Hello,
We are excited to announce that Papa will get to go for the first visit in the third week of January. Please pray for all parties involved, especially Mama at home with the kiddos.
The rubber is meeting the road! Thankfully, Ana will be back in school, but please pray for the peace of the brothers with their baby sister.
Thank you to those who have supported us in prayer and financially. The Reece's Rainbow page is linked again below, and we are very thankful for all those who love orphans.
http://reecesrainbow.org/104297/sponsorminer-2
(From the Great Litany)
For the peace of the whole world and the salvation of our souls let us ask of the Lord...
Lord, have mercy.
...
For seasonable weather for abundance of fruits of the earth let us ask of the Lord...
Lord, have mercy.
For travelers by land by sea and by air, for the sick and the suffering servants of God let us ask of the Lord...
Lord, have mercy.
...
Let us commend ourselves and one another and all our life unto Christ our God...
To thee, O Lord.
In Christ, (because where else is there?)
Papa
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live... John 11:25
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
...and wait
Well, last week we shipped out everything for the dossier, and now we are praying that the MOJ will process it smoothly. Back to waiting mode...
Ana's last post-placement report was sent to her agency Monday. It's been almost two years?!
In other news, the semester is almost over, just one final to administer then grade. The kiddos and I have all been sick, but we are recovering, praise God. It is cool here (cold, for an Arizonan), in the 40s-50s at night, and highs in the 60s, and we are enjoying that. House projects have stalled due to much kiddo care, but I plan on a decent winter break, and should be able to make headway. The garden grows well, we are eating our own lettuces and kale, and the cole crops are coming along in spite of the caterpillars. Mama has been getting to know the ladies' group at church, and has been enjoying that (but she says we look so forlorn when she comes home...I don't know what she means). We have an extra bed in the boys' room. So we will wait to hear.
Thank you for your prayers.
In Christ,
Papa
Ana's last post-placement report was sent to her agency Monday. It's been almost two years?!
In other news, the semester is almost over, just one final to administer then grade. The kiddos and I have all been sick, but we are recovering, praise God. It is cool here (cold, for an Arizonan), in the 40s-50s at night, and highs in the 60s, and we are enjoying that. House projects have stalled due to much kiddo care, but I plan on a decent winter break, and should be able to make headway. The garden grows well, we are eating our own lettuces and kale, and the cole crops are coming along in spite of the caterpillars. Mama has been getting to know the ladies' group at church, and has been enjoying that (but she says we look so forlorn when she comes home...I don't know what she means). We have an extra bed in the boys' room. So we will wait to hear.
Thank you for your prayers.
In Christ,
Papa
Thursday, December 1, 2016
Hurry Up
Hello,
Those who have adopted, or know adoptive families closely, know that the process is characterized by long stretches of waiting, punctuated by frantic bursts of activity.
This week has been the latter.
The MOJ is working very hard to process everything they can before the new year and the new PM.Thus, I and the boys (and sometimes Mama & the baby) spent Monday and Tuesday frantically assembling all the mostly-done paperwork into completed, apostilled, packaged documents, and sending them off to our agency. We have been waiting months for our FBI background checks to come back, but our agency has suggested an end run around that with a private agency that manages to turn these things around quickly.
And now we're all sick. Poor Ana has been hit bad by the cold (or colds?) going through our house, and the postnasal drainage just ruins her tummy. So it's been an eventful week. I am extremely thankful for 1) God's perpetual grace, 2) an awesome wife who still manages to feed us food and love, 3) cooperative kiddos who can entertain themselves in the Secretary of State's office two days in a row, 4) my employer's generous flexibility with time and remote work, and 5) my students, who didn't seem to mind getting Monday off.
Please pray that we can pull everything together to meet the deadline (5 December, if I heard it right)!
In Christ,
Papa
Those who have adopted, or know adoptive families closely, know that the process is characterized by long stretches of waiting, punctuated by frantic bursts of activity.
This week has been the latter.
The MOJ is working very hard to process everything they can before the new year and the new PM.Thus, I and the boys (and sometimes Mama & the baby) spent Monday and Tuesday frantically assembling all the mostly-done paperwork into completed, apostilled, packaged documents, and sending them off to our agency. We have been waiting months for our FBI background checks to come back, but our agency has suggested an end run around that with a private agency that manages to turn these things around quickly.
And now we're all sick. Poor Ana has been hit bad by the cold (or colds?) going through our house, and the postnasal drainage just ruins her tummy. So it's been an eventful week. I am extremely thankful for 1) God's perpetual grace, 2) an awesome wife who still manages to feed us food and love, 3) cooperative kiddos who can entertain themselves in the Secretary of State's office two days in a row, 4) my employer's generous flexibility with time and remote work, and 5) my students, who didn't seem to mind getting Monday off.
Please pray that we can pull everything together to meet the deadline (5 December, if I heard it right)!
In Christ,
Papa
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Monday, October 3, 2016
An Update!
Hello to anyone who still follows our blog!
We have good news - the I-800A has been approved (after two stumbles en route - we're short of sleep around here). We are honestly pretty tired, and while we pray for "Owen" much and press on, it's more of a march than a sprint right now. But that's not a shock to anyone who's set out to do a hard thing.
Right now, we have more paper to do to finalize the dossier documents. Then we ship off the big stack, and wait again.
