A Long Time Coming

Hi all. I know it's been a while since I've updated our blog. Things have been going along steadily, and here's a summary of what's been going on.

Our home study was completed at the beginning of August. The report was very positive, and on paper, we look like a fantastic family! :)

For several months now, we've been receiving information about special needs children in Bulgaria. Many of them have been older or have been too severe for us to handle. However, one of them caught our eye.

We received information about a little girl named Radostina Penkova. She was listed as having a ptosis of the eye (droopy eyelid), a hemangioma that was removed from her belly, and her mother was a diagnosed epileptic.

I couldn't get her picture out of my mind. Jason and I read over her information several times, we looked at her picture constantly and couldn't come up with a reason for saying no to adopting her.

At that point, we contacted our consultant who was thrilled that we had chosen Radostina. The 2 documents that Bulgaria needed to put her on "hold" for us were sent within 2 days, the council met and matched us with Radostina. We were beside ourselves with excitement.

We told our family, friends and children. Everyone was so happy but wanted to have a name to call her. Everyone came up with different names for her (Betty, Anna, Baby Girl, etc). After a week or so, Jason had a name for her.

We are going to name her Olivia Sofia. Olivia is a name that we love, and Sofia is the capital city of Bulgaria. That is how we are going to incorporate her Bulgarian heritage into her name.

Our I-800A form was sent off this week. This is a form that goes to the United States Immigration SErvices. Once we receive that documentation back, our dossier will go to the state of north Carolina to be apostilled. Once that is complete, our dossier will go to Bulgaria to be translated and reviewed.

I can't stand not seeing Olivia everyday. We wanted her home for Christmas, but it looks like that won't be possible. What a way to start the new year, though!

As things progress, we'll keep you updated!

Fatherless Sermon Series - Sermon #2

I am attaching the link for the 2nd sermon in the Fatherless Series. It was excellent. I enjoyed the first half, but the second half was truly fantastic. I hope you hget a chance to watch it.

http://www.summitrdu.com/sermons

Click on the Sermon titled Adoption: Identity and Inheritance

June 22, 2010

Tonight we had an oprhan care meeting at church. It was amazing. There were over 200 people at the meeting. There were people there who have adopted domestically and/or internationally, who participate in foster care, and there were people in all sorts of phases of adoption. Some people were in the beginning stages of research and still praying about adoption. Some, like us, were in the middle of the process of adoption. And there were many who had already completed the process once, even multiple times.

The meeting consisted of people sharing their stories about international adoption, domestic adoption, and foster care. We also listened to a segment about financial responsibilities and support regarding adoption.

It is amazing to see how God is working in our church and in the lives of individuals and families. The meeting motivated us, encouraged us, and confirmed the decision we have made. We just want to bring our child home.

It's tough being patient!

Fatherless Sermon Series

Jason and I settled at the Summit Church here in Durham. We believe that by no coincidence we ended up here because of our adoption endeavors. After we had decided to adopt, our church launched an orphan care ministry, which we are helping to develop. Our pastor, JD Greear has started a series called "Fatherless," and I am attaching a link to sermon #1. If you have ever thought about adoption, foster care or becoming involved in helping those without a family, then please listen to this sermon. I will attach others as they are given. It was amazing and definitely a confirmation of God's plan for our lives.

http://www.summitrdu.com/index.cfm/pageid/1438/index.html

Click on the Sermon entitled I Am Adopted

June 16, 2010

We had our first in-home social work visit. We were worried about cleaning the house, looking presentable, etc. But, we certainly didn't need to worry ourselves as much as we thought. Our social worker visited with the children. She asked them why they thought she was there. Kaylee and Jacob understand and told her that we're adopting another child. Owen said we're going to get a boy or a girl who is 1 or 2, and they're going to live with us forever. And Mia doesn't quite understand what's happening. After she talked with the kids, she spend about an hour with us disucussing everything from why we made this decision, the car accident we had in 1993, our medical history and preparing our house for the next visit. Everything went very smooth, and we hope to have our second visit at the beginning of July. Will keep you posted. :)

February 2010-June 2010

Lots and lots of paperwork. Applications, criminal checks, financial documents, medical files, etc. Many trips to a notary.

February 2010

We made the decision to adopt. Can't ignore the call of God! :)