My Montage 1/28/10 at OneTrueMedia.com

Thought you might want to see her "in action"...okay, she never moved from my lap for four days, but she's SOOOO cute I had to share!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

It's a GIRL!!! It's OUR GIRL!!

Totally by the grace of our God...SHE'S OURS:)!! Still don't know travel dates..hopefully Monday!

Without further delay, inroducing our Sweet Ava!

Fast Approaching!

Only FOUR more days till court!! YAAAAAAYYY! So excited, yet cautiously so...no more troubles, please!

Hopefully we'll get our travel dates that day also...then the official "freak-out" will begin:).

So, what have I been doing...well, my kitchen walls are stripped and ready for primer/paint....next the hallway(small hall)...then ripping carpet up in one of the boys' rooms...WHAT WAS I THINKING?????? I'm hoping we can get it all done before traveling...talk about NESTING:)! Kid's are wrapping up school... Not sure if I'm ready for the disruption of my routine that THAT will cause;)...


Prayer Requests:

*Chip-In button at the top says it all:) Yard sale fundraiser coming up June 11&12th!
*Pray that Ava is healthy, loved, and "ready" for us to take her home.
*Travel-UMMMMMM...still may travel alone...but ONLY if my friend Kelly travels at the same time..would be a miracle, but God did it before, and now I have a new friend:).
*Good health while traveling...HATE, HATE, HATE flying...!!!!!!
*That we would NOT travel the week of July 12th!! Our friends who are watching the kids for us will be out of town!!!! This is a HUGE request!
*That we would keep the LORD first in our lives!
*And...that I recover from my depression over the LOST series that ended last night...okay, this is a joke...but SERIOUSLY!!!

Heartbroken!!

I've been putting off posting this, but Wednesday morning, while we all lay sleeping...little Chrissie Patterson went home to be with Jesus. I can't tell you how much I've cried over this little girl in the past month!! I felt like I knew her and her family though we only met through the blog world...I felt their amazing love for this little girl, and I can't IMAGINE their loss!! They are planning to have a live link to the going home celebration(no funeral here:)) for all of us who followed and prayed while Chrissie was in the PICU...feel free to go to their website for further details. It's www.allarepreciousinhissight.blogspot.com

Will you please continue to pray for her family? Chrissie did NOT die an orphan..she did NOT die alone, without a Mommy and Daddy...her heart is now completely healed and she is running and dancing with Jesus(the two things she wanted to do most here!)

Also, I replaced her button with a Reece's Rainbow button...she was listed on this sight prior to her adoption and they helped give her a FAMILY. What a tribute to Chrissie it would be if you would go to the website and sponsor a child for adoption...or better yet, consider one of the HUNDREDS of children listed there for adoption into your family:).

Update

So finally, after 2 weeks, we now have our paperwork on it's way to Bulgaria...and we are eagerly awaiting court NEXT WEEK!! I guess we did need the extra time to get the paperwork done...:)

Today I'm thinking about little Chrissie Patterson(the little girl on the button, top left)...and how her Mom stepped out in faith to bring her home from Serbia..KNOWING she had heart problems that were "not compatible with life"...and KNOWING her GOD was bigger than any medical report! So much faith! It really has increased my faith to see God work in this family! I would never have brought this child home(let's be honest here), but they chose to love this little girl for whatever time they had with her, and then let God decide whether or not they get to keep her...WOW! Very selfless... If you haven't yet, go to their website www.allarepreciousinhissight.blogspot.com and read their story...it might just increase your faith to step out and adopt a child you never considered adopting before!!:) I know it has opened my heart! Please continue to pray for Chrissie's complete healing by our "Mighty To Save" God!

Here We Go Again!

As you have noticed, our blog is now private. Last week we were informed by our agency that there is a family(some families) watching our blog and basically repeating the same thing they did in October...that we were posting personal info about our daughter, our registration, our REQUEST for a referral..etc.. This is all a baldface LIE and we know the enemy is once again attacking! I wanted so much for our blog to be an encouragement to others on this journey..but instead it's being used by those who have grievences against their agencys, Bulgaria, the MOJ..whatever.

Also, I aired my frustration with the MOJ publicy...which I shouldn't have done...my "moments of insanity" came back to bite me. I don't want to jeopardize anyone's adoption, so hopefully this will blow over now that we're private..UUGGGHHH!

Enough said about that....

We did get all of our paperwork done and sent to our agency...only to discover that the letter from our social worker was NOT complete!! It was totally my fault...so now I'm waiting for her to either re-do the letter(quick fix), or give me a new letter, which I would have to take AGAIN to our Secretary of State's office(1 1/2 hour drive) this week to get apostilled. I've heard nothing today, so she must be out of the office...

I'm NOT freaking out though(which is unusual to say the least)...just trusting...and since I really am NOT in control of this adoption..trusting feels better than worrying:)!

So...I'm spending my time waiting and nesting...homeschooling, and hopefully painting the kitchen soon:).. Plus, my new coping mechanism is to ONLY think about the court date..which is ONLY THREE WEEKS away! Travel..I'll obsess(I mean think)about that later! One step at a time! So, in three weeks(if/WHEN we pass court), I will get to share my new "baby" with you..which means LOTS of pictures and VIDEOS..FINALLY! YAAAAAYYY! She is absolutely precious in every way and I really can't wait to share her with you!

So, for now..

*Pray for us as God(miraculously) provides financially..yet again...can't wait to see how! No worry here....:)

*Pray for us as we contemplate a future adoption...nuff said for now about that:)

*Pray for peace in my heart and strength to perhaps travel ALONE to Bulgaria..no peace about that yet!

*Pray for our sweet Bulgarian princess..that she is happy, well-fed, and healthy! That God would somehow prepare her heart to accept us as Mommy and Daddy..

*And for all those waiting for referrals...may God move swiftly to bring justice to these little ones..through your open arms!