Thankful.

Today, I write in joy...not because we've moved forward and know when we will travel to court and to see Sveta...but joy because of all that I've been given.

This week has been full.  I'm not sure I can remember all of the details, but on Tuesday evening I know I emailed asking if we should go ahead and apostille the 6 new documents that the judge wanted.  Wednesday morning we got the go ahead.  Basically this just means that V was able to read over them, and they seem to be correct.  We still have NO word on whether or not the judge wants them prior to court, or if we can just carry a copy to him.

Barry and I talked about all of this, and decided it would be smart to have 2 copies of everything apostilled.  Then we could send one out and we'd have one to carry just in case he said that would be fine.  So, I ran to the church and began printing and copying.  Then I went to get things notarized, but Teresa had taken the day off (and I can't blame her...as it was the day before Thanksgiving).  No luck before 10am.  We had staff meeting at the church, then our Children's Ministry Staff meeting...then I was  off.  Thankfully we were able to find another notary that we know who was willing to stay at the bank long enough for me to get over there and have things notarized.  YAY.  16 documents signed and stamped.

I drove to Indianapolis and on my way got a little distracted and missed my exit...so I drove around downtown for a bit.  But I saw a HUGE hawk on a stop sign, so that was cool.  I arrived at the Secretary of State office to be told by the woman I gave my docs to that it would take her a while since she doesn't normally apostille things.  So, I ran to the restroom, and upon my return was told that the notary did not print her name under her signature.  I looked at the woman and said, "so can I just print her name?"  She said, "I can't watch you do such a thing."

So, I promptly walked out of the office, sat on the floor in the hallway and printed the name of our notary on about 14 documents.  I went back in and a different lady helped me (I recognized her).  She told me to take a seat.  After a bit, I had to run outside and feed the parking meter and then come back through security.  Finally she said she was done...but she couldn't apostille some of the documents because either the notary didn't write her state or county of residence, or because the notary stamp with the name was illegible.  So, I left with about 10 of 16 documents apostilled.

I got home in time to brine the turkey and prep other dishes for our Thanksgiving meal that we hosted this year.  Never done that before, but it turned out GREAT!!  Enjoyed time with some of the people we love, but wished we could have spent it with a handful more.  Then yesterday we woke up and did NOTHING.  Now, for those of you that know us well...this NEVER happens.  It was incredible.  We played Skip Bo for a while, drank hot chocolate, and didn't clean up a thing.  Then last night Barry took me on date night.  We went back to the restaurant where we ate on our first date (it's been exactly 3 years, to the date), we grabbed cheesecake, and starbucks too...and walked around the mall a bit.  Best date ever.  Loved it.  Love him.

Anyway, today we've got to actually get the dishes from Thanksgiving into the dishwasher.  I've got to make a meal plan for December, Barry's going to work on the house, and we hope to get out and take Griffen for a walk.

On Monday, I'll be heading back to Indy to get the last of the documents apostilled.  And, this week, V is traveling back to Vladimir to visit the judge and law clerk.  She hasn't been able to get any answers on the phone, so she'll be visiting in person so that hopefully we can have a court date, and a single mom will get one too.

Please be praying for Vita's travel, and her daughter who is recuperating from surgery.  Pray also that we are able to receive a court date, and that the single lady who is trying to adopt will get one close to ours so we can travel together.

Thanks all!!

6. It's not a number I like.

First I must apologize to family that may read this and didn't get a phone call with an update.  I am sorry, but today was CRAZY and I honestly didn't want to call just to tell you that I didn't have a court date, still.

We do have a list of documents...6 to be exact...that need to be sent to the judge ASAP.  I'll be working on these tomorrow and will hopefully scan and send all of them to our in country rep by Friday morning.  Sadly, Friday morning is Friday evening in Russia...so there's NO chance the judge will get them until next week.  Thankfully, Russian's don't celebrate Thanksgiving so next week is a normal work week for them.

Please continue to pray that the judge's heart will be softened and that these documents will be able to be hand delivered rather than sent prior to our court date.

Thanks.

Today? Monday? Any day?

Well, lots of random things have happened since I posted last.  One of which was I wrote a blog that I thought posted, but apparently didn't.  Don't know what happened there.

