Phooeee!

Well, I just learned that our coordinator won't be in the office today and tomorrow, and the agency is closed Wednesday through Friday so I guess we won't be getting the Petition this week either.

Phooee.

Almost the New Year

Well, the Christmas week has come and is just about gone. We didn't get the long awaited "Petition to Court" like we had hoped. At this point, it looks like the only way we'd be able to go back to Russia in January is if the Petition came next week. Of course, it's still possible. We're actually praying for that to happen. (Will you join us in prayer?) If it doesn't, then most likely we won't get on the plane until February. That really, really, really stinks but I know God's timing is perfect. Basically, I've been trying not to think about it.
This Christmas, as usual, we were so blessed with wonderful gifts for us and also for Jack. Thanks everyone! Jack will love his new little things and David will have so much fun playing bball with Jack on his new little basketball goal.

Most of all I'm grateful to Jesus. He has given us so much. We are so blessed. It overwhelms me when I think about how Good He is to me. He is always working on my behalf and it's all because I accepted His gift of freedom. There's so much to say about Jesus but none of it will express His greatness. He's awesome! Thank You for Christmas, for Hope and a new way of Life Jesus!

3 Months

It is 2 days until Christmas and things are so exciting... lights are up, holiday music everywhere, people giving gifts, the celebration of our Savior's arrival, all things happy.

But instead of being overwhelmed by the season, I find myself thinking about our little boy in an orphanage in a far, far away place. Today marks exactly 3 months since we've last seen him. He was a little cranky from having all his shots right before we got there. He wouldn't sit down very much because he was interested in everything. He would hum a little and try to sing a tune with me. Mostly, he wanted to explore and climb and play with everything, even for just a moment. Oh, it seems like much longer than 3 months ago.

But, then I snap out of my inward thoughts and I celebrate the fact that we are 3 months closer to going back there for him. Hopefully only another 6 or so weeks before we get to see his cute little face again. Yippee!

God has been so good to us this year, as He is every year. Though we may be sidetracked with all the gift giving and holiday parties, Jesus is the reason we can celebrate. God's grace is so amazing! So, with that thought, I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season and I wish you all the best Christmas ever!

Time for a Fresh Look

In anticipation of the new year, and the drastic change we are looking forward to making (bringing our son home), I've decided to give our blog a fresh look. Jack's room colors are mainly blue and brown with polka dots so I thought this new design would be fitting. (Who knows, I like redesigning things so I might change it again soon...) Everything works the same (I hope) so keep checking things out and I will continue to update you with the most current news.

As of yet, nothing is new. We have no word of anything happening but I'm sure things are working behind the scenes. So often God works this way too. We aren't able to see what is being worked out on our behalf, but we know God has good things planned for us. A plan not to harm us but to accomplish a good work in us. I try to relax in this knowledge and I hope it causes a little rest in you too.

'til next time.... take care!

Already the middle of December

Happy December everyone. It's hard to believe there are less than 2 weeks before Christmas. What's on our Christmas list? We're hoping to receive the long awaited Petition to Court this month - maybe even Christmas week! That means we'll be even closer to returning to Russia to bring Jack home!

With all that excitement brings the pressure of the high cost of the remaining expenses of our adoption. I've been working on some new recipes and some fresh designs for our greeting cards. Some of our new food items are Caramel Almond Popcorn (delicious and addicting), Peppermint Bark (perfect for the holidays), Caramel Apples, Rice Krispy treats, Sugar cookies and the long awaited doggie treats.

If you can, please take a look at our website (goodiesandgreetings.com) and see if there is anything you might like, either for yourself or for a gift. It would really help us out in this tough time. Also, if you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, please contact me through this link for more information. Thanks!

Unknown Customer (found)

I received an order from our fundraiser page for 3 cards but there wasn't a name or email address entered. If you placed an order Saturday evening, please submit it again so I can get get it to you. Thank you! Michele

Thanksgiving and the "latest"

Isn't it amazing the little gifts God gives us. As the morning dew was wearing off, David noticed the little hearts of frost on our windows. It just reminded me of God's love and blessings. No matter where we are in our lives, whether it be in a time of struggle or in a season of calm, God is always faithful. I am also very thankful for our family and friends who have been a source of great support and encouragement, especially through this past year. Thanks to all of you!

