It has been a LONG day. We got up this morning, on our 9th wedding anniversary by the way! and drove to Staples to make copies. I hogged a copy machine for 3 hours, not exaggerating!! to make 4 complete copies of our dossier. Then I double checked them to be sure each was complete.
We went home for a bite to eat and Matt took the package to FedEx. Turns out FedEx does not like to sell insurance on papers. Matt brought it home when he found out he couldn't insure it for more than $100. He also brought home sushi from our favorite joint for our anniversary dinner. The kids ate pizza :)
After a long phone call to 1800FEDEX, I talked to a guy that said we could buy the insurance if we could prove the value of the paper work. I have receipts!! So Isaac and I went back to FedEx to send it out. By this time we had missed the last pick up of the day, but the box, you read right, no envelope, it took a box to hold the entire stack of dossier documents and 2 copies our agency needed got insured and the appropriate labels attached and is currently sitting on a shelf at FedEx.
It's completely in God's hands now. Lord, protect our precious papers. Get them safely to AWAA and then to Rwanda. Let the right people do the right things with them to bring our truly precious package home.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Field Trip!!
We are officially certified, verified, and authenticated!! I have had a very busy day. Thinking that the certification process might take awhile, I took the kids to my friend Jena's house and then went downtown. Thanks to a phone call and some FB messages last night I knew right where to go!
There was no line, I went right up to a very nice lady who looked up my notaries in a HUGE book (can we say dark ages) and then stamped some pgs with seals and stapled them to my precious papers! This took about 30 minutes, because, unlike a lot of programs, Rwanda program requires EVERY dossier pg to be notarized and authenticated. $90 to Jeff Co Clerk!
As I drove to get the kids I began to get brave...I could drive to Frankfort today too, it's only an hour...right?
So I picked up the kiddos an stopped and Mc-y-D's and off to Frankfort we went! I really loved Frankfort, beautiful little town. Good old google got me right to the Franklin Co clerk's office, where I had to have our police reports county certified. Then the sweet girl behind the counter gave me excellent directions to the capital building. $10 to Franklin Co Clerk!
These people must get a lot of kids! Each desk at the capital building had a sweet lady behind it, a canister of dumdums on it, and crayons and coloring pgs in the corner. While one lady staples more gold sealed papers to my precious documents, another showed my kids around. We took a quick tour and said high to the statues and gazed up at the dome. They even kept a scrap book full of photos of kids who have been adopted in Ky. I told them we'd send them a new picture soon! $110 to Secretary of State!
The kids had fun jumping down all the steps on our way out and we had an uneventful drive home. Not bad for a day's work. Thank you Lord for providing the time and money to get it done, for keeping us safe on the drive, and for my well behaved kiddos! Isn't God Great?!!
There was no line, I went right up to a very nice lady who looked up my notaries in a HUGE book (can we say dark ages) and then stamped some pgs with seals and stapled them to my precious papers! This took about 30 minutes, because, unlike a lot of programs, Rwanda program requires EVERY dossier pg to be notarized and authenticated. $90 to Jeff Co Clerk!
As I drove to get the kids I began to get brave...I could drive to Frankfort today too, it's only an hour...right?
So I picked up the kiddos an stopped and Mc-y-D's and off to Frankfort we went! I really loved Frankfort, beautiful little town. Good old google got me right to the Franklin Co clerk's office, where I had to have our police reports county certified. Then the sweet girl behind the counter gave me excellent directions to the capital building. $10 to Franklin Co Clerk!
These people must get a lot of kids! Each desk at the capital building had a sweet lady behind it, a canister of dumdums on it, and crayons and coloring pgs in the corner. While one lady staples more gold sealed papers to my precious documents, another showed my kids around. We took a quick tour and said high to the statues and gazed up at the dome. They even kept a scrap book full of photos of kids who have been adopted in Ky. I told them we'd send them a new picture soon! $110 to Secretary of State!