I don't always blog as I find everything out, because some of the things are just sad and no one really wants to hear about them (not even me).  But here's a recap of our week:


Weekend/Monday: We found out the the fingerprints from the Indiana State Police, although they are run on the national database, might not be accepted in court.  They might have to be on FBI letterhead. We also found out that the reason we haven't been given a court date was because the "regular judge" was on a business trip.  So, we did what only we would do...we called our friend Mike (a police officer in town), and asked if he'd be willing to fingerprint us.  I knew calling Mike was the best idea...I wanted to make sure the prints were done right the first time.  He was fabulous.  He did them electronically and even sometimes redid them because he didn't like the print even when the computer did.  I have NO doubt that the FBI will accept the ones we sent.  Thanks to Mike for taking so much time and caring so much about the details with us!! I also called a man that goes to our church thinking he might have pull with getting the FBI print clearances back sooner.  He didn't...but I was ready to pull any string I could to get them done faster than the 6-12 weeks their website states they will take.  Late Monday afternoon I spoke with our placing agency who said the ISP prints should be ok, and we might be able to make them work.

Tuesday: FBI received our prints via FedEx (thank you for taking lots of my money and getting my papers across the country by the next day).  Got an email at 6:01am that our in country personnel had been contacted about the FBI prints, but that she was in a government building in Vladimir and couldn't talk.  She was asked to check her email and get back to us as soon as she could.

Wednesday: At 4:20pm I couldn't take it anymore.  I emailed asking if we'd heard back from our personnel in Vladimir.  (My prayer had been that she was in the court and we were going to get a date).  I got an email back that evening stating that no, she hadn't heard but would call early in the morning.

Thursday: Received an email around 5:30am stating that V (our in country lady) couldn't open the attachment while in Vladimir about the FBI prints, and would open it now that she was at home.  She also informed us that V and the judge spoke while V was in Vladimir and that they were working on which documents would be acceptable and a court date.  Later in the evening we received word that V was faxing the FBI options to the court and would let us know if the judge decides to accept them.

Friday: It's currently 5:30pm in Russia, so says the clock that hangs in our home.  Things are closed for the day.  The judge has gone home to be with his family/friends. 

Saturday: Wait.
Sunday: Wait.

Pray with us that we see what God is doing soon.  I still believe we could hear about a date today...because maybe V hasn't gotten to hear computer yet.  Or maybe J (our state side lady) hasn't been able to forward the message on yet. If we can go to court on Friday, December 2nd...our Gotcha Day would be the day that we decided to adopt one year ago.  We still might be able to be home by Christmas at this point, but it's getting REALLY close.  Please be praying that our little girl can spend American Christmas with her Mama and Papa.  And that we can celebrate Russian Christmas (1/7) together as a family in our home.

Thanks for praying.  God is big, and we need Him to be big.  We can't do this on our own.  Only HE can make this happen.

Jessi

Happy November

It's adoption awareness month, which excites me a little.  I'm hoping that many people will hear about adoption and begin to understand that it is God's heart.

I know you are all dying to hear about a court date for us...and honestly...we are too!! Right now, all we know is that the court is "still examining our documents."  They have a few things they don't like: the length of time we've been married, there weren't enough pictures, etc.  We know that we are not in control of getting a court date (even though I'd like to be at times), but we do know who is in control!  I'm asking that you begin to pray with Barry and I for the judge who has our file.  Pray that his heart would be softened by God and that he would see that we are the family for Sveta.  Pray that the things he had issue with would fade away and he'd need nothing more for our file.  Pray that God would draw this judge to himself and that the judge would come to know our Lord.

Barry and I have been greatly encouraged by notes, prayers, flowers, gifts, hugs, and fun events that we get to be part of.  We're still in this limbo time where we aren't committing to anything right now.  If we are here for thanksgiving we might just drive around and visit all of you and grab turkey on our way!  :)  Please continue to pray for us...but especially be praying for our Sveta.  Barry and I have one another, but Sveta is without another member of her family.  She's with incredible caregivers, and we pray for them daily...but they aren't family.  Pray that Sveta would be growing and learning and developing as she was designed to.  And pray that we get to see her soon.

Thank you.
Jessi