The latest news of our adoption process is that we will spend more time waiting. ugh. Our coordinator filled us in on what happens next. She says that for now we sit and wait to receive the "Petition to Court". This will come from the officials in our region as they need to release information about Jack and remove him from the domestic database. Our Russian facilitator will receive this information and add in some personal information about us to the petition. We'll then receive it via email, sign, notarize and apostille it and send it back. It will get translated and submitted to the court judge with all of the other paperwork we submitted last week. This submission can only happen on Wednesdays. Hopefully the court date will then be set for a few weeks after that. We will work on our medical appointments soon also. There's really no telling when all of this would take place, but we're one of two families next on the list. woohoo. Our prayer at the stage is that Jack's information gets released soon so we can get things moving again.

Thanks again for all of your prayers and encouragement. Keep 'em coming!

On a roll!

Well, this is post 4 in four days! Don't expect a 5th though. haha

I forgot to mention that David and I have decided on a name for our son. His new birth certificate will say JACK (russian name here) PENTECOST. Jack means God is Gracious and we feel it is extremely appropriate for our little boy. We are truly blessed and realize God has had everything in His hands, including our child.

Baby Shower!

Wow! Three posts in three days! (scroll down to make sure you're up to date!)

I just wanted to share some pictures of our baby shower. My sister and 2 sister-in-laws threw us a most wonderful shower and our moms helped too! The decor andthe cupcakes was all very cute! Thanks Gina, Gabby and Sarah! (And Mark and Jon too!) The food was also yummy... Thanks moms!


We were 'showered' with so many wonderful gifts from our family and friends. I've tried to fit everything into this picture but the strollers are missing. I feel so blessed to have so many who care about us and were willing to spend their Saturday evening with us. I love you all!

Photos courtesy of Gabriella Pentecost. :)

It is finished... hopefully

Left for Tallahassee very early this morning and got all of the required paperwork apostilled. When I got back (9 hours later) I made the necessary copies and mailed it overnight to our agency. It's finally out of our hands and hopefully there isn't anything we need to re-do. It's not completely over as we are waiting on a 'petition to court' document that is processed by our facilitator and we also will have to have our medicals done (blood tests) but the reports can't be any older than 3 months so we're waiting until the last minute to complete those. I think I can relax now... just a little bit.

By the way, for those of you who were wondering, here's a picture of what the baby's room looked like when it was a guest room. We decided to go with a completely new look (ya think?) and after painting the base coat of blue and light cream, I added the painted tree and polka dots. It should be fun to see what else will end up with in there.

Baby's Room in progress

I thought you all might like to see how the baby's room is coming along. We just "finished" it last Thursday. We still have more things coming, like a dresser and wall 'stuff' and a new window treatment, but here it is for now. It's definitely different than the guest room setup we used to have.

Sooo close...

We were so very close to having all of this paperwork done. We received the Apostille for the FBI fingerprints a week or so ago and I noticed something a little odd. There was a section for a seal or stamp but there wasn't anything there, though it was signed. I kind of let it go thinking it can't really be wrong but I couldn't shake the feeling it just wasn't right. Yesterday, while talking with a friend and fellow adopting chick I asked about her form and she said theirs had a seal on them. Figures. I tried calling the phone number on the apostille letterhead but the office was closed due to Veterans day. I was really disappointed but since there wasn't anything I could do about it, I tried to put it out of my mind. Thinking the worst, I assumed I would probably have to resend everything back to WV to get redone which would set us back at least another week.

The good news is that when I called this morning the woman I spoke with was so very kind and apologetic. She is going to send me the stickers to add to our apostilles which means we should have them in a few days! Praise God!

We are waiting on one more piece of paperwork from our social worker and then off it all goes! So, we are still very close, just not as close as I thought... but still close. :)

Something new...

Coming soon... new products to the fundraiser page! Woohoo!

Along with new card designs and some other products, I've been working on several items that can be used with edible images! Check out my personal design blog to see what I'm talking about. I'll be making photo cookies along with several other sweets that an edible image can be applied to. Check the fundraiser site soon for your next birthday or special event party!

Almost done...

