Random stuff

We are loving Micah's city and country! There is so much to see and do. Here are some pictures of the outside of our apartment as we waited for Eugene to pick us up for our city tour. Nothing exciting, but this is how most of the apartments look from the outside. Once you walk in, you go up two flights of stairs to our apartment on the 3rd floor, which is also number 13. I thought, well maybe it's not bad luck here, but was later told it is... so funny we got building AND apartment 13. But I'm not superstitious since we know the Lord is with us all the time, so it's okay.

On the way to our stop, we passed the Opera house... I really would love to get in there and see a performance while we're here.

Here is a beautiful picture of St. Andrew's Cathedral right next to the adoption office. The buildings here are so amazing.

Our driver, Eugene, took us to the souvenier vendors and got us hooked up with a couple of English-speaking guys who helped us buy some cool stuff (see below for the authentic costume we bought for Micah for only 100 UAH!) The rest will have to wait until we give them out :-)

Eugene showed us a cute little Russian restaurant where we could order Varenyky (an authentic Ukrainian dish). Here we are upstairs. It was very lavishly decorated and had animal furs on all the seats. The sweet waitress put one of them on the floor for Annie to play, but she wasn't much into playing at all yesterday. Jet lag really set in on her and she was mostly a zombie all day. Last night we slept a better night shift and so far she is napping good today. Hopefully this afternoon she will be back to her normal self. Do you see the face on the wall in the 2nd photo below? (p.s. the waiter next to it speaks REALLY good English!)

Our check came in this cute little shoe! We really found this place fun and interesting.

While Eugene helped get another RR family home from the SDA, we walked around site-seeing and came upon St. Sophia's Cathedral (1500 years old!) Annie wanted to get down and chase the pigeons around :)

Here is a statue next to St. Sophia's, of Bohdan Khmelnytsky on his horse.

St. Michael's Cathedral (2000 years old!)

We found a park next to St. Michael's and tried to get Annie to swing a bit. She was not really having it. I put her on backwards so she'd have something to hang onto... the swings here are much different than back home.

The angels and arches in Independence Square. These two monuments elevate two of the city protectors; the historic protector of Kiev - Michael the Archangel atop a reconstruction of one of the old city's gates ---- and a modern invention, the goddess-protector Berehynia on top of the tall column.

After shopping in an underground market, we came home and I made some yummy spaghetti. This is how the sauces come here, in packets! Soooo different, but very yummy! We'll do the city tour another day -- Annie was so tired and it was getting late.

Here is Micah's costume we got at the souvenier shop, along with his country's flag. We loving collecting these little things for him to have.

SDA Appointment!

It went without a hitch, as we had hoped and expected. Well mostly :) We had a cab driver pick us up for the appointment, and he didn't speak English (most people don't here), so we had trouble making sure he was there for us and going to the right place. And we didn't know how much to pay him until we called Yulia, but as always, the team had it under control. We got to meet Yulia, see Niko again and meet one of the other drivers, Eugene, who will be taking us on a tour of the city in just a couple hours. Since we left CA, it's been a huge lesson in trusting others for almost everything. Our cab driver dropped us off, but pointed us in the wrong direction, so we got to the Department of Family, Youth, and Sports and knew we were in the wrong place. If it hadn't been for Shea Coleman getting there before us and coming out of the gate to let us know it was just next door, we'd have been panicking (well I was kinda anyway). Even though I knew it was next to a church, there were no signs anywhere.

The Colemans had the same appointment as us and they went in first. We went in immediately after. Here's us in front of the SDA building with a very jet-lagged Annie.

Here is St. Andrew's Cathedral right next to the SDA building.

And us with the Colemans after our appointments. Our girls are only 3 months apart! :)

We learned that Micah was abandoned at birth at the maternity house. We will find out more information on his family possibly when we get to the orphanage on Monday. We also found out that he is described as quiet in nature. Along with Down syndrome, medically he has mental delays because of the DS (to be expected), flat feet, chest decompressions (but I'm saying that wrong and will get the right term on Monday), and tetralogy of Fallot (a congenital heart defect that is correctable with surgery). On Micah's profile at RR, it says he had heart surgery, but it wasn't in his file, so we'll clear that up on Monday too.

Unfortunately we have to wait until Monday to go to his orphanage because our referral to meet him won't be ready until tomorrow between 3-4pm. We expected this before we came out here, so it's okay. We will keep ourselves as busy as possible until then (not hard to do here).

So I guess the most difficult thing today was learning Micah's mother abandoned him at the hospital. I'm not sure why it was difficult to hear because I had suspected that all along, but to hear it for a fact made me tear up a little. His mother and father will never know the joy this young boy can bring to their hearts. I hope to learn more about them at the orphanage so I can document it for Micah. I want him to have peace about his birth parents when he is old enough to understand it all. We are grateful more than anything that they didn't terminate the pregnancy because otherwise we wouldn't be able to ever know our son. That may sound silly to some, but if you've followed our blog, you know that we believe God designed us to be a family with Micah specifically, not just any orphan boy. We're also grateful his birth mother was selfless enough to give him a chance with a family who could take care of him. His birth mom gave him life, but God gave our family to him to raise and love him. I cannot wait to hold him in my arms and to know how close he is to us right now is killing me. Just four more days! :)

We have arrived!!

