Happy Halloween...

still nothing happening, but we have our fingerprint appointment on Monday, so maybe things can get done quickly after that! It's a bit stressful wondering and waiting. I can't stop invisioning our first meeting with him, and what he is going to be like. I know so LITTLE about him, nothing really, except his medical issues. I have a very 'practical' extended family and their words of wisdom go something like this... " you think you're busy now, you just wait" and "he may hate you for all you know" (nice!) " you're never going to be able to go ANYWHERE again" those are a few words of support I get mostly from my mom :) Gotta love it.

no news to report yet

Still waiting....

The Amazing Andrea!

I think that woman can do anything! She got the attention of our congressman, so we'll see where this heads :)

Awe, shucks...

Thank You! I feel better now :)

Today Andrea is going to call our congressmans office and see if they will do anything to hurry our process along. We have tried but we get no response from them. Andrea thinks that if we can get it all done NOW, we may still be able to get submitted before the cut-off. This could make a big difference for Artiom, (which by the way, is his REAL name and we are going to keep it) I am worried he may get transferred if we don't get there soon, Andrea say's he doesn't have much time left. If he gets transferred, I am really worried for him, his health, for him emotionally, and that he may 'disappear' and we may lose him altogether. So, please PRAY for him, that we can get him home soon. And I really THANK YOU for that :)

I'm on STRIKE...

I am not going to post another one of my exciting, much anticipated post's until atleast ONE person comments on how adorable Artiom is.

We recieved confirmation that the USCIS got our I600A on Oct.7th. So thankfully, it didn't take all that long. Now we wait some more. I long to meet this little person and love him!

Its on November 2nd...

We finally got our fingerprint appointment. Yay, lets hope we get it all in soon.

make sure you scroll way down, there are more pics of Artiom :)

Isn't this just the sweetest face?

my sweetie

lindsey and summer

lindsey and her collie

those are our 3 daughters. Ashley 20, Lindsey 16, and Summer Rose 5.

Shane

This is my almost 18 yr old son on a fishing trip.

Yay- I got my son to do it for me:)

Here are the pics of Artiom that I have.

Artiom

dang it- couldn't figure out the pictures.

He was delayed in sitting until the age of 2, delayed in walking at the age of 4, he only has partial hearing, he had surgery for his hernia, he has gnathopalatoschisis (splitting of his jaw and palate), hypoplasia of right kidney, his mouth is slightly wry (wried) towards the deformed ear, he has subcompensated hydrocephaly although his head is of right shape and size. He cannot really talk because he has hearing loss. He continues to experience malnutrition due to his mouth abnormalities and institutional care. He has absence of earflap, sub-compensated hydrocephaly, Goldenhar’s syndrome (no ear), closed acoustic duct, mixed hearing loss, cleft palate, crossed actopic kidney and developmental delays as well as cosmetic facial differences.


This child is likely to have the following problems - hearing problems, weakness in moving the side of the face that is smaller, dental problems - the soft palate may move to the unaffected side of the face, the tongue may be smaller on the affected side of the face, fusion of the bones of the neck.

Depending on the severity of Goldenhar Syndrome, the child may have some or all of the following surgeries - lowering of the jaw on the affected side, lengthening of the lower jaw, 3 to 4 operations to rebuild the outer ear, addition of bone to build up the cheeks, soft tissue may need to be added to the face. Other possible diagnosis could be Oculoauicular Dysplasia or OAV or Hemifacial Microsomia.

Well, our home study is complete! We are lucky to have it done in basically 4 1/2 weeks. We had a Dr from Gillette Hospital write up a letter stating what medical procedures Artiom will likely need to have and how it is very important to get him here as soon as possible. I sure hope he doesn't need even half of it done. It was extensive. Anyway, let's hope the letter will help sway getting our fingerprint appointment SOON. I sure wish it all didn't have to go to Texas!
The kids and I are going to make a pumpkin pie dessert today if we finish with home schooling in time. Michael is NOT a lover of school, and it's like pulling teeth every day. He does however, LOVE to cook, so it's a good incentive for him. He knows all the chefs on t.v and his favorite progam is the cooking channel. LOVES IT. I definitely think he will be a chef when he grows up :)
Summer brought a snake in the house yesterday. Her new 'little pet' until I made her let it go back to find its mama :) she is our scrappy doo, nothing scares her. She love animals of all kinds, and she's tough. Not a girly girl, although she does like to wear dresses. Usually with one cowboy boot and one sandal- whatever she can find as she is running out the door :)

If I can manage it, I'll post the letter and pictures of Artiom. If you don't see it, that means I couldn't figure out how!

Things aren't looking good concerning the I600A. I got a letter from them today saying to plan an a minimum of 3 months to get the form processed. Not good. I sure hope they can get it done before Nov. 23. I did send them a 'special needs child' request to expedite the process. Emailed them also. So now, we move on to Michele Bachman, congresswoman, to see if she can help.. I'm so glad I have a really smart husband. I sure wouldn't want to have to do all this stuff alone. All 4 of you who read this, and you know who you are, please pray for us to be able to get to him before the winter closure!

got 3 of the passports done! YAY! Now Rich and whichever kids we are bringing (of the little ones) still have to get theirs. Last hold up, and potentially a BIG one, I600A appointment. Totally our of our hands. Fingers still crossed.

