The Thursday before Mother's Day!

Hello there~~just a note to say that these posts are for the purpose of showing the boys someday how God's hand was in all of this all along the way, and to give God the glory.  We are called to trust in him, and even in the hard times, to know that He loves us despite our circumstances.

As you know, we have accepted the referrals for these 2 little guys currently in an orphanage in Russia.  We have dates to go meet them~~YEA! ! ! 

This is one story of God's timing in our adoption process.  It was the Thursday before Mother's Day 2 years ago that we decided to adopt.  (Diester finally agreed to it. ~~hehe)  So, we got all the paperwork together, sent it to Russia, and it was translated as of May of last year, about one year after we started the whole process.  We waited another year to hear something, then on the Thursday before Mother's Day of this year, we got the referrals for these 2 little guys, sent them off to the Dr., she reviewed them and got back to us that evening.  We talked about it, and even though we agreed to find out why the mother's rights had been terminated, we both knew there was nothing that would deter us from taking these 2 boys.  We believe they are the ones for us.  We asked the Lord for healthy little guys that were close in age, and He answered our prayers, and on a most timely of days.  God's timing is always perfect, even if it hadn't been on the Thursday before Mother's Day, but I do see this as kind of special!  Praise God from whom all good things flow. 

Counting down the days until we travel~~please keep us and the girls in your prayers!  Thank you!

This is another day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!

For those of you who are receiving this, I need to let you know that I am not supposed to be sharing the boys pictures, so I have deleted them from our blog for the time being.  That being said, if you are sharing the pictures with others, please stop at this point.  I am so sorry, but we overstepped our boundaries here, and I don't want to do anything to jeopardize our adoption.  Thank you for your consideration!  Michelle

HERE THEY ARE! ! ! ~~Today, we finally accepted the referrals for the two little guys that have been referred to us.  What do we say?  It is an exciting day~~  The oldest one just turned 3 in March, and the youngest one has a birthday in June.  He will be turning 2 years old.  So, do the calculations, and you will see that they are only 15 months apart in age.  Praise God! ! !  We had asked God to give us boys that were close in age, specifically a 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 yo, and then we were told by our adoption agency to expand the age range (for more options), so we did (18 mos-4 years).   Now here is God, sovereign as he is, giving us the delights of our hearts, and answering our prayers, giving us two little guys who were close in age as we originally stated that we wanted, and they will be close to 2 yo and 3 1/2 yo, and already brothers to boot.  It may sound like a  nit-picky thing, but it is what we asked God for.   Also, we asked for no major medical conditions, and from the medical reports that were reviewed by the 'international' doctor (one who helps in international adoptions, and reviewing int'l records, etc.), it looks as though these little guys are growing on target, and all of the bloodwork for them came back negative. There is nothing that looks long term problematic physically, which is the other thing that we had asked God to help with.  Now I say all that, realizing that these little guys have been abandoned by their parent(s), have lived in an orphanage for over a year, and will have some major issues to deal with in light of those situations.   We pray that God gives us grace as we learn to deal with the issues from that.                                                                                                                                                                  

So, next we will be getting our travel dates to go to Russia in the next 2-3 weeks.  We will get to go over and meet them and spend some time with them.  It is a scary time and an exciting time! ! ! Pray for the Lord to grant us whatever it is that we need for this time in our lives please, especially the final paperwork gathering that we will need to get together.  

Thank you so much for your prayers!  We are indebted to all who have been keeping us in your prayers, and we truly covet them.  They are much needed and appreciated as we grow through this process.         

Also, for those of you who have helped us financially, that has been a blessing to us, and we appreciate that more than you will know.  Please know that your support financially was more of a blessing for us in light of the decision that we have made, believing that we were following God's path for our lives. 

Thank you and may God bless you all in your paths! ! !  Diester and Michelle

What a LOVELY day!

Could this be the day that we have gotten our referrals and hope to accept these little guys that we have been waiting for all of our lives, (but didn't know it until 2 years ago)?  I am in tears with joy right now over what looks to be really good reports on these two brothers.  It has been a long 2 years, but I am sure things will start happening fast when we accept them.  Our int'l Dr. has been sent the records, and we are just waiting, but from what we can tell, they look to be in GREAT health~seriously.  I don't think I can even hardly believe this might be happening soon.  A lot of emotion right now.  So, what do I have to say?  Not a lot, but we are in another waiting mode.  I am hoping to post more when I hear back from the Dr.   Keep us in your prayers!  Thanks so much!