Today our Russia Yahoo group is having another praise day. There is plenty to praise the Lord for. We had a wonderful Memorial weekend with B’s family, safety in travel; we received our paper work from the Secretary of State, copied it, and mailed it to our family coordinator who should receive it today or tomorrow; we went to have our fingerprints done in Raleigh for USCIS and had safety while traveling; we are all healthy…and I could go on and on with what the Lord is doing in our lives. I’m so thankful the Lord is in control of my life and that He loves me unconditionally…even when I may be difficult…
Dr. D who is the mediator between our agency and Russia requested we get a few things in…which are the very ones we were sending…great timing. ;o) It gave me a little encouragement that he was looking over our things, making sure things were in order…maybe it won’t be long now.
Tomorrow is our prayer day with the Yahoo…join us in our day long prayer vigil as we pray for fellow families about to travel to Russia for their children, those waiting for a referral, those home and adjusting to life with a new little one.
In His Watchcare,
Joy

One of our “blogging buddies” received their court date today!! They will have court on June 23rd. This is a praise, but actually two-fold. Usually, as I’ve mentioned before, the wait between trips is 4-6 months…theirs will only be 2 1/2! Now there is God’s handiwork!
Glad to serve a mighty God,
Joy

Hello all. I hope you are doing well. We have been able to get paper work sent off to Secretary of State again, and hope to receive tomorrow or Friday. We will make copies of everything (2 copies) and send them off to our agency. Then, everything that is necessary for a referral will be there and in order…again. We then will finish working on our regional paperwork and will hopefully send that off soon too.
Tomorrow on the yahoo chat group for families adopting from Russia, we are having a Praise day where we are taking time to praise the Lord for all the things He has brought to pass in our lives and the things that are yet to come. On Friday, we will have a Prayer Day to bring our petitions before Him. I invite you to join us in this and include your own praises and prayers. It’s exciting to consider the possibilities when we come to Him and ask, believing and knowing He will answer His children.
In His Watchcare,
Joy

It continues to amaze me the way the Lord works in our lives on a daily basis. Sometimes it seems we can not see His handiwork in front of our way…but that does not mean He is not at work, even when He seems silent. God is always aware and always at work in our lives, orchestrating every step we take and working around our own mishaps…
I am praising Him for many things today, but specifically for His continued work in our lives. Though our BBQ is over, we have still had people come to us and give. They have mentioned though they were unable to attend, they wanted to give to our journey…it has been such a blessing. I’m so thankful they are allowing the Lord to use them in this mighty way. It is also such a blessing to see the amount of support this shows we have in our adoption…I’m so thankful to be on this journey…and continue to anticipate the Lord’s handiwork in our process.
In His Mighty Hands,
Joy

Though not a referral, we did receive good news for our region. It looks like our wait times between the two required trips may now be shortening. This will be a blessing in and of itself, since we won’t have to leave our baby girl behind for sooo long. By the time we get back, it will be time to turn around and get packed up for the next trip (ideally…) Be praying as you think of us regarding the process.
We are waiting on some documents to get here so we can get them apostilled and sent off. We know and are reminding ourselves…all things in His time.
In His Faithful Watchcare,
Joy

We received our paperwork from NC Secretary of State, and about 12 documents were rejected due to a notary issue. We are unsure right now exactly what needs to be done to correct this. I wanted to get these off by this weekend to our agency…but it looks like the Lord has other plans. I’ve mentioned before, there are always reasons for everything, and this is no different. He is still in control, and working out all things to bring us to our daughter.
During this week we have again received gifts from friends and family, and even toothebrushes for us to take for caregivers and the children from my mom’s dentist. It is amazing the ways in which the Lord works through so many different avenues. He’s in control, and I am so grateful…
In His Constant Watch Care,
Joy

Yay! Our paper work arrived at the Secretary of State’s department. We are praying it will be sent back to us quickly with everything taken care of. We will try to send this off to our family coordinator by the end of the week, and then it will be off to Russia once more for translation. Be praying it will get there quickly and safely!!
We also were once again blessed by a generous donation to our adoption yesterday. The Lord has used so many people to continually confirm our journey and encourage us along. I’m so thankful to serve a caring God…
In His Vigilant Watch Care,
Joy

It always amazes me when I look at my blog, only to realize, it has been too long since I posted last. ;o)
We are still diligently working on getting our paper work sent to Russia for the second time. Everything right now is only good for one year. Wow!! It has been a year since we sent off our first dossier! I can remember thinking…I will never make it waiting a year…I had decided to pray the Lord would make the wait at least seem to go quickly, and here again…God has answered our prayers! I can hardly believe I am, as of today, finished with my Masters, and through another year of 2nd graders. The neat part is that this year, I get to move up with my kiddos. This will be yet another adventure to occupy my time and mind. This will be needful as we continue to wait. I do not know how long we will wait to hear about our little girl, or when the Lord will allow us to see her precious face, I only know that when He brings this to pass, it will be a sweet time of worship for our family as we praise Him for bringing her to us, and preparing our family to embrace her. I know that when it happens, it will be the perfect time, and the perfect child for us. I’m so blessed to have learned a valuable lesson (or 2, or 3), regarding my Lord’s constant hand on my life and that of my family, as well as all of His children. He has made it soooo evident in our process, from day to day that He is right in the middle of our circumstances, and that He is diligently working out everything for our good. He is sooo good to us, no matter our wicked state.
I am praying to hear back from the college I have “attended” (online) regarding a teaching opportunity, online. If you think of us, pray that I might be able to do this to help in finances. In this regard, we are still seeing the Lord working and using so many wonderful people to help us on our journey to this child whom the Lord has prepared for our family, for just such a time as this…
Continuously in His Watch Care,
Joy