First I want to apologize for the abundance of pictures, but I had a lot to sort through :) We left LAX at 9:05pm PST on Monday, May 16, 2011.

We checked in so early that there was nobody in line for check-in and absolutely nobody in security! So we got right through and ended up waiting around 4 hours for our flight. It went by fast though. Finally our plane arrived at the gate, and we got a good picture of it pulling in. This is the actual plane we flew 10 hrs on! :)

When we first checked-in, the lady at the counter said that since there were so many babies on the flight that there was only one seat with the bassinet and that we'd have to be separated on the plane. We decided to forfeit the bassinet so we could sit together. Then I asked the lady at the gate desk why we had that problem since we checked in so early. She was able to move our seats right away so that we'd be together AND have the bassinet. It was a really good thing because it came in handy:

The flight from LAX to Munich, Germany went well for such a long flight. Annie was fussy at first, but it was way past her bedtime. Once I got her to sleep she slept in the bassinet for a few hours, then woke up super confused. We played for a little while, then she went back to sleep and slept another 5 hrs or so until we were ready to land. Overall, the seats were comfortable, the food was very good, the staff was helpful and pleasant, and landing was so smooth I didn't even feel it! That's my least-favorite part of flying, so I was very excited about that.

Oh, one story from the plane: everybody has their own personal tv's, so Barry and I decided to watch "Little Fockers" simultaneously. At one part I was so surprised that I yelled, "OH NO!!!" super loud forgetting where I was and that nobody else was watching what I was... it was so funny. I had people turning around and looking at me. Barry started laughing at me and saying, "SHHH, that was really loud!" We were laughing so hard. If you haven't seen the movie yet, it was funny and I suggest it. But if you have, it's the dump truck scene that got me laughing to tears.

Once we landed in Munich, we had two hours to get to our gate. So we stopped at this little cafe and had "lunch/dinner". We had Bayerisches Entengrostl for 13,90 euros (about $18-20). This was roasted strips of duck with potatoes, green beans, and marjoram). It was DELICOUS! Then we each had a bowl of Bayerische Kartoffelsuppe for 6,20 euros (about $10). The description on this was potato soup with sausages and marjoram). It also very tasty. We didn't know what the bill came to because the waiter never came with it even after we stood up and asked. We were in such a hurry to get to our gate that we left what we hoped covered the food and a tip... $40 for lunch was a little high to us, but it was so good we didn't even care... looking back maybe that wasn't enough after all... oops :/ Oh well.


This was Annie's disposition almost the entire trip. I wasn't surprised but was very thankful.
And her on our last leg... she fell asleep on take-off. She stayed that way for almost the entire 2 hour flight.

We landed in EE about 20 minutes late because of a delay in Munich. There were some sort of "techincal difficulties" with one of the planes, so they had us go down the walkway, get on a bus, and get bussed out to the new plane in the middle of the runway and load from the outside steps there. No biggie, just interesting. Once we got to our destination, we had to go through customs which was uneventful, but we were told by the military man to go to the "visa" line even though we were "no visa"... by doing this we got stamps in our passports! I was so excited. (I was told they don't do stamps anymore so if this is wrong then I'm excited over nothing). :)

Our driver, Niko, was waiting right outside the doors for us with a sign that said "RAY". He had an Al Pacino look but dressed like Bono from U2. Super nice man with a heavy accent. He drove us for what seemed a long way to get to a 24 hour "market". It was after 11pm by this time, so the banks weren't open to do exchanges. This market had an exchange counter in it. So we got to exchange some US Dollars for UAH and get a few grocery items for our apartment. He helped us shop since we had no clue what we were getting. Everything is written in Cryllic, but some things had pictures on them so we could tell what was apple juice or strawberry jam for example. They don't have peanut butter here!!!! MOMMMMMMM send us some!!! :) :) The entire bill came to 270 UAH or something like that which is about $30. Not too bad I guess.

So then, he drove us to a dark alley. I'm not kidding. We were trying to be good sports because we have heard the stories about how the alleys are here, but it was dark and late and we weren't sure where the heck we were. We trusted that Niko knew what he was doing. Then he said they'd never rented this unit before... hahaha. Prior to stopping, he told us about the area and where everything was. He was confident this was a good part of town, but still. All the buildings are soviet-era style where you enter from the street, then go up stairs to hallways with apartment doors (kind of like New York if you've been there). So we go inside this seemingly vacant, dark apartment building and the lightbulb is burnt out. We climb a set of stairs in the dark and get to a "hallway" with three doors. It's pitch black! Did I tell you it was dark?! LOL... so he uses his cellphone to light up the numbers on the doors and he gets the door unlocked... and...

