After all of the requisite running from place to place and back again, I have hesitated to say anything until now. I kept thinking there would be another email/phone call telling me something else is needed.
But we did it. The dossier is now on its way to Ukraine. So exciting. Tomorrow (July 19)is Maxim's 6th birthday and though he will not know it, the papers may be in the country by then. Just the thought of that milestone is sweet to me.
The process of God expanding a family is moving forward.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
Due Date
Well, we are in the thick of summer. Already multiple treks out to Lake Michigan to enjoy the water and sunshine.
We especially enjoy Holland State Park, twenty minutes from the house and very easy access from parking lot to water, even for the disabled. It's a beautiful setting with a huge red lighthouse nearby. The area reminds me a lot of my hometown, Bainbridge Island, in Washington State.
The garden over at Daniel's parents' mini-farm paradise is looking good, inspite of the heavy rains we had in June. In fact, I think our corn looks to be the best we've ever had since we've been planting there. I underestimated how fast radish can take off and ours now qualify as one-dish meals. They are very big and peppery. Like horse radish. Any ideas for how to use them. I hate to waste them but by themselves, lets just say they are quite powerful.
We also put up the basketball hoop that has been waiting in its box in our shed for an eternity it seems. It's been so fun to get out there as a family and put each other to the test.
Our dossier is almost ready. It has been almost ready before. For awhile we thought everything was set except we had not yet received our clearance from Michigan State Police. When I overnighted our fingerprints to the office in Lansing, I forgot to enclose the check for $60. They called right away and I got that out on UPS the next day. Then we sat and waited because one of their employees, who normally would have dealt with our request, had to be out for awhile due to a death in her family. A test of patience as we wait for these papers that mean so much to us, yet praying for this woman's family for God to comfort them.
State Police papers came and look great. So it was time to take everything in to Bethany and comb over it again. Alas, second set of medical statements had not been put on doctor's letterhead, my complete lab results were not actually there, and because Daniel and I were married in Washington State, our certificates have to be not just certified there but apostilled there as well. So back to UPS/Fed Ex I went.
Papers from doctor and retrieval of complete lab results was easy. I spoke with the woman who is taking care of our marriage certificates in Washington State and she agreed to get it sent out on overnight FedEx on Friday, with a request for Saturday delivery. However, since we were not able to be home when they came, they did not leave the envelope so here we are at Monday, and I just can hardly wait.
All this to say that due dates within the adoption process and promises that "this will happen at this time" are sometimes just as iffy as the due dates we are given during a pregnancy. The papers will get here when they get here. We will travel when we travel. Our special little boy we so want to bring home will be here when he gets here.
Oh for the patience and trust to wait on God's timing. In the end, I know we won't have wanted it any other way.
Blessings on all of you in your own processes, whether it be adoption or another journey you are on.
We especially enjoy Holland State Park, twenty minutes from the house and very easy access from parking lot to water, even for the disabled. It's a beautiful setting with a huge red lighthouse nearby. The area reminds me a lot of my hometown, Bainbridge Island, in Washington State.
The garden over at Daniel's parents' mini-farm paradise is looking good, inspite of the heavy rains we had in June. In fact, I think our corn looks to be the best we've ever had since we've been planting there. I underestimated how fast radish can take off and ours now qualify as one-dish meals. They are very big and peppery. Like horse radish. Any ideas for how to use them. I hate to waste them but by themselves, lets just say they are quite powerful.
We also put up the basketball hoop that has been waiting in its box in our shed for an eternity it seems. It's been so fun to get out there as a family and put each other to the test.
Our dossier is almost ready. It has been almost ready before. For awhile we thought everything was set except we had not yet received our clearance from Michigan State Police. When I overnighted our fingerprints to the office in Lansing, I forgot to enclose the check for $60. They called right away and I got that out on UPS the next day. Then we sat and waited because one of their employees, who normally would have dealt with our request, had to be out for awhile due to a death in her family. A test of patience as we wait for these papers that mean so much to us, yet praying for this woman's family for God to comfort them.
State Police papers came and look great. So it was time to take everything in to Bethany and comb over it again. Alas, second set of medical statements had not been put on doctor's letterhead, my complete lab results were not actually there, and because Daniel and I were married in Washington State, our certificates have to be not just certified there but apostilled there as well. So back to UPS/Fed Ex I went.