We have (hopefully) just about finished all the paperwork that we have on our list to finish. (woohoo!) We are waiting on items from our social worker who is waiting for one other thing before getting it all to us. Once we get that package we will be able to head up to Tallahassee again to get everything apostilled. Then it will be out of our hands... again. That will be actually be a relief. We'll still have medical exams to complete before heading back to Russia but the reports can be no more than 3 months old so we're waiting until closer to travel before visiting the doc.

On a fun note, my cousin has given us some more really cute bibs. Just in time for Thanksgiving. Thanks Andrea. They're adorable! I've got quite a selection now. :)

Our fundraiser has been going well for the time of year it is. We've sold homemade tomato sauce, cookies and cards to several people. Get your order in now before the holiday rush slows me down! Shipping is available! :) Thanks!

Paperwork is coming together!

We've been working on our paperwork requirements for the next leg of our journey. We needed a ton of things. A lot of them were very easy but a lot of them have also been very time consuming or just plain annoying. Two things were especially challenging. The first was our FBI clearances. We had to go to a local sheriff's office and have our fingerprints taken on special FBI fingerprint cards and then mail them off with a cover letter asking for not only a clearance letter (that says we have no criminal record) and also an additional letter that needs a signature so we can get it notarized and apostilled. That wasn't too hard! We received the clearances last week but NO extra letter that we absolutely need. UGH. So, I had to call and after giving me a little bit of trouble, they were going to work on it and Praise God we received them on Monday! Whew!

The other difficulty was a paper that basically says we live in the house we own. I checked with the county appraiser's office and they wouldn't agree to make that notarized statement. I checked if an attorney could fill out the paper and the agency said Russia probably wouldn't accept it from an attorney. After praying about it with other's joining us, and getting a tip from a fellow agency family, I decided to go to the county Tax collector's office. The people there were so nice and I actually got to meet Joe G. Tedder himself. He was extremely nice and very helpful and was able to find out the information he needed to feel comfortable enough to sign the affidavit. How wonderfully awesome!

We know that God has been orchestrating everything and even though this wait is weighing on our hearts, we trust that God is working things out for perfect timing. Also, God has continued to answer the prayers of His people and a family from our agency who went on their first trip in July has just received the good news that their court date will be coming in the very near future. I'm so happy for them! It looks like they might be going back for their son in late November/early December!

Keep 'em coming!

Got my first few orders! Woohoo! Keep them coming and don't forget to spread the word! Just think of it this way... You need stuff... We've got stuff! Get your stuff from us and help us with the expenses to bring our son home! Thank you so much!!!

IT'S TIME FOR MORE FUNDRAISING

Thank you to all the people who have purchased stuff from us in the past. Thank you to all those who have given us cash donations and donations of assistance. You are truly a blessing. At this time, we are going to continue our fundraising efforts to bring in as much as we can in order to make the next leg of this process a little less painful in the pocketbook.

I've finally activated our Fundraising page (see link to the left) and we are now accepting orders for all sorts of things. Please consider us when it's time to purchase a gift or card, or even whenever you'd like treat yourself to something special. We're offering different types of homemade cookies, cards for every occasion (that we've designed), some handpainted t-shirt designs for children, and even pet treats for your special friend! My sister-in-law Gabriella has designed several cards as well so please take a look! Also, don't forget, Christmas time will be here before you know it so we're offering several Christmas Card box sets too! Just let me know if you'd like them personalized with a family or personal name.

Be our Ambassador! Spread the word!

It's an exciting time for our family but sometimes the facts of finances get in the way. If you can, please consider helping us out. We appreciate the opportunity to serve your needs as you help us with ours!

Exciting time to shop

Isn't it great when you go shopping and you don't have to pay for anything?

Well, David and I went "shopping" today at a few stores. We picked the remainder of things we think we'll need on two of our registries. Of course, I'm sure I'll find some more things as time goes on but we think the essentials are taken care of now. It was fun bringing the scanner around each store thinking "what will we need next?" It's something I've been looking forward to being able to do for quite some time! Yeeha!

Keepin' on keepin' on

To keep everyone updated, we've been working on our list of documents we need to send to Russia. We had our fingerprints taken this morning in order to get FBI clearance letters. We've had to update and re-do several items from our initial dossier because the main office where our original paperwork went in Russia won't send any of it to the individual regions. It's kind of a pain and an extra expense, but we'll jump through their hoops so we can get our little one home. :)

We're also working on the baby's room. Well, actually we're cleaning it out from all the stuff I've stored in there. We're re-organizing the house and getting rid of a lot of stuff to accommodate our son. Maybe we'll get to the painting and decorating soon, but for now, it's still being organized which is a feat unto itself! If anyone knows me, you know I'm a pack rat.

