Bump #1

Well, its been a smooth road thus far so we really shouldn't be complaining, BUUUUUT....
We are starting to get a bit overwhelmed. We really haven't come across any snags in our process or any huge rejections to "set us back". Just a few minor things that add up when your hopes are high.
Our paperwork had a few glitches that need to be fixed before we can send out our dossier. Nothing major, just a few documents that were supposed to printed and notarized on specific letterhead and they weren't. I know that it could be a MUCH bigger snag than it is but I think ANY bump that you come across can be discouraging as you dont know if that little bump is going to lead to an even bigger mountain!!
We do know....and continue to remind ourselves...that this is all in God's timing and our little one just may not be ready for us to come get him/her.
We are starting to realize that for our last payment we will need to come up with a fundraiser of some kind to help us along.....or win the lottery...which we have come to play religiously every Wednesday and Saturday. Hey! Someone's gotta win, right?! Anyway, if anyone has any great ideas or suggestions for a fundraiser please email me! We have considered a "Support Adoption Cookbook" sale and an online Adoption Auction, where we get local restaurants and hotels to donate Gift Cards and rooms to auction off online and proceeds will go to our adoption fund and to Two Hearts for Hope.

A MUST read :)

This has to be one of THE best books that I have EVER read! If you are already a mom, expecting, or planning on a family later down the road...this book is awesome! I read it in two days because I couldn't put it down. The author is Stefanie Wilder-Taylor, a comedian...her humor will make you actually laugh out loud :) I read about 3/4 of the book out loud to J.D. because he wanted to know why I was laughing so hard that I was snorting! haha

PS: She has a follow-up book called "Naptime is the new Happy Hour". I am getting that one this week and I'll let you know how it is :)

Two hearts for hope

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"Sometimes I would like to ask God why he allows poverty, famine, and injustice in the world when He can do something about it, but I'm afraid he might ask me the same thing!"

Too silent of a night.....

Hopefully, this will be the last Christmas that we will have to celebrate without Baby Hanks. I cant wait for the hustle and bustle of next year at this time with a little one in tow...presents under the tree...
I'm sure we will be praying for at least one silent night after the arrival of Baby Hanks :) But we are looking forward to every minute of it.
We will update again after the first of the year!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone...now we wait for Christmas to creep upon us. This year has gone by so quickly. It seems like just yesterday JD and I were living in Memphis and planning a wedding not knowing which city we would be sent to next. That was 3 years ago! Or even meeting JD for the first time and Boise and spending every day since with each other and enjoying every minute...and that was 6 years ago!
My family came to visit for thanksgiving this year at our house.....our FULL house! The only thing that was missing was our little Baby Hanks. But thats ok...we are praying that this year was our last year without him/her :)
I am trying to keep our blog updated as often as possible, but unfortunately, there isnt much happening at this time. Hopefully, after the first of the year we will have more to share!! :)

Now the fun begins!

The paperwork truly never ends. It can be overwhelming at times...ok, most of the time. But thankfully, we have the most amazing agency guiding us through this journey. You really must have faith and trust in your agency to hand over ALL of your most intimate information!
We are now waiting on our appointment for our FBI Fingerprinting which could be about a month...while we wait, we hope that all of the documents that we have sent away for have come back to us without any problems. Once our dossier is ready to go, it will be translated into Russian and on its way!!

While I was Blog Stalking.....

I was blog stalking again :) ... and came across this blog post. I think this is as clear as you can get in words the feeling and meaning that I have been trying to get across to those who don't understand adoption. It is a long, tiring process not to be taken or entered into lightly. You have to have the heart, the desire, and the dedication to your child to start and complete the journey that is, international adoption.

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Being an adoptive mother is not for every woman. She must possess not only the natural mother instinct but an understanding and appreciation of the situation that brought a child into her arms making her a mother. The adoptive family came to be by choices made, choices made by the biological parents and by the adoptive parents. This bond the adoptive mother has with her child grows over time, like the child did within his first mother’s womb. Day by day, touch by touch, with each tear, kiss, and memory made they became a family. Adoptive mothers have that special knack to let love grow.Adoptive mothers know that she’s a mender of wounds, not just of the physical skinned knees with a band-aid and a kiss, but of the heart. She gives love, acceptance, and permission to ask and talk about the day he was born and of his first parents.Adoptive mothers are embracers, not only of the child with many hugs and kisses, but of the child’s heritage and history. She embraces the facts of
her child’s past with strength for herself and the child.She’s not only a memory maker planning family vacations, activities, and birthday parties, but also a memory keeper. Details of a birth, photos of the hospital, and of the parents who brought her into the world are kept along side the newspaper clipping that announced it all. All these things are kept in a special book that tells the whole story.She’s a tier of shoelaces and of hearts. She weaves lives together into a tapestry of a new family, with many different brightly, colored threads showcasing their individualities and family origins. Together they create one unit attached to each other.Adoptive mothers are experts at finding lost objects, but understand and validate the profound, deep loss left by adoption. She allows the tears to fall and grief to be felt, allowing the mourning of the mom not there. She is secure in knowing that she’s not a replacement, but a finisher of a race for someone who, for whatever reason, could not run any longer.This role is not for the weak of spirit, or the easily wounded. Loving a child not born to her but calling him her own, but this is what she does, it is her calling. She is a mother.

-unknown