Seeking to Love Orphans

Update: One Year and Three Months as a Family

2010-10-08T12:20:00.004-06:00

It's hard sometimes to believe we've been home from Ukraine with Lienna (whom I've called "Elaine"* in most of this blog) and Larisa ("Lisa"* in most of this blog) for a year and three months! I have wanted so often over the last year to update you all on our process of becoming a family.

But, to be frank, it was too painful to share. Let me just start by saying that things are going so much better recently, and we are extremely grateful to the Lord for being gracious to us. Thank you to so many of you for your practical help and for your prayers and encouragement since we've been home; we couldn't have survived otherwise.

Above is a photo of the four of us from July of this year: Larisa, me (Debbie), Lienna, and Garth. Below is a photo of the girls with their cousins who live across town from us.

And now, let me give you a little update on Lienna, the eldest by four months, and Larisa!

In May of this year, the girls finished up their very first year of American school, eighth grade, all in English. What a feat! Lienna especially did very well in her classes and has been quite impressive with her prowess in the English language. The challenge and the structure of middle school were very good for both girls. And in early August, they started their freshman year in high school! They are both 15 and in ninth grade, and this year they don't have any classes together, which we think will help them develop better as individuals. They are enjoying school so far, but there are many stresses and challenges and temptations, beyond what we remember experiencing in high school.

The girls enjoy watching movies, going to the neighborhood park, spending time with their cousins and friends, listening to music, making beaded jewelry, and trying on clothes over and over. Because we have them in our home for a much shorter time than kids raised from birth, we are teaching them life skills for when they live on their own; so, they are in charge of cooking their meals and doing their laundry. They also have a few other chores around the house--don't we all!

The traumas Lienna and Larisa had in their lives in Ukraine and the lack of teaching and training from loving adults have made it very difficult for them to settle into life in a family and to respect our authority as parents. We take time daily to teach both girls about living in a family, how to treat family members and friends, how life in the "real world" would be working for an employer or being married, and so on. We know it would have been easier to teach these things had the girls been with us when they were younger. We struggle with them not truly trusting us or what we say; in fact, some dear friends from church have stepped in on a regular basis to try to teach without the parental authority barrier getting in the way. We know these times with them are quite valuable, and we're so thankful for their involvement in Lienna and Larisa's lives.

Thank you again for your prayers and encouragement! By God's grace, we're here, a family.

*I used pseudonyms for the girls in this blog to protect their identities. Now I'll refer to them by their real names.

WE'RE HOME!!!!

2009-07-12T07:03:00.014-06:00

From the time we left our apartment at 3 a.m. Kiev time Wednesday, July 8, to the moment we walked over the threshold of our house, we logged an impressive 24 and a half hours of travel. All of us had started coming down with a cold the day before, and Garth and I didn't sleep the night we left. We were exhausted! Garth says that most of Thursday and some of Friday felt like waking up from a coma.

We were thrilled to be greeted at the airport by Cousins Dave and Anna and Uncle Joe, the Rogé family, the Volf family, and the Christofferson family. (These three Colorado families have all come home from Ukraine in the last year with their children, eight in all.) Elaine and Lisa were reluctant at first to talk with anyone, but then the children started chatting with them in Russian, and it was hard to tear them away.

When we arrived home, we were greeted by Cousins Lori and Wesley and Aunt Jennifer. Thank you, sweet family, for the wonderful welcome home! They had adorned our bannister with streamers and balloons, and there were balloons and scriptures tucked into nooks and crannies all over the house. I found a scripture verse when I sat down at the computer this morning, four days later. We were treated to burgers and fries for dinner, and there was a surprise cake in the fridge and ice cream in the freezer. And my sweet sister had made two special welcome home bags for the girls complete with locking journals, High School Musical stickers, pens, and shirts in the girls' favorite colors. What a hit they were!

The day we traveled was Lisa's birthday; she is now 14 years old. We have two 14-year-old daughters--AHH! We have not been able to celebrate her birthday yet, but we look forward to doing something together with family soon.

Thank you so much for all your prayers and support for us on this journey. Garth and I were in Ukraine for a total of eight weeks. Yes, you read that right. We never thought that we would be there so long! We had wanted to blog more while in Ukraine, but we were so busy with the adoption process and then when we had the children living with us during the 10-day wait and afterward, that there was very little time. It seemed that whenever we had a little time to blog, the Internet was not working. In the coming months, we would like to tell more about our experience in Ukraine. There are so many stories to tell, some happy, some heartbreaking. We feel we need to tell them, but it will only be as time allows. So check in on our blog from time to time.

Please keep us in prayer during this time of transition. I would be remiss if I led you to believe that everything is rosy all the time. We know that things will get better with time, but transitions can be very hard. Pray for wisdom for us as we parent our daughters--and for our sanity!

Quick Update

2009-07-02T15:12:00.004-06:00

God must have wanted us to stay in Ukraine a little while longer, so we're coming home next Wednesday, July 8. We picked up the girls' passports today, and we'll be on the overnight train to Kiev on Saturday night. The US Embassy in Kiev is closed tomorrow and Saturday to observe Independence Day, so we will do medicals and paperwork there on Monday and Tuesday.

Thank you for all your prayers and comments and well-wishes. We so appreciate you all! Please continue to pray for us to be able to finish up at the Embassy and come home as scheduled on Wednesday.

Praying for Passports and Homecoming on Independence Day

2009-06-29T03:41:00.005-06:00

Today (Monday) is a holiday in Ukraine, and tomorrow we should find out if we will receive the girls' passports. Please join us in praying for the passports to come tomorrow. If they do, we will board the overnight train to Kiev and attempt to finish the medicals and visas through the American Embassy on Wednesday and Thursday. The Embassy is closed Friday and Saturday in observation of the Independence Day holiday in the States. We have a flight reserved for Saturday, and we REALLY need to be on it. Flights are already full next week with our airline, and we are running out of money to be able to stay here any longer than that, so we must come home! Please pray with us that the passports will come tomorrow and that we can finish up in Kiev very quickly with no delays.

Today we hope to visit the girls' friends at their respective summer camps so they can say good-bye. I know the camera will be busy.

Thank you so much for loving and encouraging us from afar. We hope to be home soon, on the 4th of July, with our two new American daughters!

The Latest

2009-06-25T05:46:00.021-06:00

We are still here! Garth and I are so sorry we haven't been blogging regularly. There are so many stories of how God has been working and moving, but here we are, living the stories with our two daughters in Odessa. It is difficult to blog and at the same time love and care for the girls when we are all living in what is basically one room. Though we love Odessa and Ukraine, it will be so good to get home! Garth and I have both said that we will not complain again about the steep stairs in our house because here we must climb four extrahigh flights of wrap-around stairs and landings to get to our apartment...talk about out of breath at the top!

Here is a view of the inside of our apartment. It is very nice, and we are able to use the gas range and the microwave oven to cook our own meals. We are staying at Odessa Executive Suites (OES).

Though it has been more busy having the girls with us, it has been a blessing. Sunday was Father's Day in the US, so Garth had his first Father's Day here in Ukraine. The girls were glad to learn of the holiday and gave hugs and kisses to their "papi" (nickname for papa). I was so happy to wish my dear, sweet husband of nine and a half years a happy Father's Day for the first time!

On Monday, Oles picked up our decree from court. Praise God! Elaine and Lisa are officially our daughters! Tuesday, we got the girls' new birth certificates. That is a story in itself. Apparently, birth certificates need to be secured from the area of the city a child is born in. So Garth waited in one Odessa office for Elaine's birth certificate while Oles took me and the girls to another office in another area of Odessa to get Lisa's. Our task was easy: after seeing that the office was at lunch, we had a quick bite to eat at McDonald's, and when we returned to the office, I had Lisa's birth certificate in hand in about 10 minutes. Garth's task was not so easy: counting the lunch break the office took, he waited over five hours to get Elaine's birth certificate!

Oles is working on resolving Lisa's property issue. We are praying for a quick resolution, and we realize that it will cost some money, but once it is finished, we can apply for the girls' passports and make our way to Kiev. The Embassy will be taking holiday days on the 29th and the 3rd and 4th, so we are not sure if we'll be able to finish everything in that small window of time and come home on July 4. We're praying for that--thank you for praying with us!

Day 7 of the 10-Day Wait

2009-06-16T09:23:00.008-06:00

We are all doing well here in beautiful Odessa. We got the official permissions a few days ago and have both girls with us during the 10-day wait after court, so it has been more difficult to find the time to update the blog. I'm sure you all understand! There's so much to share, and catching up doesn't seem possible right now, but we will as soon as we can. So for now, we'll just share a little bit of what is coming up and a few prayer requests.

Please pray that we will be able to pick up the court decree on Friday. If we do, we can start work on the girls' birth certificates on the weekend; Monday is apparently the birth certificate office's day off. When the birth certificates are finished, we'll be able to work on the girls' passports and getting Lisa's property issue wrapped up. We will also be visiting both internats to sign the girls out officially.

Please also pray for us to be able finish everything in Odessa quickly and then to complete the last portion in Kiev before the Independence Day holiday on July 4; if the US Embassy takes a day or two for the holiday, it might affect when we are able to come home.

Thank you for all your prayers for us to bond as a family. Lisa specifically could use your prayers because she doesn't speak much English at all and doesn't attempt to talk with us much; she speaks with Elaine in Russian a lot, but she doesn't use her as a translator. We're hoping she will be more motivated to interact with us verbally when we all get home. It's hard for us to see her not trying, and we hope she is not feeling too left out.

Наши Красивые Дочери (Our Beautiful Daughters)

2009-06-09T05:26:00.020-06:00

This morning in an Odessa courtroom, Garth and I became the parents of two beautiful bouncing teenage girls! Слава Богу (slava Bogu [praise God])!

We are so happy and thankful to present our daughters to you!

Now the 10-day wait begins; we will be able to pick up the court decree after 10 days and then take custody of our daughters.

After court and our first photo as an "official" family (click to see a larger version), Lisa and Elaine worked on Lisa's internat director with big smiles, puppy-dog eyes, and many a "пожалуйста" (pazhalusta [please]). They were asking her if she would allow Lisa to stay with us during the 10-day wait instead of requiring her to go back to Balta.

Could you say no to these faces?

We are so glad that she finally said "да" (da [yes]). We are praying that Elaine's internat director will change her mind and allow Elaine to be with us during this time, too. But if not, we will be going to visit her at camp as much as possible.

We are so thankful to the Lord for His grace to Elaine and Lisa and for allowing us to be parents to these precious girls!

Court Is Tomorrow Morning!

2009-06-08T09:59:00.004-06:00

Tomorrow morning, June 9, at 9:45 (12:45 a.m. mountain time), we will have court here in Odessa and ask a judge to rule in favor of our adoptions of Elaine and Lisa. Please pray for all the people involved and for our little family before you head off to bed!

Elaine is taking a nap on the couch in our apartment; we were able to have her with us tonight before court. It is so nice to have her here even for this short time! Please pray that both orphanage directors will let the girls be with us during the 10-day wait after court.

Thank you for following along and for your prayers and encouragement. This all means so much to us, and Elaine is happy knowing there are people who are praying and excited for her and Lisa to be our daughters.

Sisters: Day 13 in Odessa

2009-06-05T11:51:00.083-06:00

The morning of May 26, we knew we had a long day ahead with acquiring the necessary documents and approvals for Elaine's adoption.

I awoke to a smiling little girl next to me who asked if I had had "good sleep." She later asked Garth the same thing. We all got up and got ready for the day. The three of us enjoyed a nice breakfast together. Garth makes some good scrambled eggs! Lisa was able to meet Ashley and JC, who are also staying at our missionary friend's apartment.

That morning, Oles was to be again visiting Elaine's half-sister's school for the required documents. We waited all morning for a phone call from Oles by playing Pick Up Sticks and Uno, packing up our things to move to an apartment downtown, and going for a walk outside around the apartment buildings and down the street.

All during this time, we were praying, both together and in the quiet of our hearts, because we knew the difficulties of acquiring so many approval documents from so many individuals and officials. Even with these things weighing on us, God gave us peace, and we were able to enjoy our walk together outside, asking Lisa what various buildings were, holding hands, and smiling and laughing. The three of us looked forward eagerly to the afternoon when we could surprise Elaine at her internat by having Lisa with us.

(The day before, on the ride back from Balta, Lisa told us how sad she had been when she and Elaine were separated to go live in different orphanages. She said she cried so much, and even though they pleaded to not be separated, it happened anyway. We knew that the girls didn't see each other again for a few years until they rode the train to Kiev last June on their way to the airport to come to America. If you missed the post about Elaine and Lisa's history together, please read My "Best of the Best" Friend.)

Just as we turned to walk back toward the apartment in case Oles was coming to get us, he called our cell phone. We hurried back to load up Oles's car with our bags, and he whisked us off to the far north of Odessa to the office of the officials in charge of giving permission for Elaine to live in America, away from her 12-year-old half-sister. On the way, Oles told us what had happened with Elaine's sister that morning. He said she is a beautiful girl and that she was very happy for Elaine to be adopted and have a family of her own. She was glad to write out her letter of consent. What an answer to prayer this was--not just for these things to happen, but also our prayers that God would move people's hearts to have compassion and favor for Elaine and her adoption into our family.

We arrived at yet another government building and waited outside for about an hour while Oles first met with the officials, left to go pick up the person who was preparing the documents, and came back with the document preparer to meet with the officials again. The grounds of the building had lots of trees and a park-like atmosphere. Children played on playground equipment, and two of them batted a balloon between them and chased it when the wind caught it. All the while, Garth and I prayed, but we also tried to communicate with Lisa (we have very limited Russian, and she has very limited English!) and help her through the wait. We found that she is very patient, which is a good trait to have. We were very proud of her.

While we waited, it was nice to be in this park-like setting with children playing and doves and pigeons gliding around us through the trees. Finally, Oles emerged from the building and came to meet us. He informed us that it was not going as smoothly as he had hoped. This aspect of Elaine's adoption now had to be approved by two separate offices due to a recent change in procedures. Both offices were also trying to make it difficult for each other in these matters. In addition, there was a third office that needed to give its final approval. Oles made a few phone calls and then went into the building again, and we were left waiting.

Garth says it's hard to express how fervently he was praying during this time. He was quiet as we all waited. Lisa also knew that this part of the process was important for Elaine to be able to be adopted and be her sister. She is also able to hear and understand Oles's conversations in Russian as he talks on his cell phone with various officials and others.

While we waited, Elaine called to ask us if we were coming to see her at the internat later. We said of course we are, gesturing to Lisa that it was Elaine on the phone and to not give away the surprise of their seeing each other later that day. They had not seen each other since last summer. It was already the afternoon, but Elaine was still at school, doing some art or crafts. She wanted to have us talk to her friends. She loves having me speak to her friends in my very limited Russian, and they all love practing their English. These school friends were very happy for Elaine that her family had finally come to adopt her. As we finished talking with her, her friends said a big group "good-bye" in English. How wonderful it was to hear all these children so excited for our daughter!

Oles then emerged from the building and came down the stairs. He showed us the document of approval for Elaine to live in America though her half-sister lives in Ukraine. Even though it was in Ukrainian, it was a good document to see, and we were all relieved and thankful! It still needed to be approved by two more officials before it could be sent to the SDA in Kiev with the rest of the paperwork, but God was answering our and everyone's prayers and moving on behalf of this dear, precious girl.

Oles took us to the city center to check into our new apartment before the office closed for the day. We are staying at Odessa Executive Suites (OES) where they have more reliable Internet. It took a couple of days to get it working with our computer, but it has worked great since then. We are also staying there because other families are coming soon and need to stay at our missionary friend's apartment during their adoptions.

Finally, in the very late afternoon, we took a taxi and arrived at Elaine's internat. Lisa couldn't wait to surprise Elaine. As the taxi pulled up in front of the gate and stopped, she jumped out of the car. I saw Elaine in the distance and realized that she had spotted Lisa! She paused for a moment until she saw me get out of the car, and then she knew it was Lisa. The girls moved so fast that Garth didn't even get to take pictures of them running toward each other and into each other's arms because he was paying the taxi driver. What a wonderful moment!

The girls were happy to re-create their reunion for their papi and his camera moments later. We can tell you that this is how it looked when it first happened. We'll never forget.

To say that these sisters-to-be were happy to be together again would be an understatement. I think the pictures speak for themselves.

Elaine enjoyed showing Lisa and us around the internat. Lisa recognized two girls she had known in the приут (preeyoot [shelter]), and the four girls chatted a while. Then we went inside down the long corridors to the playroom and beyond. The art room was open, so Elaine was able to introduce us to the art teacher and show us some beading projects and paintings that she and the other children had done. She leafed through a large binder of paintings and told us the name of the artist when she knew who had painted that particular piece. So many of them were very well done. Papa got pictures of Elaine's pieces.

It warmed our hearts to see Elaine and Lisa together, hand in hand and arm in arm, smiles and hugs aplenty. In this strange, sad place, there are also times of joy.

We walked the hallways of the orphanage with our girls and thought about them and the other children. Some of the corridors we walked are beautiful, like the one at right, but some are very dark and gloomy. We thought of what it might be like to live in a place like this. It struck us how few children we actually saw here, and we wondered where they were.

We had looked forward to spending lots of time with the children here and really getting to know them so we could be advocates for them when we return to the States. This has been hard to do because of the language barrier and because Elaine felt like she didn't have many girlfriends at the internat any longer, so she preferred to spend time with us more or less alone. Sometimes we were able to spend time with some of the boys, Elaine, and a few girls from other grades, taking photos and laughing. Because of the complexity of Elaine's adoption, Garth and I were not able to have as much time at the orphanage as some of the other families who are here with us. While we have not been able to become close to as many children as we had hoped to, they still need families, and we will be advocates for them because we love them.

Our First Family Photo

As we were leaving Elaine's internat that evening, someone was kind enough to take this picture, the first and only (so far) picture of our family all together. We pray we will all be together again soon for good.

A Prayer for Wisdom and a Visitor: Day 12 in Odessa

2009-06-03T09:56:00.060-06:00

We started off Monday morning, May 25, facing some very important and difficult days ahead of us. This day, Oles was going to visit Elaine's half-sister's school to get approval documents from the school and from Elaine's half-sister giving their agreement that Elaine could be adopted. We planned on going to visit Elaine's internat in the afternoon. From there, the plan was to drive up to Balta on Tuesday to pick up the finished documents for Lisa's adoption from the officials there.

It was a long morning as we waited to hear from Oles, and we prayed earnestly for Elaine's process to go smoothly. Oles finally called us late in the morning to tell us he had been waiting all morning long for Elaine's sister to arrive at school, but that she had not shown up. He and Garth talked about what we should do. Oles said that Elaine's sister may not be back for several days, and he was thinking of calling her mother to have Elaine's sister come to school to sign papers for Elaine's adoption. Her mother would not have known him, so he would have had to explain what was going on. But he was concerned that the more people who became involved in the process and the more influences on Elaine's half-sister, the more likelihood of something going awry.

