Especially with our 'middle' child Sage, who always seems to be lost in the fray. Out of all the kids, Sage and Elle bonded the most. And fun! She was always goofing around and teasing and making jokes! Her favorite was to go outside and knock on the door; and when we answered, would say, "hello!" She loves hugs - every moment she could get, she was snuggling with me on the couch. A teenager, turned six, trying to make up for all the years she has spent without access to the unconditional love of a mom and dad.

And then there's Facebook. Every day, she sends a message to me.
"I love you Mam, I miss you."
"I love you and want to be with you. I WANT YOU TO ADOPT ME Plizzzz....Mam." It breaks my heart to know that after three weeks of hugs and kisses, she has to go to bed every night with just the snuggle of the teddy we sent home with her.

Okay, but what about the practical stuff? The emotional connection is there, the desire is there, but what about the money? The money has to be there too! Our two older kids who participate in Kung Fu, are graciously stepping back so we can redirect that money to bringing their sister home. We are big-time couponers and have taken 'treats' off of our shopping list. We have no cable and no house phone, and we're reorganizing our cell plans for a lower monthly bill. The rule is, you leave a room, you turn off the light. The thermometer is at 68 during the day, and 63 at night. My husband carpools to work three times a week. While our efforts are worthy, and every dollar counts. This will not add up to the $25,000's we will have to shell out when all is said and done. So for us, the, "She said yes", is God providing the extra funds to bring Elle home. 

Money = yes, no money = no. It's as simple as that. 

Yes #1 - Sold a stroller on Craigslist; $20. A copy of a missing birth certificate for our home study: CHECK

Yes #2 - Our weekly bible study group surprising us with a commitment to gift funds to us every month! Yesterday they handed us $50. Two criminal background checks for Brett and I: CHECK

Stay tuned: more 'yeses', commin' our way!

Let The Games Begin!

I consider myself fortunate to have watched a dear friend of mine adopt four of her five adopted children from Ukraine, (and now she is adopting again! You can read her blog here: http://findingrdaughter.blogspot.com/), have seen both my father-in-law, and brother adopt Ukrainians through interrupted adoptions, and have followed the adoption experience of a wonderful couple, via blog, as they successfully adopted two sisters. I also have friends that have been working towards adopting a sibling group of two sisters and a brother for about 15 months now, and grieved for another friend who had been pursuing a 15 year old girl to adopt. After 14 months, her would-be mom landed in Ukraine to finalize the adoption, but their girl decided last minute, that she wanted to stay in Ukraine with her boyfriend instead. What do all of these people have in common, (other than Ukrainian kids)? 

COMPLICATIONS! 

While I hope that I won't run into any complications in our process, I know better! So it comes with no surprise to me that my very-not-cheap cell phone went missing two days ago. One week in. Wahoo - here we go! That is the first time since I started carrying a phone at 18 years old, that I have ever lost, or had a phone stolen from me. And no, I'm not telling you how many years that has been! Thankfully, all of the photos that we took of 'Elle' during her visit are on Walmart's data base, from when we sent her home with a memory book.

So this week's adventure, along with ordering a few birth certificates, locating our marriage certificate, and filling out all of our background check paperwork, will be to give the 'ol insurance company a call, and see about a new phone. 

Let the games begin!

In The Beginning...

In the beginning... there was a blog! And this is, indeed, the beginning - of a grand adventure to be sure - of which I have resolved to document for memory's sake, and so all who are interested can stay up to date. Oh! Lest I forget, my biggest motivator in writing this; so that you all will see how amazing God is, and how he is able to work the craziest circumstances out for His glory, and our good!

First, a little background for you. We are one week out of a 3 week long Ukrainian orphan hosting program, where we were priviledged to be able to host a teenage girl, who I'll call Elle. From the minute we met her, we could see she had a caring and generous heart. With in minutes of her arrival, she was on the couch with our daughter Sophia (the oldest of our four, and the only girl,) trying to communicate with her. Although I think at that point, the only English she knew was "Hello".

It really was a delightful three weeks - lot's of hugging, laughing, games, puzzles, and techno music, and such a servant's attitude! Throw Christmas in the mix, and we had it made. One day, 'Elle' asked if we had a bike. "Sure!" I said. She hopped on the bike, wobbled a bit, and off she went. Only later did she tell me, that it was the first time she had ever ridden one. What?? 

We are so blessed to live in this country.

Not surprisingly, Elle picked up the cough that had been making the rounds around our house, thankfully not a bad one, but we didn't want it to get any worse. So, two nights before we were to say goodbye, I urged her to go to bed so that she didn't get sick. "No, pliz.", she said. "If I go to bed, I will have to leave sooner." (Thank goodness for Google translator). "Besides, if I get sick, I won't have to go to school when I get back to Ukraine!" Yes, indeed; a typical teen!

Up to this point, I had been careful no to say the "A" word - that would be "adoption" - because this was, after all, a hosting event, and I didn't want to get the coordinator in trouble, seeing as Ukraine does not let you pre-pick a child to adopt, and they will not hold a specific child for you. The night before Elle left, however, she ushered me in to her room to look at the translator. It said, "If you adopt me, I want a new name." 

"What? You have a beautiful name! Everyone tells me that they love your name."

"No. New life. New name."

Couldn't argue with that, could I?

Our goodbye was, of course, littered with tears and I love you's, lots of pictures, more tears, more I love you's, then a wave goodbye, as the van left for the airport, with our girl.

Later that week, we polled the kids bluntly. "Hey guys, what would you think if we tried to adopt Elle?"

HUGE eyes, and yeses, answered, and it was confirmed. God brought her here; and He is certainly able to bring her back, isn't He?

And that brings us back to the beginning - of our grand adventure - to go and bring our girl back home.