What I'm Doing...

Laundry, making a roast, homeschool, working out, visiting with my sister and niece, making doctor appointments (11!), watching Downton Abbey with Everett, buying car seats , changing diapers, potty training, buying little boy underwear, praying, making green smoothies and eggs, getting my hair done, occupational and physical therapy, enjoying the sunshine and warm weather, waiting, waiting, waiting...

We leave to bring them home on Sunday. Until then, being ever so thankful for the time here with my family and friends. I don't deserve this blessing that I am living, but I will never stop being grateful.

Ezra and Gustav

I am so happy to announce that as of this morning, we have two new sons!! Court went great, and we are getting a bit of sleep (I hope) before we head home at 3 am! The judge, jury, and prosecutor were quite different than last time. He asked many questions and so did the two people who were the jury. They all seemed to not quite believe that we REALLY wanted 8 children. Was I really sure? He even said I was the mother of the most children that had ever been in their court! He told Everett he did not envy him the weddings (we have never heard that before...) and that it was going to be a very huge responsibility. I actually really respected that, because he is so right. It is a huge responsibility for Everett to provide for all of us, and a huge challenge for us to raise them. This is not something we take lightly and would never do apart from the awesome grace and strength of our God. It was a wonderful and sober time. Our picture book (thank you again, Julie!) was a huge hit and everyone told us how beautiful our daughters were. I think seeing them all happy and well cared for made everyone feel safe sending these boys off to a new home far away to be taken care of by obviously crazy people :)

After all the questions, the judge concluded everything and told us to come back that afternoon. I was shocked. And here I thought it had gone so well! I walked out of the room confused and upset and asked what had happened. Our facilitator assured me several times that it was okay, "you are the parents" and that the judge was joking with me. Really? Ha. Ha. After a bit it really sunk in and oh, such joy! It is hard to believe we really have two sons. (And just so you know, no one here ever gets my jokes either!)

We went back to see the boys right away and held them and told them we would be back in 10 days. They were so sweet and glad! I hope they understand a little how much we love them- I can't wait until we get to start showing them what it means to have a family. They are in for a shock! What? You make everyone drink green-smoothies and we don't eat cookies every day? (hehe...)

Heidi Eleta Jacobson

By the awesome grace and kindness of God, we are now the parents of SIX girls!! Yes, today was a wonderful day because Heidi joined our family!

We arrived yesterday and got settled into an apartment, and tried (to little avail) to get some rest. I had pulled a muscle in my neck/shoulder last week, so I was really feeling it and adding in the jet lag did not make for much sleep. We went straight away this morning to visit our girl. We wondered if she would remember us at all- it has been a month since she saw us last. We waited for her in the hallway of her groupa (an area in her orphanage of about 4 rooms where she lives) and they brought her into the hallway and sat her on a stool while they got her shoes. At first, she did not see us - we watched her for a few moments just sitting and wondering what was up. Then she looked our way. As soon as she saw us, her entire face broke into a hug grin and she jumped up and ran right into our arms. It was wonderful.

We played with her on the couch in the hallway (not our favorite place in the world, but where we are required to do our visiting). She was very sweet and interested in us. So many hugs and kisses on that little one! After a while of playing with our things, she climbed up into Everett's lap and clear-as-day said "Papa!". We could not believe it- she has never said a single word in our presence before. I bet you can guess who cried...

We went home for some lunch and to change into some nice clothes. I was so nervous!! But finally the cab arrived and we made it to the court building. (This also took some extra phone calls since the place he took us first was clearly not a court building and we could not communicate!) Once we were all gathered, Everett, myself, our facilitator, the orphanage director, a social worker, and two random people for the jury, we went into the judge's office. A bit of Russian was exchanged and it turned out we were missing a document and had to get it before he would hear our case. BUT the office where you can get that paper was closed today, of course.

