Expressions of gratitude

As our international adoption is about to be finalized, I feel there are some people and organizations that we would like to express our most sincere gratitude and say "thank you," to...although there really are not enough words to do this adequately.  First and foremost, I have to rejoice in the Lord our God....for bringing us through this perilous process. We also ask for prayers for our final trip over to Russia (at least for this adoption) and the time that Aaron can't be there where I must function as a single parent while he comes home to work and save up time off for when we actually get back home. 

Firstly, we know that we have probably been a very frequent caller at Building Blocks concerning issues and questions and we appreciate the patience they have taken with us during this 14 month journey. I hope to be able to "pay it forward," by helping someone else as they go through the adoption process.  When you start this journey and complete one step, I think it is emotionally normal to feel like you're getting closer to completion, but I've learned a several VERY important lessons through this journey (predominantly to Trust God, realize that there will be bumps in the road and also most importantly that I am not perfect and having to resubmit a document because it wasn't perfect should be viewed as inexperience and then I should move forward).  I think this character trait of wanting to be "perfect" really comes from my childhood.  I always was a straight-A student and I remember crying in middle school because I made a "B" in an Algebra class.  (Ha, Ha...if I had only knew what was to come).  Though the worst grade I ever made was a "C" in a layout/publication design course in my Public Relations major.  But nonetheless, I strive to be perfect and often get disappointed because I definitely know I am NOT even close, not will I ever be--only God is!  So, back to my original point...the night we conducted a Google search on adoption and Ohio---seems so LONG ago...back in December 2009.  I looked at three different agencies and chose to go with Building Blocks for our U.S. agency, who contracts with Beacon House (they work on the Russian side of things).  Aaron and I have never regretted our choices! I know in my heart that God has guided us through making this choice and all that came with it.  Because, let me just say it has not been an easy journey and I would definitely tell anyone who is about to embark on it to choose an agency that is personable, professional, checks out with the Better Business Bureau and last, but certainly not least...available for you to contact via phone and one that returns phone calls within one to two days.  Building Blocks is even better than that.  When we contact them, albeit on the phone or by email and leave a message; we usually hear something that SAME day!  For us, choosing was hard because it is true that there are larger agencies, but when we made our first trip to Russia in September 2010 to meet our daughter-to-be, there were couples there who told their stories and many had problems with their American agency and the professionalism (to include not returning calls, etc.) 

I feel God brought Aaron and I to Building Blocks and Beacon House for a reason.  Like every adoption, there are always delays, frustrations, aggravations and a gamut of stressful moments; but being as close as we are to the completion of our adoption, I can truly say that all of the angst has been worth it!  May God Bless these agencies and the people behind them everyday as they find "Forever Families," for these children who so richly deserve a Christian mother and father (a forever family) to love them unconditionally.

I truly believe that God never gives us more than we can handle...and I am sure EVERY first time mother whether adopting or giving birth feels some kindof anxiety, but this is a "I want to make sure I get everything done correctly, but I am jumping up and down inside with LOVE for Katie & Aaron and I can't wait to get there and hug and kiss our baby girl..."  We feel SO honored to have been chosen by God (I truly believe we were) to be parents for this little girl. I see lots of "Daddy-Daughter Dates," in the future; a very protective father in Aaron, but yet SOOOO lovable & I already feel like a mother, even though officially, I am not. Finally, Mother's Day & Father's Day 2011 will not be sad days for us; but instead they will be days where we can rejoice in Him for helping create our family through the miracle of adoption!!

I never thought happiness could be overwhelming, but it is!!!  We ask that you pray for us with our travels; and especially for our court hearing (specifically that it can be finalized that day and no paperwork is missing).  Most likely, it should be because our wonderful agency has made sure we have all of our paperwork together (copies) and that the originals were sent to Russia to be in front of the judge.

God Bless Building Blocks & Beacon House!  From the beginning with both agencies in the U.S. & especially in country in Russia, our expectations were exceeded!  That is how wonderful of a job their representatives do and just their entire organization does!!!  

I also want them and anyone else adopting domestically (I know less about this, but have been reading up on it) to know that I am the kind of person who enjoys spreading the word about adoption, how positive it is for infertile couples (especially) because adoption gives us a chance to have a family also, while doing something good for the World.  From a practical standpoint, there is no way we can take in all of the orphans who are just located in the general area where our daughter to be is located, but I pray each and every one of them finds a "Forever Family."  

There just aren't enough thank you's to express our gratitude to Building Blocks, Beacon House & their staff for their professionalism, their very timely responses EACH AND EVERY TIME we called & their obvious desire to place children in loving, Christian homes. 

As soon as we get back and settled, I have been asked by the publishing company for the IC Network to write an article (this will be my second for this publication) on how a family CAN actually survive all that Aaron and I have been through together with my bladder disorder and getting diagnosed; then learning to gain control of it.

Not only did we face this, but then to be devastated again with infertility and the associated feelings of loss and grief that go along with that.  There is no other way to survive and live happily under these circumstances without our Lord and Savior.  It is He who brings us through challenges and hardships.  But to turn this story around into a positive one, not just for us...but for our daughter to be, a beautiful gift from God who we are so blessed to be given the right to parent.

