Sometimes it just doesn't seem real! (ramblings)

Okay, so I haven't had any updates lately, and I guess that is because this paperwork goes so slow that it 'seems' like nothing is happening, but with each day passing, I'm sure it is getting closer. But when waiting for children being adopted, you don't have the same sensations of being able to feel them moving in your womb as you wait. You don't have a date when your precious child(ren) will make their appearance. We still pray for our boys that we are expecting everyday, and ask God to be watching over them and protecting them as they wait also, not even knowing or understanding that they are waiting. It is hard to think about. And what a blessing for us to already have children. We have not been barren. God has blessed us with our beautiful girls! So, I can only imagine what it must be like for couples who haven't ever had any children. But, we do now have our homestudy done. That is a blessing! And we have requested our passports, and we have sent the paperwork for the boys to be allowed to immigrate into the country, and for our fingerprinting, etc. We have some tests that we need to study up for, and other paperwork we need to complete, but we are on the road. The reality of it is that we really aren't waiting until all of this paperwork is completed, and sent to Russia. It is still months away. So, until then, we will do other things. Mainly the studying, and getting Hannah's room built downstairs. That will be enough to keep us busy while the holidays are passing by, and the new year comes. We are waiting on the Lord! He knows when the boys will be here.

We have our region! Yeah!

Oh, Diester and I had a wonderful time in Wisconsin at the cabin we stayed in while the girls were staying with their grandma. It was on a lake, and we went canoeing in their canoes a couple of times, and just enjoyed being together for the days we had alone. Not something we get to do often. Well, we found out yesterday that we are now assigned to the region of Novosibirsk! (Try to say that just once, much less 10x's fast!) It is in south central Russia, close to where Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and China all meet, just north of there. It looks to have a lot of industry in that area. And, we have altered the age range of what we are willing to take so that it opens the window for more options, and possibly getting 2 boys sooner. So, we may get sons as young as 18 mos up to 4 yrs. God knows what will work best. We are getting done with our homestudy, and we will now be working on more paperwork to help get some other things in line for our dossier. YEAH! Praise God!

God provides a place!

What a great bit of news I got today! This has nothing to do with our adoption, yet it has everything to do with trusting God in our adoption. Next week, Diester has vacation. We were planning to head up to Wisconsin and leave the girls with their grandma, just the two of them, to spend some time with her. Didn't have the money to fly them up there, and so we are driving them up there. And then there is the delimma of what to do with ourselves while they are at their grandma's. Don't get me wrong, Diester and I have wonderful ideas of things we can do that we will enjoy doing together, however, we are very limited on our funds at this time as we have just put out quite a bit towards the adoption. Our original plan was to stay on one of the Apostle Islands in Northern Wi camping until we found out that to get to an island by ferry can cost anywhere from $150 (would we be rowing?) upwards to $500. So that was out of the question with our budget. So, we contacted some friends with time shares~~nothing. Then I (Michelle) got creative. Last Tuesday evening, I decided to contact a homeschooling (hs) family up in that area of Wisconsin where we were hoping to stay (mind you I did not know any hs families up there) and ask them if they could network and see if they could find a place that Diester and I could stay at a minimal price. Well, I contacted a regional hs family and was referred to a contact that would be closer to the Bayfield area we were looking to stay near. I then proceeded to contact this 2nd family and asked her this totally bizarre question of whether she would be willing to network to find a possible place for us to stay. We talked for over an hour, and ended up sharing how God has blessed us through the Beth Moore bible studies, how her son did mission work in Ky last year and was blessed with free tickets to the Creation Museum (which was the highlight of their trip), and how we were starting the process to adopt, the list goes on. She was a joy to talk with~~we were both encouraged by the conversation and sharing. She told me she would work on a possible place for us to stay while there, and said if I didn't hear back from her, to please call her back. So, I called her back this afternoon. Here is the deal. Her and her husband own a cabin up there. (I had no idea.) She had prayed to God the night before I called, and asked him to show her how their cabin could be a blessing to others. (Is that God or what?) She just wanted to talk with her husband after I called to make sure he would be okay with offering it to us. They had plans to go there Friday evening for the Labor Day weekend, but we would be out before that. So, when I called her back, she offered us their cabin. PRAISE GOD! TO GOD BE THE GLORY! He likes to give us the delights of our heart when we are his. The cost? FREE! You can only imagine how blessed we feel we are. And it seems like a sign from God that He is going to take care of us through this adoption process. Words cannot express how thankful we are to God! If you read this post, can you please pray for a blessed vacation for us? I can only believe that it will be good! Thanks so much!