This was the first time that Oles was at a loss for what to do. Garth decided that we would pray for wisdom in this situation and call Oles back. We prayed that the Lord would give Oles wisdom to know what to do, and for Elaine's sister to be supportive of her being adopted. Just as we finished praying, Oles called us back. He spoke to the school's director, and she called Elaine's sister's mother to simply ask when she would be back in school. The school's director mentioned nothing about Elaine's adoption and found out that Elaine's sister would be back to school the next day. This was good because Elaine's sister's mother does not have a good relationship with Elaine's paternal grandmother and others in the family. The director also said that Elaine's sister's mother could be very unpredictable. This was such an answer to prayer in a situation where none of us knew what to do. Having this peace, it was no problem for us to wait one more day.

So at the last minute, it was decided we would drive the three-plus hours to Balta and pick up Lisa's paperwork instead of visiting Elaine. Quick changes in plans during an adoption from Ukraine are common.

Each time we turn off the main highway onto the two-lane road to head west to Balta, we feel as though we have stepped back in time. There are small homes here and there beside the road (which is pitted and bumpy and a story in itself), and many have thatched roofs. There are fields and gardens, cattle and horses, goats and chickens and geese; it's definitely rural living. It is beautiful out in the country.

We pulled up to the Soviet-era building that houses the inspector's office. It is striking to us that a statue of Lenin sternly guards the building behind it, but the building itself is crumbling and in disrepair. "Crumbling and in disrepair" is not an understatement; we did not take pictures inside, but you would cringe to see it. In America, people would refuse to work in this building, but here, it shows that the country is poor and likely values survival over putting money toward fixing up or knocking down such structures.

We took this opportunity to use the bathroom; a three-and-a-half-hour drive with one road-side pitstop (there are no fast-food joints out here) with only Turkish toilets* makes one glad to see even the seatless, dark, scary toilet stall here in the inspector's office building.

*A Turkish or squat toilet is flat to the ground. Here is a picture of a relatively clean one, but be forewarned.

We visited the inspector's office where three people and three desks are crammed into a small space. They produced the paperwork we needed, and we were off to visit Lisa's internat just about three blocks away in this tiny town. For such a small town, there are many, many children in the internat. Lisa is originally from Odessa, as are most of the children.

We went straight to the director's office, where we chatted a little bit while we waited for the final papers to be finished. Oles had mentioned to us earlier that the director might allow us to take Lisa to stay with us in Odessa for a few days. Up to this point, we had no idea if she would let us do such a thing. However, Oles has such a good relationship with so many people in this area of Ukraine, that God has used him to do some amazing things.

The director was amenable to letting us have Lisa with us, and she drew up a document for us to sign stating that we were responsible for her and that we would return her to the internat in one week. We were excited, and when Lisa came into the office, she was very happy to learn that she would be going with us. They gave her a few instructions, which were probably warnings to be good, and she was told to go pack a bag with some clothes and things she would need. When she returned, we were free to go. We were only in Balta a short time, but it was getting late, and we needed to head back to Odessa. It is hard for us to see some of the other children, who greet us with "Zdrasty" and smile, but not be able to spend any time with them.

On the drive back, Lisa told us that she never thought she would be leaving Balta. This sweet child--how she longs to leave that place. It must seem to her that she would have no future there, and there she has no family. She had many, many smiles for us, and at times she held my hand.

Oles encouraged Lisa to speak to us in English, so she told us some stories of experiences she and her friends have had in Balta and Odessa. She also told us some things about her visit to America last summer, and that someone gave her a horse in New Mexico. We'll have to find out about that one.

It was after 10 p.m. when we got back to the apartment. Lisa and I slept on the sleeper sofa in the living room and Garth slept on the bunkbed in the next room for our last night in the apartment of a sweet, generous missionary friend and her roommates. It's funny how I suddenly became so aware of all the noise outside from the traffic and people walking by and inside from the clock on the wall, thinking that Lisa would not be able to fall asleep in a new place with so much going on. I think she slept better than I did.

Pray without Ceasing: Days 10 & 11 in Odessa

2009-06-01T13:28:00.074-06:00

Thank you all for being so patient, for your encouraging comments and e-mails, and for praying for us and the adoptions of Elaine and Lisa. Things have been going well, and we have been very busy. Our process has had more legal paperwork and legwork than some "typical" adoptions, and Odessa changed its procedures right when we and the other families who are with us were starting out, so that has added a few days for all of us. In addition to this, we have made a couple more trips to Balta (seven hours round-trip). We also moved to our "permanent" apartment with its more reliable Internet...which we weren't able to use for the first couple of days. But we finally got it working.

We realize that we are very far behind in keeping you all up to date, but we want to tell you what happens in sequence as much as we can so that this will be a chronicle of the girls' adoptions for them. We'll be playing catch-up for a little while. We're so glad you're all following along!

Over the weekend of May 23 and 24, we were able to spend more time with Elaine and some of the other children from orphanage #4. Each day we're at the internat, we meet more children, even if only saying привет (preevyet) in passing. The picture above is Dima, who grew up in the orphanage system. He still spends a lot of time at #4 because he helps care for the director's daughter. Though he is too old to be adopted, there is still hope for some boys like him. I'll tell you more below.

The children love to take pictures. Elaine took the one of us above, and later that day, she took lots more photos. Some were quite creative! Ah, our little artist.

The boys in the picture above are in Elaine's class or group at the internat. I find myself wishing I spoke much more Russian so I could just have a conversation with them all, or with one of them. Marat, top left, has an older sister. Will they have a family to love them someday? Andrei, bottom left, is so sweet and always smiles and says hello. Edik, in black, told me he has four siblings. That means there is much less likelihood that he would be adopted because adopting five children is a huge undertaking. My heart breaks for him, but perhaps the Lord will bring along a special family for them all one day! And Sergey, in the green...I don't even think we've introduced ourselves, so I don't know his story. There are so many more children just like him and the other boys. Though they may be the forgotten ones, God knows them by name and loves them so much.

After so many months apart, it is wonderful to be able to be with our girl again. We get--and give--many hugs and kisses. We were also looking forward to being able to spend more time with Lisa.

The children are so precious. Some are shy, and others love to show off when they know we're watching. The kids here are so strong physically, and I can only imagine how strong they have to be emotionally to survive. Vladik, left, picked a flower and gave it to me with a flourish. He also showed us some of his tricks on the jungle gym bars, as did Elaine (see the picture below; it's higher than it looks!). She also picked a flower for me. Marina and Kristina are in the grade below Elaine and Vladik.

The internat grounds are quite large. There are areas of flower beds, jungle gyms, a soccer field, basketball court, and so on. Dogs roam the premises and even wander around inside the buildings at times. Some of the children love and care for them, but Elaine tells us that some of the kids kick them and scare them off.

The Whaley family is adopting two boys from #4. Marsha is pictured above with Roma, who I remember seeing on Leslie's blog when she and Robert were adopting Kristina. I prayed for him to have a family, as did many more people, I am certain, and I was so thrilled to hear that a family was coming for him--and they are here!

Marsha and Alan graciously hosted us, along with their sweet translator and her husband and the Fumias, for a southern dinner at their apartment that evening. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, sweet tea, and more. Mmm! We enjoyed talking about the process and the kids and the adventure we're all having together. What a blessing to all be here at the same time. Sasha, the Whaleys' son from Russia, has been such a huge help to us all in being a translator. He is so kind to call taxis for us and to help out when needed. Thank you, Sasha! You're a gem.

On Sunday, we had the joy of experiencing a dream come true: Babushka Lela Steel's House of Hope. This wonderful home is for boys to continue their studies after they "age out" of the orphanage system. It is run by Christian house parents who give love and direction. We would love to learn more about this special place and the opportunities it affords the boys. Dima is able to live here.

Most children who age out of the orphanage system have very little hope of a future, so House of Hope is very special.

Some of the children from #4 (Elaine and her class, along with Roma and his class) were able to visit House of Hope this day. Pictured with me and Elaine is Sergey. He is one of the older boys who could have a chance to go to House of Hope. We are praying that if this is something he would like to do, God would provide the support he would need each month. He is a nice young man, and even Elaine says so (most of the other boys she dubs as crazy, so that's definitely a compliment).

Sometimes it hits me harder than other times that we are among children who don't have a mother and father to love them and teach them and give direction and encouragement. Though we are focused on two girls, there are so many more girls and boys who tell us hello and smile or who look at us and then look away. What are they thinking? Is there anyone who loves them and guides them and claps when they do something well?

At House of Hope, we were treated to lunch with the kids that was made in the kitchen and the outdoor oven. We all really enjoyed it. Garth and I had fun eating in the company of Elaine and Vladik. There were so many children at that long, long table. I know that's the way Lela wants it to be.

We spent a little more time at the internat that evening with Elaine and her friend Lyuba. They sang and danced, and Garth shot short videos of them on our camera. Elaine says that she doesn't have very many friends at the orphanage now. Some of the girls are not treating her very nicely; perhaps it's because she has a family and they don't. Many of the kids try things to fit in, like smoking and alcohol, even at young ages. And there is a lot of theft in the internat. Many things are community property, but what little the children have as personal items is often stolen. While some kids survive by being bullies, others, like Elaine, try to survive by being nice, but they are taken advantage of.

There is still hope for these kids, but they need families who will step up and step out in faith. They need families who will answer God's call to care for the orphan. God didn't promise that caring for orphans would be without sacrifice or hardship on our part. If God's people answer His call, will the orphanages still be needed?

Please continue to pray for these adoptions and for adoptions in Ukraine. The title of this post is Pray without Ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Though we enjoyed our time with the children and the other adopting families over that weekend, our hearts were heavy as we learned more about the hurdles we would have to jump for Elaine's adoption. The Lord has used this entire process to mold and shape us. With so much beyond our control, but with a heavenly Father who heard every cry of our hearts, we learned that weekend what it truly meant to pray without ceasing.

We're Still Here!

2009-05-29T14:53:00.003-06:00

We're so sorry that we haven't updated lately. It has been so busy here, and we didn't have Internet for a little while. Thank you for your great comments and for keeping us, the girls, and adoption in Ukraine in your prayers. We hope to be able to post very soon, but I wanted to let you know that we're doing fine.

An Emotional Meeting: Day 9 in Odessa

2009-05-24T13:02:00.040-06:00

Please keep praying that all parties involved, especially the officials in Odessa and at the SDA in Kiev, will give their approval for us to adopt Elaine.

Tomorrow (Monday), we will be submitting all the petitions to adopt Elaine. Many adoptions are predictable, but many have unexpected twists. Our adoption of Elaine was expected to be somewhat predictable, though she has a half-sister, but we are in the midst of more approvals and more paperwork. Here's a little background:

Elaine and her sister have the same father. Elaine grew up with her mother and her family, and her sister grew up with her mother; neither girls lived with their father. The girls saw each other only occasionally, though at one point they both lived with their paternal grandmother (as far as we know, it was a very short time). Now, Elaine's sister lives with her mother but attends a special school in an orphanage. When Elaine was 8 years old, her mother died; her father's rights were removed, and no one else was able to care for her, so she lives in an internat. Elaine and her sister see each other only once or twice a year.

Even though Elaine's sister is not available for adoption, the process we are undergoing is to allow us to adopt Elaine and take her to live with us in Colorado. Ukraine does not like to have siblings separated through adoption. The main idea behind the law is to keep siblings from losing "fellowship" with each other. Ironically, Elaine and her sister do not have any fellowship now, but may end up having more because of our adoption of her, if the girls choose to have contact.

On Friday (day 9), we hadn't heard from Oles (our translator / regional facilitator) for most of the day. He was working on finding Elaine's paternal grandmother to get her consent for the adoption. Elaine stayed out of school that day so she could help Oles find her grandmother (бабушка babushka) to bring her to the internat to give her consent.

We prayed a lot that morning, this process involving Elaine's babushka and others heavy on our hearts. It was mid-afternoon when we decided to walk to the internat; we dressed a little nicer in case we were needed and might meet Babushka. When we were nearly there, our cell phone rang. It was Oles. He said he would be there in 10 minutes with Babushka; she was riding in the car with him and Elaine and an orphanage caregiver at that very moment. We got a bit nervous and prayed an earnest prayer before continuing on. We entered the big iron gates at the front of the internat grounds and went around to the side entrance of the building. We stood and waited in the foyer near the director's office for them to arrive.

We prayed a little bit more and peered out the front windows as we watched for Oles's car. And then they pulled up. Babushka looked just as she had in the picture of her and Elaine from this past autumn. I had hoped to be able to meet her, but I never thought it would be now, requesting her permission to adopt Elaine. We waited in the foyer as they entered the building, and we said our hellos as we filed into the director's office while Elaine went to eat a late lunch.

As we sat down, Babushka began to cry. I was sitting next to her and did the only thing I could think to do: I put my hand on her shoulder. And then I also cried. I understood her sorrow, that if she were to give her permission for the adoption, she wouldn't be able to see Elaine anymore. How hard that must be for a grandmother, a brother, or anyone to love a child enough to let her go! We could tell that the director also sympathized with her. The director and the social worker began to talk with Babushka; Oles wasn't in the office at this point, but he told us the gist of the conversation when he came back. They explained to Babushka how children need families, how this will help Elaine and that she will blossom and her horizons will be expanded, and how orphans in Ukraine have the need and the right to be adopted.

Though at first Elaine's babushka didn't want to give her permission, she understood what the director said and knew that this would be the best thing for Elaine. She wrote out a letter of consent with the director and the social worker as witnesses, and they stamped it and made it official. Elaine had knocked and asked to come in during this time, and she sat between me and Babushka. When they had finished, we walked back to the front gate with Elaine and Babushka. As we walked, Babushka wanted to say some things to us, with Elaine translating. She told Elaine to be good, listen to us, and do what we say. Then she motioned with her hand and said, "I give her to you from my heart."

We all said good-bye to Elaine, and Oles, Garth, and I drove Babushka home. As we rode along, Babushka started pointing out some landmarks in Odessa and showed us pictures of her daughter and her cat. She told us a few things about herself and asked us about Colorado; Elaine had shown her pictures of her time with us this past summer, and she remarked on the beautiful Colorado mountains. We were so glad that things seemed to be better between us all after the meeting in the director's office. When Babushka got out of the car, we also got out, and she gave me a hug. We thanked her and told her we hoped to see her again and that we would take good care of her granddaughter. We then made our way to the notary's office to sign a petition stating that we will not prevent Elaine and her sister from contacting each other if they wish to. It got the requisite signatures and seals.

Oles then drove us back to the internat. Along the way, we picked up a cell phone SIM card and minutes for the cell phone we had bought Elaine that morning. There were too many times when we were all waiting for her to sign documents or be available for the adoption process with no one able to find her for hours; therefore, the cell phone became necessary. Elaine had been doing sports and activities and cleaning windows at school after her classes.

When we came back, we were able to spend the rest of the afternoon with Elaine. We gave her the cell phone, helped her set it up, and exchanged phone numbers and called each other to test out the new phone. After some instructions from Papi about not giving it to other children (cell phones and just about everything else get stolen in the orphanage), it was nearly time for Elaine to go to dinner.

She walked us to the gate, and we said our good-byes.

This was a very big, very emotional day. We had been praying about this very intensely over the previous few days. It went well. The Lord was gracious to us all. Thank you for praying. Keep praying for these adoptions.

Walking in the Fields of the Fatherless: Day 8 in Odessa

2009-05-22T03:32:00.063-06:00

Yesterday we walked in the fields of the fatherless. We know this place will leave a lasting impression on our hearts and souls. We are free to leave at any time, but the children must stay until they are adopted or "age out" at the tender age of 16. As we spent time with some of the children outdoors, one boy asked me, with Elaine translating, if I had any friends who might want to adopt a boy like him. When I asked how old he was, he said he was 16. By law, the only chance he would have for adoption at this age is to have a younger sibling...but he told me that his sister was 20 years old. My heart broke for him, and I continue to tear up when I think about him and our conversation. How can I give him and children like him hope?

There are children at internat #4 who have hope: Elaine, Grisha, Roma, and Sergei. The Whaley family is here right now to adopt Roma and Sergei, and JC and Ashley are adopting Grisha. A few others have families who have started the adoption process, but the children don't know.

Please continue to pray as our translator works to secure the necessary approvals for us to adopt Elaine. (At this point, the process for adoping Lisa is more straightforward, even though she's in an orphanage far from where everything else is happening here in Odessa. There will be extra work for her adoption as well, but it will happen after court and the 10-day wait; we'll let you know of specific prayer requests at that time.)

We started off the day by visiting a notary, which is actually more like a lawyer, to draw up documents for both adoptions. We had to show our passports and sign the documents and the notary's ledger.

When we arrived at the internat yesterday, we waited a little while for Elaine to come back from school. Then she was summoned to write her letter of consent to be adopted. They spent quite a bit of time with her in the director's office while we waited out in the foyer. Oles poked his head out the door and asked us about Elaine's middle name two or three times; I volunteered to write it down, but he declined. We just shook our heads and smiled. After the letter was done, we were free to spend time with Elaine at the orphanage.

She led us down the halls and showed us different rooms and many locked doors, such as the art room. Down one hallway were hung many pieces of artwork done by the children. We were thrilled when Elaine pointed out a painting by Nastia, who we determined was our friend Anastasia! Elaine was surprised to hear that we know her. We shared that Anastasia and her family are praying for all of us in this process, and she was glad to hear it.

We visited the cavernous cafeteria and noticed that every little sound was magnified. It must be so loud when all the children are in it for their meals! We went back to the grade 6 playroom where a couple of the girls were watching Shrek in English. Elaine brought out her school books and showed us her history and English textbooks and another of her grade ledgers. And then it was time to get outside into the beautiful sunshine.

Looking at the faces of the children and sharing a smile and a laugh and a hug with them makes me so glad to be here so I can take a piece of them with me always. How could I ever forget them? I pray that so many of them are adopted by families that the internat is empty.

Even now, the orphanage seems to be nearly deserted at times when we walk through it and around the grounds, but we have been meeting new kids each day, and I've been recognizing many from pictures I've seen over the years. Despite the language barrier, the children enjoy spending time with us, even if they are not directly interacting with us. They tease each other, show off, love taking pictures and looking at them, and then quiet down and spend time coloring. We have all noticed that they are very strong physically. I wish I could do some of the things they seem to do without effort.

We met the Whaley family outside under the trees yesterday. And of course, we are enjoying our time with our friends JC and Ashley. It is so nice to be fellowshipping with other families who are here adopting children. We are probably spoiled to be able to speak English with others; I know many couples have adopted and have not met any English speakers on their trips. That must be so difficult!

Elaine has been doing very well with her English and is a good little translator for us when we are talking with the other children.

We enjoyed our time with Elaine very much yesterday. She took a lot of pictures with our camera and sat and chatted with us and the other families and children. She gave us lots of hugs, too. How good it is to be with our girl!