To those of you who may read this blog and have adopted boys in the age range 5-7yrs, any helpful comments?
To any who wish to help us out as we bring "Owen" home, please see his Reece's Rainbow page here: http://reecesrainbow.org/104297/sponsorminer-2
Stay tuned - we hope things will get more active here before too long.
In Christ,
Papa
We have good news - the I-800A has been approved (after two stumbles en route - we're short of sleep around here). We are honestly pretty tired, and while we pray for "Owen" much and press on, it's more of a march than a sprint right now. But that's not a shock to anyone who's set out to do a hard thing.
Right now, we have more paper to do to finalize the dossier documents. Then we ship off the big stack, and wait again.
To those of you who may read this blog and have adopted boys in the age range 5-7yrs, any helpful comments?
To any who wish to help us out as we bring "Owen" home, please see his Reece's Rainbow page here: http://reecesrainbow.org/104297/sponsorminer-2
Stay tuned - we hope things will get more active here before too long.
In Christ,
Papa
Thursday, July 28, 2016
We're still here
We're still here, just chugging along.
Ana is doing well. She is patiently tolerating this summer of hot weather and no school bus rides. I am looking forward to seeing her excitement when school starts again.
Aside from an RV trip to a friend's wedding, we have had a quiet uneventful summer.
Friday, May 20, 2016
3 things
Yep, I haven't updated in forever...
1. Ana-- she's doing great!! She's finishing up her first semester of school. She loves riding the bus and she loves her teacher. We say she is the world's happiest junior high student.
2. We have a new littlest munchkin...
This little lady was born last month. She has been a sweet blessing to our family!
3. Our family keeps growing...
We are committed to adopt "Owen"...
He lives in Ana's old orphanage, and Papa met him two years ago when he visited Ana. Please keep us in your prayers throughout the process!
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Saturday, February 20, 2016
Pictures
I owe a real Ana update but that will be a lot of work so instead here are cute pictures :-)
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Pleven update courtesy of Maureen
Hello All,
Many of you have likely already seen this on Maureen's blog, but for those who have only known the name "Pleven" through our family, please take a moment to read this post. It gives an excellent summary of the current state and the current needs. Please do pray for this place where for so long evil sat unchallenged. Praise God for the Bulgarian staff that is taking good care of the kids, for the director, and for the outside support they receive. Please pray for the workers and the kids.
Especially Owen. More on this another time.
In Christ,
Papa
Many of you have likely already seen this on Maureen's blog, but for those who have only known the name "Pleven" through our family, please take a moment to read this post. It gives an excellent summary of the current state and the current needs. Please do pray for this place where for so long evil sat unchallenged. Praise God for the Bulgarian staff that is taking good care of the kids, for the director, and for the outside support they receive. Please pray for the workers and the kids.
Especially Owen. More on this another time.
In Christ,
Papa
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Over a year
It has been over a year since Ana came home to the USA.
We ran into the Pucketts in the PHX airport, having last seen them in the consulate in Sofia. It's a delightfully small world.
Cub shouted the whole ride home from the airport "NANA! NANA!" Took was asleep.
Our best friends were with us, having carved out several days from teacher-schedule in TX to come meet Ana and help out.
We sang the Doxology when we got to the house. It has remained one of Ana's favorite songs.
And then we began life with Ana. It has been a blessing, a challenge, a joy. Tomorrow, we go to meet with school people. It's pretty wild to think that the timid little fledgling who sat next to me and held my fingers on the car ride from the orphanage to Sofia will step out (or wheel out) into the world just a little. We are praying it is a good transition, that she will like school, and that there will be good people to work with her.
Much has changed in our lives, as the boys grow, Ana grows, Mama and baby#3 grow, and I rearrange things to accommodate seminary. God is faithful, and we are thankful for your support and prayers. Christ has conquered sin and death, and sends his Spirit on his people. We have much to be thankful for.
In Christ,
Papa
We ran into the Pucketts in the PHX airport, having last seen them in the consulate in Sofia. It's a delightfully small world.
Cub shouted the whole ride home from the airport "NANA! NANA!" Took was asleep.
Our best friends were with us, having carved out several days from teacher-schedule in TX to come meet Ana and help out.
We sang the Doxology when we got to the house. It has remained one of Ana's favorite songs.
And then we began life with Ana. It has been a blessing, a challenge, a joy. Tomorrow, we go to meet with school people. It's pretty wild to think that the timid little fledgling who sat next to me and held my fingers on the car ride from the orphanage to Sofia will step out (or wheel out) into the world just a little. We are praying it is a good transition, that she will like school, and that there will be good people to work with her.
Much has changed in our lives, as the boys grow, Ana grows, Mama and baby#3 grow, and I rearrange things to accommodate seminary. God is faithful, and we are thankful for your support and prayers. Christ has conquered sin and death, and sends his Spirit on his people. We have much to be thankful for.
In Christ,
Papa
Saturday, January 16, 2016
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
Another one home
If you haven't seen this, check out how Victoria (Hope) from our sidebar is doing...
http://andthentherewashope.blogspot.com/2016/01/amazing-grace-unfailing-love.html
It's amazing to see this difference after just 3 weeks!
We love seeing the differences in Ana after nearly a year.
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