When do we get to bring them home?

That is the question everyone asks.

We have to get our immigration approved, and that has been sent off while we were on our recent trip, and some other paperwork together, including visit to the doctor and tests done, signed off on and notarized.   We had our FBI fingerprints done and background check ordered and that should get here in about 6 weeks.

Immigration approval is actually done in 2 weeks, but it isn't sent to the country for a longer amount of time.  But I think Immigration is what gets the ball rolling in Bulgaria and meanwhile we get the other pieces together (FBI clearance and medical letters).  So, this is relatively easy compared to Russia.

We also have to round up the additional money.  I'm in the process of setting up a Lifesong account.

A court date is assigned to us, and we do not have to show up in court.  We will get word that the girls are officially ours! Then we can make a travel date.  The time range for all this is 3 to 5 months.  So, we hope for September as a realistic time.  Bulgarians often take vacation in August, so that could be a set back.  There was also elections and I'm not sure what will happen with change of government.  It won't threaten the adoption but just slow down the process.

Meanwhile we have a lot of things to do here, like clean out the study and make it a bedroom and make our bedroom a combination Bedroom/Study.  And we also have to figure out a new car situation.  Clean out garage and have a garage sale or 2.  So, we have plenty of things to keep us busy

But I know our girls can feel secure that we love them and are coming for them.    I'm sure there is a little anxiety of coming to a new country.  We left them with tools to begin language learning process, but still, you know there has to be a little joyful excitement mixed with anxiety.  I wish we could skype with them but that hasn't worked out yet, for some reason.

We're home!

So great to see my little boy.  I missed him so much.

We didn't get to do anything in Paris.  pooh!  it was rainy and cold and we were tired.  But our hotel was nice so we enjoyed the evening.  picked up some souvenirs in the airport.

flight was 10 hours.  glad to be home.

So thankful for the people that helped us with this trip, that watched Anton and took care of the cats, and the Ullrich's for their hospitality, learning about Bulgaria.  And of course our agency in Bulgaria was very helpful.

I really like Bulgaria.  It is a very diverse and rich culture, and lots of history.  The landscape and mountains are beautiful.  World history has flowed through this area being central in many of the trade routes.  Food was so good, gained 5 pounds.

Interesting tidbit:  they are making movies there.  some of the actors attend a big evangelical church there when they are filming, so that adds some excitement.

I am confident that we can help heal these girls of any pains and stumbling blocks in their past, with the God's help, of course.  They will become part of our family and these bonds are stronger than any other affiliation or hurts from their past.

I feel so good that the trip went well with the girls.  They know someone loves them and wants to take care of them and make them apart of a loving family.  They can look at their photo albums and the gifts we gave and begin the process of feeling secure and removing fear.  They have tools to help a little with transitioning into the English language.  They are in good hands with their foster mom but can't wait to bring them home.  I think we can skype with them but I need to get all that set up.

Day 3 in the PM

Last night (it is now Friday AM in BG as I'm writing), I went with Robin to a women's fellowship.  (it wasn't a Bible Study as my earlier post said).  I felt so privileged to meet and talk to so many women ministering in and around BG and have also spent time in Romania and other places.  Many of them are leaving the field for various reasons.

But the house was situated on top of a hill/mountain overlooking Sofia and I felt like I was in Italy.  It was breathtakingly gorgeous.  I tried to find my camera but I lost it!  It might be in the car we drove into to the town where the girls were. 

One of the gals was a native BG.  She goes into a lot of places that people would not find "joy."  Evidently, she goes in a very difficult Leukemia ward of a hospital and ministers to families there.  She loves the Roma people, many of the missionaries are finding a lot of open hearts in these communities.

I also learned that BG girls love to dance. They will do hip hop dances and are very talented.  (our girls showed us their love of dance and you could tell they were working on some of their dance moves)

I'm getting over my cold but bad allergies.  I had a panic attack on the plane down here because I couldn't breath.  The same thing happened last night.  My ears are clogged and sinuses inflamed, almost like an asthma attack (that I don't think I ever had).  But when I load up on meds,Ii'm OK. 

