tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74690264459370561052024-03-13T16:17:51.050-07:00White AcresReligion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. ~James 1:27Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828925817724354025noreply@blogger.comBlogger167125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7469026445937056105.post-5494631713455319602012-06-25T12:02:00.001-07:002012-06-25T12:02:36.346-07:00one month....Four Mondays ago we picked our son up from the orphanage, and drove away with him forever. No, it's not one month home yet, but one month out of a life of forever behind bars. It's been an amazing month, and it feels like he's always been here with us. I know lots of families probably say the same thing, but it's true. He's ours, there's no doubt about it! <br />
<br />
Here are some fun things we've learned in the last month:<br />
<br />
1. Bulgarian poop stinks....much worse than any other we've ever smelled.<br />
2. This little guy can eat! And it's truly his favorite thing to do.<br />
3. Sleep is fun....get some when you can, he wakes up early.<br />
4. Independence is good, and he will play in his room as long as you want him to!<br />
5. Dogs and toddlers are a great combination. Dogs who must wear the "cone of shame" and toddlers are not a great combination.<br />
6. LOVE. He loves and knows who we are. He seeks us out in a crowd, and wants to know where we are. <br />
7. He is SMART! Colton has already learned more than 15 signs, and is working on words. He will "go" on the potty, but isn't really ready to potty train. <br />
8. He pushes buttons...and knows just how cute he really is and will do his very best to use it to his advantage.<br />
9. I've learned that being pregnant and chasing a toddler takes a superhero's amount of energy. And I'm just about out!<br />
10. More people should do this.<br />
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That's the update for now. Still working hard to continue blogging, but I know I've seriously been lacking. If you've ever considered adoption please pray about it now. It's SO VERY worth it all.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828925817724354025noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7469026445937056105.post-1496292155467008182012-06-04T05:51:00.001-07:002012-06-04T05:51:19.444-07:00home...foreverWe are home. It was such a relief to pull into San Antonio on Saturday night, and we both truly breathed a sigh of relief. Many of our family and friends met us at the airport, and since we were the last off our plane I'm pretty sure they drove the rest of the passengers nuts! Both sets of grandparents and some cousins came over Saturday and hung out for a while, well until the boy decided it was time for bed! We blacked out his window and he's sleeping like a champ since we got home.<br />
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Sunday was filled with more grandparent fun and a tired mom, dad, and son. Yesterday I finally woke him up at 9:30 and then put him back down for nap at 1:30...bedtime at 8:00pm came without protest, and he's still asleep now! <br />
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We feel so blessed to have finished the first part of this journey. While I can't promise to keep up with blogging as well as I have for the past year I will do my best. Thank you all for praying us through this journey, and we ask that you pray as we learn to be parents. <br />
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Big LOVE to all who read along!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828925817724354025noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7469026445937056105.post-30975489136927579552012-06-01T03:15:00.001-07:002012-06-01T03:15:47.363-07:00last day in country!That's right! We are in the middle of the last full day in country. Last night the boy went down a bit early, and he seems to rise with the sun, so we've all been awake quite a while. We went for a long walk today, had some lunch and now it's dark and quiet in our room so he can nap. Once he's awake it's packing, then dinner with our adoption facilitator as a celebration of being done! His passport is ready, his Visa is ready, and we hit the road at 8am local time tomorrow morning. Layoever in Vienna (how we wish it was long enough to tour the city!) and Immigration & Customs at Washington Dulles and we will be home to Texas around 9:30 tomorrow night! I honestly can't believe it's here and real!
Please keep us in your prayers as we journey tomorrow. It's just over 22 hours of travel including layovers. We only have about 3.5 hours at Dulles to make this kid a US Citizen and then catch our last flight. The Embassy Agent advised us to not get in line, but to find someone to help us out once we get there. Please pray we have an understanding officer who speeds us through and helps us get to where we need to be.