The kids had fun jumping down all the steps on our way out and we had an uneventful drive home. Not bad for a day's work. Thank you Lord for providing the time and money to get it done, for keeping us safe on the drive, and for my well behaved kiddos! Isn't God Great?!!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Can't Sleep
This is very unusual for me. I never have trouble sleeping. Maybe it's the 2 1/2 hr nap from this afternoon. Anyways, a good excuse to sit and reflect on the awesome God I serve! He has blessed us so abundantly and given us things over the last few days that we had been wanting, but not even praying for.
First, yesterday, I got a message on FB from a woman I go to church with, and honestly don't know that well. Anyway, she sent me a message and said that she had heard through the grape vine that Gracie was taking piano lessons and did we need a piano?
Well, my poor little girl has been taking lessons for about 5 months now (off and on thanks to summer schedules) and practicing on an old electric keyboard from MY teenage years. My mom has a piano in Ashland, but it has been impossible (ok, I know nothing is impossible with God, and we really hadn't put THAT much effort into it) to coordinate a plan to get it to Louisville, short of spending major bucks, which we have a more important place to spend our bucks at the moment.
This wonderful lady and her husband are going to the mission field and looking for a place to "store" the piano for the next 5 years or so, do we want it?!!! YEAH GOD!
Free piano!
Blessing #2- anyone who has been to our house and hung out in our family room has seen the sad shape of the furniture. We have a love seat that is now several shades of tan with very mis-shaped pillows and a chair that we drug out of the house of the deceased grandmother of a friend, years ago. Again, would love to have new furniture, but saving money to bring little Vanderpool home.
Sweet family in our Sunday School class announces this morning they are giving away their love seat and chair set to make room for their new furniture! Does anyone want it?!! Yeah!!
SO now, we have a piano, and a sofa and chair set, all free, all beautiful, all gifts from wonderfully generous brothers and sisters in Christ.
Our God is GREAT!
Oh, and last but MOST important, sweet little Monroe has a family! Somewhere, a family is waiting to take him home!! Isn't it just overwhelming how good God is?
First, yesterday, I got a message on FB from a woman I go to church with, and honestly don't know that well. Anyway, she sent me a message and said that she had heard through the grape vine that Gracie was taking piano lessons and did we need a piano?
Well, my poor little girl has been taking lessons for about 5 months now (off and on thanks to summer schedules) and practicing on an old electric keyboard from MY teenage years. My mom has a piano in Ashland, but it has been impossible (ok, I know nothing is impossible with God, and we really hadn't put THAT much effort into it) to coordinate a plan to get it to Louisville, short of spending major bucks, which we have a more important place to spend our bucks at the moment.
This wonderful lady and her husband are going to the mission field and looking for a place to "store" the piano for the next 5 years or so, do we want it?!!! YEAH GOD!
Free piano!
Blessing #2- anyone who has been to our house and hung out in our family room has seen the sad shape of the furniture. We have a love seat that is now several shades of tan with very mis-shaped pillows and a chair that we drug out of the house of the deceased grandmother of a friend, years ago. Again, would love to have new furniture, but saving money to bring little Vanderpool home.
Sweet family in our Sunday School class announces this morning they are giving away their love seat and chair set to make room for their new furniture! Does anyone want it?!! Yeah!!
SO now, we have a piano, and a sofa and chair set, all free, all beautiful, all gifts from wonderfully generous brothers and sisters in Christ.
Our God is GREAT!
Oh, and last but MOST important, sweet little Monroe has a family! Somewhere, a family is waiting to take him home!! Isn't it just overwhelming how good God is?
Friday, July 23, 2010
Someone out there...
I am copying this from another blog. Go to her blog to see his sweet face and read his story. There is someone out there God is calling to adopt this little boy.
"Monroe is five years old. He is so fortunate to still be in a baby house. For those of you unfamiliar with adoptions in country of the Ukraine, around a child's fifth birthday they are transferred to an insane asylum. All children with special needs go there. For most, it is a death sentence. They simply cannot survive the heinous conditions. Monroe WILL be transferred in just six months. That's how long a family has to get to him. The institution he will be moved to is known to be one of the worst in the country. There is no way sweet Monroe can survive there. Absolutely no way.