She took me by the hand and led me out into the fields. As we made our way through the tall grass, she would point out various things to me. She picked me a lovely purple flower (weed?), and she asked me if we had dandelions in Colorado as she handed me one of the puffy seed heads so we could blow it away together.

Elaine pointed out a tree that had a Russian name that sounded like acacia. It grows pretty white flowers, and apparently they are edible, because she picked off a small cluster of them and chewed away. Then a boy picked some to eat. Garth and I tried them, too. They weren't bad. We laughed when Elaine described the taste as soap.

It is still hard to believe we're actually in Ukraine at times, and yet, visiting Lisa, spending time with Elaine, and seeing the faces of all the other children makes it all so real. Thank you for following along with us and praying for our adoptions of Elaine and Lisa--and for families to come for more and more and more of these children, the fatherless.

Waiting for the Girls: Day 7 in Odessa

2009-05-21T13:45:00.031-06:00

Yesterday dawned bright and sunny. We are thankful that the weather here in Odessa has been warm and pleasant. We spent the morning doing household things, including a trip to the market across the street. Soon the afternoon arrived and we set out with JC and Ashley on our walk to the internat. As we walked, puffs of fluffy white flowers or seeds from the trees swirled around us, floating on the air. There are clumps of them all over the ground, in the flowers, at the base of the trees, and scuttling along the sidewalk.

This day, we knew that we needed to talk to both girls about their new names so our translator could put them on some documents. We were waiting for him to call us with a three-way conference call with Lisa in Balta; we had not been able to talk to her on Tuesday about her name because the visit was so fast. And we would need to confirm with Elaine what names she wanted; during the summer, she had chosen two middle names, and Oles said only one would fit on the paperwork. Would she choose one of those names? Garth and I had talked about their names a little bit but didn't have very many middle names for the girls to choose from.

We got to the internat and didn't see Elaine anywhere, so we figured she was still at school. She attends a public school outside the internat. Grisha and Dima showed us all around indoors. We came to the music room, and they and their music teacher treated us to a mini concert on accordions. Then they took us outdoors and showed us around. It was so neat to recognize so many of the children and know their names. How I wish I spoke more Russian; we didn't have a translator with us. The boys then played basketball with JC for a while.

We went back inside to the playroom to see if Elaine was there yet, but she wasn't. As we were wondering how late she might return, the phone rang. Oles was calling with Lisa on another line. We were able to talk to her and ask her what she might like for a middle name (we are keeping the girls' first names). We gave her a few choices of names we liked, and she picked Elizabeth. She then asked Garth when we would be having court. He had to tell her that we don't know yet. I know it is hard to wait! As we were saying good-bye, she said, "I love you!" We told her we loved her too.

Meanwhile, we still waited quite a while for Elaine to return from school. It was after 5:30 when we spotted her coming through the front gate. When she saw us in the front window, she hurried to come see us. She said she had been doing some sort of sport competition for school after classes were finished. It was good to see her after waiting so long that day and after rushing off to see Lisa the previous day.

We all talked together about middle names, and Garth and I were surprised when she didn't choose either of the names she had wanted last summer. She even said that she wanted to have Debora, my first name, as her middle name. So cute! But we told her to choose something she really liked, not just to please us. So I brought out the list of names we had been working with, and she chose Noelle.

Such beautiful names for such beautiful girls.

During most of this time, Oles had been waiting at a notary's office for us to give him the girls' names to use on some paperwork. With Elaine's help, we sent him two text messages with their full names. Whew!

When that was all done, Elaine took us back to the playroom and showed us her closet space and the things she has kept, like letters and cards from us, photos, and school reports. She even had a couple of photos of her mother and father from their wedding. She asked us to take a bag of these things back with us to our apartment so she can bring them to America. We were happy to oblige. How good it was to see our sweet girl again after nine months apart!

We took a few more pictures, and then the kids went off to dinner and we walked home. We wait for the day we can all leave together!

Please keep praying for favor with officials and others who might be involved along the way. There are so many people who have to give their approval that we are losing track. Elaine's grandmother and others must give their consent for her to be adopted. Then officials have to give their approval, and so on. All these approvals and associated legal documents must be secured before we can get a court date. These things are also coming with costs that we had not anticipated. Thank you for praying for us and these precious girls!

Elaine, Debbie, Ashley, and Grisha

Together with Our Girls: Day 6 in Odessa

2009-05-20T13:28:00.034-06:00

Elaine, Debbie, and Garth

As you can see from the pictures above and below, we are in Odessa and have seen our girls! Praise God! I want to tell you all about our adventures, but it is getting late here, and we need to get to a notary in the morning. I'll leave you with a synopsis because I know you all want to know what's been happening. We were without Internet for almost three days, and we have been busy!

Kolya, Lisa, and Debbie

On Monday night, we rode the overnight train from Kiev to Odessa and arrived at the station at about 6 a.m. Our local translator/facilitator, Oles, picked us up, and we were off to the apartment our hostess is so graciously letting us stay in. We were then off to do other things connected with the adoptions.

Lots of traffic getting through Odessa...and all you previous adoptive parents were right that there are crazy drivers in Ukraine, our translator included. Garth and I are just glad we are not driving here.

We stopped at the inspector's office to get clearance to visit the orphanage director. They went through our dossier and asked us some questions. We then waited for a clearance letter; when it was done, we took a representative from the office with us to the internat. A neat part about our time in Ukraine is that Ashley and JC Fumia are here with us adopting Grisha; we're all in the same apartment, too. What a blessing to be going through this together.

We pulled up in front of internat #4 where Elaine lives, and it was surreal to see it in person. The grounds in the front were beautiful with lots of greenery and flowers. We went in and visited with the internat director and the social worker. There was a lot of talk about the process; apparently it has recently changed...again. It is common for Ukraine and for Odessa specifically to have changes in procedures and laws. They asked us some questions and told us a little about Elaine. The director was very pleasant and very professional. All this time, the Fumias were out in the foyer near the director's office talking with Grisha and Dima.

The internat director called Elaine's school to have her sent to her office for some paperwork (she didn't mention the real reason she was requesting her). Ashley and JC saw Elaine coming and that when she saw them, her face and countenance just fell because they were not her family. And then, when she reached the doorway and saw us, she immediately changed and was so excited. We then saw her and got up to give her a big hug. We had missed her so much! I think it was good for the director, social worker, and inspector to witness how she responded to us and that we all loved each other.

The director questioned Elaine for a little bit to be sure that she wanted us to adopt her, which she certainly did! And then we were all free to go. The inspector's representative stayed behind to work with Ashley and JC's process. Our family and Oles went out front where we said a quick good-bye to Elaine because we needed to get on the road to Balta to see the inspector, internat director, and Lisa. We knew it was a long drive, but we were a little surprised that it was three and a half hours one way.

It was a lovely drive that reminded us of the more rural farming areas of California. We went to the inspector's office first; there was very little questioning from the inspector at this office. Then we brought the inspector with us as we drove across the street and up a short way on a side street to Lisa's internat.

We parked on a very steep little slope and trudged up to the entrance. The grounds here were very green and lush, too. This is a very nice time of year to be in Ukraine, and we are thankful. We went to the director's office and had an audience with her and the social worker. One of the first things the director said to us was, "You're taking all my best children!" You would think we would be surprised by this, but we had already been told by another family that she thought this way. And we understand! We know Lisa is a sweet girl and is a gem; Elaine told us. And Ric and Bev told us. And we knew it ourselves from talking to Lisa on Skype in January.

The director asked us some questions that included how we knew Lisa. We told her we hadn't met her in person but had talked on the phone, seen pictures of her, and had first-hand testimony from Elaine (daughter #1 and her "best of the best" friend) and from Ric and Bev. The director said, "How can you know her from photographs? Maybe she is too different in real life and you won't want to adopt her. What if you don't like her? How do you know you want to adopt her?"

We just assured her confidently that we do want to adopt her and that we were committed and already loved her. The director has a quirky sense of humor, too, which I didn't have a problem working with. It was kind of fun to see what she was like in person.

The director sent someone to get Lisa. We waited a short while; I think we chatted a little more. Garth and I were sitting with our backs to the door, so we saw the director's face when Lisa appeared in the doorway...and then suddenly Lisa was hugging me--and I mean a tight embrace! She didn't say much, but I know that she was saying, "I knew you would come, and here you are!"

Garth and I will never forget the look on the director's face. I wish you could have seen it! She was shocked. We did not host Lisa this past summer; she was hosted by Ric and Bev. And from what we told her, she thought we had had only very little contact, and yet, here was Lisa, clinging to me for dear life.

What joy for Lisa and us to be together, to finally meet. The director asked Lisa how she knew us. At this point, I think that our translator was off making copies of our dossier, so we had no translation, but we could tell what she was asking Lisa. Lisa told her that she had had contact with us, and she probably mentioned that we talked on the computer. I am not sure if she gave her the time frame. But the director looked so surprised. And this sweet little girl was still clinging to me, and I to her.

We all sat back down, and the director, social worker, and inspector talked to Lisa some more. We don't know all that was said, but we are sure they were asking her if she was sure she wanted us to adopt her. At one point, the social worker said something to the effect of, "How can you go with this couple? Do you even know their names?" Lisa looked at her and said simply, "Debbie and Garth."

And that was that.

Lisa is a strong little girl and held her own with these intimidating people. All the while, she was holding my hand. Finally, our translator returned and we were able to leave the office. Lisa took us on a tour of the internat, where we met her friend Kolya and some other children. Kolya came and walked around with us; he is in the picture above.

We will likely return to Balta on Friday. We didn't realize it, but it costs us about $220 for a trip to Balta and back, so we won't be able to get up there very often. We so desire to get to know Lisa and spend lots of time with her, but it may not be possible. And we probably won't be able to get to know the other children at her internat. We will see what happens.

Thank you for all your great comments and for praying for us. It is so neat to be able to share this journey with all of you. We will be writing about our day today and sharing prayer requests when I next have time.

The Appointment: Day 5 in Kiev

2009-05-18T11:24:00.008-06:00

So how many times have you checked the blog today to see how our SDA appointment went? Adeen? Dva? Tree?

Here's what you've all been waiting for: We had our appointment this morning at 10 a.m. and were blessed to receive the official referral documents for Elaine and Lisa at about 5:15 p.m. Слава Богу (slava Bogu)--praise God! Thank you for praying for us.

Me and Garth in front of the side gate at the SDA

We waited in the stairwell with Oleg and Nadia, our facilitator and his helper. Then we were called upstairs; Oleg stayed behind. We sat at a small table with a pleasant young lady named Irina who had Elaine and Lisa's files all ready to go. She was very professional but friendly and was very glad that the girls would have parents. We showed her recent pictures of the girls, and she remarked that they looked happier. Garth and I really enjoyed seeing the younger pictures of the girls; they both looked to be about 8 years old. Just adorable!

It was a quick appointment, and then we spent the day with Nadia, our translator, showing us things around Kiev, like the churches. She is darling, and we enjoyed spending time with her! Then we went back to the SDA and received the official referral documents, which we'll be hand-carrying to Odessa on the overnight train tonight!

We are hopeful that we can meet the inspector and director tomorrow and then see Elaine. We can hardly wait to see her again! And then we hope to very soon be able to travel to Balta to meet Lisa for the first time!

We'll keep you posted as much as we're able. So glad you're all following along!

Americans Underground: Day 4 in Kiev

2009-05-17T12:12:00.014-06:00

It was a dark and stormy night. Winds moaned through the trees and rattled the old casement windows in the Hotel Khreschatik. Inside, a debriefing was under way. Flash bulbs popped. A phone call came from the contact in Odessa. Documents were shifted to the black zippered shoulder bag. And in exchange for classified information: chocolate.

With a couple of days remaining before our appointment, we decided yesterday afternoon to try to see more of Kiev. Dressed mostly in black and wearing stoic faces to blend in with the locals, we entered the steamy underground tunnel system known as the metro (pronounced m-yet-ro).

We were on our way to rendezvous with the Fumias, who are holed up in an apartment on a secret island in the Dniepro River. Little did we know how secret it was.

The call was made. The instructions were given. And off we went. But we got on the wrong line!

Remember the stoic faces? The locals don't really like to give directions. And there were not many signposts or maps on the metro to help us get our bearings. So we became Americans underground and rode the metro there and back and then trudged to the hotel. We determined to try again the next day and had a nice dinner at the hotel. (I loved the borsch!)

Today dawned cloudy but nice, and after a good, filling breakfast at the hotel, we decided to try rendezvous #2. So down we went into the underground metro once more. Armed with a map and my limited Russian, this time we were glad to see what appeared to be metro police or officials who we could question despite their stoic faces. I was able to ask for the red metro line and whether our stop was on it (yes, in Russian), and they pointed us to the right train. Success!

The ride was lovely once the train left the tunnel and made its way across the Dniepro River. JC met us at the metro station, and we wended our way to apartment 14 with the studded black leather door (pictured at right with Ashley). JC, Ashley, Garth, and I spent a few hours talking and laughing together. It's funny how we had to travel so far to meet each other when we live only a couple of states away.

Though this life of adventure and intrigue is thrilling, we are all just eager to have our private appointments with the SDA tomorrow morning and get the documents started for adopting Elaine and Lisa (and Grisha for the Fumias). And our contact in Odessa says that the locals there are more friendly. Perhaps we can hang up our stoic faces for a while.

Please pray for our appointment in the morning (1 a.m. mountain time for us; 3 a.m. mountain time for the Fumias).

Ready to Venture Out Again: Day 3 in Kiev

2009-05-16T02:33:00.011-06:00

We're ready to venture out and see a little more of Kiev today, but right now, I'm working on the computer in our hotel room on their Wi-Fi connection. (That's me above on our window sill, working on the laptop.) I know you're all eager for more pictures, preferably outside shots, but we are trying to blend in and not look like obvious tourists right now. That includes not talking very loudly in English and not smiling very much. (For those in the know, it's a variation of Mama Poruski's "bus face.") When we met Ashley and JC Fumia yesterday, it was very tough to not smile much; they are such fun. As we were walking, someone behind us pegged us as Americans and chatted with us for a while. I guess we stood out a little bit! We were glad to finally meet the Fumias after knowing each other online for a couple of years. It is comforting to have each other on this journey. Elaine and Grisha are in the same group/grade in their internat.

The picture above is the view from our hotel room window. The building has some relief sculptures tucked under the eaves; you might be able make them out in the picture.

Before I go, I wanted to be sure to answer some questions you've asked:

Where are you staying?
We are at the Khreschatik Hotel near Independence Square and the Globus underground mall. The SDA is up the hill near St. Andrew's church; we hiked up the hill to find it yesterday. The hotel is centrally located. We liked our pizza at Celentano's and our dinner at a banquet-type restaurant last night. We'll be going back there--yum! Thus far, we love Ukrainian food!

When is your SDA appointment?
Our appointment is Monday morning (1 a.m. mountain time). Please be in prayer for us. It is supposed to be relatively quick because we are requesting specific children who are "older."

How long 'til you see your girls?
This we don't really know. After the SDA appointment, we are given referral paperwork, but we're not sure when we will get it. We need it to be able to meet with the inspector of the region where the girls live and with their internat directors. So we're hoping to see both girls next week, maybe Wednesday and Friday. We can't wait! Stay tuned.

What can we pray for now?
Besides our upcoming SDA appointment, you can be praying for all paperwork to be processed in a timely manner so we can have court early in the process. And also that our hearts will all be knit together, especially us with Lisa, who we have not yet met in person. What a blessing it was to meet her on Skype back in January. It's been a long time since then, and we hope that she has not given up hope that we're coming for her.

Thank you for following along, praying for us, and encouraging us. Thank you also so much for your generous giving to help these two precious girls have a family. We appreciate you all!

We Are in Kiev!

2009-05-14T12:20:00.004-06:00

It is hard to believe we're actually here! We made it to Kiev this afternoon (about 5:15 a.m. Colorado time). We are exhausted but so happy to be here and experiencing Ukraine for ourselves! I hope to be able to give more detail soon, after I've had some sleep. We ate dinner at Celentano's Pizza, and it was good. Our server didn't speak much English, but he was quick to understand our Russlish. Thank you for your prayers and your encouragement!

Final Countdown: 3, 2, 1...

2009-05-10T19:35:00.011-06:00

Yes, folks, we are in the final countdown until we're leaving on a jet plane. We can hardly believe it's almost here! Wednesday morning, we'll begin our nearly 20-hour-long travel odyssey to Kiev, Ukraine.

We were so touched today by the outpouring of love from those at our church who organized a bake sale, those who purchased the yummy goodies in support of our adoption, those who prayed for us and another family at church who will soon be traveling to China to adopt their son, those who asked about the girls and our trip, those who share our excitement, and those in our city, state, and other parts of the country who so generously and graciously gave to help two precious girls have a papa and mama of their very own. We are so thankful to you all!

Thank you also to those of you who so sweetly wished me a Happy Mother's Day earlier this week and today. Garth even surprised me with flowers and a card. Now I can't wait to hold Elaine and Lisa in my arms as their mama!

Prayer requests:

Last-minute preparations and packing (the luggage is out and waiting)

Calm hearts (yet filled with excitement and joy)

Safe travel and health

Favor with officials in Ukraine who are part of the adoption process

That paperwork can be gathered quickly so we can have a court date soon

For those of you who are curious whether we'll be bringing the girls home on this trip, the answer is yes! This trip involves paperwork and court in Ukraine, and ends when the girls touch down on U.S. soil and become Americans.

I will be updating the blog from Ukraine, so please stay tuned. Thank you for being a part of this journey with us. Oh, and we LOVE to receive comments and encouragement. There's a place under each blog post to click so you can leave a comment.

Until later... da svidanya!

So Close Now...but a Bit Still to Go

2009-05-02T19:43:00.022-06:00

Elaine and Lisa are so close to having the "forever family" they long for. We can't wait to surprise them at their internats and hold them close to our hearts.

There will be a flurry of activity at our house as we prepare to leave for Ukraine. We're readying the girls' room, gathering documents, making our packing lists, and trying to fit in as much Russian (russkie) learning as possible. Part of that activity will be raising the rest of the funds that we need to complete the adoptions and come home.

With our dossier being submitted right after we sent it to Ukraine and receiving an appointment so soon after, this all came together so fast. We don't even have time left to hold the fund-raisers we planned to do! Because many of the costs for adopting in Ukraine are not fixed, and the stay in country is so long, it can be hard to determine the amount needed. We estimate that we still need approximately $8,000 to complete the process.

How can you help? Spread the word, donate if you can, and above all, pray. There is a flyer (PDF) at right that explains more; you can print or send it digitally to your friends and family. Each gift will add up to an abundance! An example of this: we were hugely blessed by a friend who told his family and friends about our adoption, and they all chipped in to support us with a donation of $1,000. (Thank you so much to everyone who has given to help the girls have a family!)

God knew all our needs from the start. He has provided for this adoption at every step, and we know he will provide the rest. We hope you'll share in our joy by being a part of helping these girls come home.

Another family is in need of your help as well. The Fumias are traveling to Ukraine at the same time as us to adopt Grisha, a boy in Elaine's class at her internat (orphanage). Please visit their blog and pray for them; ask the Lord how He might have you help them.