Today we sigh power of atty and other things.  then Scot giving us personal tour of Sofia, emphasis on Church History.  So excited and blessed.  Then on to Paris for one night in lay over.  thinking we'll take the RER transportation to various places and just eat from the carts.  to sit down and dine would take hours and we only have a short time.

I miss Anton so much.  In some ways I'm glad he wasn't hear because of the hardship of travel and time change, but after the 3rd day, it is very painful for me to be without him. 

I have my video camera that I brought so if I don't find my camera I can actually use that for pictures.  And I have the disposable camera I bought fro the girls that we ended up not giving them.

Day 3

Today was the last day to see our girls.  Left in tears.  Even though we're still getting to know each other and not fully bonded, they are still my girls and it was hard to leave.

I gave the foster mom all the other stuff I didn't not give them, and she said she will give it to them gradually.  and there is a "children's day" in June.  Some of the clothes I didn't even include.  The clothes they wore were of nicer quality than what I bought.  Bulgarians dress nicely.   And I just thought even though I think they'll love what I bought it would be more to bring back to the states.  

They are sweet girls.  I really believe everything is going to work out wonderfully.

The town they live in is so charming.  I love all the sidewalk restaurants.  and food is so good.  You can sit outside and enjoy the clean air and cool breeze, warming sun.  perfect weather.   I have to go on a diet when return.  (We don't have these things in walking distance from where we live!  So, every place has its pluses and minuses)

Another thing Bulgaria has that we don't have, and this is very important...they have espresso machines and their quick markets.  You can get a nice coffee, usually Lavazza brand, at all these places, or at little corner liquor store.  So, if you're walking down the street you can pick these up at many places.  

I got to meet with local social workers and they told me everything they know about girl's background.  I'm so thankful they told me more information because I need to know what is in their minds and emotions from long ago that they may have to get over, or what may affect their behaviors.  I'm thankful don't have a lot of nightmares and things of that nature, but they do remember things and it isn't positive.  They are relatively well adjusted.  I mean, of course we'll have issues but I am real encouraged   

Tonight I'm going to ladies' bible study and Chris will hang out with Scot.

Tomorrow we do paperwork and sightsee in Bulgaria.  Saturday we leave for home but overnight stay in Parris.  I'm not proofing this, so sorry about typos.  

Good visits with girls, couldn't have gone better.  They feel loved, they are happy, we are happy too.  Now just need to bring them home.  

Day 2

Scot and Robin Ullrich at a great restaurant

Things went well today but a very active and full day, we're tired.  Girls are very talkative and very active.  I think I'm going to have my hands full!  But they are so happy.  We are too, and tired. 

Today we gave them the talking pen that will read a bi-lingual dictionary.  Girls loved it.  I gave them bubbles and they loved that too.  We went to park and got to swing them on swing.  they ordered us in Bulgarian to go higher.  I asked translator what "please" is.  "mola"  I think.  But they respond well to requests, and want to please. 

They are competitive with each other, but also close.  and bouncy!  oh my. 

We got photos done for girl's visas.  Tomorrow will give them photo album. 

I'm doing better on time adjustment.  Chris is very tired, he only slept 2 hours last night. 

Tonight we had a wonderful dinner with Ullrich's.  Food was awesome.  It was in a college area.  Nice restaurant. 

that's all for now.

Our first day with the girls

It was a great day.  The girls have been told before we came that they are seeing visitors and that we're their parents.  They have been excited about this.

I immediately started crying when we we walked into the small room to visit with them.  I wasn't expecting that at all.    I had to control myself, and I think being tired contributed to it.

One of the girls was more quiet, and the other one very talkative and bright.  But I think they are both out-going.  The foster mother seems to be wonderful.  I'm so thankful for her.  She has done a great job and the girls obviously love her and are already expressing sadness to leave her but accepting it.  They said they always explained to the girls that she was temporary, and wanted to be called, "Aunt." 

At the end of the day, they asked if they could call us "Mamma" and "Daddy."  They don't use the word "Pappa," that's what Anton calls Chris.  But they didn't mind us hugging them and picking them up. 