We absolutely can not wait to see everyone, and properly introduce our son to the world. He's pretty precious to us, and hope he is to you too!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828925817724354025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7469026445937056105.post-20398439500589420202012-05-30T06:42:00.001-07:002012-05-30T06:42:09.538-07:00the past few days....Parenting is no joke! (pretty sure most of you are laughing already....) Monday bedtime was so difficult. Screaming for three hours. No joke, literally screaming for hours. It was awful for all of us, and by the time it was over Wes and I were spent. It started with bath, and ended three hours later when, at 10pm, he finally was out. Only to wake up at 5:45. Tuesday was a good day all in all. He only fought us for 30 minutes each at nap and bedtime. We took him to McDonald's, gave him a Happy Meal. All was right in the world!
Today....since we didn't bathe him last night we decided to after breakfast this morning. It's not the sound of the wather that bothers him. It's the tub. It's slippery and overwhelming I think. Even with a towel in the bottom it's still traumatic. I wonder how he was bathed at the orphanage. We are pretty sure it was standing up in a sink, being roughly handled and sprayed with a sprayer. He does like it when I massage his head with shampoo, but not enough to over come the horrifying screaming. We know this is just a thing we need to work through, but it breaks my heart and even causes me to cry when he's upset like that. I can't stand it!
We had planned to go to the zoo this morning, but with the bath going the way it did none of us had the energy. Instead we walked up the street to the cathedral (gorgeous!) and wandered around, finishing with lunch at an Italian place. Some of the yummiest pizza ever. Our son ate just as much as I did, and loved every bite! So far the only thing we've given him that he hasn't liked is grapefruit!
Now we're waiting for him to wake up. Will probably go to dinner in the hotel restaurant and then it will be bedtime. Even with the "hard" stuff so far I know we are in the exact place we are supposed to be, and that this is nothing we can't handle. Just part of raising a child who hasn't ever had parents before!
Love to all reading this, thank you so much for praying for our son!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828925817724354025noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7469026445937056105.post-51335615909815029882012-05-28T07:06:00.001-07:002012-05-28T07:06:43.904-07:00Gotcha Day!You read that right. It's been a big day in our family. Today we picked up Colton Daniel Whiteaker from the orpahanage and drove him away forever. It was truly bitter-sweet knowing we were seeing Baba Mila, and the ladies who have loved our son, for the last time. Mila told us that both of the children she has cared for the past few years are leaving with adoptive families today. I can't imagine her sorrow and joy all at once! She said she has prayed for this day, which totally calmed my heart.
The drive from his hometown to the capital city was long, about 5 hours. He did amazingly. We know he has never been in a car this long, so we were impressed. We did nap for about 30 minutes or so, which was good since we went straight to the passport office to apply for his passport and have his photo taken. Once we got back to the hotel we played with the Rhodes boys for a while, and then reazlied just how tired he was. Against my better judgement it's 5:00pm and both of my boys are asleep. I don't plan to let either sleep for long because we all need to sleep tonight.
We could not thank you all more for your love and support over these past 14 months. This adventure is truly just beginning. Please continue to keep us in your prayers, we are new at this parenting thing, and can already tell it will be tough, but rewarding.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828925817724354025noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7469026445937056105.post-64287122882719742412012-05-27T09:09:00.000-07:002012-05-27T09:09:04.593-07:00Dear Danny: the last night...Dear Danny,
Tonight is the last night you will ever spend in an orphanage. It's just after 7pm here, so I imagine you are finished with dinner and getting ready for bed. We really aren't sure how much you have been prepared for tomorrow, but we pray that you come with us willingly to begin your new life. I hope that you find this new life to be exciting, as it's got a lot going on in it! By this time next week you will have met all 4 of your grandparents, many "aunts" and "uncles" and so many friends. Your Dad and I can't wait for the world to meet you!
Your new life includes being part of a family, which I know you won't remember, but you've been part of one before. I know your birth-parents believe they did the right thing when they dropped you off at the children's home....I hope we are providing for you in all the ways they didn't feel they could. In our family you will soon be the big brother! Our prayer is that you and your brother grow up to be incredibly close and love one another in a way only brothers can.