Ahhh! We Leave in Two Weeks!!

2009-04-30T08:15:00.014-06:00

This is it! This is what we've all been waiting for:

Our appointment with the SDA in Kiev is on

May 18 at 10 a.m.!

We are beyond thrilled and will be scrambling to get everything done in the next two weeks before we travel to Ukraine. Yes, in two weeks we will actually be traveling to the country where Garth's dad was born, the country where Elaine and Lisa were born and have lived for 14 and 13 years, respectively. We can't wait to see Elaine again! And we can't wait to meet Lisa face to face!

Ahhh! We leave in two weeks!!

We Get Questions, Part 2

2009-04-24T07:50:00.015-06:00

We have been getting so many encouraging comments--thank you! This journey has been amazing, and we're glad to be able to share it with you.

This morning, we heard from our facilitator; he said that WE MAY LEARN OUR APPOINTMENT DATE SOMETIME NEXT WEEK. We are so excited!

Which leads me to some questions from you that I want to be sure to answer. Read on!

When do you think your appointment date might be? Where will your appointment be?

We think our appointment date will be sometime in mid- to late May, which is very soon! The appointment will be held at the SDA in Kiev (Ukrainian spelling: Kyiv). So yes, this means that we must travel to Ukraine. It will be so neat for Garth, especially, to be in the country where his father and grandparents and other relatives were born.

What is the SDA?

The SDAPRC is the government body in Ukraine that oversees adoptions. Most adoptive parents use the shorthand "SDA." SDAPRC stands for the State Department for Adoption and Protection of Rights of the Child, a department under the Ministry of Family, Youth, and Sports of Ukraine.

What is a dossier?

I wrote about this in a previous post:

A dossier is a compilation of documents that a country requires from prospective adoptive parents. Ours includes documents such as home study, I-171H (approval from Immigration), medical reports, marriage certificates, copies of passports, home deed, and so on. Though it does not sound difficult to gather such documents, believe me, it is, and it can be expensive and take a number of months. Each document must be notarized and then apostilled by the secretary of state the document originates in. As an example, our marriage certificates were $13 each, and then apostilles cost $20 apiece, so they were pricey (we needed three for our dossier).

Because we need to rely on other people while we're gathering dossier documents, the timeline is uncertain and errors can abound. Misspelling of names is the error we encountered the most...and I am a proofreader. I thought I would be used to it by now.

I thought they didn't speak Russian in Ukraine anymore.

I also wrote about this in a previous post:

In Ukraine, Ukrainian is the official language. Many people have continued to speak Russian and teach it to their children, however, even after Ukraine became independent from the Soviet Union. Ukrainian is used as the state/official language and is spoken as a first language mostly in the western part of the country, but Russian largely predominates as a first language in the central and eastern portions of the country. Elaine speaks Russian as her first language and Ukrainian as her second language.

Because Russian is so widely spoken in Ukraine, this is the language I focused on learning even before Elaine came to stay with us last summer. I can't wait to have two Russian teachers living under my roof!

Are Your Documents in Order?

2009-04-16T19:13:00.018-06:00

Ukrainian officials will soon be sitting down at a desk with our dossier to examine it with a fine-toothed comb. We've been cleared by the cute official above...and now it's the SDA's turn.

You all have been so patiently waiting for an update, so Garth and I are happy to announce that OUR DOSSIER WAS SUBMITTED TO THE SDA TODAY! You should have heard our excitement this morning as we read the e-mail from our facilitator: "Today I submit your dossier to SDA." We have been rejoicing all day.

Yesterday, Elaine asked Dasha's dad when it would be her turn, and all he could tell her was "soon." We can't wait to show up at her internat one day and surprise her--and envelop her in our arms!

We are not able to send letters to Lisa or have contact with her at this time, so we are eager to get to her internat and meet her face-to-face.

The picture of Lisa at right was taken at the end of December 2008. The pictures of Elaine were taken yesterday at her internat; in the top picture, she is reading our most recent letter to her, hand-carried from America by Dasha's dad. The paper on the desk is the song Somewhere Out There from the movie An American Tail, printed in English and Russian. It reminds me of her...and of Lisa, too.

Blog Going Private Soon

2009-04-12T12:21:00.016-06:00

This blog will be changing to a private blog this week in the interest of protecting the girls' identities during the adoption process. I will make the blog public again sometime after the girls become our daughters.

We would love to have as many people as possible following along, cheering us on, and praying for us. Please e-mail me at hoffhouse@hotmail.com, and tell me who you are, and I will give you access to the blog.

If we have more than 100 people who would like to read the blog when it's private, I will provide a username and password to groups of people so no one is left out.

I will be writing soon about fund-raising and what we still need to finish the adoption of our sweet girls. For now, please see the top of the green sidebar at right for how you can help!

Don't miss out on following Elaine and Lisa's exciting journey--e-mail me right away!

Drumroll, Please...

2009-04-10T13:00:00.000-06:00

...we have a submission date!

At 10 a.m. Kiev time on Thursday, April 16, 2009, our facilitator will submit our dossier to the SDA!

Can I get a “Слава Богу”? Слава Богу (slava Bogu) means thank God or praise God. We are so excited!

As you go to bed Wednesday night, please remember our dossier submission in prayer. Please pray that the SDA personnel will look with favor on our dossier documents, will be happy to accept it and review it, and will not require us to make any changes.

The SDA will take from one or three weeks to review our dossier after it is submitted, and they will then issue us an appointment to appear before them in Kiev for the referrals of Elaine and Lisa. Please join us in praying for an appointment in mid- to late May. Wow, that’s coming up so soon!

And please pray with us for the Lord to provide the funds we will need for traveling, staying in Ukraine, and completing the adoptions of our sweet girls. Time is of the essence, and Elaine and Lisa are waiting.

It's In His Hands!

2009-04-08T11:40:00.002-06:00

Yes, this entire adoption, our lives, and the lives of Elaine and Lisa are all in His hands.

And our dossier is now in our facilitator's hands.

Thought you would like to know!

Bon Voyage, Leetle Dossier!

2009-04-04T08:27:00.011-06:00

Our dossier* is touring Paris in the company of FedEx, without us. I wonder if the Louvre or the Eiffel Tower is on the agenda. Perhaps a baguette et fromage? Next stop on the tour is Kiev, Ukraine, sometime early next week!

Once our facilitator receives our dossier, he will sew each document together with its Ukrainian translation, complete with seals and such, to make a finished dossier that is ready to make its appearance at the SDA. If the SDA accepts the dossier, they will take from one to three weeks to review it and will then issue an appointment for us to appear before them for the referral of our girls.

Please pray with us that the dossier will look good, require no changes, and be accepted by the SDA sometime this month. We're praying for an appointment in May so we can see our girls finish their school year. I know I would be tickled if my new parents came to see the festivities as my school year concluded.

We are so excited!

*A dossier is a compilation of documents that a country requires from prospective adoptive parents. Ours includes documents such as home study, I-171H (approval from Immigration), medical reports, marriage certificates, copies of passports, home deed, and so on. Though it does not sound difficult to gather such documents, believe me, it is, and it can be expensive and take a number of months. Each document must be notarized and then apostilled by the secretary of state the document originates in. As an example, our marriage certificates were $13 each, and then apostilles cost $20 apiece, so they were pricey (we needed three for our dossier).

Спасибо (Spasiba)! Thank You for Blessing Elaine and Lisa!

2009-03-15T13:15:00.003-06:00

Спасибо!

Saying thank you often seems so inadequate, doesn't it? It has been such a blessing to receive generous donations from family, friends from church, co-workers, friends, blogging friends, neighbors, and even strangers. Each and every dollar given brings Elaine and Lisa closer to having the loving "forever family" they desire and need so much. Elaine delights in telling us she wants to be part of our "crazy family," and we can't wait to bring her home.

The process to adopt from Ukraine is expensive (international adoption is, in general, though Ukraine is less so than some countries), long, and fraught with twists and turns. But God led us to Elaine and made it possible for us to have such a special time together this summer, and we are praying and trusting Him that He will continue to provide all the funds we need and will open the doors to adopt her in His timing. And He also led us to Elaine's best friend, Lisa; we would not have known about her otherwise. What a special blessing! We have seen over and over again how He has provided just what was needed at each step of the way, through earnings, savings, and sacrificial gifts from others, as we have worked on the stateside portion of the adoption process (home study, Immigration, passports, and so on). He has given enough for us to send our dossier to Ukraine and have it translated into Ukrainian*--we're almost finished with the dossier and hope to send it off next week!

It was very difficult for us to take the step of asking people to contribute financially, to tell them that we are in need of money to adopt these precious children...and then we are reminded that the money is not for us. It is for Elaine. It is for Lisa. It is so that two orphans can have a family who loves them, teaches them, learns with them, laughs and cries with them, enjoys them, and tucks them in at night. A family to tell them about the God who made all this possible.

So from us and Elaine and Lisa, спасибо!

*In Ukraine, Ukrainian is the official language. Many people have continued to speak Russian and teach it to their children, however, even after Ukraine became independent from the Soviet Union. Ukrainian is used as the state/official language and is spoken as a first language mostly in the western part of the country, but Russian largely predominates as a first language in the central and eastern portions of the country. Elaine speaks Russian as her first language and Ukrainian as her second language.

Happy Birthday to Our Dear, Sweet Girl--Hope to See You in a Few Months!

2009-03-15T10:29:00.007-06:00

Поздравляем тебя c днем рождения!
(We congratulate you on your birthday!)

Today is our girl's birthday; she is now 14 years old. Last year at this time, we were pen pals and were just getting to know each other. This year, she calls us Mami and Papi, and we call her doch (дочь), daughter. It is not yet a "legal" relationship, but we are working hard on that and praying earnestly!*

We talked to our sweet Elaine on the phone today and wished her happy birthday. What joy to hear her voice, to hear her giggle, to hear "I love you so much!" and "I miss you so much!" Of course, she wondered whether we had sent her a gift (which she calls a surprise)...we teased her by asking each other, "Papi, did you send a surprise for Elaine?" "Gosh, Mami, I don't remember!" More giggles. She knows there's a surprise for her tomorrow at her party.

She also wanted to know when we were coming to Ukraine for her. Even Dasha got on the phone and asked us when we were coming for Elaine. We told Elaine we didn't know (because we don't yet), but to keep praying. We're hoping and praying it will be May or June.

Next birthday, we will celebrate with our sweet Elaine in Colorado, Lord willing. She will have only had to wait 15 years for that celebration, but oh how sweet it will be.

Happy birthday, kraseevaya dyevachka (красивая девочка), beautiful girl!

*Please pray for us as we finish up the dossier this week and send it off to Kyiv the following week. We pray all paperwork will be correct and acceptable to the SDA. Please also pray for the remainder of the funds we need; we know that the Lord will supply for Elaine and Lisa to have a home and no longer have to wear the label "orphan"--praise God!

My "Best of the Best" Friend

2009-02-21T10:47:00.038-07:00

When children enter the orphanage system, they are often housed in a shelter (приют [preeyoot]) before they are moved to their more permanent "home" at an orphanage. Just writing that sentence makes me so sad! I long to swoop down and gather up as many children as I can and bring them home so they will have a family!

I remember many talks with Elaine at the dinner table when she stayed with us last summer in which she told us about her past. She shared that at the age of 8 or 9, she went to live in a shelter. She was there for about three years before she came to the internat she is in now. While there, she met "Lisa" (pictured at left). The two girls became good friends but were ultimately sent to live in different orphanages. In fact, they now live in different towns a few hours apart.

As Elaine rode the train this past June, to Kiev (Ukrainian spelling: Kyiv) to fly to the States to visit us, she and Lisa were reunited. Lisa was hosted a state away from us, and the girls talked on the phone a few times. We didn't realize they were such close friends until August, nearly the end of their trip.

Elaine often mentioned friends of hers who needed a family, asking whether we might adopt one of them. We encouraged her to pray for families for her friends, and nearly every night, she prayed specifically for one of her friends, Dasha, to have a family--and I am happy to report that Dasha's family will be traveling to Ukraine very soon to adopt her!

The last time Elaine talked to Lisa, maybe five days before she returned to Ukraine in August, she told us that Lisa's host parents were unable to adopt her (due to Ukraine's laws). And then she looked at us with her big blue eyes and asked us if we would adopt Lisa along with her. My heart just melted. She made sure to tell us that Lisa was a "good girl" and her "best of the best" friend. The only answer we could give her at the time was that we would pray about it.

Garth and I have always wanted to adopt two or three children (related or unrelated) at the same time. We decided to find out more about Lisa and to pray about adopting her. While Elaine and Lisa were on the phone together, I asked Lisa to tell me about herself. It was fun to "talk" to each other this way, with Elaine translating. I found out that Lisa and Elaine are about four months apart in age; Elaine is the older one. Yes, two 13-year-old girls!

We prayed about adopting Lisa for many months, and the Lord worked on our hearts. In December, it was clear what God wanted us to do, and so, dear readers, we introduce to you:

LISA, DAUGHTER #2!

We are so excited to adopt Lisa along with Elaine, and we hope you will share our joy and excitement. And the couple who hosted Lisa this summer? Ric and Bev, now dear friends of ours, are thrilled that we will be adopting Lisa and they will be able to see her again. They and their friends were praying earnestly for Lisa to have a family of her own.

Please pray for our precious girls and that we can get our dossier paperwork finished soon and off to Kiev so we can swoop them up!

From "best of the best" friends...to sisters.

I-171H...We Stand in Awe!

2009-02-13T07:52:00.010-07:00

Dumbfounded. Amazed. When we saw the envelope from USCIS in the mail yesterday, our hearts beat faster. We thought perhaps USCIS (Immigration) needed something more from us...but no, inside the envelope was the I-171H. The reason we were in awe: the time from submission of our I-600A to receipt of the I-171H was THREE WEEKS.

The Lord has been working on behalf of our precious children, and we are so thankful. Now we are really motivated to work very quickly on the last parts of the dossier!

Though we are thrilled to have received the I-171H so quickly, we are disappointed that a crucial part of the one-page document was stuck to the adhesive on the envelope flap. When we opened the envelope, even being extremely careful couldn't keep some of the text from staying with the envelope flap. So, we will have to ask USCIS if we can have a second copy. Please pray for this and for us to have complete clarity about the other documents we need to gather to complete our dossier...and that we can do them accurately and quickly so we can send them off to Ukraine for traslation and submission to the SDA!

You noticed that I said "children" above. I will tell you about that very soon, dear readers. Thank you for praying for us and for how you have donated to help these precious ones who are now called orphans to no longer have to carry that name!

Making Progress in the Process

2009-01-25T12:29:00.020-07:00

Yes, indeed, we are making progress in the adoption process! Our home study was completed earlier this month, we received our passports in the mail around the same time (they came very quickly!), and we submitted our I-600A petition and home study to Immigration (USCIS) on Wednesday and were fingerprinted the same day, too. These are some major steps in the process, and they are done. Now we must wait for the approval document (I-171H) to come back from USCIS, and as we wait, we will gather all the other documents for our dossier.

Please pray for us to be able to gather the dossier documents quickly, that they would all be accurate, and that the I-171H would come quickly. We pray we will be able to send our dossier to our facilitator for translation sometime in February, and that it can then be submitted to the SDA for review soon afterward. We pray that our dossier would not be rejected and that the SDA will give us an appointment in April or May...but most of all, that it would all happen in God's timing. He knows all the isssues we can encounter with the dossier documents, like mistakes or our home study agency's license expiring at an inopportune time--we just have to trust Him to help us bring Elaine home!

Guess Who She's Talking To

2008-12-14T18:00:00.021-07:00

This week we talked to our precious girl on the phone. Karina's family snapped this picture and sent it to us with this text: "Guess who she's talking to." What a treat to see a photo of our sweetie as she talked to us.

Karina's family was also so kind to take a small package to Ukraine for us and give it to Elaine. Thank you! We included photos and a music CD, cards from her friends from church, and some photos from her cousins. And I, being the adventurous sort I am, wrote her a card in English and Russian--in Cyrillic handwriting. Now that was a learning experience! I wondered what she would think of my attempt at writing Russian, and she told me I did a great job. Whew!

Elaine remembers so much from our summer together that we wouldn't think she would remember, like our vacation in Colorado and the server we had at an Italian restaurant who she thought was "the best," or Papa telling her that we look to God to care for us, not the government. Another thing is her English! She is still doing so well speaking in English, though she says she doesn't remember some things (which is to be expected!). But as we talk, we can tell that she remembers more and more.

Back at the end of October, Elaine was spending the weekend with some of her friends at Babushka Lela's house, and we got to talk to her there. Garth snapped the photo below of me talking to her.

Thank you so much for your prayers for us and for Elaine as we work to adopt her. We are praying earnestly about adopting one or two other children at the same time, for which we would definitely like prayer! (The cost for adopting more children is not double or triple, like it would be if we adopted one child per trip to Ukraine.) We have empty bedrooms and room in our hearts for these children, and we want so much to give them a loving home with someone to tuck them into bed each night, hug them for no reason whatsoever, and love them unconditionally.

Won't you join us as we seek to love orphans?

Moving Right Along

2008-12-14T16:40:00.026-07:00

Please allow me to introduce you to the home study paperwork--ta-da! This, dear readers, is a photo of the documents needed to begin the home study (it does not include any documents needed for the dossier*). It took us a long time to finish everything, but we sent it off the other week and it's in the agency's hands. Hooray!

Garth and I had our 9th wedding anniversary last week. It's hard to believe it has been 9 years--and it has been wonderful being married to our best friend. That special day, we had our first home study meeting with our social worker. What a way to celebrate--getting things accomplished to bring our children home! We drove up the snowy interstate to our home study agency, spent two hours with our social worker, had dinner at a nice restaurant (where Garth gets half off because he works for the parent company) that was beautifully decorated for Christmas, and made it home in one piece.

This week our social worker came to our home to talk with us further and to see where our children would be living once they're home. She has been so very nice and helpful. We now need to talk on the phone further so she can finish gathering what she needs to write our home study. Because she will be taking vacation around Christmas, we are praying (please pray with us!) that she will be able to write it before she leaves.

We are also finishing up our medical checkups for the home study this coming week...and they will also be the very first items for our dossier.* Once the home study is complete, we can submit it and our I-600A form to USCIS (Immigration). USCIS then will send us a document called the I-171H, which is basically permission to bring an adopted child into the U.S.; this can take 6 weeks or so to receive. We are praying we can receive it sooner than that. Ukraine has a quota each year that limits the number of dossiers they will accept, usually about 1,450 or so. We are praying earnestly that we can be part of that quota for 2009! Please pray with us!

It is hard for us to know that Elaine is there in the internat (an orphanage for older children that also has a school on the premises), just waiting for us, trying to be patient as she waits. It is hard for us to not be there to hug her and tell her we love her. She was sick recently, and we couldn't be there to comfort her and care for her. As she waits, we wait on all the items we need to complete and gather here, and then, once they are all in Ukraine, we will be waiting to be issued a date to travel. But we are bound and determined to complete everything that needs to be done to bring her home!