Papers from doctor and retrieval of complete lab results was easy. I spoke with the woman who is taking care of our marriage certificates in Washington State and she agreed to get it sent out on overnight FedEx on Friday, with a request for Saturday delivery. However, since we were not able to be home when they came, they did not leave the envelope so here we are at Monday, and I just can hardly wait.
All this to say that due dates within the adoption process and promises that "this will happen at this time" are sometimes just as iffy as the due dates we are given during a pregnancy. The papers will get here when they get here. We will travel when we travel. Our special little boy we so want to bring home will be here when he gets here.
Oh for the patience and trust to wait on God's timing. In the end, I know we won't have wanted it any other way.
Blessings on all of you in your own processes, whether it be adoption or another journey you are on.
Monday, July 7, 2008
where have you been; where do you think you're going
it has taken forever to actually post for the first time, yet I have learned so much from following other adoption blogs, so here goes. may it be a blessing to any who visit, and a testimony to our children, especially Maxim, of God's fingerprints along the way.
we are Daniel and Jenna
we are happily bound for life
we are one
we are parents
we are imperfect
we are loved
we are blessed
we are HIS
because we are HIS, the journey together has always been less predictable than I would have expected. a three and a half year courtship, tempered by some illness, insecurity and only 8 weeks actually face to face before we married lead to a lot of "meeting for the first time" scenarios of really getting to know each other after the wedding. but God blessed us with senses of humor to keep laughing along the way and a dedication to the covenant we made before God so we are tightly and happily together (nineteen years in November 2008).
we have been touched by the experience of parenting a special needs child. we have learned that a "perfect" pregnancy can be part of the road leading to a later diagnosis of cerebral palsy. lots of questions, very few answers, but HIS blessings and encouragement are truly abundant. over and over, just in time, HE reassures us that HE is aware and at work and while we wait for healing, HE is using our child just the way she is right now.
we are learning that each of our children is a picture of us somehow, but truly unique. Something of God's work in progress. each one a blessing straight from HIS hand. for us to nurture, encourage and lead while belonging to HIM.
our children are tools in HIS hand every day, reminding us that we are but children ourselves, desperately in need of HIS touch.
Maxim's story is unfolding in this context of becoming more and more keenly aware that the unpredictability of a life dedicated to Christ is precisely what makes it so beautiful and exciting. Each step taken to follow HIS leading, whatever that may be in a individual life, proves HIS love and perfect sovereignty a little more, until we can't wait to find out what step HE bids us to take next.
if you were a fly on my wall, everything I've just said completely sincerely would be set clearly against the goofy and sometimes stumbling of our day to day Campau routine. i am just a tottering child of HIS with a deep pull toward whatever HE asks us to do.
our adoption journey began in 2002, really, as this is when I came to the breath-taking revelation, during prayer one morning, that my decision to stop having children after three, was based solely on fear and selfishness. Pretty strong, I know, but that was the message to me from my loving Father that morning. I knew HE meant it for me at that moment and I didn't and don't apply it to others. It is the one time in my life I have experienced being corrected and comforted by God at the same time. I knew that I had to repent of letting my fears and selfishness take precidence over HIS leading, in any area of life, and I repented in tears. Almost immediately, the idea came to mind that if God was correcting me over how I had made the decision to stop having children out of motives displeasing to HIM, maybe HE was prompting/preparing us to have more children.
faltering in our communication, we fumbled over the next years to understand what would be best. Daniel brought up adoption. my mind was stuck on more biological children. a month might come where I would cry when my cycle came because it meant no pregnancy. another month would pass where I would rejoice when my cycle came because it is the sign of my body continuing to prepare, come what may. we prayed together that God would perform a miraculous reversal, or I would simply turn up pregnant. sometimes I prayed alone that if God didnot intend for me to have more children, that the longing would go away.
as our children grow up, I am more and more aware of how my example and Daniel's example are what will teach them the most, for better or worse. we cannot afford to say one thing and do another. as I would read through the scriptures with the kids, we would occasionally come upon verses speaking of caring for the weak, the poor, the widow, the orphan. verses that speak of not turning away when we know someone needs help because if we do there will come a time when we are in need and no one helps. verses which speak of a full quiver. children like olive plants flourishing around a table. children are a blessing around the table.