We showed them where we live and I think that was news to them.  I didn't know that they were not told that, but they were a little shocked but excited.  I say "they" but I probably should clarify that the oldest one communicates more. 

They were showing me how they can count to 10 in English.  And they wanted to write their names in English.  They seem so ready to please and I love that but at the same time, I just want them to relax and know that there is no pressure to learn quickly to earn our affection.   But I think they just love to learn.

On the trip down here (explain more that in a minute), we told a few people that we're adopting.  They gave us this blank stare, like "why."  This is another country, and the language is different, we're not as young as we used to be.  And at times I just think, "well, because we're crazy, that's why."  but now I know why.  We're not crazy.  These girls need loving parents, and that's not crazy to go get them.

The trip was as well as it could be.  We watched a movie and it broke up the trip (Zero Dark Thirty.  I like the set up on KLM airlines, there is a whole library available at your seat).  Connection in Amsterdam.  I realize my glasses are out of style and I hate them.  ha ha.  (noticing the fashion).  I wanted to get a manicure at the airport but it was about $50.  No thanks.  So, my nails look awful.   (this is the shallow paragraph). 

We are so tired.  I'm also mad at my doctor because I called her twice and said, "We're traveling and I need some good medicine to clear this congestion."  She gave me these pills that did nothing.  so, my ears are clogged.  So, we're off to bed, it is 11:00 PM and it is 3:00 PM in Houston.  We'll be adjusted when it is time to leave, right? 

What I'm bringing for the trip

I'm packed already and ready to go.  I just have a bunch of last minute things to do.

I thought people might be wondering what we're bringing, and our plans when we see the girls.

We will get to see them for 3 days, pretty much all day.  They live not too far away from Sofia, and so we'll go by car every day.

Here is what I'm bringing.  I may not unload all these things because I don't want to overwhelm them.  I told myself I was going to keep it simple, but you know how that goes when you're excited.  And it is better to have too much than too little

• 3 outfits, mostly play clothes, 1 dress with a jackets, nothing fancy but cute
• 2 pairs of summer shoes
• bows for hair
• pink sparkly nail polish to do their nails
• glow in the dark bracelets 
• monogrammed backpacks

Craft and game things:

• beading set to make jewelry
• coloring books with crayons, markers, glitter glue
• blank paper tablet for their own creations
• jax set
• string (to make Jacob's ladder)
• Old Maid card game
• jump rope
• bubbles
• Wooly Willy magnetic toy (you know where you give them a beard and hair)
• 2 electronic V-Tech toys to learn the English Alphabet
• sidewalk chalk
• stamping stuff
• blow up baloons  

• Also got a recordable book singing nursery rhymes, like Old MacDonald (we still have to record)
• a photo album of our home (that we still have to put some pics in)
• Various snacks
• disposable camera where they can take pictures (will add pics to the photo album at end of trip

Anton is working on making some pictures for the girls.  I had to tell him that it can't be of Les Miserables.  (I don't want to freak these little girls out with such a dramatic story)  Well, he forgot.  He just asked me how to spell Jean Val Jean and had to remind him what I said.  So now he's drawing pictures of firefighters and the cats, but he really wanted to use this occasion to write and draw a complete story of some sort.

I'm bringing with me some books to read to the girls and my cool talking pen that reads both English and Bulgarian from these bilingual books I purchased. I have some young children's books that have no words, or very few words.  I also may show them a DVD of Anton's favorite cartoons that he liked to watch when he was their age, Little Bear  (they are so family-oriented and comforting).  But not sure if I'll bring that out.

We also plan on asking them a lot of questions, "What is your favorite..."  and "What makes you happy..."

I have it all packed and didn't think to take pictures of it first to post.

We will also be deciding on their names on this trip.  We don't know if they have nicknames.  We are pretty sure we will keep their first names as they are.  We might make their middle names after our mothers, but we'll decide at the end of the trip.

Gotta go.

Getting Ready for Our First Trip

I have all the gifts packed in 1 suitcase! Now all I have to do is pack for us.