I mentioned in the previous post that two families are in Ukraine right now adopting children from Elaine's group. Sergey's family has been there a little bit longer than Karina's family. It is so good to get a glimpse into the lives of the children in the internat. We are thankful to Karina's family for taking a small package to Elaine for us and for taking photos of her and giving her our love. Be sure to visit their blogs, and especially, read about Babushka (Grandma) Lela on Karina's family's blog; she loves the children so much and is such an answer to our prayers for the children.

In the internat playroom
(Elaine is wearing the salmon-colored sweater)

When we first looked at the cost of adopting children, it seemed to be a completely daunting prospect, and we wondered how we could possibly afford to adopt. Many families find themselves in the same boat: able to provide for children but wondering how to actually afford the adoption. But God kept prompting us and moving us forward. When we hosted Elaine in our home this summer, we knew there was no turning back--in fact, we had decided before we hosted her that we would adopt her. Every step of the process, God has provided the funds we have needed.

Last week, we received a generous donation from a family at church--thank you! This week, one of my co-workers, along with his friends and family, blessed us tremendously with an online donation. I was speechless. Thank you so much! And Dyedushka has been busy raising funds; we are thankful that God blessed our in-laws' garage sale this weekend. With all these blessings, we believe we have enough to complete the home study, submit the I-600A, and gather many of the papers for the dossier. We still need so much more money for the actual travel and time in Ukraine, and if we look at the complete cost of adopting one, two, or three, we could be quaking in our boots, but we are trusting the Lord to provide, and we are certain that He will. Слава Богу (slava Bogu--thank God or glory to God)!

So that's us, moving right along. Thank you so much for your prayers as we travel this road to the children God wants to place into our family.

*A dossier is the packet of paperwork a country requires from adoptive parents, such as medical checkups, home study, USCIS/Immigration approval, marriage certificate, petition to adopt, employment verification, house deed, and so on. Each item must be notarized, and then the entire packet needs to be apostilled (a form of certification).

Follow Us...and Encourage Us, Too

2008-12-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

If you don't enjoy visiting blogs time and again, only to find out there are no updates, there's a solution. Did you know that you can "follow" this blog or any other if you have a Google account? It's free! (Boy, do I sound like an advertiser, or what?) Once you have a Google account, when you sign in to Blogger.com, you will see what is called your dashboard. There is a section on the page called Reading List where you can add the site addresses (URLs) of the blogs you want to follow. You can even follow a blog anonymously, if you prefer. Each time a blog you follow is updated, you will see a snippet of the new post in your Reading List when you sign into Blogger.com.

Whether you follow our blog or not, how can you encourage us? By commenting on our posts! Please feel free to comment on any of our blog posts. At the end of each post, there is a white band. In the white band is a green speech balloon symbol next to a hyperlink containing a number and the word comments. Click on the hyperlink, and a new window will open for you to type your comments. You don't have to have a Google account or a blog; you can post anonymously--but please leave your name so we know who you are! Once we have read your comments, we will publish them on the blog.

Thank you for your encouragement. We know there are so many of you out there who are following along and are praying for us--thank you! We really do appreciate you all.

More Blessings

2008-11-30T13:47:00.016-07:00

Elaine has a hard-working grandpa (Russian: дедушка [dyedushka]). Garth's dad has been busy raising money to help us adopt his "little girl," and we are so thankful! He has held a raffle, told people about our need, and has plans for a garage sale. He is just one person and can't do everything, but God has blessed his endeavors!

In the next few weeks, two of Elaine's friends from her group/grade will be adopted: Sergey and Karina. (See their families' blogs on the right under Ukraine Adoption Blogs.) They will not leave the internat right away; their families will likely visit daily until the 10-day waiting period after court concludes and they can take their children from the internat for good. We are so excited for these two great kids to be blessed with a family. I'm not sure how long Sergey has been in the internat, but Karina had been there since first grade; they are in sixth grade now with Elaine.

Please pray for Elaine to not lose heart as her friends are adopted and to be patient as she waits for us to come for her. We know this could be a difficult time for her, yet she knows we love her and are working to adopt her.

Please also pray for us as we tackle the last of the home study paperwork, continue taking our classes, and choose a facilitator to help us in Ukraine. Then we'll need your prayers as we are in the midst of the home study, waiting for the form to come back from Immigration, and compiling our dossier. Oh, yes, and the funds. Because God has called us to step out in faith, we know that He will provide what we need to adopt Elaine and any others He leads us to. What a great God we serve!

Our dear friends the Rogés are in Ukraine right now adopting three darling siblings. They have had court and are in their 10-day waiting period. We are excited to meet their children when they return. The orphanage director is a wonderful kind woman who has a heart for her children to have families. Two sisters approached her and asked her to find them a family. Please go to the Rogés' blog and pray for these precious young girls to have a family. Maybe yours could be the family they are waiting for!

Classes and Papers and Skype, Oh My

2008-11-22T11:04:00.006-07:00

We have been busy here getting things going with our adoption. Our paperwork for the home study is nearly complete; we just need a few blanks filled in and Garth needs to complete his autobiography. I never thought I would be writing an autobiography, and certainly not in order to be approved to adopt children. This whole process has been very interesting.

Adoption requires many hours of adoption education, so we have attended two classes and have a few more to go. The classes have been very informative, and we feel that we are learning so much. The most recent class we took consisted of a panel of adoptive parents sharing their experiences. It was wonderful to hear the joys and struggles they have faced. We really enjoyed getting to know one of the families afterward; we felt quite a connection with them! We think it will be so helpful throughout our journey to be able to talk face-to-face with other adoptive parents. We have learned so much from those we have met through the blog world, but there's something missing when you can't chat in person. Maybe we should use Skype with some of our blog friends...

Which leads me to our Skype adventure. Our sweet girl had a break from school, and she and some of the other kids from her internat were staying with a sweet missionary lady for the week. We were able to talk to Elaine on the computer and see her at the same time, and she could also see us! This is very new to us, but what a blessing to be able to see and hear our sweetie and to swap kisses on camera. Skype is free when calling between computers; a camera-microphone setup makes for such a fun time.

Who Are the Orphans of Ukraine?

2008-10-26T11:29:00.019-06:00

As Garth and I seek to love orphans, we need to know who they are, particularly the orphans of Ukraine. It is hard to imagine ourselves as children growing up without the love and guidance of our families. Who are these children?

In a country where the average standard of living has decreased by 80% over the last 18 years, poverty and sickness are brought on by the inability to provide adequate nutrition and healthcare. Least able to fend for themselves are the children who are have been abandoned and orphaned.

There are over 100,000 children in Ukraine's orphanages.

There are more than 450 orphanages in Ukraine.

90% are orphaned due to their parents' alcoholism, imprisonment, or abandonment.

10% are orphans because of the death of their parents.

After "aging out" of the orphanage system at age 16,* 10% of orphans commit suicide before the age of 18.

60% of the girls end up in prostitution.

70% of the boys end up in crime.

Only 27% are able to find work.

The older a child gets, his or her chances for adoption drastically decrease.

(Statistics from Ukraine Orphan Outreach)

*When children age out of the orphanage at the age of 16, most are completely on their own, with no family or support of any kind and lacking the education necessary to provide for themselves.

We have been so touched by Orphans of Ukraine, a video Leslie Landrum made of the time she spent in Ukraine. Please watch it to see the precious faces of the chidren.

Bountiful Blessings

2008-10-18T17:32:00.006-06:00

This week there were bountiful blessings in the mail. We thank God that He has provided the funds we need to start the adoption process through wonderful people who care about Elaine! Together with what we've been able to save so far, these generous gifts will cover our home study, required adoption course work, and a portion of the fees for the I-600A plus fingerprinting through USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services). Thank you so much for caring for Elaine in this way--by helping her have a family!

We still have a long way to go in the money department, but we know God will provide, and not always in the ways we think.*

Garth and I do feel a sense of urgency as we go through this process because we don't want Elaine to have to remain in the internat (orphanage) any longer than absolutely necessary. We would like to have our dossier (paperwork) completed and in Ukraine by January. The steps that take the longest here in the States are the home study and the I-600A; we've been told they can't be done concurrently.

Please pray for us, for funding, for timing of our dossier, for the SDA (government body in Ukraine that oversees adoptions) to accept more dossiers this coming year and to accept ours. How we long for an appointment date in the spring, to bring our little girl home!

*If you feel led to give, please e-mail me at hoffhouse at hotmail dot com. Please realize that no amount is "too small" for God to use to give an orphan a family!

Better Than a Letter

2008-10-17T21:28:00.008-06:00

What could be better than a letter from our sweet girl? Why, talking to her on the telephone! What a treat--and it was on Garth's birthday, too. Right off the bat, Elaine said, "Happy birthday, Papi!"

At first, she had trouble remembering a lot of her English (after being back in Ukraine about six and a half weeks, it was no wonder), and it was loud in the playroom at the internat, so she couldn't hear us very well. But then as we continued talking with each other, she moved to a quieter area and was remembering more English. Our missionary friend was also on hand to supply the English words she was missing, but she didn't ask her for very many. One thing she had no trouble remembering how to say was, "Mami and Papi, I miss you so much!" We assured her that we missed her too!

Elaine shared that she is doing well in her new school and has made some good friends, which we had been praying about. She said she remembers that the English words for meals are breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but that her English teacher switches lunch and dinner. We know that must be tough to hear! I remembered that many people used to say breakfast, dinner, and supper here in the earlier days of America, but I wonder where the swapping of lunch and dinner comes from. She also said her English teacher has a heavy Russian accent, so sometimes it's very hard to understand her!

Thank you for praying for this dear girl. She sounds happy overall, but at one point she got very quiet--she was crying because she misses us. Would that we could have hopped the next plane to go comfort her! I don't know whether this happens all the time, but she said they have no hot water right now, and it is getting colder as winter approaches. She also said she has a cold. It's hard for us as her "parents" to hear about things like that and not be able to do a thing about them, to not be there for her, with her. Lord willing, someday we'll have her as our daughter officially and will be there for her whenever she needs us (and even when she thinks she doesn't).

First Gift for Adopting Elaine

2008-10-05T20:54:00.004-06:00

WOW! We received a generous monetary gift in the mail this weekend to help us bring Elaine home, our first gift toward this adoption. Thank you so much to our friends from the Pacific Northwest who we know through the world of artist-made teddy bears. You are making a difference in the life of a sweet girl who needs a family. May God richly bless you!

Sweet Words from a Land Far Away

2008-10-05T20:09:00.006-06:00

Houston, we have contact!

We have received two letters from our girl. It is wonderful to receive sweet words from a land far away. Elaine says that she is doing well but she misses us. She also misses her cousins and her friends at church and says to say hello to them all from her, and also hello to our parents--so hello, everyone, from Elaine! She is going to a new school, which is a more difficult course of study, and is doing well in most subjects. She has more homework from this school, but she is determined to study hard so she can see us again and forever. (That just brings a lump to my throat!) Oh, and she says that her English teacher doesn't speak as well as we do in America. We had to laugh at that one!

Please pray for our sweet girl to work hard and to be patient during this time of waiting. And thank you for praying for us as we are starting the adoption process. We want to start our home study, the first step, but we don't quite have enough money to do it...yet. We know God will provide so this little one (and possibly others) can have a home with a mama and papa!

Missing Our Girl

2008-09-13T21:10:00.003-06:00

It has been a little more than two weeks since we said "da svidanya" to Elaine at the airport.

Though we're busy getting started on the adoption (it's a lot of work!), we are also missing her. We haven't had contact with her since that day, and though we know she arrived at her internat (the word for an orphanage where older children live), we don't know how she is. How is she doing in school? Has she made any new friends? Do her teeth still hurt? Did her luggage arrive with her?

Garth, especially, is concerned about her, just like a papa would be. I know she's in God's hands, but I miss her and would like to talk to her. I look forward to this coming week; maybe we'll connect soon.

Enjoy the picture of Garth ("Papi") with his girl. Elaine made him the dragonfly out of beads; she is very talented!

Our Further Adventures

2008-09-13T18:40:00.005-06:00

Since we are embarking on adventures beyond simply hoping to build our family (see our header above), and since we experienced such a wonderful summer hosting our Ukrainian girl, I thought it was high time for a little blog makeover. Nothing fancy, but it sure did take me a few hours! Hope you like it.

Today I received the certified copy of my birth certificate in the mail. That was pretty quick! Garth went to the post office and mailed the request for me on the third, and today is the thirteenth. When it comes time to order our marriage certificate from the same county and state, I hope it will come as quickly. I'll be sure to allow an extra week just in case.

I also received two I-600A forms (Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition) and instructions from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in the mail today. It was a nice packet with a lot of information tucked inside. I requested the forms be sent to me in the mail because the PDF versions on the USCIS Web site have expiration dates of August 31, 2008. I clearly stated that I would like the new, unexpired versions mailed to me...but the forms I received have the same expiration date. A peek at the USCIS Web site reveals that the expired forms are still in place. Hmm. I hope that little problem is not tripping up families who are trying to submit their applications right now. When we are closer to needing to submit the application, I hope to find an updated form on the site. I am glad that the form that goes into our dossier is actually the I-171H, which we receive back from USCIS upon approval of our I-600A. The people in Ukraine won't be seeing the I-600A form and its expiration date (they are sticklers for dates!).

Paperwork Progress

2008-09-02T21:52:00.003-06:00

(It occurred to me that some of our readers may want to do an international adoption some day, so I wanted to be sure to share the steps we're going through and the costs when I know them.)

Even though Garth and I have certified copies of our birth certificates, mine is from 1968 (no snickers!) and its seal is embossed/raised with no ink showing. Because of this, photocopies of it won't show the seal. Both the home study agency and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will need photocopies of the certificate, hence, I am ordering a new one from the county clerk-recorder for $17. The request needed to have a notarized statement that I am authorized to request my own birth certificate, so we went to our bank and had it notarized for free. That was a nice surprise for the day.

So tomorrow, the birth certificate request is off in the mail. Hooray!

I have gathered all the information for our passport applications, but we have decided to reassess which step to take next. Because the I-600A from USCIS takes the longest to come back, we will likely submit for it next. It costs $670, and each person 18 years of age or older living in the household needs to be fingerprinted to the tune of $80 each.

I'm in the process of calling agencies in our area to find out their fees for our home study and other included services. I've called one agency so far, and I was shocked when they quoted $4,100. Now, this includes the home study, postplacement visits and reports, state court/validation, and 24 hours of state-required adoption classwork.

Seriously, I need to get on my knees tonight and every night--I think I need to include every morning, too--because we want so much to bring Elaine home, but we don't have such a large chunk of money waiting to be used for these expenses. I know God will provide what we need in His perfect timing, but I think He'll also need to provide me, Garth, and Elaine with a large dose of patience! Thank you for praying for us all!

Feelin' Fine and Forging Ahead

2008-08-30T20:46:00.012-06:00

Many people have asked how we're doing now that Elaine has returned to Ukraine. When we were saying good-bye at the airport, there were many tears and hugs. We watched the bright pink carry-on bag go through security and get smaller and smaller and finally disappear. Two of the other host families from our state (the Rogés and the Christoffersons) joined us for lunch afterward. It was helpful to be able to recount our summer experiences and comfort each other during such an emotional day.

While we miss Elaine very much, we are also doing fine and have to admit that we're glad for some time to recharge, regroup, reorganize, and really jump into the adoption process. It's hard for Papa to not be able to watch over his little girl and to not know how she's doing, but we know that God will take care of her while we're apart.

As for forging ahead...

...we know that this adoption may turn out to be quite the roller coaster ride!* There can be many twists and turns in a Ukrainian adoption. (Visit some of the blog links at right to see more stories.)

So now I feel like I can say that we have officially embarked on the adoption roller coaster. I thought I would share about my adoption preparations this week. On Thursday, I talked (some more!) to our dear friend Heidi about compiling a dossier, and I've been researching more earnestly what exactly needs to be done. Yesterday Garth found our birth certificates (needed to acquire a passport and for the agency who will conduct our home study) and our marriage certificate (also for the home study agency). He also picked up the official forms for our passports from the post office. We hope to go back to the post office bright and early Tuesday morning to apply. And today we took the big step of buying the requisite adoption file box and accompanying hanging and flat folders. We bought it in blue, Elaine's favorite color.

Mama and Papa are getting started, Elaine!

*The photo is of me and Elaine riding the California Screamin' roller coaster at California Adventure next to Disneyland. It really is a scream!

A New Adventure

2008-08-27T23:44:00.011-06:00

Tomorrow our summer adventure comes to an end and a new one begins.

It will be so hard for Garth and me to say good-bye to our daughter at the airport. Though we lack an official court decree, God has knit our hearts together this summer and made us a family.

We heard "No go!" a lot yesterday and today, and we so wish Elaine didn't have to leave. But we know that our new adventure of becoming a "forever family" is just beginning, and for that we are excited.

Please pray for us all tomorrow and beyond. There will be a big void here in our home, and there's a little girl who will be without her family...but we pray that we will be able to bring her home for good very soon. God's timing is perfect, and we are trusting that He knows what's best for us all.

Please also pray for His provision for our dossier and all the other steps in the process. We have a lot to accomplish and many decisions to make in what seems like such a short time.

(I hope to update this poor neglected blog in the coming weeks. There's so much to share with you, and while we were living it all, I didn't have much time at the computer!)

Я люблю тебя!

2008-07-24T12:58:00.024-06:00

My title above says, "I love you!" Though I've written it in Russian, we most often hear it in English. Elaine tells us often that she loves us, and she hugs and kisses us, too. It is amazing to have a child in our home after eight and a half years of marriage, and we are enjoying it tremendously. Elaine's affection is very welcome, and we are learning to freely give affection to her, even if at times she doesn't seem to need it or want it. I don't think we can truly make up for the time she has spent in the orphanage system instead of a family, but we will sure try!

Last night we finished watching The Sound of Music together. We watched it over three nights so it wasn't too overwhelming for all of us--it's pretty long! Elaine loved it and was amazed to find out that the movie was based on a true story. We all enjoyed watching it together. Sometimes I think the most special times are when we are sitting with each other, holding hands, enjoying a movie or a game, reading a book. It has been a joy to occasionally hear "Mama" or "Papa," too. We pray we will be a "forever family" very soon!

There has been more laughter and teasing and joking in this house. A joker in Russian is шут (shoot). Elaine is a big shoot, and we've discovered that Garth is definitely one right along with her. When we took a short vacation in the Rocky Mountains recently, we heard peals of laughter in the car accompanied by "I am kidding!" in a cute Russian accent.