This adorable little boy deserves the love of a family and the medical intervention he so desperately needs. The fact that Monroe has CP should just be a big whatever. Just like every other child, he deserves a mommy and a daddy to help him become ALL that God has created him to be. There is nothing 'wrong' with Monroe, but everything RIGHT with him. He is created in the image of an Almighty Father--fearfully and wonderfully made just the way he is. Please will you pray with me? Please will you help me spread the word about Monroe?
All he needs is someone to say, "Here I am Lord, send me!" Everything else is already provided. Due to an incredibly generous benefactor, the adoption costs for Monroe are completely covered! Monroe has a $20 000.00 grant....
$20 000.00!"
From http://www.nogreaterjoymom.com/2010/07/im-pleading.html
"Monroe is five years old. He is so fortunate to still be in a baby house. For those of you unfamiliar with adoptions in country of the Ukraine, around a child's fifth birthday they are transferred to an insane asylum. All children with special needs go there. For most, it is a death sentence. They simply cannot survive the heinous conditions. Monroe WILL be transferred in just six months. That's how long a family has to get to him. The institution he will be moved to is known to be one of the worst in the country. There is no way sweet Monroe can survive there. Absolutely no way.
This adorable little boy deserves the love of a family and the medical intervention he so desperately needs. The fact that Monroe has CP should just be a big whatever. Just like every other child, he deserves a mommy and a daddy to help him become ALL that God has created him to be. There is nothing 'wrong' with Monroe, but everything RIGHT with him. He is created in the image of an Almighty Father--fearfully and wonderfully made just the way he is. Please will you pray with me? Please will you help me spread the word about Monroe?
All he needs is someone to say, "Here I am Lord, send me!" Everything else is already provided. Due to an incredibly generous benefactor, the adoption costs for Monroe are completely covered! Monroe has a $20 000.00 grant....
$20 000.00!"
From http://www.nogreaterjoymom.com/2010/07/im-pleading.html
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
More good mail!
Today I received the county authenticated documents from our home study. I love getting the mail every day! I know this is the rush time, as we get documents authenticated and photo pages put together. Soon, hopefully very soon, we will be in the long line of dossiers waiting in Rwanda.
I am prepared to wait. At least I tell myself that now. Give me 6 months, 9 months, and I might not be so willing to wait.
Right now I will do what I can and trust that the Lord's timing is perfect. He alone holds the future. He has already seen my child, He has already watched the moment that I hold my new little one in my arms. I must be content in that.
Monday, July 19, 2010
I 171 H!!!!!
We got our "advanced approval of an orphan petition" in the mail today!! That was SSOOOOOO fast!!! Praise God from whom all blessing flow!! Now to update physical forms, get photo sheets read, get copies and certifications! I'm so excited! Its going to be a busy week!!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
One More Thing Done!
Well, today we had our finger print appointments. Matt's was at 12 and mine at 1pm, but we both showed up at 12 and they took us right after the other. We took the kids with us and they were very well behaved.
The whole thing was quick and easy and the guy was very nice and asked about our adoption. I have to say that I have dealt with some very nice people through all this so far. Not everyone working for government agencies is rude and obnoxious. My husband being one!
SO now we wait for our approval letter. I700 something or other, I'm bad with the numbers on the forms. This will allow our child to become a US citizen as soon as they land at the airport and we won 't have to re-adopt. I just watched another family's "gotta" video, getting their baby girl. I can't for that to be me!
The whole thing was quick and easy and the guy was very nice and asked about our adoption. I have to say that I have dealt with some very nice people through all this so far. Not everyone working for government agencies is rude and obnoxious. My husband being one!
SO now we wait for our approval letter. I700 something or other, I'm bad with the numbers on the forms. This will allow our child to become a US citizen as soon as they land at the airport and we won 't have to re-adopt. I just watched another family's "gotta" video, getting their baby girl. I can't for that to be me!
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