Tomorrow we will come to pick you up, and drive you into the capital city of your birth country. It will seem a little hectic, but know it's to get you home as quickly as we can.
Be ready Little Man, we are coming!
Love,
MomJessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828925817724354025noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7469026445937056105.post-62780626281649111712012-05-20T05:55:00.000-07:002012-05-20T05:55:09.022-07:00the last "Sunday Prayers" post....That I get to write before traveling to bring our boy home. What an amazing journey this has been. From loosing our daughter 17 months ago to leaving on Friday to pick up our son. With another baby in my belly. (One that is bound and determined that I will be awake no later than 6am, no matter what day it is!) God has been ever faithful to us during our first three years of marriage. I will not sugar-coat it. Marriage is tough! Marriage with job changes, lost babies, adoption, etc is very tough! But I know with every ounce of who I am that He is faithful, and His grace is enough, even for a sinner like me. <br />
<br />
We've been told numerous times over the past year that we are "good" people for choosing to adopt a child with special needs. Let me tell you something: No We Are Not! We are just people who fell in love with a serious face in a photograph. Then we met him....and now we are in love with a precious laugh, and infectious smile. He's a mimic, and 100% will throw anything you put in his hands boy! And we can't wait to see him one week from tomorrow! <br />
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Our house is not completely ready for him, and at this point probably won't be by the time we leave. But we are ready for him. There is no doubt about that. His bag is packed...ours are not. All he's done the past four years is wait. All we've done since we first saw his photo is pray for him and love him and count the days until we could be with him. And now we are here! If you haven't prayed with or for us before I am going to very humbly beg you to do so this week. It will not be easy, adjusting to life with three, one of whom has no idea what family is. Here are this week's (and maybe the next few week's) requests:<br />
<br />
1. Colton Daniel: that he is as ready as ever to come home with us. Our prayer is that Baba Mila and the orphanage staff have prepared him as much as possible to live in a family and that he recognizes our faces from our photos, and feels immediately comfortable with us. Pray that his first trips to the doctor are easy, and that there are no surprises medically speaking. <br />
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2. Baba Mila: what do you say to the woman who has probably kept your son alive for 4 years?!?!? Thank you is just not enough. There is no gift in the world that seems adequate. (But I do really hope she likes the necklace we got her.) Please pray for Mila's heart and soul. I do not know where she stands in faith, but I pray with every part of me that she follows and loves God. I pray that she will not be saddened by his leaving, but joyful for him and us as we begin our lives together.<br />
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3. US! I feel like I've asked for thousands of prayers the past year or so....but please. Pray for our marriage, our jobs, our families, our friends, our sons (both!), our lives. We know it will take massive amounts of faith and prayers to get through the first few months of having our son home with us. Please pray we have only kind words for one another. Pray that we are on the same page as far as parenting goes from day 1. Pray that we don't get so wrapped up in being a mom and dad that we forget to be a wife and husband. <br />
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Thank you all so very much for following along this far. This adventure is only beginning!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828925817724354025noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7469026445937056105.post-11332155926537078452012-05-13T05:10:00.001-07:002012-05-13T05:10:50.362-07:00Sunday Prayers: Amazing God!Do you remember when we were in Bulgaria and got "scammed" into paying for another little girl's visa photo?!?!? Her mom found us yesterday! She is home, or on the way home (not totally sure) now! I love love love how God works, and things come full circle. This wonderful lady reached out to our US facilitator to let her know that she had seen Danny and that he was adorable! God is so amazing to give us just what we need. This might be my first mother's day, and it's without our son, but it's so much more special for this news! <br />
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In other news we will be in B two weeks from now, making the journey to his orphanage. I can't wait to get my hands on him! Here are this week's prayer requests:<br />
<br />
1. that Danny is fully prepared to join our family.<br />
2. that he is excited to learn how to live in a house with parents, and dogs, and soon a baby brother<br />
3. for our travel: I will be 25 weeks pregnant when we leave for B....please pray for our health, and that the airlines take pity on us and give us better seats so I can spread out a bit.<br />
