Boys Will Be Kings, Girls Will Be Queens

Here is another song that makes me think, pray, and yearn for my kids on the other side of the world.  I pray that Jesus will be real to them- and that He will make Asher a King and Annalise a Queen- that they will want to serve Him.  That their adoption into our family will one day help them understand that they need to be adopted by One far more amazing than our simple family.

One Step Closer

Dear Asher and Annalise,

Today we got one major step closer to you.  We were able to start The Home Study!  It was exciting to show our Social Worker where your rooms will be, where your clothes will hang, your playroom, your playground, point out your neighbors houses- all stuff just itching to have you around!

Another step occurred today, your preschool let us know that they are thrilled to let us use their parking lot for a yard sale!  We hope to sell lots of "treasures" and get some money that will help pay for your plane tickets home with us!

There are so many people excited to meet you and so many things we can't wait to share with you!

Lots of Love,
Your Sweet American Family

One Thing...

There have been many songs that have been inspiring, encouraging, uplifting on this journey...  Here is one that is our prayer for you, Asher and Annalise!  Know that we are working to bring you home and that His timing is perfect- His love never fails and never gives up!  We hope and pray that you come to know This Love!

Learning....

The preschool that Adeline and Alden attended is amazing.  It was the only place I knew they were better off being if they weren't with me! They still go there in the morning until their bus comes since middle school starts before elementary school.  

Since Asher and Annalise will also go to this preschool, I have been speaking with the director- a lovely man from Ireland- and getting his insights on ways to best help with transitions.  The entire staff has been excited for us and super supportive.  A few weeks ago, I bought them a book on Lithuanian.  Imagine my surprise when, on Tuesday morning, as I was dropping off Adeline and Alden, to be greeted by "Sveiki!!"- hello in Lithuanian!  Not only has the staff been studying Lithuanian, but teaching it to Adeline, Alden, and many other children!

Asher and Annalise- you are already loved and greatly anticipated by your preschool!  There are tons of kids excited to try out their Lithuanian on you- and play with you- and hug you- and help you play JustDance- and play outside with you- and go on field trips with you- read with you- the list goes on and on!!

Until you make it home, visa gero- good-bye!  Azh, miletti, juice- I love you!

Added Bonuses

Part of the adoption process is that we have to read lots, and I mean LOTS, of books.  The added bonus of this is that I have learned lots of amazing "tools" to add to my parenting tool belt.  I do feel that I am a far better parent- and will continue to be a better parent- yay!

There are some things that we needed to do- and we were excited to do them not only before the homestudy, but before our children come home!

My sister gave me a cool poster of Europe- I now have it framed and hanging in the playroom!  How cool that our kids can see their home country proudly displayed!

We need to have our family's rules displayed- so I started looking for something that I could use to create our rules when I stumbled on this!  How perfect!  It hangs on the wall where you can see it while sitting at the kitchen table OR in the living room!

We are also working on the fruits of the spirit- and this nifty idea came from one of the parenting books- we will focus on one fruit of the spirit each week- and at dinner, we will share where we saw other family members exhibiting it- each family member will place a marble in.  Hopefully it will help us be other's focused and working on our fruits of the spirit!

Let's Get This Party Started!

At long last- we have a date to start our Homestudy!  Yay!!  And it's 2 weeks away!!  It's only the first meeting and the entire process can take up to six weeks- but at least we are getting started!

This has been a lesson in patience and waiting on His timing.  For this type-A person, it's been more than a little challenging....

Three months to almost the day:  the amount of time we have had to wait.

Not easy but trusting that God is in control is comforting.

The fact that we have had to wait this long also means that other families are working on bringing children into their homes.  That's exciting and makes the wait even sweeter.

Now we are one step closer to getting our children home.  One step closer- and countless more to go- but we have to take them one step at a time!

FAQs

So far we have been asked these two questions the most:  1)Why are we adopting an internationally and 2)why a sibling group?

In a nutshell, we feel called.

Also, we did some research about what life is like for children who live in Eastern Europe if they are not adopted.  It's not pretty-  it mostly ends in drugs, prostitution and premature death.

If we can make a difference, then what a humbling opportunity.

Many countries are closed to international adoptions and those that are open have extensive requirements- BMI's below certain levels, no drug involvement, no guns, all medication locked up, certain amount of income, etc....

We have been blessed- and we will have to give an account of what we have done with our blessings.  Having fancy cabinets, a paved driveway, fancy vacations, spiffy new clothes= not how I want to explain to my Lord and Savior how I invested what He gave us.  There is nothing wrong with those things- but for us, now, we feel the importance of helping others- specifically children who need homes.  Someday I will need new cabinets- but now, I need children.

At this point, we haven't been approved for two children, but we feel it's important to apply for two.  We have room in our hearts- Addie and Alden both really want their "own" sibling- and we have room in our home.  After it's all said and done, we may only be adding one child- it's all in God's hands.

It's going to be an adventure- we are scared and excited but mostly excited!

A Little Background

At the start of our adoption journey I googled "Lithuanian adoptions" and found several blogs, like this will hopefully be, that were incredibly insightful, helpful, realistic, exciting, moving....  There weren't many, so I want to do my part and hopefully, someday, somehow, be able to encourage someone else who may be considering traveling the adoption path.

A little background information, for those of you who may not know us- we have a pretty sweet life.  Happily married for almost 13 years, 2 amazing children, 1 of each- a sweet little girl and a spunky little boy.  We even have a well behaved, albeit hairy, dog. We live on a cul-de-sac that is pretty nearly perfect.  We have a spacious home.  We have jobs that we love and schools that the kids clamor to go to even on the weekends!  So why would we want to change all that?

Simply- we didn't, but God did.

In the Fall, I started to get this feeling of wanting more kids.  If you know me, you know that isn't normal!  Al and I were both adamant that our family was DONE when Alden was born.  I couldn't believe I was having this urge to add to our family- and I figured if God wanted it to happen it would.  I also enjoyed picturing Al passing out when I would tell him I was pregnant....

Flash forward to Christmas Eve.  I am beyond freezing cold, standing at a NY playground, attempting to not loose feeling in my feet, all while keeping an eye on my two kiddos who were gleefully ignorant of how cold it really was.  Al and I were talking, when he drops the bomb- "What would you think if we added to our family?  I am thinking we need to adopt internationally and possibly a sibling group."

My world was shaken!!  THIS was coming from the man who wasn't sure he wanted a second child!  And now he wants to add two more children to our family?!?

This was clearly a God thing and we were both super excited!

The rest of the posts will hopefully provide insight as to the adoption process.  I hope that it is helpful to someone, someday, and I also hope to be able to keep it to show our Asher and Annalise.  To show them how much we wanted and needed them to be in our family.  How much they were loved before we knew who they were!