Much Russian in the hallway (that looked EXACTLY like the "4th Floor" in Parks and Rec, BTW) and some heartfelt prayer later, we did go in, and for some reason not explained to us, he did hear our case. I am so used to it now. Very few things are explained to us or else just the general idea, no details, which we are now fine with (as long as things keep turning out ok, I guess).

The court itself was really easy. After all the horror stories, I expected drama, and it was more like the judge reading things aloud that he had to say, and everyone saying they wanted us to adopt her, and then he said she was ours. It was, and is, one of the most wonderful moments of my life. To hear them say again that no one wanted her, that no one has ever inquired about her, that she has "conditions" that make her undesirable, made my heart ache. But this is the way God works. He redeems and makes families. We want her, we chose her, we love her exactly like she is. "Eleta" is the name Everett selected for her middle name and it means "chosen". How wonderful it is to be chosen, and I hope someday Heidi will understand that she was chosen, by us, and by God.

We got to go back again and see her this evening, and I must have told her she was mine a thousand times! Oh how we love that girl! While we were there we found out that our court date for the boys has been moved  to Thursday, so another change of plans for us. We had tickets and childcare arranged for a Wednesday homecoming. We trust in God's perfect timing, however, and are thankful for all the chances to be flexible and grow in grace and gratitude :).

Thank you all for your prayers, and continued financial support. Several people have asked how much we are still short for our adoption. We will still owe about $12,000, when all is said and done. It is hard to not have been able to get the tax refund, but we are so thankful for how so many have given to make that number SO MUCH lower!!! We will be hanging out here for a few more days, and I will update again when we finally have court for the boys. Love, and joy, from the proud parents of SIX beautiful and perfect girls.

And You Thought They Were Cute Before...

We will be leaving on Saturday for our court appointments. Court for Heidi is Monday, the boys on Tuesday. Please pray for a favorable outcome. We hope to be on our way home this time next week legally the parents of eight!! Hope you enjoy this video of the boys during their play practice!

A Little Update!

I am sorry it has been so long since I updated where things are with our adoption. We came home from Ukraine just before Christmas and are settled in at home waiting for our court dates. It has been so good to come home and be with our girls and our family! We did not find out until after we were home that we did not get the court dates we had hoped for, and currently our dates are set for Jan 23rd and Jan 24th. We will head back on Jan 21st and come home on the 25th. This short trip will be for our court dates only. If we pass court, the 25th begins our 10 day waiting period. When this is over, we will return again to finally bring all the kids home. This trip can be from 1.5- 2 weeks, depending on how quickly we can accomplish the necessary paperwork for them to immigrate.

Our time visiting with the boys, and briefly again with Heidi before we came home was good in so many ways, and hard in others. I do not ever want to be less than candid about our experience, but we are still very much in the middle of this entire process. Nothing is official and until our 10 day wait is over, anything can happen. Because of this, I do not feel free to write much about my impressions or feelings. Many blog posts have come to mind, as the adoption process has stretched me and taught me much about our Rescuer already. I hope to share more when things are more secure.

I do feel confident to say that our God is GOOD, and his plans for these children and for our family will be accomplished. We continue to pray that Ezra, Gustav, and Heidi will be home with us by mid-February. Our time away was very hard for our girls at home, and I continue to ask for prayer for them as we have to leave them two more times! We also know that it is going to be hard for our new children to leave everything they know and enter into this new life. But God is at work, and will be faithful to them and to us as we travel and adjust. The end of this phase is nearly in site, and we move forward this new year with hope and courage. Thank you all for your prayers and for the many people who have supported us financially. It has been awe-inspiring to watch God work in this whole process. We are excited to see what this new year brings for our family!

Boy Time!!

We have spent the last few days visiting with the boys twice a day. Our new town is much smaller and so an easy routine has developed already. After we wake up, we walk about 30 min to their orphanage, visit outside for around an hour or sometimes longer (depends on what time they tell us to be "home" with the boys) walk back to the hotel, stopping at a pizza place for coffee (the menu is in English!). Around 4 we set out again and then visit for a while in a "waiting room". After this visit, we again stop at the pizza place for dinner, then go home to read and try to stay awake long enough to Skype with the girls when naptime at home is over.

