Still Waiting and Praying

We are still waiting to find out the availability of the girls. Hopefully we will hear something soon, but I read that their government is closed until May 4th for Easter and May Day. If that is accurate then we will be waiting a while longer.

We're just praying that God will keep His hands on this situation and that we will bring home the children that He has planned for us. Of course, we hope that it is Nadia and Dasha, but we will love any child that God blesses us with just the same! Boy or girl!! While I originally thought that two girls would be great in order to have sisters, I know that God may have other plans. We will be thrilled with whoever God leads us to adopt and are so anxious to get children back in our home. You don't realize how empty a home can be until you have a child and then they are gone. We miss the babbles, toy banging, laughter, music, and most of all the hugs and kisses. We're just ready to get through the bureaucracy of it all and get them home, whoever they may be. They will be ours and they will be so loved!

Please continue to pray that God will make it clear to us the children that He has planned for our family. We weren't expecting to run into issues with Nadia and we certainly weren't expecting the little treasure named Dasha to be hidden away in that orphanage. We were very sad to let Zhenya go and I want to be clear that it was due to his age, not his gender that we gave him back. I felt like there was a higher reason that I was unable to meet him when we went. Dasha is the last child that I came to in my search for Zhenya. We later found out that he was in the hospital with the chicken pox. If I had met him then it would have been much harder for me to decide between him and Dasha. As it is, Dasha is in the most critical need for adoption because she is near the age of transfer, only 6 more months! Zhenya is only 16 months old and we just pray that he will find a good family. It was hard enough deciding to give him back after looking at his pictures for months, but if I had seen him I don't know what I would have done. Dasha just stole my heart and she is so sweet and delicate. The thought of her being sent to an institution is just unfathomable to me. It is for ALL of the children, but especially one that is so delicate and small like her. I feel like there was a reason that she was the last child that I saw in my search for Zhenya. He simply wasn't there, but here was this little angel that no one knew about. And then her name means "gift from God". I just feel that God is at work and I pray that she will be ours. Nadia was the first child that I saw when we entered their room and I knew it was her as soon as I saw her. I felt it in my heart. I had only seen her from the side of her face, but I knew it was her. I just felt it!

I think it's really neat that Nadia was the first child that I saw and Dasha was the last. I'm praying and hoping that they will be ours. But if not, I know that God sees the bigger picture and will clearly lead us to the children that He has planned for our family. There are so many children there in need of a mommy and daddy and we will be honored to call any of them our own. We're just really praying for the chance to be parents again to two of these special little children. We are still so thankful that God blessed us with Chloe's life and through her death He has opened this door. Leukemia stole our daughter, but God has given her eternal life! God has been so good to us and sometimes I still can't believe that He blessed us with such a beautiful child as Chloe. We have been so blessed and fortunate! Even in our trials with Chloe, God used them to help us grow closer to Him. Without Chloe we wouldn't be where we are today. God taught us so much through her! We still have much to learn! Our prayer is that He will bless us again with more of these beautiful, special little children. I'm so ready to get them home!

Please pray that everything will go quickly and smoothly for us, if that's God's will. And if there are storms ahead, that we will have the faith to get through them. Going back over there is going to be so hard for me and I know it will take a toll on Rick as well. There are so many needy children and it is absolutely heartbreaking the conditions that they are being kept in. They only get out of bed to be fed, changed, and bathed. The toys are non-existent and the toys they do have are not stimulating in any way. There are not enough toys for all of the children. They are literally laying there deteriorating. No matter who we bring home, we will be absolutely heartbroken for those that we have to leave behind.

The little guy that I mentioned in my last post is named Roma. He is already four years old and is facing institutionalization in June. He desperately needs a family. Roma is very high-functioning considering his environment. He is just the sweetest little angel! He has so much potential and he does not deserve the fate that lies ahead for him! He needs to find a family right away!! I have decided to try to raise money for him through Chloe's Foundation. If you feel led to, please go to www.chloesmiracle.com and make a donation. ALL donations that we receive from now until July 1st will be put in a grant for Roma. This little guy has had a special place in my heart for a long time and I will greatly appreciate any donation that anyone can make to help a family better afford his adoption. Any donation will be 100% tax deductible! If by chance we are unable to adopt Nadia or Dasha, we plan on adopting Roma. If we end up adopting Roma, then all grant money that has been raised for him will be transferred for another little girl named Victoria who is 3.5 years old and also near the age of transfer. We absolutely WILL NOT use any money put in Roma's grant for our personal gain if we adopt him. That will be specifically for Victoria and in the hopes of finding her a family. In the future, we hope to choose a child a month to raise money for. In Chloe's obituary we vowed to start a foundation in her honor to bring joy and hope to children in need. If these children do not need and deserve joy and hope, then I don't know who does. Please help Roma find a family. I cannot express how grateful we will be to anyone who can help this special little guy. I will be posting Roma and Victoria's pictures on this blog tomorrow. Please make sure that if you make a donation for Roma that you go to www.chloesmiracle.com. Please do not donate on this blog. That account is specifically for our adoption. The "donate" button on www.chloesmiracle.com will go straight into our foundation account and will be applied toward a grant for Roma. I will fix it so that you can donate for him straight from this blog tomorrow to make it easier.

Thank you all for your prayers and support!