We walked into a hallway with a shelf, open one door to a large bedroom with a bed, chairs, tv, and computer desk ("Yea, it has internet" I say). Then we open a 2nd door to a small bedroom with a bed, then another door with a bathtub and sink, then another door with a toilet, and yet another door with a very small kitchen. "Where's the living room?" No living room, no kidding. The "living space" was in the first bedroom. The whole place was a big hallway with doors. It smelled really musky, but I thought "I guess it'll do for now until we can ask how much it is and if this is what we should expect here." It wasn't dark, and it had all we needed.

Then I tried the internet. "Please enter password." Are you kidding me? All I want to do is let my mom know I got here and Skype the kids. And I can't. I was so upset. I even tried calling but the phone wouldn't let me and my phone from home doesn't get service here. Lovely. I turned it around to "count your many blessings" and started naming all the things that have gone perfectly right this trip and I snapped out of it. I'd get a hold of everyone tomorrow. Nothing else I can do right now.

Here are some pictures of the "first apartment". Sorry for the mess. There wasn't really anywhere to put anything and we got in so late that everything just ended up where it was.


This morning, I called Yulia and asked her how much this apartment was. She said $60, but we could only stay one night. So we'd be moving to a new apartment today around noon. She said it was only $50/night if we stayed at least two weeks and it normally rented out for $80. It was supposed to be really nice. I was hopeful, but she hadn't seen this unit either. Still it had internet she said, and two bedrooms like this one. I asked about the living room thing and she said it just depends on the units because for rentals they like to set them up for more sleeping space. So we walked around our little area before moving. We were right next to Independence Square. It's a beautiful day and not humid like I thought it would be.

This is a picture of the building we slept in the first night. The entrance to our apartment was on the right side on that little street (what I earlier called an alley).

The square was really neat. Lots of old buildings and architecture. People were dressed very nice going to/from the metro station here. I didn't take a picture of it, but there was a McDonald's right by our building too... they are everywhere here.


After our walk we went back to the "first apartment" to wait for the landlord to pick us up and take us to the 2nd apartment. Annie has been clinging to Barry since we got up this morning. She's very quiet too. We think a mixture of jet lag and missing her sisters. She's as sweet as pie, just really quiet. She climbed in Barry's lap and fell asleep.

After waiting a bit, our landlord, Ivana, came to get us. She's a very nice woman who speaks English. Her driver (don't know who he was to her) drove like a mad man, honked twice at the same man two different times, rolled down the window and yelled at him because he was in his way, and finally parked at this very beautiful tree-lined street. SAFE at last, lol. People drive like nuts here... total road rage and NOTHING like California drivers if you can believe it.

We went three flights of stairs up to the 3rd floor (this building was a lot more welcoming, but then again it is daytime). Ivana knocked on the door and a woman opened it. "HUH??!" I asked if she was staying here too (we've heard stories!) and she laughed at me and said, "No she cleaning lady." THANK GOODNESS :)

This apartment is SO much nicer. It has a living room and ONE bedroom, not two, but it has a sofa bed. The bathroom is large and normal and the kitchen is also much larger with counter space... and a dishwasher! And the fridge is a decent size here, not the small camper one like in the other place. There is a washing machine in the bathroom but I haven't the slightest how to use it. Low and behold, there is Wi-Fi in here and it's hard-wired so we don't have to worry about passwords!!! Too bad it was 2am in CA when we got here or we would've Skyped right away. By the time I'm done with this blog, I should be able to call.

Here is the bedroom we will be sleeping in for at least the next two weeks.

Pretty living room.

Entry way:

Bathroom with huge bathtub:

Kitchen:

I'm so much happier here. It's lighter. We have a door to a balcony with a view to the street instead of painted shut windows to a parking lot. It stays cooler because there are shade trees everywhere. It's bigger and more inviting, and it has a common area to hang out instead of a bedroom.

So to sum it all up, we got here safely without any horror stories, and have been welcomed and taken care of by our facilitation team which is exactly what we had expected. We will be eating dinner at TGIF's with another RR family, the Coleman's. Our SDA appt is tomorrow morning, and we should be meeting Micah in just a couple days! And our friends, the Goldens, will be arriving in just a week and a half and will share our apartment with us (the reason we were hoping for a two bedroom)!

Last funny story: I had an email today from the woman who we were supposed to stay with from our church for only $20/night. I have been waiting to hear from her since the beginning of April. She said she was waiting for us yesterday but we never showed up.... lol. I wrote back and said I'm sorry for any miscommunication but we had not heard back from her and didn't want to just show up at midnight after flying for 16 hours. And I had literally JUST paid our landlord for two weeks in advance. OOPS!!! Oh well... this will work out great here. We are right near the main street in downtown. There are lots of shops and restaurants and the metro station is visible from our house. We will have to take the metro to Micah's orphange each day, so our location is very good here. Once the Goldens get here, we will split the apartment cost so it will not be much more than it would've been with Valentyna. I just feel so bad! Kind of comical with the language barrier. Hopefully we'll get to meet her before we leave.

