Today we went to Harrisburg to get some documents apostilled and then stopped at the Fed Ex office to send them to our facilitator in Ukraine! That one act makes it seem so close now.
When we got home (after the trip to Harrisburg and Keegan and Kelton's baseball game). There were some emails from Teresa with dossier info. She also let us know that the rumor we had read about a couple of weeks ago might have some merit. The SDA (Ukrainian office that handles adoptions) is rumored to close for some time in mid June to transition to another gov't agency. This makes our timing very important. We want to get done before this happens.
We are going to really focus and work on getting the remainder of the paperwork finished and sent to our facilitator as fast as we can. Also, need to get the kids passports! We are hoping to travel at the beginning of June. This also means that we need to get a quick and successful fundraiser idea. We have quite a bit of money to raise in a very short amount of time. Thinking maybe spaghetti dinner?
Feeling excited and stressed all at the same time!
Watched another very informative podcast tonight on Ukrainian adoptions at mothertheworld.org. There is so much information out there and Jim and I feel like we are really trying to be well informed on the entire process before we go. We thought we were before but there is so much more to learn!
Thank you to everyone supporting us through this incredible experience. We love to hear that you have read our blog and that you are thinking and praying for our family! Your support means so much to us - the process can be so daunting but just a few words from a friend that they are praying or enjoying reading the blog is uplifting. Thank you!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
This is a family decision and experience...
Yesterday we spent the day driving to and from Pittsburgh for a memorial service for a very close friend. Roy lived a great life and had wonderful stories to tell. We are blessed to have known him.
During the drive, Jim and I spent a lot of time talking about the adoption process, Ana, and decisions that still needed to be made. It was a nice time to talk. We had each other's attention and all four kids were plugged into something in the suburban's other 2 rows.
The question of taking the kids has come up often and there were many things to think about: How could we afford it - four extra plane and train tickets, more food, lodging, etc? Would it be safe? Would there be enough for them to do? Yesterday morning before we left for Pittsburgh Jim talked to our agency director, Teresa. She discussed this with Jim again telling him what a great experience this would be for our kids, that they will have plenty of mission work for us to do on our down time and many other things to keep the kids entertained, and she started taking her kids (5, I think) on the mission trips she has done there when they were 8. She is encouraging us to do it! In our previous situation - this was not even up for discussion.
As we were talking we came to the realization that - how could we not take them? This is an amazing life journey for all of us and leaving them at home is leaving them out of the best part of the entire adventure - actually being part of bringing their sister home!
Will it cost more money - yes, a lot more money but, it just seems that this should be a family event. And the experience all four kids will get from helping with His Kids, Too! mission projects will be amazing! Of course, if you have talked to me about our adoption, you know, that I have said leaving my kids behind while I travel around the world makes me sick every time I think about it. I have left them for no more than 3 days at a time in 16 years and I think that has been only about 3 times. This makes the trip even more exciting and joyful! Working as a family to do something good in a world that desperately needs it - truly priceless!
Just when we thought that we were set for the adoption financially, we are now wondering where the extra money will come from. But know that through this process we have thought many times, "it can't be done" but God has proved that we were wrong! And it is an important part of the journey. So, this weekend I will be looking through adoption grants and filling out paperwork. This way, the money we have set aside for the adoption can go towards travel expenses for the kids. Our agency is great and will help us apply for grants and their acceptance rate is fairly high. We are also tossing around the idea of fundraisers but thinking we only have time for one BIG one. And by time I mean time before we travel - but do we really even have time to plan one? - not sure! If you have any ideas or would be willing to help us in the planning - please let us know!
Quick update on the actual process - we are sending a Letter of Inquiry to the SDA through our in country facilitator. This letter asks for preliminary permission to adopt and also asks for a wavier of the dossier submission date. If this is approved, as soon as our dossier is complete is goes to the SDA. So, our travel date might be closer than we thought! We are still waiting to get our fingerprints appt in Pittsburgh hoping to hear about this in the next week. I have to add here that our agency is amazing! The knowledge they have of working in 28 + different orphanages in Ukriane, the connections to many mission opportunities in the region and just the fact that they were a mission outreach group first, then decided they could help find forever homes by becoming an adoption agency tell me they are in it for the right reasons!