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That's it! Pretty simple, and greatly appreciated!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828925817724354025noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7469026445937056105.post-29778151587974111562012-05-06T07:03:00.000-07:002012-05-06T07:04:14.852-07:00Sunday Prayers....so close!Good Morning! <br />
<br />
We have lots of stuff planned for today, so while my dear husband gets ready for church I thought I would write a quick post. Thank you again (I'm probably thanking you for about the 2,956 time) for following along this journey with us. We are so very grateful for our supportive friends and family. Without you I'm not sure we would have made it this far. It's hard to believe that in one month our boy will be here, in Texas, living with us! We couldn't be more thrilled! I have some travel related prayer requests today, and they will probably be the same for the next few weeks. We will leave the last Friday in May to go get our son!<br />
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1. Danny: that he is as prepared as possible to make this long journey with us, and learn about life in a family.<br />
2. US! We are truly hoping to catch a quick weekend away next weekend, just to connect and be together one last time before little people enter our world. Pray we can disconnect from the world for at least 2 days. Please also pray that we are able to accomplish more than we can imagine in our jobs so that our time away from work is easy and stress-free.<br />
3. Travel: pray for no travel delays, that our luggage gets there with us, that we get every where we need to be, exactly when we need to be there. Pray that our drive from Sofia to the town where he has lived the past four years is uneventful, and that we have good rest the entire time we are in B. (Please pray all these things for my friend Mandy Rhodes who is traveling at the same time we are.)<br />
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That's it! We are so thankful for each of you!<br />
<br />
PS: Don't forget, we are still fundraising for the orphanage roof, if you are so inclined to make a donation please click on the Chip In box to the right. Any help is greatly appreciated so the orphanage can continue to provide hot food to the children.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828925817724354025noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7469026445937056105.post-21089471720623878802012-04-29T16:19:00.003-07:002012-04-29T16:19:50.269-07:00Sunday PrayersWhat a week the last one was! We (finally!) have our travel dates to pick our son up. He is officially and forever ours, but I'm pretty sure he has no clue. While we were there in January meeting him we were told it would be 4-5 months before we got back for him, and we will be at the very end of the 5th month while we are there. In other news we will get to meet another family who we have "known" for the entire adoption process. Can't wait to meet Mandy Rhodes and her new sons! Here are this week's requests:<br />
<br />
1. That our son is ready and willing to come with us on May 28th. <br />
2. That we have safe and easy travel for our trips there and home.<br />
3. That our friends (the Rhodes') have as much success as we hope for!<br />
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Thank you so very much for keeping up with us for the past 12 months. We are having a hard time believing we are finally "almost there!"Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828925817724354025noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7469026445937056105.post-72037460962943525902012-04-25T12:19:00.001-07:002012-04-25T12:19:26.043-07:00going back to Europe!That's right! After yesterday's whining we received our travel dates this morning. I will tell you they are not as soon as we would have liked, but we have been on God's path this entire time anyway, so we know it's exactly when He needs us to travel. <br />
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We will be leaving on May 25th, and will pick him up on May 28th. Return home to the US is scheduled for June 2. <br />
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That's all we know for now, and we are so excited to be near the end of this part of the journey. Thanks so much for following along with us....it's about to get good!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828925817724354025noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7469026445937056105.post-90715136786838955662012-04-24T15:53:00.000-07:002012-04-24T15:53:08.545-07:00trying to learn a lesson over hereSo it's pretty clear that I am super bad at estimating things. At least in adoption. I truly believe God is trying to teach us that we are on His time-frame not our own. (no, He is not teaching me patience!) When we started this whole process we were told it would be around 8 months before we had our boy home....and then the next person we spoke to said 12 months. But, oh me! I am so very good at paperwork, and excellent at expecting governments to meet minimum deadlines that I thought for sure we would have him home by December. Yeah. We didn't even meet him until the first week of January. So here we are....12 (pushing 13) months later and we are waiting. <br />