The time is upon us

Yesterday was an emotional day as Barry's brother, Joey, came over with his two boys and our beagle, Biscuit, who is now their dog because of our dumb neighbor... ANYWAY that's not the point. Joey and his family are moving to Texas while we are in Micah's country, so they came to say goodbye. This is only months after Barry's mom moved to NM, so we are the only Ray's left in California. It's been a trying time for Barry who is very close to his family. Amidst this sadness, we got to love on Biscuit, Zachary and Tyler for a few hours and it was a great day. Saying goodbye was hard because we know we won't see them for a really long time.... possibly even years.

And as our departure gets closer, we are both just getting emotional anyway. Going so far from home for so long (two months for me and one for Barry) is something we knew we'd be doing when we committed to Micah, but having it start tomorrow is a different story. Taking Annie with us is a huge blessing, but leaving our other children behind is much more difficult than anyone could imagine unless they've done it before. Even leaving Fischer is hard. Everything is organized and in motion; we are on track for packing and items on our lists are being crossed off each day. I really don't feel stressed AT ALL, which is a miracle. I haven't procrastinated, and all the plans for our trip have gone quite smoothly. We know God is in control of this entire journey and everything has gone according to His plan. We are excited to be going to get our little boy. But we are sad to leave the biggest part of our hearts behind to wait for us to bring him home. We are hopeful that there won't be any delays in country, but if so, we have been blessed by a miracle of donations exceeding $2000 in just two days to cover any unexpected travel fees if Barry should need to make a second trip. Praise the Lord!

The girls are so happy to have Micah finally come home. Annie lights up when she sees his picture; Chloe jumps up and down with excitement every time we talk about him; and Gracie is just the sweetest protective big sister you've ever seen. Please pray especially for our sweet, tender, emotional Gracie. She is very happy we are getting Micah, but she is very emotional about us leaving. She's excited to go to Gina's house, but not sure really what two months means. She is attached to her daddy at the hip and each day becomes harder as the d-day gets closer. We are all cherishing every moment and cuddling as much as possible. Even Chloe fell asleep in my lap yesterday for naptime... which NEVER happens.

Then, my mom left the sweetest post that said "be on the wings of God." It made me break down into tears. I love my parents so much, and my mom knows how much I love my Lord and Savior. There have been several decisions I've made in my lifetime that have not been pleasing to my parents; we've not seen eye to eye on many things through the years. But in this journey to adopt Micah, we have had their complete support, and it means the world to me. My mom's tender heart for the Lord and for children with disabilities has been inspiring to me. She was worried at first, but when I explained to her the whole "why", she was immediately on board. It has been a tremendous blessing. I know God is in control, and we will remain on the wings of God. He is our constant support and guidance. Our faith is strong in Him, and will continue to be so. And we will let him carry us to Micah and all come home safely and be together as a complete family after this incredible journey. We are looking forward to getting our life back in order and moving forward with our new son.

From the bottom of my heart, and I know Barry's, we thank you ALL so so much for your countless hours of prayers, support, and donations to help save an orphan. Not just any orphan, but a child with Down syndrome who wouldn't otherwise have a chance at a regular life with the love of a forever family. He was destined to be in an orphanage until the age of 5, then spend the rest of his life in a mental institution, merely because he had one extra chromosome. He would be treated as an outcast and not accepted in society in his Eastern European country, all because he is different from everyone else. Well, because of God's grace and our ability to listen and accept His call, we are that forever family that God designed us all to be. Micah was meant for us as much as we are meant for him. Even down to his whispy hair and silly smile, God made him to be OUR son. We have loved him since the first day we saw his picture on Reece's Rainbow's website on November 2, 2010. We have fallen more in love with him each passing day. And now the day is upon us to fly to his country and start the adoption process there, one that will take up to 8 weeks.

Please pray for all of us. Pray for the children remaining in California and their caregivers, and pray safety and health over Barry, Annie and me as we travel to another land. Pray for Micah and his caregivers. Pray for our judge that his or her heart will be soft toward adoption and to us, and that our petition will be approved. Pray for a quick court date, avoiding any additional flights or costs. Pray for an eventless 10-day waiting period and a quick turnaround for the final documents. And finally, pray for a smooth flight and an easy transition home as we all get acquainted and adjusted to each other and a new brother and son.

Thank you all so much for your prayers. We have felt them. We know you love us and we love you too.

Lastly, I want to quote a bumper sticker I found. "You all laugh at me because I'm different. I laugh at you because you're all the same." Support Down syndrome awareness. Don't be afraid of learning something new. It might change your heart, and it might change your life. It did ours.