Getting a little closer...

Our home study is almost complete. So now it's just waiting on our I600A finger print appointment, and our passports. We're getting close! I really cannot wait to see Artiom, to hug him and hold him in my arms. It's like a dream, and I'm SO excited for it to become real. I pray he stay's safe and healthy, and I pray he is cognitively better than I expect. I really hope he is as sweet tempered as I picture him :) There are SO MANY unknowns at this point. Will he be able to hear at all? Ah, too many questions, I need to just find peace in all this and be THANKFUL that he will be our son. And I am.

Not much to report today. It's days like this when it's cold and yucky outside that things seem harder than they should. The kids are crabby, I'm crabby, and it goes downhill from there :(
I like to feel like I accomplished at least one thing a day towards bringing Artiom/Hunter home, and we're at a standstill waiting for several REALLY important details to get done. We really need to get our passports and now on Monday everything will be closed so can't do it then. So hopefully, I'll have more to post in the next few days. It's hard to not dwell on what happened with Svetlana.

Details to finish and feelings about Svetlana

Well, now we are in a race to get our dossier submitted before Hunters country closes for 2 months! That would push our adoption back to march and he may certainly be transferred before then. SO, we have to get it all done.
One of the most frustrating parts of losing Svetlana is that we didn't even KNOW that we had to get it passed with our HS person ( i don't want to say SW, because she isn't) but anyway, we knew we were approved to adopt, she already told us that. RR said on the papers to ALWAYS put 2-3 children down, in case we decide on it later on in the process. So we thought the decision was totally ours to make. After much prayer, we thought we knew what God was telling us. It's not a committment to make lightly, so of course, our hearts were really in the decision.
I pictured her playing with Summer, them doing each others hair, and just being best friends. I pictured her out on the swing next summer and in the playhouse having a tea party. I had her middle name. I had told Rich that if we have another girl we would have to name her Glory, so in the morning I would say to her 'Morning Glory' cheesy I know. But we were going to name her Svetlana Glory.
I feel bad for Summer because she doesn't understand why she is now NOT going to have a sister. I wouldn't have said anything to the kids and get their hopes up if I hadn't completely beleived it was going to happen.
So, to make a long story short, we had no idea that this wasn't 'our' decision, but someone else's to make for us.
We don't want to persue other options because it would delay and jeopordize Hunters adoption, and since I KNOW where he will be sent, it's not an option for us. I totally feel for the families that lose a child after thinking for MUCH longer than we that a child was going to be theirs and to make that emotional committment and then have the pain of loss. We only had Svetlana in our hearts for a relatively short period of time, and it STILL hurts.

Thanks Nance!

Svetlana

It is not going to happen for us. There is NO changing the minds that arealready made up. We have had to place this in Gods hands and as hard as it isto accept, we have to. Please pray for Svetlana. I cannot even express to youhow much I wanted to be her mother. But if not me...the fact is she still needsa mother. Please pray for her, she has waited so long already and is soprecious. What a wonderful daughter she would make. If she is still there nextyear, we will try again, but for her sake I pray her family finds her beforethat. I do thank you all for your kind words and especially your prayers! Jodi

No News

I have in a final plea to the SW. Haven't heard back. I'm trying to beleive that Gods will is at work here...but it's hard.

prayers please

I don't think our SW is going to change her mind, I have tried everything I can think of, so now it is in the Lords hands. Please, please pray...

a bit of a setback

We are having a bit of a set back here with our home study approving 2, but I am confident we will resolve it. Please pray for us,and our journey to these children. Please pray for guidance and strength. It's hard when 'the world' is telling you that you are crazy and taking on way too much...but your heart knows otherwise. I am not a friend of doubt. I detest it. Yet it creeps in anyway.

Beautiful Svetlana...

Will be joining our family along with Hunter! I am so thankful and excited.

Yes, Svetlana is at the same orphanage as Hunter. I don't think Aaron is though. Summer is going to be far out numbered here, with 3 brothers( 4 actually, but Shane is almost 18!) , so a sister her age would be perfect :) I home school, and I think my mom, who lives very close, will have to be helping me out with this full house!

Of course I mean in ADDITION to Hunter!

Svetlana

We are considering adopting Svetlana. She is so sweet, and she would fit in here wonderfully. She looks so much like our Summer, they would be best friends and oh how Summer would love a sister her age. I wish God would speak more clearly to me sometimes.

Got lots done yesterday

Busy day around here... got the child specific form sent off to Yulia, got the I600A forms sent off, picked up all the medical forms from Dr office, and got passport forms. Was hoping to get passports today, but Rich had to go into work so it didn't work out. The lady from our home study gave me some contact information to talk to other parents of children with Goldenhar syndrome, so I emailed them. Hopefully I can learn alot about it before Hunter gets here so I know how to help him better.
I am still praying about getting a second child along with Hunter. Svetlana touches my heart. I guess I just don't hear God speaking clearly to me.
It's cold and rainy here, and I long for a warm climate!