Are we registered?

Hi I have been trying to be very patient, knowing that our paperwork had to be translated first and then submitted to MOJ, then there was Christmas and New Years so I waited until today to email our caseworker to see if she has heard anything from Bulgaria.

She informed me today that she was talking with our lawyer in Bulgaria today and that MOJ received our paperwork January 6th 2009 and we have been given a number, but it is unsure whether they have finished with our paperwork...so does that mean we are registered or not? I believe we are but we could still hear from them that they may need some more information? I hope not. I don't know what else we could get them. So I believe as of January we are officially waiting, that is my understanding. Hopefully this means it is about 12 months from now that we will receive a referrel of our son. You never know with international adoption!

In July we will have to renew our homestudy, which means we will be meeting with the socail worker again in our home, etc. And during the summer we will have to redo our fingerprints and some other paperwork like medicals.

Onto other things, Caroline had her birthday party at Bounce Party and has so much fun with her friends. The kids were sweating and just had a great time. I am so glad that we did this for her 6th birthday. Our youngest is saying she wants her party at Chuck E Cheeses. We have never been there as a family before so maybe next year we can do this for her and some of her friends from church.

Thanks for checking in with us and following our journey to bringing our son home. If you are following our blog and interested in adoption and/or Bulgaria leave me a note and I can answer any questions you have.

Update: my friend Sarah will be travelling Jan 31st to Russia to visit her daughter for the first trip. Please keep them in your prayers as she has never been on plane before. I am so excited for them as we have been waiting with them through their journey.

It has been 10 months since we started

It has been 10 months since we started our adoption process, first with the Ukraine and then switching to Bulgaria. Bulgaria is situated north of Greece and South of Romania. It used to be apart of the Soviet Union. Many Europeans travel to Bulgaria for vacation as the beaches are beautiful. There are many westernized hotels, waterparks and beaches for foreigners. Once you leave the beaches and go inland there is a stark difference. If you want to know more about Bulgaria there is a good site if you search under Bulgaria travel.

We are still not registered! Will post as soon as we hear something. Tomorrow the MOJ meets again to register families and give out referrals. Please continue to pray for us and our son. I am not feeling anxious or impatient at all, it can only be God's doing. I have learned that this is out of my hands and in God's control.

Life continues to go on. Next week is our oldest daughter's 6th birthday. She is very excited as she is having a friends party at Bounce Party. I will post some pics next week! How time flies, yet I can't believe she has only been with us for 6 years. She is such a joy and sweet girl! Children are a blessing from God:)

Still no news from Bulgaria. I did change my song to Third Day. The Lullaby song is the next one to play after this one. I love the words to this song by Third Day about our heavenly Father, our creator, our rock and Saviour. He is righteous, faithful and good to us all the time. And most of all he is sovereign and knows what is best for me and my family.

It is hard waiting but it helps to know God is in control and his timing is perfect. I have been batteling with some health issues (hives, allergies, sciatic nerve pain, numbness, sinus issues to name a few) and it is good to be reminded of what we have when we don't have it.. health in my case. Thank you God for our health, families and the good things we have been blessed with and can we even say thank you God for the pain, suffering we go through to get to who you want us to be? Happy New Year everyone. I hope this is the year that we bring our son home.

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.

Has it been 9 months already?

If I were pregnant with our son I would have had him about now! It has been about 9 months since we started the adoption process. We made the decision to adopt at the end of March (Easter) and signed our agency agreement and began our dossier.

A number of ladies in our church have announced that they are pregnant and due in May and June. I am happy for them but at the same time it saddens me to think that we still won't have our son home by this summer.

I have been thinking about our son alot these days,more than usual, maybe it is because it is Christmas. Our youngest, Cathryn, wanted to buy him a Christmas stocking because they have their stockings hanging. So we did buy him a stocking and it is waiting for him to come home. Our girls keep asking me when he will be with us, it is so hard trying to explain that we are working on it and don't really know when he will be with us. I hope it will be next Christmas, but we aren't even registered yet! We pray for him daily.

This song "lullaby" by Dixie Chicks is dedicated to our son in Bulgaria. I will and do love him forever!

Great radio/internet/ipod site to visit

For those of you who are in the process of adopting or have adopted already, I found creatingafamily.com. Dawn is the host and she has some great guests on the phone and interviews them. Today she interviewed Dr. Grey who wrote the book Attatching in Adoption. The topic today was "attatchement for 2-6 year olds" and she was interviewed last November (so check the archives). If you have an hour to sit and listen on the internet I would highly suggest you do so, if not down load from Itunes.

For our education we had to read her book, and this book is a must buy for adoptive parents. So helpful on what to expect, warning signs etc. Dawn also has some great info on her website for parents investigating the adoption route and she has a blog. I believe she is an adoptive parent of a child from S.Korea. She also addresses topics on infertility and foster care. She also wrote a book titled 'the complete handbook on international adoption'. Take a peek, it was great listening, while my kids had nap time.

No News from Bulgaria but...

I figured out how to put music on my blog. So exciting! We haven't heard from our lawyer in Bulgaria yet, I know they received our letter but they are waiting to communicate with us until they hear we are registered I guess!

I uploaded a few songs and the first one is called 'One step at a time' which describes adoption to a tee. I like the words, "it will happen when it is supposed to happen" and "faith makes you stronger". These words are so true. We experience frustration (with government officials) and impatience but the Lord is working on me in this area of my life. Somethings are out of my control but in His control and time. His time is perfect!

The last song by Third Day is giving praise to God, because he deserves our praises and we are to glorify HIM. We are to praise him in the good and bad, ups and downs. I praise God for the 2 beautiful children we do have and for this Christmas season! Merry Christmas everyone as we celebrate the birth of our Saviour.

Recommended book for family members to read

I recently finished reading a great book that I recommend giving to family members that need to be educated about adoption as a whole. This book is written by a grandmother who has adopted grandchildren. It is titled "Adoption: A family Affair, What Relatives and Friends Must know". It covers topics such as: Your Personal, private fears,How Adoption Works: Facts vs Myth, Getting Ready, Home at Last, Parenting in Adoption, Adoption Issues, What to say and what not to say.

I am presently looking into Lifebooks and wondering where to start. On FRUA they have many recommendations and mention that a Lifebook is different to their Adoption Story (our blog). A lifebook should be a book only for them to see and should be about their life BEFORE they were adopted. Hmm. Well tomorrow our dossier should be in Bulgaria. Praying we will be registered this year. I believe in Europe they take a long vacation between Christmas and the New Year (kind of like South Africa).

Some good news, my friend Sarah will be travelling to meet her little girl in Russia the second week of January. They accepted the referral of a 3 year old girl. I am so happy for them. And Abigail is adjusting well, we will be visiting her and her family next week.