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Basically I came here to whine. Whining is a part of adoption, right friends? :) So what we really need are more prayers. We want our boy home ASAP! Like, in the next few weeks. For that to happen we need another country's government to hurry up and get our final court decree done! Then we are only waiting for our attorney to put us in her rotation. Please, we beg! pray that our court decree is complete and just waiting to be picked up tomorrow. Also, pray that we can find affordable airfare, and that Danny is ready for us!<br />
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Thanks for listening to me whine. And praying.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828925817724354025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7469026445937056105.post-75345060230986671082012-04-22T16:29:00.001-07:002012-04-22T16:29:11.790-07:00Sunday PrayersI slacked off last week and didn't get a prayer request post written....my bad! These past few weeks have been very busy with final preparations for our boy to come home, as well as preparing to be off from work for 6 weeks. We do not have travel dates yet, but are hoping against hope to have them this week so we can book our plane tickets and finalize our plans to bring him home for good. We can't wait! Here are this week's requests:<br />
<br />
1. Our SON. He's ours forever! Please pray he's prepared to take this journey as our first child.<br />
2. Travel Dates.....please pray we get them as soon as possible.<br />
3. Our Sanity! Really, I'm sort-of kidding, but we are about to undergo some serious changes. <br />
<br />
That's it! I will be back (hopefully soon) to let you know when he will be home!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828925817724354025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7469026445937056105.post-80075684442142301742012-04-12T17:35:00.000-07:002012-04-12T17:35:30.300-07:00"how we got here"Back in June of last year I wrote three posts titled "how we got here" and included some back ground on how Wes and I came to adoption. Now that our adoption is almost completed I have a new installment to add to our story! Ultimately this blog is to help chronicle our lives, as well as adoption, so I thought I would go ahead and add another chapter.<br />
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Before you read this post please click here to read the first three installments....we will wait....<a href="http://the-white-acres.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-we-got-here-part-1.html">part 1</a>, <a href="http://the-white-acres.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-we-got-here-part-2.html">part 2</a>, <a href="http://the-white-acres.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-we-got-here-part-3.html">part 3</a>.<br />
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OK, here goes. When we started the adoption we were still trying to get pregnant, but with all the stress of adoption and life we quit trying. As in went back on birth control. (Hey, I'm baring it all here!) In December, once we had our travel dates to meet Danny (Colton Daniel now) we decided that we were ready to start "trying" again, truly believing it would be a few months before anything happened. Boy were we wrong! The entire week we were in Bulgaria we knew something was up, but neither of us really wanted to say much about it. When we left to come back home (so stinking hard, by the way) we decided that I would take a home pregnancy test the following morning. I bet you can guess what it said....PREGNANT! We were thrilled! And we are not good secret keepers, so later that day at lunch we told our friends and family, but then asked all them to keep our secret because of our history of miscarriages. Wes and I also requested their prayers for a healthy baby this time around.<br />
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Today, 19 weeks pregnant, I am happy to tell you that Colton will be a big brother! Baby BOY Whiteaker will join our family in early September. We truly could not be more thrilled with God's timing in all this. His plans are always better than ours, and neither of us could imagine our lives without Colton in them and know with out question that we have been walking His path this whole time. Especially when our hearts hurt, and we didn't understand what was going on.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828925817724354025noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7469026445937056105.post-15396533211471448092012-04-09T15:05:00.000-07:002012-04-09T15:05:14.313-07:00Court Update!<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There is one less orphan in the world today!</span></b> </div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Colton Daniel Whiteaker will officially be a member of our family in 7 business days! We will have travel dates sometime earlyish next week and will let you know then when we will be arriving home with our son. Please continue to keep us in your prayers, as we have a sneaking suspicion that this journey is really just getting started!</div>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828925817724354025noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7469026445937056105.post-82830971006596433932012-04-08T18:25:00.000-07:002012-04-08T18:25:17.644-07:00Sunday Prayers "court" editionTomorrow is court! I can't believe it's finally here. It seems so real and yet so unreal all at once. We only have two prayer requests for this week:<div><br />