i felt I could not read these things to our children without beginning a conversation of what it might mean to obey them as a household. so with Daniel's blessing, I went to my first Bethany Christian Services info meeting in Spring of 2007, hearing of orphans around the world, ministry to them, and the testimonies of couples who had adopted.
later I asked that Bethany send me regular emails with pictures/profiles of orphans so I would see and not forget and my children would see and not forget.
in November of 2007, Maxim's little face appeared in a list of profiles. I saved it as I had all the others. Then in December, his picture was sent out again and I just felt so drawn to him. I showed the children and I emailed Daniel.
I said, "if this is not Joel's (our biological son) little brother, I don't know who is"
so began the prayer and discussion. we put our name in Bethany's system as "interested". next, I received a formal application we could "dabble with" at whatever pace we chose, filling it out a little, saving it, and filling more in later until we felt ready to send it in. so from time to time I would go into the file and fill in some things and then save it.
in late January 2008, I went to Denver for a week with Daniel on a business trip. when we returned, i had an email from Bethany saying our formal application had been approved! I was shocked and not quite sure what to say to Daniel. I had either pushed the "send" button instead of "save", or God had moved things along. I really believe HE did it.
while driving to a Bethany seminar in January, I had the distinct thought come to mind "remember Rebekkah"; so I thought about how Rebekkah loved her husband Isaac but when God revealed HIS will for their sons, that the second born would receive the blessing, Rebekkah became deceptive and manipulative, trying to "help" God. I realized that even though I had no doubt about Maxim becoming our son and being confident it is God's will, I cannot be deceptive or manipulative in how I address it with Daniel. If this is truly God's leading, then HE will work it out in Daniel's heart.
so here we were at the end of January, our formal application accepted by Bethany and me feeling terrible because I knew it would appear to Daniel that I had purposely stepped ahead of him and turned it in. when I told him, however, he just got a quizzical smile on his face. from that smile we have taken the leap. Daniel has said that as soon as he set aside every fearful and selfish reason he thought he had for not adopting, and we made the decision to "go for it", he was immediately relieved. God has been faithful to bless us with almost all of the needed finances, through friends and family, as well as principles of stewardship we needed to practice a long time ago. we anticipate sending our dossier to Ukraine in the next week.
you see why it took me so long to actually post. how can God's handprints weaving a household in Michigan and a little boy in Ukraine into a family be "put in a nutshell"? what a joyful privilege to walk the adoption road.
that's where I've been. that's where I'm going. how about you?
we are Daniel and Jenna
we are happily bound for life
we are one
we are parents
we are imperfect
we are loved
we are blessed
we are HIS
because we are HIS, the journey together has always been less predictable than I would have expected. a three and a half year courtship, tempered by some illness, insecurity and only 8 weeks actually face to face before we married lead to a lot of "meeting for the first time" scenarios of really getting to know each other after the wedding. but God blessed us with senses of humor to keep laughing along the way and a dedication to the covenant we made before God so we are tightly and happily together (nineteen years in November 2008).
we have been touched by the experience of parenting a special needs child. we have learned that a "perfect" pregnancy can be part of the road leading to a later diagnosis of cerebral palsy. lots of questions, very few answers, but HIS blessings and encouragement are truly abundant. over and over, just in time, HE reassures us that HE is aware and at work and while we wait for healing, HE is using our child just the way she is right now.
we are learning that each of our children is a picture of us somehow, but truly unique. Something of God's work in progress. each one a blessing straight from HIS hand. for us to nurture, encourage and lead while belonging to HIM.
our children are tools in HIS hand every day, reminding us that we are but children ourselves, desperately in need of HIS touch.
