We went to a seminar this weekend held by the agency who is facilitating our adoption. What a great experience to be able to hear from adoptive parents who had JUST returned home with their children. We were able to see their little blessings and hear about their experiences in Russia. While it was stressful to hear about all of the hiccups that can (and will inevitably) occur in a foreign country where no one speaks your language, it was reassuring to hear these parents say that they were helped every step of the way. It was great to hear that the Russian orphanages took excellent care of these babies, providing them with vital early attachment experiences, a bright environment and excellent care. It was even greater to hear these parents say how much these little miracles have blessed their lives in such a short time, and how their pregnancy happened in their hearts as it grew waiting for their babies to come home. All of them were excited to adopt again.

My heart is growing every day. I pray that things go smoothly with the Ontario and Canadian government who have to give us official "permission" to be parents and allow us to bring a child into the country. I pray that God keeps us patient and calm as we wait (so far, some days are definitely better than others). Most of all, I pray that God blesses our little baby, the woman who is carrying (or has carried) him or her for us, and those who are caring for him in the orphanage. Thank you to all of you in cyberspace who have been remembering us in your prayers....please don't stop!

B

What a Day!

What a day! We met with our Adoption Agency this afternoon. I had been warned that she can be kind of harsh, so I was a bit nervous, but she really put my mind at ease. She told us the truth without being too harsh. She gave me some new things to worry about (like how 8 Russian doctors have to examine us in Russia!!), but she also gave me the hope I needed that this would succeed.

We will definately need an abundance of prayers over the next several months as the process gets going. So please keep us (and our baby) in mind!

Becky :)

Our Homestudy is finally over!! We have the final copy in our hot little hands and are preparing to meet with our adoption agency on Tuesday.

For those of you who don't know, our adoption practitioner has met with us four times over December and January, and asked us about everything in our lives from how we met, to how we were raised, to our life's goals, to our relationships with others, to how we plan on raising our children, etc, etc, etc. We had to get police and child welfare checks from every place we've lived in since we were 18 (stupid us for moving so much!), references from our friends and family, medical checks, and more. We even had to attend a training course on how to raise children. Of course, none of this was for free either. I feel like we've let the whole world into our lives to decide if we should have kids or not. It can definately be overwhelming at times, and I'm trying not to let my frustration come out in bitterness or anger. Those who work, live or spend any length of time with me, will know that it usually comes out in tears anyways!

Today in church, one of the little girls told me that she prays for Mark and I to have a baby every night. It reminded me that no matter what hoops we have to jump through, we're going to come to the end we're hoping for.

"I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out-plans to take care of
you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen."

We're blessed to have people who care about us. We're blessed to serve a God who cares deeply about what happens to us, who knows everything we desire, and who has the power to make these desires a reality.

We are meeting with the agency on Tuesday. She's the one who will send all of our documentation to the government, eventually present us with a potential child and help us to plan our trip to Russia. We know people who have adopted through this agency and have had a good experience. I am excited to meet with her and get the next stage of this process moving. They say that after everything is done on the Canadian side (our approval, etc), it should take somewhere between 3 and 12 months to get a proposal for a child. In my head, I'm thinking next summer (2010), but I really have no idea of when things will really happen for us.