</div><div>1. That Danny is prepared to come home with us very soon!</div><div>2. That court goes smoothly and that we have travel dates by the end of this week.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I promise to post as soon as we have some news!</div><div><br />
</div><div>Thank you for praying for us for the past year, and loving us while on this amazing journey.</div>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828925817724354025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7469026445937056105.post-61304639852659309892012-04-05T14:41:00.000-07:002012-04-05T14:41:29.754-07:00overdue update on fundraisingHello All!<br />
<br />
Just wanted to give you a quick update on where we are with fundraising for the orphanage roof. The chipin account shows $500 + I have about $250 in cash! We are so excited to have had all the help! <br />
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In other news we are still waiting for our court date next Monday. We will have travel dates a week or so after court, hoping to pick him up late April or early May!<br />
<br />
Thanks for sharing about our fundraising and donating if possible.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828925817724354025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7469026445937056105.post-64450755172400541012012-04-01T17:55:00.000-07:002012-04-01T17:55:42.865-07:00Sunday PrayersWho can even keep track any more? Not me! Here is what I can keep track of: court is one week from tomorrow!!!! (and just to be clear, it's already tomorrow in his country!) We could not be more thrilled to see the next part of this ride start. I can't say "end" because it's really just getting started. Today though I told Wes that it was getting a bit surreal. Danny will be our first child, so to think that a four year old is going to be living with us in a month or so is so strange. I wonder if families who have other children feel this way. Anyway, what you came here for: here are this week's requests for prayer:<br />
<br />
1. Danny: please pray his heart and mind have been prepared for us to come bring him home<br />
2. Danny's orphanage: the judge requested some additional paperwork about Danny, please pray it reached the court in time so we aren't delayed<br />
3. Us! We still have some last minute things to do to finish being ready for him to come home<br />
4. Airfare: costs have gone up pretty significantly in the past few weeks, please pray we can find reasonable fares to fly on.<br />
<br />
Again a short list this week. Next week I will be back with just one request: that court goes well!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828925817724354025noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7469026445937056105.post-50753512104060465892012-03-30T14:40:00.000-07:002012-03-30T14:40:20.963-07:00what happens next?It's been a while since I wrote a "what happens next post" and I've had a few questions, so I thought it would be easiest to just answer them here all at once! <br />
<br />
We have a court date on April 9. Lucky for us our attorney in "B" gets to go in our place. After court we will wait seven days for the adoption to be finalized. At that point our attorney gets to apply for some (more) paper work and we get our travel dates. Usually travel dates are anywhere from 3-5 weeks from then. Plane tickets can't be purchased until that point, so we fully expect to pay a premium price for this trip. Spring and summer is the most expensive time to travel to Europe! We are praying that we will get to leave sometime at the very beginning of May to bring our boy home. <br />
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Wes and I will both be traveling to pick our son up. Typically families arrive into country on Saturday, and then on Sunday drive to the village where the orphanage is. Monday is "gotcha" day and we will race back to the capital city to apply for his passport. It's important we get this done as quickly as possible so that it's ready for us to leave the following Saturday. Other things we will complete the week in "B" include a trip to the US Embassy and a doctor's appointment so he is medically cleared to enter the US. We will leave very early Saturday morning to fly roughly 24 hours back home. With a 4 year old. Who has probably never seen an airplane, much less been on one....or three.<br />
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Wonder what happens in the next few weeks? We spend pretty much all of our free time finishing getting ready for a 4 year old to live with us. Doing laundry, packing, take a bunch out, and then repacking. We will both be taking a little time off from work after we get home, so we will also be scheduling some doctor's appointments for our boy, as well as getting something set up with the local school district so he can begin to receive therapy as soon as possible.<br />
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The other things that we are working on include collecting a few more toys for the orphanage, and raising funds to donate for the roof. As of right now we are over $600 in donations (including the case donations and chipin totals)! Thank you!<br />