Maxim's story is unfolding in this context of becoming more and more keenly aware that the unpredictability of a life dedicated to Christ is precisely what makes it so beautiful and exciting. Each step taken to follow HIS leading, whatever that may be in a individual life, proves HIS love and perfect sovereignty a little more, until we can't wait to find out what step HE bids us to take next.
if you were a fly on my wall, everything I've just said completely sincerely would be set clearly against the goofy and sometimes stumbling of our day to day Campau routine. i am just a tottering child of HIS with a deep pull toward whatever HE asks us to do.
our adoption journey began in 2002, really, as this is when I came to the breath-taking revelation, during prayer one morning, that my decision to stop having children after three, was based solely on fear and selfishness. Pretty strong, I know, but that was the message to me from my loving Father that morning. I knew HE meant it for me at that moment and I didn't and don't apply it to others. It is the one time in my life I have experienced being corrected and comforted by God at the same time. I knew that I had to repent of letting my fears and selfishness take precidence over HIS leading, in any area of life, and I repented in tears. Almost immediately, the idea came to mind that if God was correcting me over how I had made the decision to stop having children out of motives displeasing to HIM, maybe HE was prompting/preparing us to have more children.
faltering in our communication, we fumbled over the next years to understand what would be best. Daniel brought up adoption. my mind was stuck on more biological children. a month might come where I would cry when my cycle came because it meant no pregnancy. another month would pass where I would rejoice when my cycle came because it is the sign of my body continuing to prepare, come what may. we prayed together that God would perform a miraculous reversal, or I would simply turn up pregnant. sometimes I prayed alone that if God didnot intend for me to have more children, that the longing would go away.
as our children grow up, I am more and more aware of how my example and Daniel's example are what will teach them the most, for better or worse. we cannot afford to say one thing and do another. as I would read through the scriptures with the kids, we would occasionally come upon verses speaking of caring for the weak, the poor, the widow, the orphan. verses that speak of not turning away when we know someone needs help because if we do there will come a time when we are in need and no one helps. verses which speak of a full quiver. children like olive plants flourishing around a table. children are a blessing around the table.
i felt I could not read these things to our children without beginning a conversation of what it might mean to obey them as a household. so with Daniel's blessing, I went to my first Bethany Christian Services info meeting in Spring of 2007, hearing of orphans around the world, ministry to them, and the testimonies of couples who had adopted.
later I asked that Bethany send me regular emails with pictures/profiles of orphans so I would see and not forget and my children would see and not forget.
in November of 2007, Maxim's little face appeared in a list of profiles. I saved it as I had all the others. Then in December, his picture was sent out again and I just felt so drawn to him. I showed the children and I emailed Daniel.
I said, "if this is not Joel's (our biological son) little brother, I don't know who is"
so began the prayer and discussion. we put our name in Bethany's system as "interested". next, I received a formal application we could "dabble with" at whatever pace we chose, filling it out a little, saving it, and filling more in later until we felt ready to send it in. so from time to time I would go into the file and fill in some things and then save it.
in late January 2008, I went to Denver for a week with Daniel on a business trip. when we returned, i had an email from Bethany saying our formal application had been approved! I was shocked and not quite sure what to say to Daniel. I had either pushed the "send" button instead of "save", or God had moved things along. I really believe HE did it.
while driving to a Bethany seminar in January, I had the distinct thought come to mind "remember Rebekkah"; so I thought about how Rebekkah loved her husband Isaac but when God revealed HIS will for their sons, that the second born would receive the blessing, Rebekkah became deceptive and manipulative, trying to "help" God. I realized that even though I had no doubt about Maxim becoming our son and being confident it is God's will, I cannot be deceptive or manipulative in how I address it with Daniel. If this is truly God's leading, then HE will work it out in Daniel's heart.
so here we were at the end of January, our formal application accepted by Bethany and me feeling terrible because I knew it would appear to Daniel that I had purposely stepped ahead of him and turned it in. when I told him, however, he just got a quizzical smile on his face. from that smile we have taken the leap. Daniel has said that as soon as he set aside every fearful and selfish reason he thought he had for not adopting, and we made the decision to "go for it", he was immediately relieved. God has been faithful to bless us with almost all of the needed finances, through friends and family, as well as principles of stewardship we needed to practice a long time ago. we anticipate sending our dossier to Ukraine in the next week.
you see why it took me so long to actually post. how can God's handprints weaving a household in Michigan and a little boy in Ukraine into a family be "put in a nutshell"? what a joyful privilege to walk the adoption road.
that's where I've been. that's where I'm going. how about you?
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