"Oh, the poor trees!"

Well, as of my last post I had stated that our dossier should be in Lithuania the week of Thanksgiving...Anyone who has taken the journey to adoption often uses the word "PATIENCE". Yes, this process not only kills many trees, it also test your patience. Tuesday (Nov. 25th) I received a call from our social worker stating that we needed the kids medical forms redone and they would have to be resent to Harrisburg for certification. I was hopeing to hear from Maureen this past week, but not about paperwork needing to be redone. Luckly, I was able to get the paperwork totally redone, signed by a physician, and up to Bethany Christian Services the same day. Then off the same day it went to Harrisburg. My hope is that the Bethany office received it back from Harrisburg Friday (Nov. 28th) and now it has been sent over night to the main Bethany office in Grand Rapids. I can't stress how relieved I will be to get the dossier to Lithuania...in my mind I need to know that they know we are out there working very hard for Justina!

We still have our appointment Dec. 2nd with immigration for our finger prints. Hopefully, they will process and approve our application for Justina to come to the U.S. fast!

We are all so eager to bring Justina home. We truly appreciate all the prayers and donations for Justina. Keep on praying...I know I will!

Happy Holidays!

April

"Immigration Services"

I know it has been a while since I have posted any news. Well, there really hasn't been any news. We finally completed the home study and dossier paperwork, only to have our medical form kicked back to us. When they were filled out by the physician's office they left some questions blank. Bethany Christian Services didn't want to send them off to Lithuania with blanks. So, off to the Doctor's office we went again. I think that the office staff is officially sick of us!

As of 11/21/08 the updated medical forms were back at the home office of Bethany Christian Services. Hopefully, our dossier will be sent to Lithuania next week!! We are still doing pretty well on our time line. We are scheduled for biometrics (finger prints) at the USCIS on December 2, 2008. After that, immigration should finish the approval process...hopefully in a timely manner. Meanwhile, we will just be enjoying the holidays and waiting to hear from Lithuania about the approval of our dossier.

We hope everyone has a blessed Thanksgiving! Please, continue to pray for us during our adoption process and for Justina to stay happy and healthy till we can bring her home.

April

"The Video"

We received a video of Justina today! It was great to finally see her in something other than pictures. She was building with blocks, working with puzzles, and best of all eating chocolate! I guess that will be one food item that we won't have too much problem getting for her here in the US. Seeing her in the video makes us want to bring her home with us even more.

I hope to be able to obtain more medical information etc. once our dossier is approved in Lithuania. I can't wait to learn more about her and be able to help her with the changes she will encounter once she arrives in the US.

The kids and I are going to NC for a few days in order to visit my parents. Hopefully after I return from NC I will have some new news to report.

"Moving Right Along"

Well, we are nearing the end of the paperwork pile. Our homestudy is complete, the dossier is in Harrisburg getting aposilled. (should be back tomorrow) Once the dossier is returned it will be forwarded to Grand Rapids so that they can officially send it on to Lithuania.

Speaking of Lithuania...We received word that we should have the video of Justina delivered tomorrow! I am so excited and can't wait to see her on the video. The kids and I will be leaving Weds. Nov. 5th for NC. I plan on taking the video with me so that my parents and brother and see her as well.

Hopefully, you won't have to wait too long for another post to this blog. In the mean time say a prayer for our nation as we enter into another election and GO VOTE!!!!!

"The Final Home Study"

Our final home study meeting went well. We did however find out that we needed more current birth certificates for Sean, Hannah and myself. Plus, we need 2 more copies of our marriage certificate. So, after our meeting Sean and I did a marathon run downtown to get his and Hannah's birth certificate, as well as the marriage certificates. I still have to get my birth certificate from North Carolina. I called up my mother to ask for her help in getting a newer copy as well as sending it to the NC Secretary Of State to be certified. Hopefully, that process won't take long and we will have everything totally finished and in hand the first week of November.



Our next step will be to fill out the paperwork for immigration. I just can't wait for all the paperwork to be finished. The paperwork is really the biggest form of stress in an adoption. I look forward to being able to sit back and wait on our travel dates. I think I need a change of pace in the adoption process.