Whew! A lot to process in one blog! I, once again, ask for your prayers as we continue on this wonderful journey with our FAMILY!
During the drive, Jim and I spent a lot of time talking about the adoption process, Ana, and decisions that still needed to be made. It was a nice time to talk. We had each other's attention and all four kids were plugged into something in the suburban's other 2 rows.
The question of taking the kids has come up often and there were many things to think about: How could we afford it - four extra plane and train tickets, more food, lodging, etc? Would it be safe? Would there be enough for them to do? Yesterday morning before we left for Pittsburgh Jim talked to our agency director, Teresa. She discussed this with Jim again telling him what a great experience this would be for our kids, that they will have plenty of mission work for us to do on our down time and many other things to keep the kids entertained, and she started taking her kids (5, I think) on the mission trips she has done there when they were 8. She is encouraging us to do it! In our previous situation - this was not even up for discussion.
As we were talking we came to the realization that - how could we not take them? This is an amazing life journey for all of us and leaving them at home is leaving them out of the best part of the entire adventure - actually being part of bringing their sister home!
Will it cost more money - yes, a lot more money but, it just seems that this should be a family event. And the experience all four kids will get from helping with His Kids, Too! mission projects will be amazing! Of course, if you have talked to me about our adoption, you know, that I have said leaving my kids behind while I travel around the world makes me sick every time I think about it. I have left them for no more than 3 days at a time in 16 years and I think that has been only about 3 times. This makes the trip even more exciting and joyful! Working as a family to do something good in a world that desperately needs it - truly priceless!
Just when we thought that we were set for the adoption financially, we are now wondering where the extra money will come from. But know that through this process we have thought many times, "it can't be done" but God has proved that we were wrong! And it is an important part of the journey. So, this weekend I will be looking through adoption grants and filling out paperwork. This way, the money we have set aside for the adoption can go towards travel expenses for the kids. Our agency is great and will help us apply for grants and their acceptance rate is fairly high. We are also tossing around the idea of fundraisers but thinking we only have time for one BIG one. And by time I mean time before we travel - but do we really even have time to plan one? - not sure! If you have any ideas or would be willing to help us in the planning - please let us know!
Quick update on the actual process - we are sending a Letter of Inquiry to the SDA through our in country facilitator. This letter asks for preliminary permission to adopt and also asks for a wavier of the dossier submission date. If this is approved, as soon as our dossier is complete is goes to the SDA. So, our travel date might be closer than we thought! We are still waiting to get our fingerprints appt in Pittsburgh hoping to hear about this in the next week. I have to add here that our agency is amazing! The knowledge they have of working in 28 + different orphanages in Ukriane, the connections to many mission opportunities in the region and just the fact that they were a mission outreach group first, then decided they could help find forever homes by becoming an adoption agency tell me they are in it for the right reasons!
Whew! A lot to process in one blog! I, once again, ask for your prayers as we continue on this wonderful journey with our FAMILY!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Moving Along
Not a lot to report this week but we continue to move forward. It looks like Ana will get to start English lessons very soon. We are excited about this since we were told by our former facilitator that this was not even an option for us in Ana's orphanage. According to our friends who have visited with Ana, she seems to understand English more than their daughter. So, we are hoping that the lessons will be a huge benefit for her. Of course, when she gets home and has a very talkative sister - English should come quickly!
Our agency seems to think that things will go super fast as soon as we are ready to submit. She asked Jim today how much notice we would need to be ready to leave the country. We are currently working on the Petition to Adopt to be sent to Ukraine.
On top of all of the adoption work we have been doing, we are into Spring sports season full force. Kyle is playing Tennis and Spring Soccer, Mary Beth is playing soccer and, of course, has dance, Keegan and Kelton are playing baseball. Kyle and MB are also in the school's show choirs. Add all of the end of the year activities: field trips, award assemblies, science fair, etc and we might as well rent our house out until June! It makes me wonder what Ana is going to want to do. She loves to sing and dance but also liked playing basketball with the boys when she was here last summer. I can't wait to see what things she chooses to do when she is finally a Raabe!
