Adoption pregnancy

This week I have been thinking about our upcoming events with our adoption. In many ways, the emotions I have been experiencing are very similar to my feelings during the last few weeks of pregnancy with the girls. For those women whom have been pregnant maybe you can relate. I'm just ready to be done with the process, but anxious about returning home from Russia with the boys. The whole thought process can be quite overwhelming if I think about it too much! The differences would be that with the girls I was able to slowly learn about their little personalities, and to meet their needs was fairly easy. You know, change their diaper, feed them, rock them. When we come home with our little guys they will already have their personalities formed. Their wants and needs will be so much more beyond eat, sleep, and use the bathroom! I am confident between Chad and myself we will parent the boys and be successful as we have been with Sam and Callie. I am also sure that there will be times we struggle as parenting is a wondrous and challenging task. As I longingly look at items for the boys while shopping, I am reminded to slow down and appreciate our family RIGHT NOW and take a deep breath as we prepare to make some big changes.

Applebee's fundraiser results

I wanted to thank everyone who purchased tickets or donated to our Applebee's flapjack fundraiser which we held on October 9th. We raised just under $900 towards our continuing adoption costs. The manager at Applebee's was tremendously helpful and everything went very smoothly. Once again, our family and friends came together to help us execute a successful fundraiser. Some of my current and prior children and families I have worked with in therapy attended the event. Seeing all of the people there really warmed my heart and helped me think about the wonderful community we will bring our boys home to so that they may grow and thrive. As of this date, we have raised via fundraising and saved about fifteen thousand dollars. Our agency has informed us that the in region coordinator expects the Ministry of Education to send our letter of invitation to travel to see the boys in late November. We would be more than happy to give up a turkey dinner to spend Thanksgiving with our boys! Please keep us in our prayers as we continue in our journey to Russia.
Many exciting things continue to happen in our families. My grandfather and father participated in the Honor Flight earlier this month. My 85 year old grandfather remained awake from 4am when they left until 11pm when they returned! Both my dad and grandpa had an amazing time sightseeing in Washington D.C. My dad's birthday is this week, and my grandpa will turn 86 in two weeks. Callie is the next to celebrate her 5th birthday on November 17th! Jessica and Matt continue to work on their wedding plans. Jessica is currently in training for her new position as a foster care caseworker. Matt was recently given a promotion in his job, which they are both very excited about as they look for their first apartment together.
Tonight I began searching online for warm boots for our trip. The orphanage is in Siberia and it will be quite cold with a lot of snow on the ground. I want to find something warm that is fashionable so I can wear here at home for work. We have also begun to accumulate items to take with us on our trip to donate to the orphanage. Today I walked by the preschool at the university and the children were playing outside. I stopped and watched several little boys driving the small cars around the playground and I became teary-eyed as I thought how close we are to meeting our boys. I have felt many of the same emotions I did when I was pregnant with Sam and Callie. We have looked at the pictures of the boys since last January, and our "pregnancy" is definitely "overdue"! I hope the next time I post I will have more exciting news to share!