"The In Home Study"

We officially had our "In Home" study. It went very well as far as I could tell. I was extremely proud for Hannah, Aidan, and Julian. They all minded their manners and participated in the discussions. They asked many good questions and even had what I describe as "dictionary type" answers when they were asked to answer questions. It was so nice to see them excited and involved in our adoption process. I think our social worker was surprised that they raised their hands for permission from her to talk or answer a question. I have to say that I surely didn't expect them to to do that. (St. Elizabeth School is doing a fine job at teaching my children so many great things...including raising your hand to talk!!)

We now have one last meeting next Monday. (October 27th) Sean and I will go to the office of Bethany Christian Services for that meeting. Once the meeting is over our dossier will be sent to the main office of Bethany Christian Services. From there the dossier will be sent on to Lithuania!! It is so exciting. I can't wait for it to arrive in Lithuania. Hopefully, the approval from Lithuania won't take too long. Once we get the final approval from Lithuania I think I will feel more at peace that Justina is really going to be pat of our family.

Should anything exciting happen between now and our next home study date I will post it. Otherwise, I will let you all know how the final home study meeting went.

Say lots of prayers for us and have a great week!!

April :)

"The Home Study"

Okay, I am a bit behind in this blog. Sean and I did already have our first home study meeting. Our second home study meeting is tonight. It is actually our "in home" meeting. I am really excited for this meeting. Actually, I am excited for every meeting, phone call, or email received about Justina's adoption.

The plan is to have our dossier to Lithuania by Thanksgiving at the latest. From that point we will be waiting for all the approvals and travel dates to fall into place. I think a good time frame for us to travel will be Feb./March of 2009. Keep in mind that everything is subject to change.

I will post more after we have our home study meeting tonight.

Some exciting stuff

Well, I came home today to find out that we were sent some new pictures of Justina. There was a video taken as well, but we will have to wait a while on that. In the pictures Justina seems to be very well taken care of. I have posted the email from Elona in Lithuania below. I want to share the photos with everyone as well...I just have to figure out how to do that.


Here is the first update from Elona. There is also a video coming. It will take awhile because IT has to format if for American machines. As you will see, she is really a cutie! We took a video of Justina! She is such a sweet child. For now I am attaching her pictures and the video will be sent later on. Justina seems to be a kind and disciplined girl. She was described as very musical child: she likes dancing very much. With one caregiver her relationship is very special, Justina loves her very much. It was said that when Justina likes to do something, she does it very passionately and actively. Justina speaks very little but she understands absolutely everything, and displays all she is asked to. However, today wasn't her day and the caregiver said that Justina was not in the mood today. Most probably, because of the stranger with a camera J All in all, the staff spoke very positively and encouragingly about the girl. They said that she is very prospective girl if someone would work with her personally for some time. In the pictures she is spotted with chocolate, not dirty J I really hope the family would love her and will continue an adoption. Sincerely, Elona

What a week!

Well, Weds. 9-24-2008 I found out that Justina had been awarded a $5000 grant. Today She has a grand total of $605.38 in her Reece's Rainbow account. I can't get over how many people have donated to the Reece's Rainbow account already. I feel so blessed to know that there are so many people out there who care about Justina's fate as much as we do. If there is ever a day that I feel that there is no compassion in the world...all I have to do is look at the Reece's Rainbow website. There it is in full color...people do care about Justina and all the other angels out there waiting for their forever family.

September 23, 2008

Well the paper piles keep getting bigger and bigger. We have sent off for back ground checks, dropped off all medical forms, and obtained copies of our birth and marriage certificates. This is a lot finished off our to do list...but there is plenty more where that came from. I will be so happy when all the paperwork is complete and sent off. The home study doesn't really bother me. I think that the home study will go smooth. Hopefully, I will have a home study date to post the next time I post to this blog.

Making progress

Well, our adoption process is moving right along. We are hopeing to start our homestudy process with in a week. I know that we are all ready to get the ball rolling. Justina has been in her orphanage for 4 years...way too long. We hope to have her home with us as soon as possible.