Yesterday we spent most of the day with my cousin Lori and her family. We went swimming at their neighborhood pool. Elaine and Lori's daughter Anna had such fun together. Elaine often asks us when we can see Anna again; she just loves her. In the afternoon, Garth and I took Elaine and Anna to the park downtown to pick up our milk at the farmers market, and the girls took the opportunity to run through the fountain (see the picture in the post below) in their clothes (with swim suits underneath). It was a little drizzly out, so there weren't any other people in the fountain, and the girls got drenched. Garth was wishing that he had his camera! We think it's great that Elaine can have a special cousin like Anna. As they were running through the fountain spray, they reminded me of Lori and me as young girls. We grew up together and were more like sisters than cousins. We enjoyed doing everything together! That evening my sister Jen and her husband Joe also came to Lori and Dave's for dinner. We had fun watching Elaine and Anna and Wes running around chasing each other and playing hide and seek. Ah, it's great to be a kid!

Elaine and I took a walk around the neighborhood one day last week. She surprised me by telling me that she only wanted to marry a man who loves Jesus. I agreed that that was a fantastic idea. She said she wouldn't want a man who didn't love Jesus, and that Garth wouldn't be a happy papa if she brought home such a man, anyway!

My Russian is slowly coming along. Elaine's English, however, is being acquired much more quickly. She loves to learn and is one smart cookie. I would like to dedicate some time each day to English learning, but it seems next to impossible with our crazy days. What has been working thus far is just talking as we go about our day. She's getting really good at expressing herself in English, with less and less drawing in the air during the conversation. I like it when she drills me in Russian; in addition to my learning more Russian words, she needs to think of the English in order to ask me the Russian equivalent!

I'll try to write more updates soon to give you a better picture of our lives this summer. We love being a family, even if each member is a little bit crazy and a shoot.

How You Can Help Us in Our Adoption Journey

2008-07-18T12:22:00.019-06:00

I have had a few people ask me how they can help us in our adoption process, so I sat down and thought about it for a while.

We would like to ask foremost for prayer! Taking us and Elaine to the Lord in prayer will be so important during this journey, and we would be so touched if you would do so on our behalf.

Next, if anyone wishes to contribute financially as we go through the process, that would be a HUGE blessing. Every little bit will help. We will need differing amounts at each step, with the largest part needed when we travel to Ukraine. At this point, I estimate we will need approximately $30,000 total. That is a huge, daunting sum of money to us, but we believe God is leading us to adopt Elaine (and possibly other children at the same time), and we are so excited to see how God will provide!

As we get started with raising the money, we would like to do some fund-raisers, and we would be thrilled if others of you did some sort of fund-raiser in their area. We have some ideas, but we haven't started anything just yet. We are thinking of making some things to sell, hosting a dinner for donation, etc. I'm sure you will have other ideas!

And then, you can also help by spreading the word to your friends and family so they can also pray and help out financially if they're able. Feel free to send out our blog address: http://hoffmannclan.blogspot.com/. We think it's important for people to hear about adoption, not only to help us, but also to help others and to possibly be led to adopt themselves. The Lord has burdened our hearts for the orphans of the world, and we want to spread the word!

The Adoption Process

2008-07-18T12:09:00.006-06:00

We are very excited about how God is leading us to adopt Elaine. Many of you are familiar with the Ukrainian adoption process, but many of you many not be, so here it is in a nutshell:

1. Dossier paperwork--gathering things like birth certificates, marriage certificate, etc., and getting them notarized and apostilled
2. Home study--a social worker interviews us and looks into our ability to parent and provide for a child or children. There is paperwork gathering here, too, and looking into assets, etc.
3. Immigration--filing fingerprints and money and such with the USCIS (former INS)
4. Sending completed dossier to facilitator in Ukraine for translation
5. Submission of translated dossier to the SDA (the government body in Kyiv that does international adoptions)
6. Getting passports
7. SDA accepts dossier and issues a travel date
8. We travel to Kyiv to meet with the SDA and get the referral of Elaine (and any other children God may lead us to adopt at the same time).
9. The inspector of Elaine's region and her orphanage director give approval for us to visit her.
10. We travel to Elaine's city.
11. We get a court date with a judge to be pronounced Elaine's parents.
12. There is a 10-day wait after pronouncement.
13. Passport with Elaine's new name and other paperwork--the paper chase in country
14. Travel back to Kyiv for Embassy clearance and medical checkup
15. Fly home!

The dossier preparation and CIS clearance take a few months, and then submission can take a while depending on whether the SDA is accepting dossiers at that time. Often dossier paperwork expires and needs to be updated while it's in country. And the time spent in country on the adoption trip can be five weeks or so if the parents stay the 10 days after court or return home for the wait.

Have You Heard?

2008-07-09T08:32:00.010-06:00

You're likely aware that Garth and I are praying that God would increase the number of family members in the Hoffmann Clan. He has given us the wonderful opportunity to host Elaine in our home this summer--what a tremendous blessing! Though I have updated our prayer request in the sidebar, I wanted to alert you to our latest news in a blog post:

Garth and I would like to make Elaine a part of our family (семья [semya]) for good!

It is a long process, and it is not an inexpensive one, but what joy to have a daughter at the end of the journey!

A mountain horseback ride in Mount Crested Butte

Please pray for us, that we would follow God's leading and would trust Him for everything, from timing to funding. And also pray for Elaine herself!

Blog for Hosting

2008-07-09T08:27:00.009-06:00

Ahh...summer mowing and life is good!

I just wanted to let you know, if you don't already, that I have a blog that's focused on our summer hosting adventure. I will be posting most of my photos there and am hoping to keep it a little more private. I won't be sharing many photos of Elaine here since this blog is much more public.

If you would like to visit our summer hosting blog, please e-mail me (Debbie) at hoffhouse at hotmail dot com.

How Life Can Change in the Blink of an Eye

2008-07-03T09:23:00.013-06:00

It's hard to know how to tell you what has been happening these past two weeks, but it struck me that life can change so quickly. One moment it was just me and Garth, and the next there was a little girl in our house and our hearts. We knew her before she arrived, and yet, it is so different to know her face-to-face and for us to have one more person--a bouncy, smiley person--in our home.

There are hugs and kisses, giggles and guffaws, tickles and teasings, I likes and I love yous. We hear some Russian words and speak some ourselves, but largely, Elaine uses the English she knows and is learning in conjunction with gestures and learning to type on the online translator. When we tried speaking to a Russian speaker on the telephone, she said two or three words because she didn't know the lady who was trying to help. But that's OK. We've heard lots of Russian when she talks with her friends on the phone; there are about eight friends of hers being hosted in the States this summer. It's fun for us to hear peals of laughter and fast (bistra) Russian!

Do you know a kid who likes vegetables and fruits? A lot? I do! OK, yes, she likes sugar, too, but we are so pleased that she likes veggies and good, wholesome food. We're trying to fortify her nutritionally, and she is complying nicely. Fresh milk, eggs and bread (as French toast), veggie salads (we have written down one of her creations to share with you!), and even pickles and sauerkraut are favorites. Oh, and I should mention that this gal loves a big (balshoi), fat hamburger--a girl after Garth's own heart!

We have enjoyed spending time here at home as well as outdoors and across town. Here are some of our adventures: exploring a local canyon and waterfall, seeing Kung Fu Panda in the movie theater (kino-teater), going to our fantastic local zoo (wow!), running through the water spray in the fountain at one of our downtown parks...and Elaine has cooked with Debbie; cut the grass with Garth; watered the bushes, tree, and grass out front with the hose, getting soaked in the process; played Trouble and Chicken Foot... We continue to read the bible before bedtime, with Elaine reading aloud to us from her Russian bible (biblia) and Garth reading aloud from his English bible. It has been a lot of fun having her here, with some very sweet, special times, too.

We love this little girl!

Thank You!

2008-07-03T08:59:00.002-06:00

Thank you so much for all your comments and your prayers for us! It means so much to Garth and me that you are praying and that you can enjoy this journey along with us. New blog posts will be forthcoming--with pictures. I have had very little time for updates, but I know you're all waiting, so your patience will soon be rewarded.

Arrival Day Photos

2008-06-28T10:13:00.005-06:00

Here are a couple of photos of arrival day. Was it really only nine days ago that Elaine emerged from the immigration doors in the airport and into my arms? Enjoy the photos!

Elaine Has Arrived!

2008-06-20T07:10:00.001-06:00

You have all been so patiently waiting, I know, so I thought I had better write to say that Elaine and about 13 other children arrived midday yesterday. Many of the other kids took connecting flights to their destinations, but six of them are staying here in Colorado.

It was such a thrill to see Elaine for the first time through the immigration doors in the airport. I caught sight of her and waved, and she saw me and waved back. When the kids finally emerged, I got a big hug. All the months of waiting were finally behind us, and she was here!

Elaine is as cute as a button and is so sweet. We are enjoying her immensely. I am typing this as she continues to sleep; she is exhausted from all the travel. Garth and I got a treat last night right before she went to sleep: she read us the first three chapters of Matthew from a Russian New Testament she received from the welcome shower.

I hope to add some pictures soon, but we will be off on some adventures today. I don't want to leave you hanging too long!

We thank God that Elaine is here safe and sound. What a huge blessing to have her in our home!

The Last Letter for a While

2008-06-17T19:52:00.002-06:00

A friend of ours and some of her family and friends are in Ukraine right now spending time with the kids in Elaine's group while they are at camp on the Black Sea. We sent a letter with her, and she gave it to Elaine for us today. She said Elaine was so excited and thanked her many times, and then she showed the letter to the kids she had been playing with. That makes me smile.

Elaine and the other kids will likely leave tomorrow for Kiev to be there for their very early flight out on Thursday morning. Please pray for them; there are a lot of kids coming to the States, and they must be so excited!

Two Days to Touchdown!

2008-06-17T08:03:00.008-06:00

What a busy household this has been! We have two days until our sweet visitor arrives...and we are feeling like we're not as ready as we would like to be...but we are SO excited!

The last couple of weeks were ones we thought we would spend getting the house ready for Elaine, making it more homey, doing lots of little things--I'm sure you know what I mean. But God had other plans. Apparently, He wanted us to slow down and only get done what He wanted us to! First Garth got a really nasty cold that he's still getting over. Then our car needed a new radiator. Then we discovered our front grass was dead and wouldn't come back from its winter sleep. There goes making a good first impression on our guest. But you know, we realize it's not about impressing her; it's about welcoming her into our family, wrinkles and all.

We are praising God for how He is providing for Elaine. We are so thankful that He provided the funds we needed to bring her to the States through so many of you--thank you! And people have been so sweet to be involved in so many ways. Last night the ladies of our church threw a "Welcome Elaine" shower. I was so touched and humbled by their love for this sweet girl, their prayers, their questions, their offers of time and willing hands, and their providing the things a young girl needs. I am awed and thankful. I am trying to be sensitive to Elaine's feelings and will be putting away many of the things we received so I can bring them out over the summer and not overwhelm her with so much. I can imagine coming from having very little into a bedroom filled with things...what would she think? (Even I am overwhelmed by some of the stores we have here and how there is so, so much that just goes on and on and on.) So I know we will be using everything we received, just at a nice, leisurely pace. We also received gift cards at the shower for buying clothes, shoes, maybe even food--what a huge blessing.

And today Emily from church came over and helped us with some tasks we needed to get done and were thinking we just won't have time for. What a great help! And Larry from church came over and helped Garth put up a fan light in my office so I don't broil this summer, and they also secured a shutter on the front of the house that was making lots of noise in the wind so Elaine wouldn't be awakened. Thank you!

I'm happy to report that there are six children from Ukraine coming to Colorado this summer on the hosting trip. Most of them are staying with host families up north in the Longmont/Boulder area. There are even two sibling sets: sisters. Our friends the Rogés are hosting two of the sisters, and we're so excited for them. I am eager to meet them all--in two days!

Showers of Blessings

2008-05-24T16:29:00.002-06:00

Again God has blessed us! I just found a $300 check in the mail today from some dear relatives. Thank you so much for sharing in the work God is doing here in the Hoffmann household. We love you!

Less Than Four Weeks! Things Are Coming Together!

2008-05-24T13:26:00.006-06:00

We've been very busy getting ready for Elaine's visit. She arrives in less than four weeks! Please pray for us--we don't feel ready. But we know that God will help things come together in the time we have left.

We received our fingerprint clearances a little while ago--a huge weight off our minds! Our social worker was able to send in her final home study report, so that's all done and dusted. Whew!

I wanted to share some of the blessings God has bestowed on us for Elaine. In the picture above, you'll see clothing, a comforter and sheet set, a pillow, two sets of towels, hangers, three fun and funky drinking glasses, a set of three colorful balls, and a croquet/bacci ball set. Wow! The clothing is from some dear friends of ours from church, and the other items are from a shopping spree someone (who wishes to remain anonymous) took me on recently. Thank you, thank you! Elaine has been blessed by your generosity.

Speaking of generosity, we want to praise God for providing the money we needed for hosting Elaine through the generosity of some dear people, and you all know who you are. Thank you all so much! It's great to see how God has provided. And we're sure that whatever more we need throughout the summer, God will provide. In fact, some of our church family are planning to give Elaine some of the things we still need for her. We are touched. It's exciting to see how things are coming together.

A Splash of Color

2008-05-24T13:14:00.005-06:00

Elaine told me that she likes to draw. She often makes crafts at the orphanage, and it's such fun to see pictures of what she creates. We received a picture of her with one of her colorful creations in January.

A few months later, we received a package in the mail, and in it was Elaine's artwork creation! Ashley and her friends had visited Elaine's orphanage in Ukraine in March and had brought it home and mailed it to us. What a treat! It is made with colorful foam shapes. We have it in a prominent place so we can see its cheerful, bright colors often.

We sent this picture of me with it to Elaine so she would know we had received it. It appears that a few of the littlest pieces have gone missing, but we still enjoy it.

It's a Snowy May Day

2008-05-01T11:06:00.005-06:00

It was in the 70s yesterday, the last day of April. First day of May, and what do I see? Snow! Starting out as tiny flakes, then little balls, then huge clumps of flakes hurling and swirling all around, covering the houses, the lawns, the rocks, and finally, the streets and sidewalks. And now, it has melted from the sidewalks and streets, the roofs are shedding their coverings, and the lawns and flowers are a bit baffled by their blankets. Ah, spring in the shadow of the Colorado Rocky Mountains!

Edited to add: Ha-ha! It's snowing again!

Count Your Blessings, Name Them One by One

2008-04-25T18:42:00.005-06:00

Count your many blessings, see what God has done! (Yes, another song reference. Can you tell I grew up with music in my house?)

I just want to praise God for His blessings...too numerous to count...and yet, today, I would like to count a couple of specific ones that pertain to our summer hosting adventure and share them with you:

This week we received two generous gifts to help bring Elaine to Colorado! We are touched and awed by how He provides. Thank you to those who have participated in Elaine's summer in this way...and thank you to God for, well, everything!

WOW.

The Countdown Has Begun!

2008-04-16T21:03:00.006-06:00

The hosting paperwork and the bulk of the funds have been sent to the hosting organization, and Elaine will be arriving in Colorado in less than 10 weeks! We are trusting God to work out all the details (like for our national clearances to come back in time) and to provide the rest of the funds we need.

We are so excited for Elaine to be here, and yet sometimes our minds can wander to worrying that something will happen to keep her from coming. Please pray for us to trust God and not be anxious. Please also pray that He will prepare us to be host parents, and that He will prepare Elaine for her visit. It will be such fun to have a child in our home this summer!

Sometimes, the Best Things in Life Are Free

2008-04-12T20:20:00.003-06:00

Today we had the pleasure of taking in a concert. The musicians were accomplished, the hall was nearly full, and the little brothers and sisters behaved themselves. Garth and I were visiting a piano store in town, and we were able to sit in on a piano recital. The proud teacher was there, the proud parents and friends and siblings were there, and the students, poised and seemingly not nervous at all, were there. We were told that the performers were all 9 years old and younger--and they were fantastic. The teacher even prayed before the performance started, and we were in awe of the caliber of musicianship we witnessed.

And the recital was free.

Tonight we had the pleasure of taking in some good food at one of our favorite restaurants. We got to sit in a side room where there was a crackling fire in the fireplace and a view of Pikes Peak out the window. There were many prom-goers. Gosh, we must be getting old, because they looked so young! We got to chat with the manager, who we had talked with many times at the restaurant's northern location in town (which closed down last year, to everyone's chagrin!). It was good to talk with him again. In the main room, we heard the manager getting everyone's attention, and then they did a drawing for four tables.

And our dinner was free.

We were one of the table numbers drawn, and they paid for our dinner. We decided to have dessert, after all.

Sometimes, the best things in life are free. We thank God for the little things He blesses us with, as well as the big things.

Make New Friends, but Keep the Old...

2008-04-08T21:54:00.021-06:00

Remember that old song? It's such fun to make new friends, and it's great to have friendships that stand the test of time.

This past weekend, Garth and I met some friends from the blog world in real life. These blogging friends are not just people who sit at their computers in the dark composing interesting tidbits for those of us who are hopelessly addicted to checking and rechecking blogs to see if there are any updates. Not that any of us would do such a thing. Uh-uh.

On Friday night, we met Debbie and her son T. (check out the pictures!). They were in town visiting her high school friends, and we were blessed to meet them all. What fun we had! I'm afraid we kept them up a little late...sorry, guys! T. is such a smart boy; he took control of a remote-controlled robot and had him dancing and gyrating in no time. Hearing him talking with people, we would never have guessed he had been home from Ukraine for only six months. And now, Debbie and her husband Jerry are getting their dossier together to adopt a teenage girl they met while in Ukraine adopting T. You can visit her blog (Slava Bogu!) and pray for them!

Then on Saturday night, we had the pleasure of meeting Felix and Heidi Rogé, who live a couple of hours north of us in Longmont. We praise God for how He brings His children together as instant family! Though this was our first time meeting in person, we felt as if we had known each other for years and were just picking up where we had left off. They are a wonderful couple! We stayed at the restaurant for probably three hours, talking, laughing, and praying together, keeping the Rogés out later than they should have been--they still needed to drive home!

Garth, Debbie, Heidi, and Felix

Felix and Heidi are in the process of adopting from Ukraine; their dossier is in country. They also hosted two sweet girls from Ukraine in December who are 11 and 12, and they hope to make them their daughters officially one day (they are already their daughters, just without the paperwork that says so!).

Heidi and Felix

And what about the old friends mentioned in the song? We chatted this weekend with my high school youth leader from church. He was also my third grade Sunday School teacher, so we go way back. His wife and I met when we were babies, so you see, there are my "old" friends to go in this blog post. God has truly blessed us with sweet friendships.

The Lord Gave, and the Lord Has Taken Away...

2008-04-05T16:37:00.015-06:00

...blessed be the name of the Lord! (Job 1:21b)

There's a new little one in Heaven with the Lord named Noah. Garth and I named him Noah because it means comfort. God has given us such comfort, and we rejoice in His gift to us, even though we will have to wait to get to Heaven to meet this sweet gift.

Before we had any idea we were pregnant, we received a basket tied with a baby-blue ribbon, and I removed the ribbon and tied it to our staircase banister. When I took a pregnancy test and it was positive, Garth and I looked at each other and said, "It's a boy." The ribbon was a reminder of God's gift to us.