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We appreciate the continued prayers on our behalf, we feel like we are finally in the home stretch!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828925817724354025noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7469026445937056105.post-69777579484049906362012-03-29T16:03:00.000-07:002012-03-29T16:03:34.940-07:00Extra! Extra! Read All About It!We got our court date! Our case will be heard on April 9, at 3pm. Thank you all for your prayers, we are in awe of God's timing in all of this. Hopefully we will be home with Colton by mother's day! What an amazing gift that will be.<br />
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The judge did request some paperwork from the orphanage, so please pray it arrives in time.<br />
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Thank you for continuing to pray!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828925817724354025noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7469026445937056105.post-11406501841113991132012-03-28T19:16:00.000-07:002012-03-28T19:16:23.182-07:00Dear DannyDear Danny,<br />
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There is so much I want to tell you right now, but the biggest thing is how much we miss you! It's been almost <i>forever </i>since we left you in Bulgaria and we honestly don't know when we will see you again. Your dad and I have been working very hard at getting ready for you. I've been shopping like a good mom, but your dad has built you a bed! It's beautiful and I can't wait to see you sleeping in it. Just so you know it's a "big boy bed" so it's pretty different that the crib you've slept in for the past four years, but we just feel that you are ready for a big bed since you aren't a baby. <br />
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You have many friends and family members who eagerly await your arrival. They are all praying for you and us while we wait for news of our court date and finalization of the adoption. I hope you are spending lots of time with Baba Mila and soaking up her love! We are still hoping and praying to bring you home in May, so start getting ready!<br />
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Love,<br />
<br />
MommaJessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828925817724354025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7469026445937056105.post-37990243092759079262012-03-25T05:58:00.000-07:002012-03-25T05:58:24.353-07:00Sunday PrayersFirst I want to thank everyone who has donated and committed to donate to the orphanage roof repair fund. As I said in my previous blog post if the roof is not repaired soon the orphanage may have to close the kitchen, and I honestly don't know how they will feed the children. Heartbreaking for Dr. A to have to possibly make this decision, so we are very thankful for the support of our family and friends.<br />
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Here are this week's prayer requests<br />
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1. Danny: he is constantly in our hearts, we pray that he is as ready to come home with us as we are to have him here!<br />
2. Court Dates: I'm going to be real here for a minute: <i><span style="font-size: x-small;">I'M GETTING VERY IMPATIENT AND IRRITATED</span></i>. :) So many of our friends who are at the same place we are have their dates yet, and we have heard nothing. Please pray that we receive our dates soon, and that they are within two weeks. We are still praying to bring our boy home in May, and it's getting harder to believe that will happen. <br />
3. Donating: please pray about donating. We know times are tough, but I can promise your money will go to the best cause I can currently think of: leaving a legacy behind for our son.<br />
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Thank you for continuing to pray with us. It's wonderfully appreciated!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828925817724354025noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7469026445937056105.post-2591199222835829932012-03-21T11:11:00.000-07:002012-03-21T11:11:42.915-07:00Leaving a LegacyHappy World Down Syndrome Day! This is not the first day recognized as Down Syndrome Day, but I understand it to be the first that the UN has recognized. Just goes to show, that people like Danny are a huge part of the world and should be honored just like all other groups! <br />
