Kiddo Passports

Today, I finalized the kids' passports applications.  We plan to make a visit to the post office on Friday to apply in person.  I am sure that I'll get photos of this experience.  I got my first passport when I was 23 years old, one month before my wedding.  My kids are getting theirs at the age of 11, 10, 7 and 5.  They're extremely excited and can't wait to get them stamped.

Also, the girls received an order for 10 Warrior Necklaces from a very generous donor!

Yesterday, I added the "How You Can Help" link on the right side of this blog. Another way that you can help is to donate your Delta Skymiles to me.  Since we will most likely fly Delta Airlines for our three trips, I'll greatly need to increase the number of Skymiles in my account.  I will pay the transfer fees for those that would be willing to donate miles.  Please email me, and I'll provide you with my account info.  Click here for more information on how you can transfer miles to me.

Orphan Justice

I got a new read today.  A new book released March 1st.  Watch the trailer here...



I have also added a description of ways that people can help us.  Click the link on the right side of this blog.  I'll be updating this link periodically.

If you had asked me one year ago about adoption, I would have given you the same answer I would have almost fourteen years ago when I married Kristie, "yeah, we'll adopt one day, maybe when our kids are older".  Adoption was always something that we might check off of the list, way in the future sometime.  And of course, it would probably happen from China.  Honestly, when I used to think of adoption, it was the stereotypical Uganda or China.  I mean, that's where you're supposed to adopt from if you're going "international". Right?

So, when Kristie showed me the picture of three little Ukranian kids last May that were on the "available" list for New Horizons, I was like, "Really GOD?  Is this what we are supposed to do?".  So we prayed hard, and finally said, "GOD, your will be done.  If it's your will for us to host these siblings from Ukraine, then we'll do it."  So we went to place them on 'hold', only to find out that a family from Virginia put them on hold first.

So, we went on with life through the summer.  My wife kept checking the New Horizons "kids available" page for Winter 2012 Hosting.  She found an adorable five year from Latvi@ with a special medical condition.  She was drawn right to him, no one else.  Something about his little smirk and the little teddy bear he was holding in the picture drew him to me also.  So, we inquired about his medical condition with a few folks.  It didn't take long for us to put this little guy on hold.

So, here we are with a completed homestudy in hand, I-800A ready to mail, kids' passport applications filled out planning the most cost-effective way to travel from Atlanta to Riga (layover in Frankfurt or Amsterdam?).   Who would have thought we'd be adopting a five year old from Latvi@.  Although we have a long way to go, we can't believe that in just a few weeks, the paperwork will be 100% complete and in the hands of others.

Here is a trailer for the adoption documentary titled "Stuck". Kristie got to see this film at the Created for Care Conference:

Latvi@ Mamas Club

Tonight, Kristie's at the Created For Care Conference at Lake Lanier Island, GA.  She's the one with the nice Warrior necklace ($5 plus $1 for shipping).  Here she is with several Lat Moms that she met.

We still need to get the kids' passports.  We're going to ho ahead and get Sarah and Seth's applications in as well.  Going out on faith that we'll be able to take all four of our kids with us on the first trip.   Time is running out to get the kids' passports, so we're going to try and apply this week.  With kiddos, they must apply in person with both parents.   

Today, Seth told Kristie that we should just adopt all the children in the Latvi@n orphanages!  Unfortunately, for him, we have only been approved for two!

Seth and Sarah waiting for their brother...

Random Stuff...

This is (will be) me...

Sarah "Bean".  My trooper.  The only one who wanted to freeze with me at the soccer games last Saturday.

Date Night with Sarah "Bean"

Seth on the slide in January.  Warrior was on the top of the slide at the time..

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I can't think of a caption for this one.

Care Package

We received an email from Warrior's orphanage today saying that he had finally received the care package we had sent via New Horizons back in January. It finally arrived! It was hand delivered to his orphanage. We received two pictures of a smiling Warrior opening his care package. I wish we could post the pictures here, but we aren't allowed to. He looks happy and healthy in the pictures, though he majorly needs a haircut...

We received an electronic copy of our home study document - 8 pages, single spaced. I didn't think we could fill up that many pages. In a few days, we'll get hard copies in the mail.

We're sending the I-800A document to USCIS this week. We also received a draft of the dossier documents. We'll work with the agency over the next couple of weeks to get the dossier completed.