Our agency seems to think that things will go super fast as soon as we are ready to submit. She asked Jim today how much notice we would need to be ready to leave the country. We are currently working on the Petition to Adopt to be sent to Ukraine.
On top of all of the adoption work we have been doing, we are into Spring sports season full force. Kyle is playing Tennis and Spring Soccer, Mary Beth is playing soccer and, of course, has dance, Keegan and Kelton are playing baseball. Kyle and MB are also in the school's show choirs. Add all of the end of the year activities: field trips, award assemblies, science fair, etc and we might as well rent our house out until June! It makes me wonder what Ana is going to want to do. She loves to sing and dance but also liked playing basketball with the boys when she was here last summer. I can't wait to see what things she chooses to do when she is finally a Raabe!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Friendship
Another amazing story about our journey revolves around friendship. When we decided to be a host family, we were not planning on adopting. We had a girl we were supposed to be hosting and had made plans for her to stay with us. As I mentioned in my previous post, the feelings we had when we got to the camp and saw Ana for the first time were not anything we were expecting. After 2 days, we made arrangements to be Ana's host family. Karina, who we were going to host, would be staying with another family - within hours I found out it would be family that might be interested in adopting her! That much was already amazing. Add to it that Ana and Karina are best friends and have been for quite some time. She will live 6 miles from us!
As we started getting to know this couple, Ann and Stuart, we realized that a quick friendship was forming! We had never met them before however, in just days, we had this instant connection with each other and an obvious connection between the girls. During the time the girls were with us, Ana slept over at their house, we got together for a campfire, and they came to Mary Beth's 12th birthday and even made a cake!
Tonight, while we are all sleeping, Stuart, Ann and Karina's life will be officially changed for ever! They will be in court at 9AM (Ukrainian time). Please take some time to pray that their time in court goes smoothly and a forever family will be created. Our family is so excited for them and their new life together. You can read their story by clicking on the link on the side of our blog - Echols Ukrainian Echoes.
As we started getting to know this couple, Ann and Stuart, we realized that a quick friendship was forming! We had never met them before however, in just days, we had this instant connection with each other and an obvious connection between the girls. During the time the girls were with us, Ana slept over at their house, we got together for a campfire, and they came to Mary Beth's 12th birthday and even made a cake!
Tonight, while we are all sleeping, Stuart, Ann and Karina's life will be officially changed for ever! They will be in court at 9AM (Ukrainian time). Please take some time to pray that their time in court goes smoothly and a forever family will be created. Our family is so excited for them and their new life together. You can read their story by clicking on the link on the side of our blog - Echols Ukrainian Echoes.
Monday, April 4, 2011
We finally have a blog!
Where do we start?
This has been a long process for us. We met Ana through a hosting camp in August 2010. We took longer than other families to make the adoption decision - we had 6 people who had to agree that this was right for our family! When everyone felt that this was the right direction for us, we started moving forward. There have been obstacles in the way: changing from a facilitator to an agency, getting required paper work completed with busy careers and 4 kids, dealing with the negative comments, and the amount of money we had not saved for this!
It seems that most of these things are behind us and we are beginning to feel that this is actually going to happen now! There were reasons we weren't at the place we wanted to be and God knew exactly where we should be.
One of the most amazing things that has happened during the past month of renewed anticipation is our search for an adoption agency. There were several reasons we were looking for someone new and we were so confused by all of the choices available. Our final decision was made easily when we realized God was leading us to this place for a couple of weeks.
1.We received an email from a message board, where we had been asking adoption questions, about a mission group called His Kids Too. We read the message but just put it to the side thinking it was some kind of advertisement.
2. The next week, as Jim was looking up Presbyterian missions in Ukraine, he came across His Kids, Too again. This time through the Presbyterian Women website.