Love in Christ,
Shelly

We promised fun! And we got success!

Thank you Joel Golden for the ideas and fun! (and Rachel for dealing with his stench).

We promised you fun for every $100 we raised. Donations exceeded $2000 in only two days! We are fully funded once again thanks to a dear friend of mine from Kindergarten who advocated to his whole staff, friends, and clients! James Staley, we are forever grateful to you! :)

Here is the video to show the first activity of fun... 30 whip cream pies to Joel's face by his jr./high school youth group. (Which resulted in at least two showers ordered by his sweet wife.)


Next up to post: Fischer and his buddies wearing diapers and bonnets while riding around in shopping carts. Hoping to do this on Saturday morning. I also have to wear a clown wig at the mall before we leave on Monday... all will be posted soon!

Thank you everyone for your generous donations and support. This has been a great fundraiser, and Micah will be one blessed little boy to have you all in his life. God bless and good night.

Time and FUN!

Hey ya'll!
I'm horrible at good ideas but our friend, Joel Golden, has an endless supply. We found out a few days ago there's a good chance Barry may have to return home between our SDA appointment and court, thus an unexpected adoption expense. Time is what we DO NOT have. We board our flight in 6 days. FUN is something we all love to particiate in right?!

We need to do a quick "fun"draiser to raise $1500. We were blessed with $275 just in the past two days so now we only need $1225! This could happen very quickly and won't take a lot of anyone's time.

We collaborated and thought of an advocacy drive. In order to make this successful, we need you to please spread the word to all your friends! We need some fun spirited people to help out and location is NOT an issue! You must be willing to be slightly embarrassed and must send photos of the activity. The 1st $100 raised will result in a pie in Joel's face by his youth group... pictures will be posted! After $200, someone will be going to the mall in a colorful clown wig (not too embarrassing)... I will do it! After the $300, you will see a grown-up riding a little kids' bike around a popular store. The 4th $100... who knows?! AND since this is an advocacy drive for an orphan child... how about someone sporting one of these get-ups for $500? Could it be you?!

I know, it's silly. But I know I have friends who will help us! I'm thinking I could get some giant bottles, and Fischer and some of his friends could wear baby gear and roll around in shopping carts to raise money that way too. How can you help? Could we do a quick 5k "diaper run"? How can you be fun and silly to help us raise this last "little" bit of money to bring Micah home? What if you just capture people in public doing or wearing silly things (not hard in CA)! Send me photos of what you have and these will be "rewards" for each $100 raised for our Orphan Advocacy Drive. Donations should be posted at http://reecesrainbow.org/sponsorray .

I think we can raise $1225 in 6 days and make it fun in the process. Will you help us?

Gearing up for the take-off

I sit here at the computer as my munchkins are napping, laundry is going, and tons of things need to be done around the house. Just for a moment of reflection I want to post that we have two weeks to get everything done, and I do not feel a bit overwhelmed (yet). My list is made and things are being checked off. I am able to keep up on friends' adoptions as ours progresses along with theirs. I continue to pray for those waiting for SDA appts and court dates, and those waiting for fingerprints to clear with USCIS. I realize that in just a couple short weeks, I will not have the luxury of checking up on everyone at random. I will be in a foreign land, learning new customs, going back and forth to see my little boy, and missing my other children like crazy.

We don't even know if we'll have constant access to internet like here. We are planning to stay with a sweet lady through our church, but I have not heard from her in over a month. If we don't hear back soon, we will have to make other arrangements for an apartment and "hope" they have internet. We are planning to Skype with our families, so this will be important. We just signed up for "A Story Before Bedtime" so we can record ourselves reading stories to the girls while we're away.

We really feel like all the details are in order. Fischer goes to Nick's house on May 15. The older girls go to Gina's on May 16 in the late morning, and we will get to visit for an hour or so before we leave for the airport. We depart LAX at 9:05pm that day, hopefully sleep on the plane for 8-10 hours, land in Munich with a 2 hour layover to stretch our legs and let Annie get her wiggles out, then jump back on for a quick flight into the capitol of Micah's country. We won't arrive there until 10:35pm, where our driver will take us to our apartment wherever it may be :) We will then have a day of rest, and our SDA appt is on May 19th at 11am.

I cannot wait for that day, where we can learn more about Micah's background and see his file, share our story, and wait for our official referral to meet him. I pray for a same-day referral or an early referral the following day so we can meet him before the weekend, but realistically, we will not get to meet him until Monday, May 23rd, the day before Barry's birthday. And that is okay! That will give us the weekend to tour his city and experience the culture with Annie before we jump into the daily routines we will share for 5-8 weeks. We are very excited to finally be leaving to get Micah. It was just 6 short months ago we committed to adopt him. And here we are getting ready to leave in 14 days. It seems surreal. It felt like it took forever to get here, but it went by so fast in reality. Even our social worker told me that our travel date came fast.

