Day 4

The only thing that Adam and I had "scheduled' today was to pick up our referral at the Department of Adoptions at 3:00. We are still adjusting to the time here and had a really long nap yesterday afternoon, so we were up pretty late. We slept till noon! I can't remember the last time I slept that late. We got up, showered and waited for a call.

We received a call from Victoria, our driver, and she told us she would be here around 2:30. Right before 2:30 we got another call from her saying she was at the embassy with another family and she would be picking us up at 3:30 to be at the Department by 4:00. We then received another call from another facilitator that said we were having another driver pick us up instead, we assumed Victoria was unable to leave the family at the embassy.

So Eugene picked us up around 3:15. The traffic was horrible. Adam and I are amazed every time we go any where that there are not more accidents. Drivers cut each other off, drive up on side walks and park wherever they want...even in the middle of intersections. We go to the office just in time to receive our documentation. We have to hand carry a large portion of our dossier to the region on Monday, making us very nervous. If anything happens to these papers, our adoption will be jeopardized.

After we got our papers, we were able to see a beautiful old cathedral right next to the office. This building was built in the 17th century. It was beautiful. Tomorrow Eugene will be taking us to more cathedrals around the city. We will post these pictures with tomorrow's blog.

It is very cold here. We have been told that it is snowing in a few regions. Right now it is just cold in Kiev, around 40 degrees. The heat has no been turned on in our building. We have a small heater in m our bedroom, so we spend most of our time cocooning ourselves in there. Praying we have heat soon.

We are looking forward to seeing some beautiful parts of the city tomorrow.

Day 3

Adam and I are still adjusting. We slept pretty well, but the jet lag caused us to wake a little early. We were picked up around 9:15 to head to our DAP appointment.

 

At the appointment they pulled out "Nigel's" file. They went over some brief information with us. All the information they gave us was current as of when his adoption paperwork was file. We know for sure that his birthday is January 29th, 2012. He has Down syndrome (no surprises there). He has a heart defect listed, but we are unsure of the severity. It also says he has swallowing problems, which again is another common problem with children with Down syndrome. All of these medial issues will be explained in greater detail once we get to the orphanage.

 

One thing that was also confirmed to us is that he was given up when he was born due to his Down syndrome. By law, parents are not allowed to sign the papers to give up their rights until the child is 2 months old. For some reason, his parents waited until he was six month.

 

There was a weird feeling that came over me when they read us his parent's names. I can only think it was a feeling of sadness. Sadness that they will never get to experience how truly special this little guy is.

 

Here is a little boy that we are anxiously waiting for the chance to love and call ours.

 

 

 

We will pick up our referral tomorrow at 3:00 where we get  permission to visit him. We can't wait!

 

Our facilitators have offered to take us on a tour of many cathedrals some time this weekend. Other than that, we are just relaxing and enjoying our time in Kiev. We were even able to have lunch at McDonalds.....nothing like a Big Mac to make you feel at home! 

Day 1...and 2

WE MADE IT!

 

We left Phoenix on Tuesday morning (arriving on Wednesday afternoon). I was dreading the thought of saying good-bye to my two precious babies. They of course took I better then we did, skipping off like it was any other day.

 

We flew from Phoenix to Chicago, to Zurich, and then finally Kiev.  Overall, we were in the air for about 14 hours. It was a relatively easy trip, just awkward to get any sleep. The only eventful thing that took place was that in Zurich we were stuck waiting for the police to open up the one escalator that took us to our gate. We aren't sure what happened in that area, but it was blocked off from any entry for about a half hour. Thankfully we made it to the gate just in time.

 

We were met at the airport by one of our team members. She helped us exchange money, get some things at the grocery store and helped us settle into the apartment.

 

We have our appointment tomorrow at 10:00AM (midnight Phoenix time). We might get some info about our little info about our boy! We are so excited!

 

I'll hopefully have more to share tomorrow. I am off to bed to catch up on my sleep. Night night from Kiev!

Giving Back

Reece's Rainbow annually organizes an "Angel Tree" event where advocates can sign up to help raise money for a specific child. 

 

This time last year, our little "Yana" was chosen. Some very special people committed to helping her raise the money needed to help her forever family. 

 

Our family had fallen head over heels in love with her way before this started; however, as the donations started rolling in, we knew it was God speaking to us. One of the biggest fears most adoptive families face is: How am I going to come up with the money needed?

 

We too felt those same fears as we stepped out in faith to commit to Yana.

 

Then the unthinkable happened....the Russian ban of American adoptions.