 We got our passports, and plane tickets, arrangements made, cash we need in-country is coming together.

 I love all the things I packed for the girls, I hope not overwhelming, but mostly little activity toys, things like party favors.

 Anton has a place to stay, with some super folks in our Church. They will do school with him and I know he'll have a great time. It would be nice to bring him but we think it would be better for us to play with kids and develop that bonding, and some of the travel might be hard on Anton being such a quick trip.

 I'm so grateful, too, to be able to stay with some Americans (from Texas) who love Bulgaria and the people, and get to spend time with them also.

 God is so good! Praying friends, please pray that everything will come together to make all this final. We are already planning toward that end, working on that final paperwork and funding.

"Why don't you adopt domestically?"

This is a question we sometimes get. Or, "Why internationally?" "Why Bulgaria?":

All of our nearest friends are 100% supportive of us adopting internationally. But people just want to know out of curiosity why not adopt domestically?  Occasionally (rarely) you feel the person is critical, wondering if we don't care about our own kids in our own country.  Or they don't understand the costs. And I sometimes find myself asking the same questions, so I don't want to be critical of these folks being critical :O).

In short, we've always been open to many options for adoption.  We signed up to be foster parents while in California, but we moved to Texas before that was completed.  Foreign adoption seems to be the path we've been on and a calling for our lives (for several reasons).

I've posted on this before, but I'll summarize.  We were lead to foreign adoption, at first, because it seemed like it might be easier to adopt abroad than here in the states, in that parents in foreign adoption are matched with a child by an agency, as opposed as a birth mother picking the parents from scrap books provided by the parents (note: I have learned since then, that not all matches are made this way domestically). You just wonder, would a birth mother pick us (we are getting older, and we don't have a ranch or anything like that makes our family stand out among the others)? And then would she change her mind?  Then, in many cases, the adoption isn't complete until a year, and the birth mother could come back for the child.  I don't have the same level of fears or concerns now, as I did then.  But being younger, and perhaps wanting a more normal parenting experience and less risk, this is how we thought.

We also liked the idea of going abroad.  I've always had a heart for the world and cross-culture missions, so foreign adoption was appealing in that sense.  However, we also have a heart for children here, of course, so it isn't so much that one option was good and the other bad, but just that we preferred one way, and then became more knowledgeable, and "in love" about that particular pathway.

I feel now more equipped to handle various circumstances that caused me more fear when I was younger.  I think Chris feels the same way.  All children want to be loved and respond well to love. This is our confidence and He can provide the strength to go through many situations.  As we grow, we give up certain things, and you learn that you can't always control the outcome, but you can love.

So, that is why in a nutshell.

We don't see ourselves as heroes in any way, but just willing to be used as vessels of His love, and not to earn anything.  We are flawed people ourselves and we need grace. We find a lot of joy in our lives, not without struggles, and we feel we have something to share with one, or two more little ones (girls, it seems!) added to our lives.  We will mysteriously become a family, even though we're not related by blood, and those bonds will be stronger than race or culture because this is a "God thing" that lasts forever, a picture of His adoption of us into His family.  Culture and race are not entirely insignificant, these differences can be celebrated, but not nearly as significant as our family bonds we will grow.  

About the cost.  It is quite a bit more than domestic adoption, especially when you figure in travel.  It is funny how people don't blink when we spend this kind of money on a car.  How much more precious is a soul?   Some people think it shouldn't cost at all to adopt.  I am very sympathetic to that view!!  ha ha.  But the people that work in adoption should get paid.  This is why I think giving towards adoption is also a way that all God's people can contribute.

Why Bulgaria?  I guess it could be answered as "Why not Bulgaria?" It was the country our agency suggested.  We have some good friends who are Bulgarian and we feel a connection already with the country.  It is also similar to Russia in many ways and we are familiar with that country.  We are looking forward to learning and experiencing more about Bulgaria, and continuing that interest for a lifetime.

Thanks for reading my post, please pray for our adoption and for the orphans both here and abroad, and including those with severe medical needs that are more difficult to adopt.