Once again we wait, but this time without worry or stress. We are at peace while we organize everything and eagerly await our take-off! We ask for prayers from our family and friends, specifically that we will have a safe flight(s), that the arrival and SDA process goes smoothly, that we get a quick court date, and that our judge approves the adoption. Pray for our children that they will all be safe and healthy, that they do not get too homesick, and that they are reassured we are coming back as quickly as possible. Pray for Kristin & Bryan and Robert & Gina that they will be prepared and equipped for whatever comes their way with our kids :) That they can be strong and handle anything (especially Robert & Gina with our girls). SAFETY, LOVE, and HEALTH for everyone involved. Thank you!

SDA appointment received!

Whew, what a day! I got up late to go to an appointment, and my phone rang at 8:42am. It was Brigitte, our stateside helper with Reece's Rainbow. I almost couldn't believe it when she said, "What do you want to be doing on May 19th?" REALLY?! We want to be in Micah's country of course :) We are so excited. This is a week sooner than we expected!

I ran to my appointment, then had lunch with one of my dear friends, then rushed home to get Fischer and take his friends home, then took him to work, then came back home to post this blog. It's almost 3pm here, and I've known for 6 1/2 hours. What an exciting whirlwind of emotions. It's like I'm 7 months pregnant, and I finally have a due date! Thurdsay, May 19th at 11am we will be interviewing with the SDA (State Department of Adoptions) to tell them why we want to adopt Micah. The next day we will get our referral to meet him, then we will most likely meet him on Monday, May 23rd unless we get a same-day referral or an early referral on Friday. Then court will be 3-4 weeks after that.

I was sitting quietly alone waiting at my appointment and all of a sudden it hit me: I will be holding my son in less than a month! Happy tears... I am really so excited this moment is finally here. We will be traveling in 2 1/2 weeks! I almost can't believe it... time to start packing and organizing. FINALLY!!!!! :D

**I should put a disclaimer that our house is not going to be vacant :) We have friends who will be housesitting while they are remodeling their house... yea!**

"RAMP IT UP" for the Golden Family!

I am so excited to announce that the Goldens have less than $10,000 to raise for the adoption of Caleb and Jackson! Just a few short weeks ago they were $26,000 away from their boys. God has blessed them tremendously, and they are on the last lap.



Joel and Rachel met in high school and have been married for almost 16 years now. Over the past 8 years, they have felt a pull toward adoption, but for one reason or another they never pursued it. This time, however, is different. God has led them right to Reece's Rainbow and these wonderful children just waiting for a home. They became aware of RR through friends who adopted 2 little girls with Down Syndrome from Ukraine. These friends kept telling Joel and Rachel about these children but subbornly the Goldens refused to listen. Then came the day they met these two little blessings. Wow! God got ahold of them right then and made it known that this was what He had for them also. So then started the looking at pictures, researching, looking at more pictures, getting the homestudy underway, looking at more pictures, and starting the fundraising. They are very excited to be bringing home their first two children. There is a loving home, with family, friends, and an amazing church family just waiting for them to be here. Joel and Rachel find it so hard waiting on little things like paperwork or fund raising, when they are so ready for these little ones to be here.

Their paperwork pregancy is almost over; their dossier was submitted just seven days after ours on April 21, 2011. They will be traveling in 4-6 weeks and need our help. So in honor of their last "less than $10,000" I'm starting a "Ramp it Up" fundraiser. Can you give $20, $50, $100, or more... or even $5 in lieu of that daily Starbucks?! (you can still get your drink if you want :) Every little bit helps and counts! There is no giveaway or drawing for something amazing; the only reward is knowing you helped save two orphans, and knowing God will bless you abundantly for doing so. What do you say friends? Let's RAMP IT UP!!!!

go to http://reecesrainbow.org/sponsorgolden and donate whatever you feel led to give. Every donation, no matter the amount is much appreciated. THANK YOU!

Racing

My mind that is...
Our dog woke me up at 1am to go potty (at least I thought that's what she wanted)...turns out something out front was making her curious. So I stayed up for a few minutes to calm her down and went back to bed. Not to SLEEP, just bed. I've only had a handful of sleepless nights since the adoption process began, most of them in the beginning. As I tried to go back to sleep, my mind started racing with thoughts of so many things. Mostly about Micah and our travels... like will I remember everything even with a check-off list? I wonder if I'll need help filling out the remainder of the paperwork for Micah's visa process. Should I take the laptop or use the computer of the new friend we are staying with to save my shoulders and space? Will Micah's new blanket fit in the suitcase with everything else we are taking? I'd really love an iPad. Should I take the carseat for the flight on the way home (I read somewhere yesterday that some flights require it for children with an assigned seat)? Should I buy an umbrella stroller here or there (Remember we are taking Annie)? I need to get up and exercise before the kids wake up. Jeff, Missy, and Lily are coming today; I hope they like what we are serving for dinner, and I hope my cupcakes turn out (it was Missy's birthday a few days ago). I can't wait for them to get here :) LOL... on and on. So at 4:15 when I was still wide awake, I decided to get up. I put on my jogging/walking clothes, socks, shoes, drank 16 oz of water, had my protein bar... got on the treadmill and... my iPod is dead. :( Yes, I could walk/jog without it, but it's no fun. So I sit here blogging while it's charging with plenty of time to exercise before the kids wake up, haha. Started laundry, cleaned up a bit... nothing is new on the WWW at this time of day, so I blog about nonsense and random thoughts.