 

So many Russian children had been helped by the "Angel Tree" event. Yet now, that money was frozen....not helping any family in need. It was a sad day, but after months of waiting and praying, the team at Reece's Rainbow decided to "gift" this money to other waiting chidren.

 

We couldn't let that money go to waste! So with a kiss and a prayer, we moved forward and found our "Nigel". He is the unexpected blessing through all of this. We are sad to not be bringing home Yana, but we are rejoicing with thought of bringing home a son we had not planned for.

 

God knew....

 

God knew where the money was going, who the next member of "Team Turley" would be.

 

The Angel Tree fundraiser has helped our family in a very large way, and we want to pay it forward. We want to help another child and a family waiting for their "angel".

 

So we are stepping out in faith and committing to be an Angel Tree Warrior!

 

Meet "Malcolm"

 

 His sweet smile and droppy little eye lid caught my attention many months ago.

We are going to be his warriors! We are going to do what we can to help raise some money for his future family. Won't you help us?

 

After we return home, we will be generating ideas on how we can help this little boy. The goal is to raise $1000 for him.

 

We have been so blessed throughout this process! I can't wait to bless others in the same way! More details later!!!

The Hands and Feet of our Little Church...

Before we head off to our son's country, I wanted to share a little bit about the church we call home. 

I grew up in a very big church. Through my teen years and into college, I did not feel very connected to this big church. At the same time my mom drove by a tiny church just a few blocks away from our house. This church had always been there, but for some reason my mom was drawn to the outside marque advertising their quilt ministry. 

The idea of a quilt ministry really drew her in. She visited a few times and fell in love. We followed to see what the big fuss was about, and found ourselves at home. 

About the same time, Adam and I had begun dating. We started worshiping there together, and ended up getting married in that same little church!

We have often felt the comfort that comes from one of our church's "Comforter's Quilts". Our family has been the recipients as well as the givers. Each time we have felt ministered to in some way. 

Another wonderful thing about our church is their love of families....both homegrown and not so homegrown. Many families in our congregation have grown in size by the joy of adopting, and it makes my heart happy to know we will be adding to these numbers. It is believed that our small little church has ben a part of 31 adoptions to date. It is awesome to know that we will soon be adding to this number!

When we decided to move forward with our adoption, I contacted the quilt ministry leader. I asked her if there was anyway I could take a few quilts to our future son's orphanage. She said yes! 

A few weeks later I was handed two bags FULL of quilts. 13 in total! All of these bound for our son's country.  Typically the orphanage "gift" takes place on the second visit, right before you "spring" your child out of the orphanage. Due to the weight of these lovely items, we will be delivery half on the first load and half on the second. 

We are so happy to be taking a piece of our church with us and ultimately blessing so many littles ones as they lay on them and feel the love of Jesus through them. 

Thank you West Greenway Bible Church, for going international, comforting those from the place our son has called home.....

2 MORE DAYS!!

Russia Heartbreak...

A few weeks ago we were shown a very sad and disturbing picture...

To the left is "Kyle" when he was in a baby home. To the right is "Kyle" once more, only this time it is taken where he resided, in a mental institution. Kyle had aged out of the baby house and was transferred. Prior to the ban, it was rumored that he had a family beginning the process to adopt him......but Putin had other plans. 

Today we were told that "Kyle" has passed away. It breaks my heart to know that he never felt the love of a mother or father. Thankfully, he is finally feeling that love in the arms of Jesus!

My Yana is never far from my thoughts. She is in a very good baby house currently, just turning two in May. She has a little bit of time before this is her fate. 

Here is the most recent picture we have of her. Her smile would light up any room and still lights up my heart. She is so very precious to me and I can't imagine her ever transforming into what "Kyle" had become.

Praying for the day when the doors of Russia reopen, and all the mamas and papas can race to bring home their little ones. 

Stay smiling my sweet one, you are loved from afar...We will never give up on you!

My Water Broke!

So much of this process has been parellel to pregnancies. Today was no different. When I say my water broke, I am really saying WE GOT DATES!! We will be leaving in a week! Our DAP appointment is on the 3rd!

 

Thank you all who have helped get us to this point. My heart has not stopped leaping for joy all day.

 

Now on to all the "stuff" I need to get done before we leave.

 

PRAYERS, PRAYERS, PRAYERS please! We need them more then ever! Prayers for safe travel, prayers for our little ones left behind (and my heart as I prepare to leave them behind), prayers for a smooth process, and finally prayers for our little prince waiting for us!

 

PS: Our blog will be going on private soon. While we are in country, we will be limited to the information we can release until we have court. If you are a close friend or family, you can request to be added to our private viewers.