That's the latest!

Paperwork is finally here

Moscow in September

So I just wrote this post to say we were expecting the regional documents list any day now and how we can't wait to get started on the paperwork. Then, a little while later, I look at my email inbox and there it all is! Praise God! Thank you Kristen for all your hard work! We have a lot to do but we do it willingly so we can get our son home as soon as possible! Pray for lightning speed for our court date once all this stuff gets over there and also for the other families who have already finished their paperwork and have been waiting a while longer than us.

Also, please pray for financial blessings as this part of the process requires the most money, it's almost mind boggling.

On that note: I'll be updating our Fundraiser page soon so we can start receiving orders. Check it out when you can and return often! See side bar for the link!

Things are getting back to normal... NOOOOOO

Well, David bounced back from jet lag pretty easily. I thought I did too but I keep getting subtle headaches in the afternoons. I'm hoping that will stop soon.

We've developed all the pictures we took while in Russia and I really wish I could show them to everyone. I am in love with our son. (that's a good thing isn't it? LOL)

Thanks to all of you who have held us up in prayer. We totally know that God was protecting us and leading us throughout this trip. God is faithful.

We're Home!

Hi there! We made it home either late last night or early this morning, however you'd like to look at it. Our flights were very nice and rather uncomplicated but the day of Wednesday went on and on for a very long time! We left the region at 4:30 a.m. Russia time and arrived home to Tampa at 11:20 p.m. our time.

So where was I? The last post was after we arrived in the region, right? So here's the next part. Monday morning, after making a couple of stops, we made it to the orphanage about noon. We met our little guy and he is so cool! He's got an adorable laugh and is a very happy little boy. We were warned that because he's likely not to have ever seen a man, he might not warm up to David very quickly, if at all. Instead, he went to him very easily and actually really liked playing with him. He likes to hit things and jabber. The next day before visiting the orphanage again we made the stop for some paperwork and we made the decision to "proceed with the adoption"!!!! So, we're going to be parents!

The worst part is that now we have more paperwork to complete and then we have to wait some more. The estimated time frame before being able to bring our son home is about 4 months. We're praying it will be sooner, of course.

Again, we're not allowed to share any information or pictures but I think it will be ok to show you this... Talk to you later! PaKa

We're Here!

Just an update for those wondering. We made it to Moscow and did some sightseeing. We had a few hours to kill until our connecting flight and our driver took us around to some of the hot spots like the Red Square with St. Basil's church and also to an observation area to see a panoramic view of a part of Moscow. The city itself is huge. I mean very, very large. They say it is home to 15 million people! We were pretty hungry so our driver, Max, took us to TGIFridays. Yes, I did say TGIFridays. It's not much different than one in the U.S. except the servers wear funny head pieces. The guys wear different patterned fedoras and the girls wear anything from wire antennas to big Minnie Mouse type bows. It was fun, though a little (ok, maybe a lot) over priced.

In the evening we were on our way to the domestic airport for our flight out to Siberia. We got here to our region a little after 7:30 a.m. local time. Basically, we've lost 12 hours coming over here. We were really tired and after checking in to our hotel, we hit the sack. We got up a while later and found a local grocery store, picked up a few snacks and came back to the hotel. We had a yummy espresso in the lobby cafe. We came back to the room to email our families. Later in the evening we ate at the hotel restaurant which was surprising tasty and not too expensive.

So, that's what's happening so far. As I'm writing this post, it's 8:45 a.m. and we will be heading downstairs to meet up with our facilitator at 11:00. We'll be able to go to the orphanage later on today so we are extremely excited. I'll try to post again this evening but I thought you all might want to hear how it's going so far!

Meet собака (sabaka)

Sa-BAA-ka means dog. So that's what we've named this cuddly little critter. If everything works out, we're hoping to be allowed to leave Sabaka, along with the blanket, a photo album and a disposable camera with our little guy.

Our Visas arrived today! (angels singing) So, we're just about ready to get going! To think, in 2 and a half days we will be boarding the plane to head practically across the world! Amazing!