We are still waiting on our travel date (should be in the next few days). I have been feeling peaceful the last few days after my initial rush of "gotta do a million things" after our dossier was submitted. I pray for a travel date to come soon. I pray for the Whites to have their court date soon. I pray for the Goldens to get their travel date soon and that they can raise their remaining $10,500 by then. I pray for the Cannells that their fingerprint experience on Monday will go smoothly and quickly AND that they can raise the $34,700 they need in the next month. I pray for the Buricks, that they may all adjust easily to their new little buddy and that sweet Vlad will thrive in his new family, also praying for Corbett that she has a smooth delivery of baby #3. So many prayers and thoughts go out to those in the adoption community: the Colemans, Koenigs, and all the others in process. I feel so blessed that we are part of such an amazing network of families committed to save at least one orphan (some 2, 3, or 5!)... that our hearts are open to accept the children with an extra 21st chromosome or other special need such as HIV, CP, or EB. That God has asked us to "help the least of these" and that we are willing and capable to answer His call, even when we didn't know how we could possibly afford to do so. That our lives will be abundantly blessed by these children in our lives, that they are here to teach US a thing or two about Heavenly Father and not so much the other way around.

I'm also so grateful for my family. I am so proud of my sister right now. Sara finished her last final exam of college just the other day; earning her Bachelor's degree (the first in my immediate family). She accomplished this while working full time, being a mommy and wife, and taking care of all the other duties in her life. It took her 13 years off and on, but she did it! I couldn't be a prouder big sister. Several times in my life I have looked up to her instead of the other way around, and now is one of those times. She is a shining light and example to all of how to be loving, caring, dedicated, and positive through all of life's ups and downs. I love you, Sara! Someday I'll finish my degree too :) Only 1/3 of the way to go :)

I am also really proud of my brother. Adam works so hard to provide for his family and be a great dad and husband. After buying his first house last year, he and Amanda have worked hard to make it a home. Right now he is working tirelessly on his front yard landscaping with the precious little spare time he has (really NONE). While he and his wife work full time, kids are sick, etc. He is a great example of how to be a good man, and I am very proud of all he does and who he is. I only wish we could all be around each other more, especially with all of our children. It's really hard sometimes to live 5 1/2 hours away from family. Right now is one of those times. Easter has always been a big family gathering; I grew up spending it with my extended family and cousins and my girls rarely get to do the same, even with Thanksgiving and Christmas. It makes me sad.

There are so many others to be proud and thankful for, but now I am going to get on the treadmill and do my walk/jog before the kiddies start waking up. Thank you blogger for letting me journal my thoughts... even if nobody else reads them or gets anything from them :)

Love,
Me

reecesrainbow.org/sponsorray (fully funded)
reecesrainbow.org/sponsorcoleman (fully funded)
reecesrainbow.org/sponsorwhite (court coming soon)
reecesrainbow.org/sponsorgolden ** (still in need of $10,500)
reecesrainbow.org/sponsorcannell ** (still in need of $34,700)
reecesrainbow.org/sponsorkoenig ** (still in need of funding, giveaways happening!)

Submitted!

After what has literally seemed an eternity, we are proud to announce that our dossier has officially been submitted to the SDA (State Dept of Adoption) in Micah's country.

For five months, I have literally driven all over the state of California paper-chasing, making appointments, making sure we were all where we needed to be, ordered forms, certificates, sent off for apostilles, and kept all the chaos organized. I remember looking at the dossier instructions in November, which were sent in three files, and feeling so overwhelmed with all we had to do. In addition to the dossier, we had to simultaneously compile all the items for our homestudy, which was painless now looking back.

Some things came really fast and easy (our passports, which I thought would take the longest), and other things took their time (getting our medical forms filled out correctly, getting our USCIS fingerprint appointment letter, and getting this dossier submitted after a two week closure even when we rushed to get our documents there beforehand).

And now the hardest part is over (we think). We should have our SDA appointment letter in the next 2-3 weeks and hopefully will be traveling in 5-6 weeks. If all goes as hoped, Barry will come home with Annie around June 22, and I should be bringing Micah home the beginning of July!

I really hope we get back before the 4th! That's one of my favorite holidays, but Micah and I can still celebrate Independence Day in another country; it'll be our last hoorah, and his "independence" will have a completely new meaning for that day/time of year ;)

So continuing with the theme of the past five months, we continue to wait. But this time the wait should be much shorter and go by much more quickly.