We had the positive test on March 12, and three weeks ago, on the evening of March 15, we went to the emergency room. I was four and a half weeks along. The doctors determined that I had an ectopic (tubal) pregnancy, so the baby was developing in my fallopian tube and couldn't survive.

While we grieved for the child we wouldn't meet in this life, we are so thankful and are praising God for His care for us in so many ways:

We told two of our friends about the pregnancy the day before, and they were praying for us while we were in the hospital. We know God heard and answered their prayers!

God's timing was perfect to find out that my pain was due to an ectopic pregnancy. My doctor was there at the hospital that night because she was on call, and she gave us the good news that I didn't have to have surgery. My recovery has been relatively smooth.

A couple of years ago, we were told the only way we would likely conceive is with expensive medical assistance, but we decided not to pursue that. But look what God did! The Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes!

We have had dear friends and family cry with us, rejoice with us, and pray with us. A great comfort to us is that Noah is with the Lord!

During this time, our sorrow has turned to joy because we know that God wants us to adopt children whether or not He gives us a baby someday, that His ways are higher than ours, and that He is greatly to be praised.

Rejoice with us and bless His name!

Happy Birthday to a Dear, Sweet Girl--Hope to See You in a Few Months!

2008-03-15T09:46:00.018-06:00

Поздравляем тебя c днем рождения!

(We congratulate you on your birthday!)

Today is my pen pal's birthday; she is now 13 years old. She lives in an orphanage in Ukraine and is such a sweet girl. It's been a pleasure getting to know her. Garth and I have been praying for her for about four months now, and God has been so gracious in letting us be in contact with each other. I'll call her Elaine to protect her identity because she is an orphan.

In my last post I mentioned telling of God's greatness, of how His greatness is to be praised in the little things and the big things in our lives. And we praise God that He is definitely moving in our lives!

Here's another tidbit of God's great work for you, something we would ask you to pray with us about: Garth and I have a chance to bring Elaine to stay with us for a few weeks this summer! There is a hosting program that brings orphans to the States as a cultural exchange. We are so excited and are thankful for this opportunity to have her in our home, to show her how it is to live in a family, to love her and teach her about the Lord Jesus Christ. Goodness--we need to learn to speak more Russian!

One of the primary things we need prayer for is that we can complete the paperwork and submit it and the funds by the deadline. The paperwork includes having a mini home study done as well as government clearances. We have less than a month until we have to get some of the main things done, so please pray with us that He will work out all the details.

When Elaine is here, we will be providing a bed for her to sleep in, clothes for her to wear, food for her to eat, and so on. Because we don't have children, we don't have a bed or clothes for her yet, but we know God will provide.

Thank you for praying with us. Our God is greatly to be praised!

Happy Leap Day!

2008-02-29T21:15:00.004-07:00

Yes, it has come 'round once again: Leap Day. An extra day every four years. I was born in a leap year. (I wonder if there's anything special about that.) Hope you all had a great day today! Did you do anything interesting? I went for a walk at lunch; it was in the high 50s today. Ahhh. As we usher in March, I hope to be posting more. It has been too quiet at the Hoffmann Clan blog!

Thank you for continuing to pray for us when you think of us. It may seem like nothing is going on over here, but I know God is at work behind the scenes, leading us and guiding us, teaching us and molding us into what He wants us to be. I hope to be able to tell of His greatness soon, even if I tell you about little things He has done in our lives. But really, His greatness is to be praised all the time!

I have found that as I wait on the Lord for adopting children someday, He has brought many people to my attention who are in the process already or have come home with their children. The blogs I frequent are listed at right. I pray for many of them often. I have become good friends with Ashley (her blog is Our Adoption Journey), and I've been praying that God will make it possible for her and her husband JC to bring Grisha home this year. Check out her blog when you get a chance!

Teetering on the Brink...

2008-02-02T08:58:00.001-07:00

...of joy!

I am bidding 39 good-bye today and welcoming 40 tomorrow. I can hardly believe I am really going to be 40! I don't feel 40...but what does 40 feel like, really? I thank God I am healthy, able bodied, and joyful. He is teaching me so much, and my prayer is that I will listen and obey. What better way to welcome my 40s?

A friend of mine turned 40 a couple of months before me, and she said it was liberating. Maybe it will be for me too. Instead of moping as I wait for children, wallowing in the fact that I didn't have any kids before that "magic" number, I can be joyful, expectant, and eager to see what God will do in our lives. I can pray that He will continue making me into the image of His Son, and into a wife who honors her husband and by that brings God glory because it is what I was created for.

When work is so busy that I can hardly see straight and running the home becomes a little more difficult, I need to thank God for a job and his provision for our family and for a husband who understands.

When things aren't going the way I think they should, I need to thank God that He has given us each other, a warm home (though I'm feeling a little chilly on this snowy day!), food to eat, laughter, His Son, music, often-sunny skies here in Colorado, and on and on. I'm reminded of the old song that says, "Count your blessings; name them one by one. Count your many blessings; see what God has done."

Paul says, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4) That sounds like a command to me, like something we have to choose to do. I pray the Lord will help me rejoice always, to choose joy over sorrow, bitterness, grumbling and complaining. I pray He will help you do the same!

Welcome, joy (and 40)!

Meeting a Baby

2008-01-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of meeting Michelle's baby son yesterday at church. He was even wearing the blue footed outfit I gave him at the baby shower. What an adorable baby! He's three weeks old. A blessing from God. And his mom says he's a good baby, I'm happy to report.

I also enjoyed spending some time in the nursery yesterday with two little boys, 1-1/2 and 2-1/2. They were a joy! I am not really very comfortable with little babies, but I really like them when they reach 12 months or so.

I've been hoping to adopt younger children lately, even though I want to adopt older children too (a sibling group would be my hope), so when I started thinking about babies and getting pregnant recently, I wondered what was up! I am questioning whether it's from my own heart or whether God has placed this desire in me. I'll be 40 in three weeks...but then I look at Sarah, who was 90 when she conceived Isaac. Our God is truly amazing!

We are praying for God's blessing in the form of children. I've been praying about it for many years, since before we started trying to have children three and a half years ago. Regardless of whether we're able to have a baby someday, God has led us to adopt, and that is what we pray about, plan for, and work toward. What a journey! But my biggest prayer is that I would become closer to the Lord during this journey, and that He would increase and I would decrease.

(Oh, and I am still not caught up on my e-mails! Sorry, everyone!)

Thank You for Your Comments!

2007-12-31T21:44:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to write a quick note as we're fast approaching the end of 2007 and the start of 2008 to say Happy New Year to you all and to thank you for your encouraging comments on my blog posts. It means so much to Garth and me that there are people who are praying for us and who can walk with us on our journey.

A note about comments: It's easy to leave a comment on a blog post, and you don't even have to register for a free Blogger account to do so. (But please give yourself a nickname or sign your name if you post anonymously so I know who you are!) Find the white band at the bottom of the post; on the right side of the band is a link for the comments. Also, I wanted to let you know that I often respond to comments in the comments section of individual posts...and I owe responses to some of you right now! I hope to be caught up soon.

May God bless you all in the coming year! The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you... (Numbers 6:24-25)

We Get Questions

2007-12-27T16:53:00.002-07:00

Why do you want to adopt from Ukraine?

This is a question one of our parents asked us recently about our adoption plans. It dawned on me that I haven't shared enough about our plans on our blog, possibly because we haven't officially started the process. So I updated our blog template with a section called God's Plan for the Hoffmann Clan (in the green area on the right), and I decided to write a post about it.

When we started trying to have children three years ago, God had a plan to lead us to adoption. We didn't know it, but He did. He has given us a heart for orphans, for those who have no mama or papa. I started this blog back in November 2005 with the knowledge that He was leading us in this direction, but not knowing where He was leading.

There are many reasons we want to adopt from Ukraine.

Garth's father and grandparents were born in Ukraine. They were German people who were farmers in Ukraine, which was known as the Breadbasket of Europe. We recently found out there are cousins still in Ukraine, and we would love to meet them someday!

I have always been interested in Russia and read books about the lives of the last tsar (Nicholas II) and his family; Ukraine was part of Russia under the tsar. I had always wanted to travel to Russia, but I didn't know quite where. So I was fascinated to learn that Garth's relatives were born in Ukraine! When adoption became clearer for us, I was naturally drawn to Russia and Ukraine. Independent adoption is still allowed in Ukraine and is less expensive than adoption from Russia using an agency. We are praying about the path we'll take, but we're leaning toward independent adoption. And Ukraine was the natural choice!

Through this process, God has given us a heart for orphans and is leading us to go to Ukraine to minister to them. If it is His will, we hope to travel to Ukraine to spend time with the orphans this next year. We'll be praying, and we will look to Him to provide.

God commands us to care for orphans:

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world (James 1:27).

And last but not least, there are children who need homes more than we need to have a biological child. The money that would be needed for fertility treatments that might not even result in a baby can be used to bring a child home who needs a family. We hope to be Mama and Papa to children someday, children who need a home!

God makes a home for the lonely... (Psalm 68:6a)

(Oh, and the image above is the colors of the Ukrainian flag superimposed on the shape of the country of Ukraine.)

40 Days of Prayer...

2007-12-26T18:21:00.002-07:00

...and then I'll be 40. Yep, Garth and I started 40 days of prayer and fasting today, and the 40th day will be my 40th birthday.

I had the idea to do this back in November, and I noticed that we had enough time to do two periods of 40 days. We've finished the first set, and today is the beginning of the second. We hope to do even better this time...

Why are we doing this? We have a desire to draw closer to the Lord during this time, to listen to Him and obey Him, to ask Him to move on our behalf in many areas of our lives, to guide and direct us. And we'd like our lives to be characterized by prayer...which means we have to be more dedicated to praying. We're excited about it! It dawned on me that we can come to God with big things because He is a big God! Sounds elementary, but I often find that I don't ask for big things, but little steps instead. I'm learning, little by little, to ask for big things and trust Him for all things. I'm so glad He's patient with me!

Besides asking for His guidance and direction, we're asking Him to change us into the people He wants us to be, show us clearly what He wants us to do with our lives, and so on. We're praying for Him to lead Garth to the job He wants him to have, and that He'll make him healthy and strong to do the tasks He has for him to do.

It's exciting and extremely humbling to know that God wants to use a simple couple like us, sinners saved by grace, for His glory. He wants to use all His children for His glory. How wonderful!

And what are we fasting from, you might ask? Obviously not from food; I think we would waste away! (We're asking God for Garth's weight to increase during this time, so we think food is necessary.) Here it is: We're not going to eat out for 40 days. It will be difficult, especially since I work full-time, but I know we can do it!

Would you like to join us? You don't have to fast, and you don't have to pray for 40 days, but if it's something you'd like to do, even for a little while, if you'd like to get to know the power of God while you're humbly on your knees, join in!

I Don't Do Showers

2007-11-26T11:06:00.000-07:00

Baby showers, I mean.

It's time I confess my reluctance to attend baby showers...and that I hear God prompting me to start going to them again.

photo from stock.xchng

When Garth and I couldn't conceive, it became difficult for me to attend baby showers. Oh, I was happy for the expectant parents, for the Lord's gift to them, but I was sad for us. Even when I thought I was fine, that we would likely adopt, it was still a blow when I heard of another expectant mother. And then there seemed to be so many people expecting babies, so many showers, seemingly all at once. With our money tight, also, it seemed a good excuse to just stay away and not face the radiant mothers-to-be.

But now, with God's plan for us to adopt older children from Ukraine becoming increasingly clear, and with Him changing our hearts, I'm seeing my emotions changing, too. A dear friend at church who has been praying for us to conceive or adopt is expecting a baby boy in December. There's a shower for her tomorrow night. Money is still tight, but I want to celebrate God's gift to her and her husband and three girls. Michelle, thanks for praying for us--and I'm praying for you!

What If His People Prayed?

2007-11-13T13:10:00.001-07:00

(Sorry for the song quote, but it's what popped into my head for a title!)

1 Thessalonians 5:25 says: Brethren, pray for us. And that's what I'm asking of you: pray for us.

Garth and I have been seeking the Lord in a specific matter pertaining to adoption (among other things!) since Sunday, November 4. We committed to praying for this and the other things for 40 days. We are waiting on the Lord and seeking His will, praying that He will show us whether to move forward in this situation.

Thank you for your prayer support! And here's an answer to the question in the title: The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much (James 5:16b).

Where My Heart Is

2007-10-31T13:35:00.000-06:00

Yes, I know that home is where the heart is, but right now, mine is in Odessa, Ukraine, at orphanage #4. Why, you ask? Well, please take a look at Leslie's blog, called Kristina's Story. Leslie and her husband Robert are in Odessa right now adopting Kristina, 12, from orphanage #4. We are thrilled to be able to pray for them, and we have "met" some of the other children in Kristina's group through their posts and photos. I've also had the pleasure of meeting Ashley; she and her husband are in the process of adopting Grisha from the very same orphange. And, by e-mail, I've also met Michelle, an American who lives in Odessa and volunteers at #4. Through her, we are able to pray for the children by name and know their needs. God has placed these precious children on our hearts!

I have plans to write more soon about what we're thinking our adoption journey might look like, such as why we're not entering into a domestic infant adoption, why we're thinking of Ukraine specifically, and so on. But for now, here's a tidbit: At first, we thought we would like to adopt siblings who are under about 8 years old (we'll have been married eight years in December). But now...I think that our age limit has been moved up a bit. We're still not sure, but seeing and learning about the children in #4, many of whom are 11, 12, 13...our hearts just go out to them and want to bring them all home with us!

Garth and I know that the Lord is leading us to adopt someday, and we're hoping we can start the process sooner rather than later, but we have come to the realization that He also wants us to pray for, support, visit, love, and advocate for orphans. We're not yet sure what form this will take, but we're eager to obey His call.

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. (James 1:27)

A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows,
Is God in His holy habitation.
God makes a home for the lonely;
He leads out the prisoners into prosperity,
Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land. (Psalm 68:5-6)

Thank you for praying for us as we embark on this journey the Lord is leading us on!

The Homegoing of Grandpa Sam

2007-10-28T16:59:00.001-06:00

On Sunday, October 21, we got our first snowfall in Colorado Springs. It was beautiful. It signified the impending end of the warmer season and the coming of the cold winter. It was also the day that God chose to call "Grandpa Sam" home to be with Him.

Grandpa Sam (Conrad) is father to Dave, my cousin Lori's husband, and grandpa to Anna, 10, and Wesley, 7. He moved here to town shortly after Lori and Dave did about 13 years ago, and he was a wonderful grandfather to Anna and Wes. He loved riding the rails with his family and rode many different trains with them here in Colorado. There's so much more to say about Conrad, but the main thing I ask is that you would pray for my cousin's family. Please pray for comfort and peace during this time. And please rejoice with them that they had wonderful times with him and that he is home with the Lord:

For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge. Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord--for we walk by faith, not by sight--we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. (2 Corinthians 5:4-9)

We'll miss you, Grandpa Sam. See you when we vacate our tents!

A Rocky Mountain Autumn

2007-10-28T16:43:00.001-06:00

Thought I would share a photo from Rocky Moutain National Park earlier this month. We took a very quick trip and stayed overnight in Estes Park (just to the east of Rocky Mountain National Park) and drove into the park Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. It was beautiful...some areas were finished turning and the leaves were almost gone, and other areas still had some pretty stands of trees with turning leaves.

The elk were out in full force, which meant the roads were lined with cars and people bundled up against the chill in the air. The eerie calls of the bull elk floated along the breezes and dissipated. It seemed otherworldly, and yet we were there among the wild creatures only about three hours from home.

Below is a closeup of us from the photo of the aspens. Have I mentioned that we love Colorado?

Autumn in Colorado

2007-10-21T16:20:00.001-06:00

The past couple of weeks have seen the start (and near finish) of autumn in Colorado. We've had some good times seeing new places and celebrating Garth's birthday, too.

The fun photo at left was taken at Happy Apple Farm in Penrose, Colorado. When we arrived, it was late in the season, so the apples and berries had all been picked, but there were pumpkins aplenty in the pumpkin patch! Maybe next year we'll go earlier to pick apples and berries. We still came away with some apples from other area farms and a couple of gallons of fresh pressed apple juice, which I'm making into apple cider. Some of it I may save for hot spiced cider. Mmm. And maybe the rest of the apples will make a small batch of applesauce.

While on the farm, we rode behind a truck on a trailer outfitted with straw bales. I think it qualified as a hay ride! The kids who rode with us sure seemed to enjoy it. The "hay ride" let us off by the pumpkin patch, which was nice to roam about in enjoying the scenery and fresh air. Here's a shot of me with a pumpkin-strewn path.

Ah, the country and wide-open spaces. I love that we can jump in the car and drive for a little while to get out of suburbia and into the plains, the hills, the mountains... Colorado is so lovely. We're so glad God has made it possible to live here!

You Know You're Becoming Domestic When...

2007-10-01T14:00:00.000-06:00

...you make your own butter.

Now, I have not suddenly become a prarie wife, and I'm not wearing long skirts, aprons, and bonnets or working with a big wooden butter churn, but yes, I have made my own butter! And because it made me feel like I was becoming a bit more, well, domestic, I figured I should tell you about it.

We got some cream from our cows recently so I could make butter from it. (If you're wondering "Cows? What cows? Don't Debbie and Garth live in the city?" see my Summertime post.)

Because the cream comes straight from healthy, pasture-fed cows, I was able to leave it out on the counter for part of the day to "sour" a bit before making it into butter. This makes it easier to digest, kind of like how yogurt is so healthy. (I don't think leaving it on the counter to sour works with pasteurized cream, because it will eventually rot instead of souring, but there's a way to culture it. See the butter-making link below.)

Then I put the cream into my food processor and let it whirl! When the butter forms, buttermilk is the by-product, so I separate the two and save the buttermilk for other cooking tasks.

Then I need to press out the buttermilk that remains in the butter and also "wash" it with water. This helps the butter keep longer, since the buttermilk would spoil far earlier than the butter. My mom collects antiques, and she has some butter paddles like the ones above that were used for pressing the liquid out of the butter. I'm sure they would work better than the wooden spoon I use! The butter-making process is described very well on this WebExhibits page.

This becoming domestic is kinda fun! I have been learning to cook, too, which I've been enjoying a lot. I was never really interested in cooking from scratch because it was so easy to throw pasta in a pot or open a jar, but here I am, working with roasts and squash and grains and chicken legs... I have even learned to make my own chicken stock, complete with odd things like chicken bones and (gulp!) chicken feet. (If you're interested in making your own stock, I can send you the recipe.)

There are just not enough hours in the day to learn everything, I'm afraid, especially after my full-time proofreading job, but I know that all I learn I can in turn teach to my children some day. Garth said yesterday, as we were discussing the differences between fir trees (which we had in abundance in Seattle) and pine trees (which are prevalent here in Colorado), that he couldn't wait to have kids so he could teach them things and see them learn and grow. So, you see, even the little things, like becoming domestic, are part of the journey to increase the size of the Hoffmann clan!