3.During this time we were still exploring all of our options, emailing and calling prospective agencies and facilitators. I had read on a blog months ago about a mission program in Ana's orphanage city that houses and trains kids who have "aged out" of the orphanage. We started thinking that maybe we were being called to something bigger. Maybe we were meant to do more than adopt Ana. One Saturday, I decided to look it up again but before I could do that, I read a friend's blog who was currently in the city to adopt. He had posted a link to the same place that morning! I wasn't even sure how I was going to find it since I couldn't remember the name of the place. When I contacted the director the program to ask about mission opportunities, we realized that his name was the same name that we read on the Board of Directors for His Kids, Too!
4. The final A-ha moment was when we contacted the agency associated with His Kids, Too and found out that the agency director has adopted from Ana's city. With all of the orphanages in Ukraine, that is pretty amazing!
We realize that we might have been a little slow in reading the signs but feel so good about the decision we have made.
We are now anxious to continue to move forward. We are currently waiting for our Homeland Security fingerprinting. After that, our agency has said the process will go quickly.
Our agency has asked if we plan on taking our children with us. We had talked about it before but with the cost of airline tickets, decided it was out of our budget. However, with a new agency and as we head in a different direction - which will include mission work in the city and possibly with summer camps for local kids and kids from the orphanages, we realize what an amazing opportunity this would be for our kids. This experience could mean far more than the additional funds it would take to make it happen.
Please pray for our family - all 7 of us - as we continue on this amazing and life changing journey!
This has been a long process for us. We met Ana through a hosting camp in August 2010. We took longer than other families to make the adoption decision - we had 6 people who had to agree that this was right for our family! When everyone felt that this was the right direction for us, we started moving forward. There have been obstacles in the way: changing from a facilitator to an agency, getting required paper work completed with busy careers and 4 kids, dealing with the negative comments, and the amount of money we had not saved for this!
It seems that most of these things are behind us and we are beginning to feel that this is actually going to happen now! There were reasons we weren't at the place we wanted to be and God knew exactly where we should be.
One of the most amazing things that has happened during the past month of renewed anticipation is our search for an adoption agency. There were several reasons we were looking for someone new and we were so confused by all of the choices available. Our final decision was made easily when we realized God was leading us to this place for a couple of weeks.
1.We received an email from a message board, where we had been asking adoption questions, about a mission group called His Kids Too. We read the message but just put it to the side thinking it was some kind of advertisement.
2. The next week, as Jim was looking up Presbyterian missions in Ukraine, he came across His Kids, Too again. This time through the Presbyterian Women website.
3.During this time we were still exploring all of our options, emailing and calling prospective agencies and facilitators. I had read on a blog months ago about a mission program in Ana's orphanage city that houses and trains kids who have "aged out" of the orphanage. We started thinking that maybe we were being called to something bigger. Maybe we were meant to do more than adopt Ana. One Saturday, I decided to look it up again but before I could do that, I read a friend's blog who was currently in the city to adopt. He had posted a link to the same place that morning! I wasn't even sure how I was going to find it since I couldn't remember the name of the place. When I contacted the director the program to ask about mission opportunities, we realized that his name was the same name that we read on the Board of Directors for His Kids, Too!
4. The final A-ha moment was when we contacted the agency associated with His Kids, Too and found out that the agency director has adopted from Ana's city. With all of the orphanages in Ukraine, that is pretty amazing!
We realize that we might have been a little slow in reading the signs but feel so good about the decision we have made.
We are now anxious to continue to move forward. We are currently waiting for our Homeland Security fingerprinting. After that, our agency has said the process will go quickly.
Our agency has asked if we plan on taking our children with us. We had talked about it before but with the cost of airline tickets, decided it was out of our budget. However, with a new agency and as we head in a different direction - which will include mission work in the city and possibly with summer camps for local kids and kids from the orphanages, we realize what an amazing opportunity this would be for our kids. This experience could mean far more than the additional funds it would take to make it happen.
Please pray for our family - all 7 of us - as we continue on this amazing and life changing journey!
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