I want to thank some friends for helping me get through the dossier stress. This does not include everyone who has helped, but some key people in my life the past few months.

1) Marianne Fick, my friend from high school, whose example and story touched my heart, and truly without her we wouldn't have even found Micah. She has given countless hours of advice, support, and love.

2) Brigitte Van Nice, our stateside helper with Reece's Rainbow who has given many, many hours of email responses, advice, and support. I really hope to meet her someday.

3) Sherry White, an amazing RR mom who is at Micah's orphanage RIGHT NOW adopting two more sweeties after her trip there last summer to bring home three littles... she has helped me understand the process, learn more about the orphanage, and has been a huge support in trying to keep me from worrying so much.

And to new friends Karrie Cannell and Rachel Golden, who are sharing this journey of adoption and who have helped keep me grounded and focused on the end result.

4) Karrie is inspiring as she finds the light in every situation, strong as she and Donnie found and commited to Carson's newfound brother in the middle of their process, and a shining example of being a follower of Christ. I was blessed to meet her in Turlock a few weeks ago since she just lives in Lodi... go figure! :)

5)Last but not least, Rachel and Joel should be submitted very soon also, and we will be traveling at the same time, to the same orphanage. Joel has offered humor in times I needed it the most, and Rachel and I share a bond that I can't quite describe yet, but I feel it's timeless and distanceless (is that a word?). I cannot wait to room with her after our hubbies go home after court, so our boys can continue their bond with their mommies before they part ways to their new homes. They committed to Caleb and Jackson about the same time we committed to Micah. We have been neck and neck every step of the way, offering encouragement, prayers, love, and support. I cannot wait to meet them very soon!

Blessings to all on this beautiful day! Thank you to everyone who has helped us save this sweet orphan, a half a world away. We could not have come this far without your help, prayers, and support. We are really almost there!

Please if you have just a moment more, read this blog. It's short, and it will touch your heart. http://covenantbuilders.blogspot.com/2011/04/left-behind.html

Puzzle update

I put Micah's awesome puzzle together the other day :) In the beginning, for every $5 that was donated, you/we wrote your name (or your family's name) on a puzzle piece. Since we didn't have the puzzle completely filled out (we had "sold" 31 pieces), and we are getting close to traveling, I chose to glue it and frame it with a mat. A change from the original plan is that we decided to write all the names of people or families who helped bring him home in one way or another... this could have been $5 designated for the puzzle fundraiser, babysitting so I could paper chase, writing a reference letter for our home study, donating notary services, giving to another fundraiser, or expediting our USCIS application... helping in any way to help bring Micah home. This doesn't mean our puzzle fundraiser is over :) Now we only have 177 out of 252 "pieces" available for you to be part of this project. Do you want your name to be on the mat? Please go to http://reecesrainbow.org/sponsorray and email us at barryandshelly@yahoo.com to let us know when you have donated (sorry we don't get notified when a donation is made on our FSP ) :) Look how many of you have helped us so far!

Nesting

Going through the adoption process can be described in the same phases as a pregnancy: three trimesters, braxton hicks contractions, nesting, and real contractions. I am currently in my third trimester, having occasional false labor pains, and am deep into nesting :) So as I wait for the big day to arrive, I have been busy preparing the house and other things for Micah. We are doing his room in a John Deere theme. We were deciding between classic cars and tractors, but found that John Deere supplies were easier to find :) I am LOVING doing a little boy's room! When I was pregnant with Fischer, we didn't know what he was going to be, so we did a neutral Disney Bubbles theme; needless to say this is a big first for us after five children (four being girls)! :)

I ordered the materials to do Micah's name sign for his room about a month or so ago. I finally got around to painting it and applying the vinyl today. I am really happy with how it turned out.

This is the bedding we found on eBay. I didn't need the whole set, so my mom purchased the panel for the quilt/comforter part. I got the extra material to make curtains, bed skirt, bumper, pillows, etc. I can't wait to see it when it's all done, but here are the samples.

Yesterday, I was visited by a friend from my Mom to Mom group and we were blessed with an adorable collection of boys clothes and diapers :) Thank you, Becca! This goes great with the items we purchased for his birthday. I can't wait to put them all on him.

I made a scrapbook a couple weeks ago to take with us to Micah's country. I did a digital photo book through Creative Memories, and it arrived yesterday also (big day!) I feel very accomplished and am so proud of how it turned out.

It's really hard to wait for things to happen, and I'm trying to stay off the computer out of boredom. I'm trying to work on projects that need to be done around the house (there is a host of sewing and scrapbooking projects to work on). Blogging counts as a worthy project!!! It was funny this morning, I had done more work by 10:30 am than I do in most weeks! So to say I'm nesting is a really good explanation of how I'm feeling. We should have our travel date by the end of the month (I'm hoping!)