We're nervous, but getting more and more relaxed as plans and packing come together. I still have some things to buy like gift bags and such for the people who will be driving us around, translating and just all around taking good care of us. The biggest issue I'm having is trying to find brand new money. We were told that it should only be new, or like new money. (Banks can't order it, stores don't have it, and I can't find it!) It's been difficult but I trust God will provide as He always does!

..On a Jet Plane...

We received our itinerary for our visit to Russia! We're heading out next Friday, the 19th, and we'll be returning on Wednesday, the 24th. Whirlwind trip! We'll get to meet the little guy right in the middle of it all.

We've taken care of the big stuff, that we know of so far, and now it's time to get down to the nitty-gritty and start the hard-core packing process. It's pretty cold over there, ranging from the 30s to the 60s. Brrrr. Coats and layered clothing a must! My nose always turns red in the cold weather so I hope he doesn't think I'm Rudolph the reindeer!

Already???

With extreme pleasure I announce to you that

we have received a referral!!!
(in other words, we were matched with a child)

We got the incredible, jaw-dropping news last week when it was confirmed that we were registered in the region (see a couple of posts below) but before posting about it we wanted to spend some time listening for God's direction as to whether we should accept the invitation to visit the child.

You want the scoop on this precious one? We can't say a whole lot because of Russian laws on privacy but here's what we feel comfortable sharing. He's an adorable boy and is about a year old. Sorry, that's all we can say!!! You wouldn't want us to get in trouble, would you?

We are hopeful as we prepare to visit him in Siberia. We are super excited! We are also listening very closely for God's leading as we will have to ask several questions regarding his health and medical history. We know God is Faithful and we are trusting that He will give us the unmistakable peace as to whether this little one should become a part of our family. Please pray with us about this huge, life altering decision, as we must hear God's voice.

We'll post the travel plans as soon as we find out what they are, but know that we'll be flying out probably in a week or so. Crazy! Again, please pray for our trip and for the decision that we must make once we meet this precious little boy. God is so good!

As we wait

David and I went out today to get updated cell phones AND to look for provisions for when we travel on our first trip . We're not sure when that will be but thought it would be wise to start gathering.

I finally got a camera phone!!! Here's a shot I took of David looking at luggage. We already have luggage, just not the right sizes, so we thought we'd take a gander at some other things. We didn't end up get anything but I think the phone takes a pretty decent picture! :)

I found the cutest little blanket at Target. I just knew when I saw it that it should go to our child while he waits for us to bring him home. If anyone knows David, you'll see what I'm talking about... David is a cartoon monkey fanatic. :) Of course, as a baby blanket should be, it's SOOO soft and cuddly. I hope our child likes it! It's sitting in my arms right now! *sigh*
We also picked up some other things we thought would come in handy. It's not near everything, but it's a start. I have a whole list of things to collect, thanks to those who have gone before!

Map Spree

David was at Barnes and Noble last week and he broke down and bought several things that will help us on our trips to Russia. I think he's really getting into this travel stuff.... :)

The Region

We are officially registered!!! We know what region our child will be coming from!!! This was the next step we were waiting for and David and I are both ecstatic!!! I won't get into specifics but our child will be coming from the Siberian region of Russia! Very cold! brrrrr (isn't all of Russia cold... haha)

This region's recent visiting families have had to stay in country for more than 28 days on the second trip, so that's something that we will have to be prepared for. That means more money due to hotels and food and such but again, we know God will provide. I think the technology side of things are more advanced there so we'll be able to have get online a little easier and that's nice.

So what does this all mean? Well, we can now start preparing our region-specific paperwork so that when we do get a match it won't take AS much effort during the time in between trips. SOOO, I would venture to say that we'll most likely be traveling there for our first trip before the end of the year.

Woohoo!

Have a Vote

With such emphasis on the election this year, I thought it would be fun and fitting to take a poll. You even have the opportunity to write in your own choice! (If you choose 'other', be sure to type in the name you like in the box below it.)