Roll Call

2007-10-01T13:31:00.000-06:00

I must apologize for not being terribly good about posting new things on our blog. Because not much is happening on the adoption front (yet), I have been posting whatever is happening in our lives; I figure this is all part of the journey, so I may as well chronicle some of it!

I know that there are people out there who read our blog--I’ve heard from a couple of you--but I find myself wondering if anyone else reads it. So I’m issuing a roll call.

(What a find! Apparently, The Mickey Mouse Club television show [1955-1959] had a segment on Fridays called Roll Call, and this is a photo from that segment. For those of you who don't know, Garth and I grew up in Anaheim, home of Disneyland, and we even worked at "the Park" during college [though we didn't know each other at the time!], so we definitely have a Disney connection.)

Here's my roll call: If you read our blog regularly or have just stumbled upon it, please let me know. You can find a comments link at the bottom of each post. Click on it, and then sign up for a Google account so you can leave messages. You can even start your own blog if you don't have one--and if you do, let me know! They're fun! If you don't want to leave a comment, drop me an e-mail. If you don't have my e-mail, click on the comments on the "A-maze-ing Grace" post below; my e-mail address is in my comments.

Thanks, all, and happy Hoffmann clan blog reading!

Whadda Day!

2007-09-25T22:21:00.000-06:00

Thirty-three years ago today, my life changed forever. I was six and a half years old and an only child...until Jennifer entered my world. Yep, it's Jen's 33rd birthday today! I can hardly believe it's been 33 years since she began bugging me, poking me, nudging me, pestering me, getting into my room, breaking my treasured toys, you know--the works. And then she had the nerve to grow taller than me. But I still call her my "little" sister. Hee-hee!

There were good times and so-so times, laughter and tears, camping trips with the Rossers and Moores and Heplers, annual passes to Disneyland, shopping trips at the mall...singing and acting and church and the beach and teddy bears and Lego and Gary and Julianna and Lori and Loren and board games and making movies and car scavenger hunts and croquet and the play house and sparklers and so much more.

Now that we're grown, we again live in the same state, the same city. We're both married to great guys. We're still six and a half years apart. And she's still taller than me. (I think I'm over it.)

So can you see the resemblance? We think we're pretty different, but you know, we're "sissers," and that's what matters. I hope some day she'll be known as "Aunt Jen." I think she'll be the coolest aunt. And I'm truly glad she's my sister.

OK, enough sappy stuff. Happy birthday to you, you live in a zoo, you smell like a monkey, and you better watch out because the Birthday Hug Monkey is at your door waiting to give you a hug and a big sloppy kiss, Jen-Jen!

(Thanks, God, for giving me a sister.)

A-maze-ing Grace

2007-09-19T13:56:00.000-06:00

Photo from FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Isn't life like a maze sometimes?

I have been finding that life is indeed often like a maze. It seems hard to see the direction I'm traveling in, and I have no idea when I'll reach my destination. I've asked for your prayers as Garth and I travel on our journey to add to the Hoffmann clan, knowing that the journey itself is so important, that running the race well is essential.

In our pilgrimage through life, there are many twists and turns, and I would love to have a road map! We've discovered that there are things we have to get in order before we become parents (surprise, surprise!), and so we're working on them and desiring prayer: Garth is starting his own business as a photographer. God has been leading him, and we're so thankful! He'll be focusing (sorry about the pun) on homes and real estate, hopefully working with realtors and home builders. He met some builders a couple of weeks ago at the Parade of Homes. We are praying the Lord directs him and gives him wisdom as he starts this new venture. We're praying that He will provide for our family mainly through Garth's work, that I can be a wife who is able to continue working from home or maybe someday doesn't work so I can help my husband in his work and on the home front, that it will pave the way for us to adopt children!

Our road map

Photo from FreeFoto.com

See, we do have a road map for our path! It's just that I need to remember it and be faithful about looking at it (and digging into it!). I love this promise:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6, New American Standard).

The strait road

Photo of Fastov Pier, Ukraine, from Flickr, katesheets

The Lord has provided us a strait (narrow) way to follow:

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it (Matthew 7:13-14, King James).

I may be updating and expanding this post...I'm running out the door to take a walk with Garth during lunch for some sun! Ta-ta!

The Pause That Refreshes

2007-09-07T18:21:00.001-06:00

Have a Coke and a smile! Can't beat the real thing. Coke is it!

Remember these slogans? Apparently there have been about 46 or so slogans for Coca-Cola over the years since its inception in 1886. Wow!

I remember drinking lots of Coke when I started working in my late teens, especially at Disneyland, where we could have soda for free. I loved the cherry Cokes from Ruby's, where they added the syrup and a couple of maraschino cherries. I remember the "new Coke" and "Coke Classic" wars. And there's been so much more.

But I didn't really know that soda wasn't very good for me. We all hear that junk food and soda aren't so hot, but c'mon, a little every now and then--or how about diet sodas?--can't hurt, right?

Well, I've changed my tune. I won't be imbibing from the red can--or any other can--any longer (aluminum poisoning notwithstanding). Good-bye, old friend!

Here's an article I found today that really hit home:
Soft Drinks: America's Other Drinking Problem

Please read it and the sidebar articles that follow, and make it real. Then you'll see that life tastes good. (OK, I slipped in two more Coke slogans ["make it real" and "life tastes good"]. I couldn't help myself. It's a hard habit to break.)

Whirlwind Trip to Seattle

2007-08-22T21:57:00.000-06:00

And a lovely time was had by all!

Yes, it's true: I flew to Seattle on Friday, August 10, to work a couple of hours in the Seattle office and attend the company picnic the next day. And what a lovely day it was in a gorgeous setting! The picnic was held at a coworker's house on Pine Lake in Sammamish. The view above is from the back yard looking toward the lake. The photo below shows the dock and lake a bit closer.

Yes, I was actually there...see?

Here I am with my wonderful boss Rebecca and my very sweet coworker Aly. And look what Aly is holding... She brought Abercrombie, a bear I made in 2001, to visit me! What a treat it was to see him again! Aly and her mom attended a teddy bear show where I exhibited my New Avenue Crew teddy bears in 2002. Aly fell in love with Abercrombie at the show, and her mom bought him on the sly and gave him to her for Christmas. What fun it was to be a part of the surprise!

I had a fabulous time. It was such fun to visit Seattle and spend time with my coworkers. Many thanks to my bosses for flying me to Seattle!

Adoption?

2007-07-14T14:14:00.000-06:00

Russian matryoshka nesting dolls
Photo from FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Have you been wondering about our adoption plans? To satisfy your curiosity, I'll tell you: We're still wanting to adopt children, but it has to be in God's timing. Please pray that God will lead Garth in his career path and give him wisdom and open the right doors. And the kids? Well, my heart (and Garth's, too) is drawn to orphans, especially those in orphanages. And we are concerned about sibling groups and older children. These are things on our hearts, but we don't know where God will lead us or when, or how He'll provide financially (we know He will!), but I'm praying especially that I won't be so focused on our lack of children and wanting to have them that I am not focused on the Lord and what He wants me to do in the interim. I'm praying for a changed heart in this area and also in the area of my attitude about my role as a working wife. I truly am thankful that God has provided me with a proofreading job that I've been enjoying for more than six years!

Also, I haven't been studying Russian since I wrote about it in a previous post due to a lack of time and adoption direction, but if God leads us to a Russian-speaking country, you can bet I'll be all over that language! (I love learning languages, anyway!)

One of the first places I visited on the Web was Steven Curtis Chapman's site, Shaohannah's Hope. This opened my heart to what God was trying to tell me when we were disappointed that I wasn't getting pregnant. We are still hopeful that God would allow me to conceive and bear a child, but it's not the only way He builds families! And, He's in the business of adoption Himself:

For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" (Romans 8:14-15)

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift (2 Corinthians 9:15)--of His Son and His adoption of us! Romans 5:8 says, But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

I am humbled that He would give us parents to show us a type, just a type, of His relationship with us...and that He would want us to be parents and raise up children who love and serve Him. Kudos to those of you who are doing just that!

Another Fave

2007-07-14T14:05:00.000-06:00

I forgot to add Pei Wei Asian Diner to my list. Love it! (We drove by it today on our way home from the farmers market and I thought, Oh, yeah! I forgot about Pei Wei!)

What's a Meme?

2007-07-13T17:59:00.001-06:00

I've been tagged by Sally with a restaurant meme. I'm not entirely sure I know what a meme is, but I think I have to do the same as Sally did on her blog: make a list of my five favorite local restaurants and then tag others to do the same.

Perhaps now is a good time to note here that Garth and I are no longer eating mostly vegetarian style--we're now fruitarians! Kidding, kidding. I could never do that! But we have changed our eating style to the one that God intended for His human creations: whole foods as close to the way He created them as possible. That means very few prepackaged foods, no preservatives or pesticides, and no hormone- and antibiotic-laced animals. We're doing the best we can and are praying that we make wise choices most of the time; most "whole" foods are more expensive than what's available at the local supermarket, so we can't just go completely organic and free range. It's also tough to cook mostly from scratch, but I'm learning, and I must say that I'm really enjoying learning how to cook such things as pot roast with carrots and potatoes (and I thank God for my slow cooker!). There are many resources that can help us all make wise choices for our health, many of which are on this site: The Weston A. Price Foundation (also in my list of links at right). Find out about cholesterol, fats, and other fascinating things! (Disclaimer: I have not read everything on the site, so I can't say I agree with everything, so read and pray about how you and your family can be as healthy as possible so you're able to do what God calls you to!)

OK, back to the meme. Let's see...five favorite local restaurants. My choices are chain restaurants, but they're in our local area!

1. Romano's Macaroni Grill: a charming place with Italian food that's fresh and deliciozo!
2. On the Border Mexican Grill and Cantina: a fun place with yummy fajitas and build-your-own burritos--gotta love the salsa!
3. Chipotle: fresh, fast Mexican food, free-range meats (try the carnitas!), and great guacamole, put together as you watch and as you like it
4. Mimi's Cafe: an extensive menu with the best burgers in town
5. Ted's Montana Grill: This is a new find; Matt, a good friend of ours, is a waiter here. The food is prepared from scratch and is so tasty. Also featuring buffalo/bison, which we enjoy.

Tagging others...hmm. Well, Dave and Lori are pretty busy, so I doubt they'll have time to play, but I'll tag them, anyway. Tag, you're it!

Trivia Time

2007-07-02T18:44:00.000-06:00

Here's a bit of trivia for you: eight years ago today something really exciting happened that changed my life forever. Can you guess? Give up? Garth proposed to me! Yes, and our engagement day has its own story, too, including a display in an art gallery in Laguna Beach. I can hardly believe it's been eight wonderful years since that day. Happy "anniversary," Honey!

(The photo is of us in Breckenridge last summer.)

Last Thanksgiving: The Engle Cousins

2007-07-02T18:29:00.000-06:00

Here we are, the Engle cousins, lined up from oldest (on the left--that's me!) to youngest (that's my sister, Jen). Our cousins Lori and Loren are in the middle, and Lori's daughter, Anna, is peeking over Jen's shoulder.

I couldn't resist posting this picture (which I copied from Lori and Dave's blog!). I have so few pictures to post, so our blog is rather ho-hum. And my husband is a photographer! Go figure. :-) (Garth's photos are fancy, large digital files, so even if they're on our Mac, I don't know how to make them small enough to post them online. I know there's a way, but that takes time to learn!)

This picture is the latest in the "lineup" photos that we cousins have been subjects of all our lives. We're the grandkids of Al and Ruth Engle (there are six of us total), and our parents took lineup photos of us as we grew. I was the tallest until I was in my teens, if you can believe it! It was probably Loren who inched ahead of me, but I can't remember; Jen and Loren have been competing with each other in the height arena ever since.

This is a rare photo because we are not often all together; we girls and our families live in the same city, but Loren and his family live in Northern California. Maybe someday they'll move here--hint, hint!

Summertime

2007-06-27T12:13:00.000-06:00

Ah, yes, it's summertime. We're so glad Colorado has gotten warmer. Don't get us wrong, we don't need it scorching hot, but it's nice to wear shorts and sandals after what seemed like quite a long cold-weather season this year.

So the big news around the Hoffmann Clan household? We're the proud owners of a cow!

Photo from FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Well, let me explain. We now own two shares in a dairy cow herd, so we're entitled to two gallons of fresh, raw (unprocessed, straight-from-the-cow) milk each week. (Participating in a "cow share" is the only way we can get raw milk in Colorado. Many states have this sort of arrangement because they have laws against selling it. California is one exception; you can find high-quality Organic Pastures milk and dairy products in stores like Whole Foods. See the Real Milk Web site for lots of information on raw milk, its health benefits, and how to find it. Be sure to read the entire What Is Real Milk? page [scroll down].) I was rasied on raw milk in Southern California, so I know the whey it should be. (Sorry for the pun--I couldn't resist!)

This past Sunday we drove down to Boone, Colorado, to meet the cows and see the milking process. We also got to see the pastures where they are free to roam and eat grass--they're pasture fed and not finished off with grain like commercial dairy cows. Pasture fed is much healthier for the cows and for those who consume their healthier milk. On our tour we met a calf and a bull born in April (so cute and friendly!). The ranchers also raise pasture-fed, free-range pork, so we trekked through some fields and were able to find the pigs in their nice, muddy wallow. Them's some lucky pigs to be raised in the pastures!

We are enjoying our milk and have also made kefir from it, which I made into smoothies last night with bananas and peaches--yum! I remember when I was little that my mom would have raw milk and kefir delivered to our house by Alta Dena dairy. The kefir was mixed with berries, I believe, like raspberry or strawberry. So good! (Sadly, Alta Dena no longer sells raw milk products.)

That's the latest from the Hoffmann household. I have more to say, but I must have TIME to write on this poor, neglected blog. Until later...moo!

Snowflakes!

2006-12-05T14:26:00.000-07:00

It's silly, I know, but with the couple of big snows we've had here lately, I thought it would be fun to post the snowflakes I made today. You can make your own at Make-a-Flake.

Blizzard of 2006

2006-10-26T13:21:00.001-06:00

Here's a shot of the snow on our deck railing and the yards and house behind us on this blustery, blizzard day. This was taken when the snow was at 13 and 1/4 inches; two hours later it was at 15 and a half inches high. It's still blowing around out there and is quite white!

The Whole Enchilada

2006-09-25T17:00:00.000-06:00

Yesterday in Sunday school we were encouraged to read the Bible all the way through. I remembered receiving this poem a few years ago, and I thought you might enjoy it too.

When I Read the Bible Through
by Amos R. Wells

I supposed I knew my Bible,
Reading piecemeal, hit and miss,
Now a bit of John or Matthew,
Now a snatch of Genesis,
Certain chapters of Isaiah,
Certain Psalms (the twenty-third);
Twelfth of Romans, First of Proverbs
Yes, I thought I knew the Word.
But I found that thorough reading
Was a different thing to do,
And the way was unfamiliar
When I read the Bible through.

Oh, the massive, mighty volume!
Oh, the treasures manifold!
Oh, the beauty of the wisdom
And the grace it proved to hold!
As the story of the Hebrews
Swept in majesty along,
As it leaped in waves prophetic,
As it burst to sacred song,
As it gleamed with Christly omens,
The Old Testament was new,
Strong with cumulative power,
When I read the Bible through.

Ah! Imperial Jeremiah,
With his keen, coruscant mind;
And the blunt old Nehemiah,
And Ezekiel refined!
Newly came the song idyllic,
And the tragedy of Job;
Deuteronomy, the regal,
To a towering mountain grew,
With its comrade peaks around it
When I read the Bible through.

What a radiant procession
As the pages rise and fall,
James the sturdy, John the tender,
Oh, the myriad-minded Paul!
Vast apocalyptic glories
Wheel and thunder, flash and flame,
While the church triumphant raises
One incomparable name.
Ah, the story of the Saviour
Never glows supremely true
Till you read it whole and swiftly,
Till you read the Bible through.

You who like to play at Bible,
Dip and dabble, here and there,
Just before you kneel, aweary,
And yawn thro' a hurried prayer;
You who treat the Crown of Writings
As you treat no other book,
Just a paragraph disjointed,
Just a crude, impatient look:
Try a worthier procedure,
Try a broad and steady view;
You will kneel in very rapture
When you read the Bible through.

It's Snowing on the Last Day of Summer!

2006-09-22T18:08:00.000-06:00

Yes, right now it is snowing on the last day of summer at our house! It's hard to believe, but it's true! It has been drizzling all day, but now I see little white flakes out my window. They probably won't stick around because everything outside is so wet. Welcome to Colorado!

God's Wonderful Word

2006-08-23T12:50:00.000-06:00

Our God is so wonderful! The more I read His Word, the more I get to know who He is and how very much He loves us. Wow!

I wanted to just share one of the scriptures that means a lot to me as we look forward to being parents some day:

Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it;... Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;… Psalm 127:1a, 3–5a

I notice that it doesn't say that the Lord rewards people with the fruit of their own womb, necessarily. Children themselves--the fruit of the womb--are the reward. :-) There are so many wonderful truths and promises in God's Word. I think--no, I know!--that, as I endeavor to read it every day for the rest of my life, I will still be amazed by the Lord each day!

One-Screen Blog No More

2006-08-22T18:34:00.000-06:00

Silly, I know, but I just noticed that our blog has grown beyond one screen. The first two posts are archived. It's a milestone! Ha-ha!

Another milestone--or step, anyway--is that I have started learning to speak Russian. Da! Really! I checked out the Pimsleur Short Course Russian CDs from the library, and I can now say things like "Excuse me," "I do/don't understand Russian," "Do you understand English?" and so on. It will probably take a long time to master; I hear that Russian is a category 2 language, which means it's really hard. Oh, well--I like a challenge. I am wishing for someone to speak to here in our area who speaks Russian; I should probably pray about that instead of just wishing! It would be good for me to have the interaction with a person. I'd like to take a class, but all I'm able to find look expensive and are at times when I'm working. So I'll be using the library a lot, and we're budgeting for some CDs that are great for adoptive parents; they have phrases that parents use with their children all the time, which is not something a regular language course would teach.

I found a great blog the other day. This couple adopted three siblings from Ukraine in the summer of 2004, a boy and two girls (9, 6, and 4 when adopted). They are my inspiration: from a family of two to a family of five just like that! And their kids are doing really well. Garth and I pray we can do the same, though we're not yet sure about three at once. How special it would be to keep siblings together! I am praying for our children and for the process we'll have to go through to find them and bring them home.

Our two big prayer requests (and there are lots of others, too!):
(1) being good stewards with the money God gives us, which includes
(a) paying off all or most of our debt before we start the adoption process and
(b) saving money toward adoption costs and
(2) that God would allow Ukraine to open to international adoption next year and that He would move Russia along in its new accreditation procedures, all so children can be adopted from orphanages into families.

Well, that's enough for now. I need to go tend to the pasta on the stove!