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"If I rise on the
wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even
there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me
fast."
From Psalm 139"
UPDATES
June
18, 2007:
We were given some sad news regarding one of the
referrals. They 11 month girl appears to have fetal
alcohol syndrome. We found ourselves very broken
hearted, but after giving ourselves some time, we
decided to trust in what we believe to be true in
our hearts . . . that God does have a plan for us
and that we need to trust in his plan. We have
prayed that God would make it perfectly clear which
of these children were meant for us and we now feel
very happy that he has! We are excited to meet the
22 month old boy, who we are told continually is
healthy.
June
19, 2007:
While frantically packing and getting ready we
received an email telling us that we have been given
another referral for a girl who is 22 months old
(also!!!) Leigh has always hoped for two
children that were as close in age as possible . . .
this is pretty close!!! God does have a plan - we
may not know ultimately what that is until we are on
our return trip back home, as each day seems to
change here lately from minute to minute!!!
Ultimately we just want to love a child (and if God
is willing, two!)
Please keep these two children in you prayers that
they are healthy and pray for us that once there God
continues to make it perfectly clear which
child/children are for us!!!! |
June 2007
This week we received that phone call that we have been
waiting for! Our agency has informed us that Russia has
given us referrals for two children! We are flooded with
emotions, the biggest one being that of great joy!! One of
the referrals is for an 11 month old girl, and the other
for a 22 two month old boy. They are currently living in
baby homes in a region of Russia called Petrozavodask,
known as "Petro". This seaside community with a population
of about 300,000 is located 100 miles north of St.
Petersburg, near the border of Finland.
As some of you know, we had originally requested two girls
. . . but God has a different plan for us and he always
knows much more than we do . . . we love his plan now!!!
It just means that I get to have fun decorating a room for
him, which as you know doesn't hurt my feelings one bit!
We are so excited about this long-awaited journey. The
children appear - from all records we have been given thus
far - to be very healthy, well adjusted, happy children!
Praise God! We are already in communication with a team of
physicians from the International Adoption Clinic at
Vanderbilt University. Once we arrive in Russia and visit
with the children we will be in constant contact and
communication with the physicians in order to share
additional medical information we will receive, including
video of the children, pictures, etc. This will help us to
make a very good diagnosis of their health! We feel very
blessed to have the doctors' input and help in making our
decision! Of course, our dream, wish and prayer is to
adopt both of these loving and wonderful children . . . it
is truly in Gods hands now!!! We could use all of your
prayers as we take this journey to become a family!
Please visit our To Russia and Back page for our travel
itinerary and highlights. We will return from this first
trip without the children. There are usually 4 - 6 weeks
between visits. We will then travel back to Russia where
we will then be united with the children, but required to
stay in Petro for 10-12 days (again with our wonderful
translators, Tamara and Anastasia). At the end of that
time we will travel back to Moscow, as a family of four,
to attend our court appointment at the Russian embassy to
adopt the children. We will then go to the US embassy
where the children will officially become US citizens!!!!!
Then home . . . to begin a wonderful journey of being
parents! What a blessing for all of us! Adoption is such a
beautiful choice!
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