First purchases

Hey everyone. There hasn't been anything much going on with the process. Since I finished the huge project I was working on this past week, David and I decided to go looking at baby stuff. One reason was to make the adoption seem a little more real than it has been. So, we went to Babys-R-Us and then stopped in to Target to glance at some stuff there. We looked at Cribs and Car Seats and Jogging Strollers, Sippy cups, utensils and even little people clothes. Everything was very cute, and also a little daunting. In the end, I wanted to just buy "something" since we've not made any purchases for our child, but have received several gifts from our friends and family. So, here are the little things we bought and I think they're really fun, even if they aren't major purchases. :)

More Paperwork... -revised

Got an email from our Family Coordinator saying that some things have changed on the paperwork front. We have one paper we have to re-do and another form we have to provide a second original. What does that mean? More apostilles! yay... not.

Something else that changed was that we will have to pay the foreign fees before any travel. It was my understanding that it wasn't ALL due until just before our second trip, but that has now changed, according to my new understanding, to being ALL due before the first trip. We're trusting God to provide. :) REVISED: Thanks to Heather's comment, I got clarification that the money is NOT due sooner than before. So, that's a relief. (Thanks Kristen for clearing that up).

This leads me to our new fundraiser page. I'm in the process of working out the kinks in the form, but if you'd like to see what I'm up to so far... please visit our fundraiser homepage here.
I'll be adding more products as things progress, but here's where we'll begin. TFL!

Please pray during the conflict

As many of you might know, there has been a difficult conflict between the little country of Georgia and Russia. Since the USA is an ally of Georgia, that doesn't speak well for our relationship with Russia. Please pray that adoptions from Russia aren't affected by this invasion and that things will continue to go as smoothly as possible for those of us waiting to bring our children home. Also pray for all parties involved who are having to suffer in this war-like time.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/atoothless;_ylt=Ajb7Gv5EbAJn3Rm8GNrkOwpbbBAF

Lovely Getaway

This post is about our vacation. You might be wondering what this has to do with our adoption, so I'll explain. This was probably one of the few remaining vacations that David and I will have as a couple, until after our child(ren) are grown. So, in some sense, this does have to do with the adoption. It's what we did during our Wait. woohoo!

With David's work schedule being so full these last few months, and the big project finally completed, David was able to take several days off and we decided to head to the beach. David's brother and sister-in-law had been to Sanibel Island a while ago and recommended a small resort and that's where we landed. We would also recommend it to anyone who is interested. Here are some snapshots of what our time away was like.

They had bikes for us to use, and the first thing we did when we arrived was head around the corner to the beach!

This is where we ate dinner one night. Good food, fun atmosphere.

Path to the beach...

Time....

It's been a very full couple of months here at our house. Time has literally flown by! The last time I looked at the ticker at the bottom of this blog, it said 7+ months... Now it says 9+ months! Where did those two months go?

Work, for David, has been extremely hectic, with very late work hours and work weekends. It has also been very busy for me, with graphics work and also party planning and craft jobs. It's finally starting to slow down, and I have been able to find some time to get some required reading done.

I've also been able to spend some time watching youtube videos of other Russian adoptions. One in particular made me cry just thinking that one day we will be those people, bringing home our little one.

I encourage you to take just a moment and go to youtube.com and search for "russian adoption". I'm sure you'll find it interesting to see some video of what it's like over there.

Wanna hear something new?

Me too! So it goes during the "waiting period". Haven't heard anything except that there are about 15-20 people ahead of us waiting to be assigned a region. Things have been very busy around here. I'm getting a little nervous that I'm not going to have enough time to study up on everything that I need to know before bringing a little one home. One day at a time!

Excited/Freaked

Hey everyone. As many of you know, I like to figure things out. I like to try to figure when things will happen or how long it will take, and work things "just so I know", etc. So, when I heard that a family on our adoption message board got a referral early this week, I started my mental calculations. I've figured that if everything continues as it has with Russia and our agency, then we might receive our referral in 3-4 months!!! When I say 3 months, it sounds like such a short period of time and that makes me nervous, but when I say October, it sounds so deceptively far away. Time just flies by... it's already July and I feel like it should still be April!

There are so many things I have yet to do and many things I need to read, and many things I need to be aware of, and many things I need to prepare, and so much money we need to have. That's the Freaked part of me. Then, the thought that we could be visiting our child soon... well, as you might guess, that's the Excited part of me and I just know that God will work it all out.

Please keep us in prayer, and Please Please keep our child-to-be in prayer. Thanks to everyone for their prayers and support so far!

Don't forget to comment on this blog!