I miss my girls so much now and just can not wait to go home. Last night baby girl was giving me kisses on Skype over and over until I thought my heart might actually burst! Being away form them is the hardest part of this process. Many things are very challenging, but not being able to hold and kiss my girls is just terrible.

Getting to know the boys is very interesting. The language barrier is very hard. Unlike our times with Heidi who is very much still like a baby, these boys have a LOT to tell us, and I cannot understand anything. They jabber on and on, and it feels so sad to not know the things on their hearts in these very early times together. I can't tell them we are coming back in the afternoon, be gentle with the ipad, share the toy with your brother, I love you. Instead, everything must be expressed with body language! It is amazing just how much I can understand, though. That they are VERY proud to have a "Mama and Papa" (they tell everyone they see), that they are trying to figure out what we will be like, that they are sinners, that they are adorable and funny, that they are ALL BOY!!

The first few visits were all just about fun, I actually think I wanted to impress them with how cool and wonderful I was. Now we are getting into the real stuff. What are they to think? Here we show up saying we are their mother and father, and they have no idea what that even means! Being a family is about love and learning. They have no concept for this, but they do know that what feels good is to find their boundaries, push them, and win. Our job will be to show them that love means us teaching them how to become godly men. This is going to be a privilege, and a challenge. We are so thankful to be given the opportunity to have these boys in our home, and we also know that it will not be easy. Yes, they are VERY cute. Yes, they are affectionate and lovable! And yes, most of all, they need a savior. How great our joy will be to teach them about the One who redeems, rescues, and truly loves. What we are doing with them now is not real life. It is strange and hard and I simply cannot wait for real family time to begin!

And let me tell you, I LOVE BOYS!! How great is it that even ones who grow up in an orphanage in Eastern Europe know that burping is awesome and smashing and kicking and running is the best? Fun times are ahead!

Falling for Heidi

We have had the joy of visiting with Heidi (yes, that will be her name!) several times over the last few days. She is a little doll and we have had such fun getting to know her. She is sweet, quick to laugh, spunky, and curious. I have wondered what she must think of these strangers that have suddenly become a part of her life. The first night, she was happy and enjoyed our play time very much. She would quickly go from staring at us, to a full out laugh when she got tickled. The next morning when we entered the room in her group, she smiled when she saw us and came right to me. We told the nanny that we wanted to go outside, so they dressed her up in a snowsuit (good thing, it is freezing!) and brought her out to us. We were not all ready with our coats on, so the nanny took Heidi's hat off. She was VERY disappointed and instantly burst into tears until we put the hat back on and started for outside! The video below is from that first outing.

We have been able to visit twice a day, and this morning was our best time so far. We spent an hour outside, pushing her in the stroller and letting her explore. Every once in a while, she will look back to make sure we are still around and even motions with her hand for us to follow. When we went in, I gave her the slinky which she loves! She has no interest in "girly" toys, but loves to throw everything- and she has quite an arm! She is very, very small, and does not seem to be talking at all. She is serious much of the time, but if we tickle her, or do something amazing with a toy (like throwing a ball really high) she will just start to really laugh. I love the way her face lights up when she laughs.

When we walked into the room this morning, another of the children in the room saw us and said "Mama! Ludvaba Mama!" (Ludvaba is her given name) It really breaks my heart that she is the only one in the room with a mama. I wish there was someone coming for each of them! The children are very well-behaved, sweet and smiling whenever we see them. The nannies are kind, but how much better would it be to know that it was your mama coming through the door? I am so grateful to God that he has brought us here for her.

I hope you enjoy the videos! We have one more time with her tonight, then we move to the town where the boys live. We will stay there until we find out about our court date. I hate that we may not see Heidi again for a long time! I am excited to get to know the boys better, and I am praying that our court date is soon and we can get these little ones home where they belong!!