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Today I received an email response from our facilitator in Danny's country. Unfortunately it did not contain court dates, but we are still hopeful that we will receive these dates at some point this week. What sweet Toni did tell me is that the orphanage Danny has lived in for four years is in need of repairs to the roof. This was not a surprise, as Wes and I spoke directly with the orphanage director about this when we met her in January. What was a surprise is how much worse the situation became during the winter. In January we were told only one room was effected, and it wasn't a room that was used often. Today I learned that now they are in danger of having to close the kitchen! Here is the news directly from our facilitator:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #454545; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">I just talked to Dr.A (the director of the orphanage) and she was so glad to hear from me and especially that you are still planning to help them with the repair of their roof. She said they are facing a threat to have their kitchen closed because of that roof. They did a lot of research and although most of the companies are giving them outrageous sums, they had found one which gave them a reasonable amount. It will be 3 160 Bulgarian leva (2 150 US$) for full repair with warranty for 10 years or 2 536 Bulgarian leva (1 725 US$) for full repair with warranty for 5 years. Dr.Alexieva said that whatever amount you are able to donate would be hugely appreciated and even if it is partial, they at least would have something to start with. If you need any further info or help, please let me know.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #454545; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: #454545;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now I don't know about you, but I find this to be appalling! How could an orphanage, where 30 children live every day of their lives operate without a kitchen? </span></span><br />
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</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #454545;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So I am here to ask you to help us out. I will admit that when we committed to help with this I didn't expect the price to be quite as high as it is. $2,150 to one of us might just break the bank, but if I can respectfully ask that you help us with this it would be greatly </span>appreciated<span style="font-family: inherit;">. I have set up a chip-in on the right side of this blog to accept donations. These donations will not be tax deductible, but I can guarantee they will go to a good cause. We will receive a receipt, as well as an update from Dr. A when the repairs are completed. I'm scheduling the chipin to end on April 20, as we genuinely hope to be traveling soon after that to pick Danny up. </span></span><br />
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This would be his legacy for the children who will continue to reside in the orphanage. Wes and I genuinely hope you will consider helping us leave this gift to the orphanage. Please let us know if you have any questions.</span></span><br />
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Thank you!</span></span><br />
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</span>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828925817724354025noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7469026445937056105.post-55237716094628190492012-03-18T17:15:00.000-07:002012-03-18T17:15:08.328-07:00Sunday Prayers "are we there yet" edition!To simply answer my own question: no. We are not "there" yet. I haven't heard any updates from our facilitator in a few weeks, which means there is nothing new to tell. I promise that if there was she would let us know. The next steps are as follows: 1. MOJ signs our final documents; 2. A judge is assigned to our case and court is scheduled; 3. We wait 3-5 weeks after court to pick our boy up!!! Now, I'm honestly hoping that we get to skip straight to step 2 in this process. This happened recently to a friend of ours, so I have hope! Here are this week's prayers:<br />
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1. Danny: we hope that Baba Mila is still seeing him as often as she can, and that he is being prepared for life in a family.<br />
2. The Dean Family: Autumn is traveling on March 24th to pick her kids up! She is still short around $1,000 to complete the process. Will you please click <a href="http://reecesrainbow.org/3410/sponsordean">HERE</a> and support her? Even $10 will help!<br />
3. Court Date! Please pray this is the week we get our next does of news. We are all getting antsy over here to have him home!<br />
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Thank you for continuing to pray!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828925817724354025noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7469026445937056105.post-72472660242172956262012-03-11T16:01:00.000-07:002012-03-11T16:01:51.114-07:00Sunday PrayersWow, I am beginning to think that a "Spring Break" should be compulsory for adults as well as children! This week has been tough, nothing adoption related, just life in general. Without any further ado here are this week's prayer requests!<br />
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1. Danny: continued prayers for his safety, health, and happiness while we are waiting for word that he will be home with us!<br />
2. The Adoption Process: please pray this is the week that the MOJ signs off on our final paperwork so we can have judge and court date assigned.<br />
3. Our family & friends: we are all in need of prayers, as Satan tends to attack when you least expect it. We are all waiting eagerly for word on the adoption, but we also have to live "normal" lives and could use all the encouragement we can get!<br />
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Thank you friends!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08828925817724354025noreply@blogger.com0