I will be writing another article about our adoption process to educate others with IC about the process, to encourahe them to adopt (because apparently infertility is closely related to IC and can be one of the lasting effects).  The article will come out in the Summer issue of the IC Optimist magazine or the Fall edition, depending on how long it takes us to get settled where I can consider writing it.  It is kind of a follow-up because at the writing of my first article for this publication, we did not know how we were going to start a family; albeit adoption or advanced fertility methods.  In all seriousness, though, we could not have asked for a better match for our family.  Aaron and I Thank GOD that we are being chosen to be her parents.  Only God can make such monumental decisions to make such a perfect match.  Then, after hearing Oksana say that there were very FEW children of a Caucasian/Asian mixture.  Talk about predestination, well; there simply can't be another word for it.  

God Bless you all!!!  One may say that we are saving this precious little girl from a life of poverty and eventual "emancipation," into a very impoverished region of Russia; but Aaron and I would both answer and say that it is, our daughter-to-b, herself that is saving us from feeling emptiness in our marriage when it comes to family.  Both of us are family oriented and it has always been our plan from the first time we ever discussed marriage for me to work for a little while and then when we had children to stay home with them.  But, things don't always turn out according to plan.  No, Aaron and I did not conceive this miracle through traditional means.  But, does that makes us love her any less?  

No, absolutely not!  In fact, we believe it makes us love her more.  We also believe, even though her birth-mother was unable to care for her, that it had to be hard to leave her baby less than two hours after giving birth to her. She chose LIFE for this child.  I know I went on a bit of a rant earlier this week, but it is all because of these innocent little children we know are out there in countries all over the world (and even here in the U.S.) who do not have a place to call "home," and "parents."  What is even more sad is how children are passed back and forth between foster families and their birth families, even further confusing them about who their authority figures are, and even more importantly who they should model their behaviors after. 

All of our educational readings have told us that it is best for our child if we tell her only positive things about her birth family, the life she lived in Russia before we met her and this is why the life book we created is so important and vital to be able to explain.  This is something my mother, Grammy Deb, is 100% responsible for doing.  I just have to write in it, though I am hoping there's some way to print out our blog and put it up for her to read when she is older so that she knows exactly how much she was wanted and prayed for, long before we could put a face with a name. We have taken pictures and video and at the conclusion of this adoption, I will be editing together a video type presentation with music and photographs/videos of this process to share with others as a way to spread the word about how positive adoptions can be.  

As Aaron & I express gratitude, there is no way to thank our friends and families for their endless support either--my mother, Deborah for all her packages and clothes she has sent plus OTC medicines for Katie and the orphanage, Aaron's dad and stepmother, George (Wai-Lok) and Judy for their monetary gift, my wonderful grandparents--Carroll & Barbara Sanders, my sister for her endless love (she is going to make a wonderful aunt), Aaron's sister, Rene, for her love (another wonderful aunt), Aaron's mother who is like a "mom" to me..Rosemary & her husband Stephen (she has sent us some rather LARGE boxes for our little one) and purchased BOTH car seats plus given to us financially.  Also, we have had some VERY supportive friends through this process whose shoulders I have cried on as we waited to see what would happen when the child was returned to Russia--Michelle Venzke and Paola La Brusco (Paola Mata)--Paola accompanied me on several trips to the Secretary of State's office to get documents apostilled, Mike & Alex King for their generous contribution from an inheritance they have dedicated to help infertile couples, Leah Megerle (who recently adopted a beautiful little girl from a different region in Russia)--for her constant upbeat encouragement on the days when I felt like our journey would never end.  Seeing pictures of her daughter helped me realize that someday our day would come also; Beth Kinder for being a great friend and sounding board--plus for her carpentry skills (she put together a bookshelf for our little one's room and a storage shelf), Wendie Daws and her mom (who threw us a beautiful shower in honor of our daughter to be), our church family to include everyone in Dan & Hoa Dupree's class who has prayed with us through this journey, Jason and Amber Rhodes for being a reference for us and being so close that I could spend some weekends at their home with their beautiful children (I haven't met their newest baby yet), but will soon I hope; to Tim & Sarah Dooley for letting me love their beautiful daughter and care for her as her babysitter (but yet, they have been SO flexible since we started this journey), Juli V. (who barely knew us, but brought her family and her husband--Aaron's supervisor) to our shower and is now stepping in to help with babysitting Grace until I can again or other arrangements are made....I just KNOW there's someone I am forgetting...so if you are that person...PLEASE forgive me!      

I was thinking yesterday when I needed to call Aeroflot to ask about baggage rules that it would be really awesome to be bilingual or even trilingual (I'd love to advance my French language skills...because Aaron & I both studied it), to know more Russian since this is where our baby girl is coming from, to know Cantonese because it is my husband's heritage (his father speaks it fluently), I'm afraid my brain is too ingrained with English.  I am SO thankful for Oksana, Building Blocks Adoption Service & Beacon House Adoption for being such wonderful agencies and coordinators!  I also should not to forget everyone who works with Building Blocks either...they just don't have personal pages. So, a personal thank you is due for Sandy (the VERY dedicated Building Blocks administrative assistant), Andrea (our U.S. coordinator who has read EVERY document from start to finish and helped us correct errors so that it would not get rejected), Denise--the wonderful Executive Director at Building Blocks, Val--one of our coordinators who is based out of Moscow, Richard--the attorney for our American adoption agency and last but certainly NOT least--Erica--our wonderful social worker who did our home study and has been a source of information and encouragement through our entire process.  If I forgot someone, it isn't intentional, but we want these people recognized for their contributions in making mine and Aaron's dream to have a family complete.

God Bless all involved in our adoption and all families working on adoptions worldwide!!!