I will write more later but I wanted to give a quick update!!!! Yesterday at just before 5 pm we got an email from the Reece's Rainbow director letting us know we need our homestudy completed by the week of January 21st (yikes!!) because......we can submit in February 2011!! We had thought with all the concern of a vote or no vote and all that back and forth we would surely be delayed but it looks like we can submit at the earliest date we were originally told!
Yay! This is what we have been praying for but we have lots to do to finish our homestudy and we have LOTS left to fundraise (we honestly thought we would not travel until late summer at the earliest - now it looks like possibly the Spring - yes!!)
Anyway - pray we can close in that gap - we are working extra, cut household expenses again (and I am pretty sure we are down to the absolute minimum!) and now working on a couple fundraising ideas...all while trying to finish up our homestudy!
Our prayer at the begining of this whole journey was to 1) be able to bring her home quickly (looks like that is gonna happen) and 2) that we would be able to do it without as much debt following us back to America - please pray with us and keep our fundraisers in mind!
I'll write a more lengthy post later with links to all our different fundraisers and will keep you posted on community events - but for now you can check out her 'sponsor page' and our 'Just Love' coffee fundraisers on the side right column =)
Gotta go!
Kate
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Plugging away
So far no new news as far as adoption laws changing in Miss Claire's country - which makes us very happy. We ask you to continue to pray for continued stability in her country and that every little kiddo that has pledged families is able to go home to those families as quickly as possible.
We finished up several pieces of paperwork needed to start our homestudy this past week. We are getting our Live Scan done tomorrow (background check) *fingers crossed* LOL - no issue, just a hoop we gotta jump through.
Tuesday Harry's got his last Dr. appt on Tuesday and then we've got our homestudy appointments - yay!
We have been told we can submit our dossier no earlier than February but it could be later. We are asking everyone to pray that we can submit in February - the sooner we submit the sooner we can travel & bring her home.
Please keep 'our' little Claire in your prayers - we know that it must be hard to be two years old and living in a group home. We know the first years are important years, months, days. We just pray that she is getting the best attention possible, the best nutrition possible, and best care possible. We pray she is warm and that in her heart she somehow knows how deeply loved she is - by us and by God.
While we are on the topic - please pray for the other estimated 149 million orphans world wide - more than 100,000 in Claire's country alone. Of those 100,000 - statistically most will not be adopted. Children in her country age out at 15 or 16. Aging out means you no longer are a ward of the state - you are on your own - you have no family, no care, no money, job, or food. MOST girls have no other job opportunities besides prostitution.
Final thought - only 7% of those who claim to be Christian need to adopt one child for there to be NO ORPHANS in the world. For reals. 7 out of 100 - seems like a very do-able number to me - and think of the impact?! Statistically most of these children will grow into adults that have no opportunity but crime - but if they had families who loved them and gave them a sense of self worth and education - what might our world be like??
We know not everyone can adopt - but we thank everyone who has supported us in this adoption and in our last. We thank you for your prayers & support!
Kate
We finished up several pieces of paperwork needed to start our homestudy this past week. We are getting our Live Scan done tomorrow (background check) *fingers crossed* LOL - no issue, just a hoop we gotta jump through.
Tuesday Harry's got his last Dr. appt on Tuesday and then we've got our homestudy appointments - yay!
We have been told we can submit our dossier no earlier than February but it could be later. We are asking everyone to pray that we can submit in February - the sooner we submit the sooner we can travel & bring her home.
Please keep 'our' little Claire in your prayers - we know that it must be hard to be two years old and living in a group home. We know the first years are important years, months, days. We just pray that she is getting the best attention possible, the best nutrition possible, and best care possible. We pray she is warm and that in her heart she somehow knows how deeply loved she is - by us and by God.
While we are on the topic - please pray for the other estimated 149 million orphans world wide - more than 100,000 in Claire's country alone. Of those 100,000 - statistically most will not be adopted. Children in her country age out at 15 or 16. Aging out means you no longer are a ward of the state - you are on your own - you have no family, no care, no money, job, or food. MOST girls have no other job opportunities besides prostitution.
Final thought - only 7% of those who claim to be Christian need to adopt one child for there to be NO ORPHANS in the world. For reals. 7 out of 100 - seems like a very do-able number to me - and think of the impact?! Statistically most of these children will grow into adults that have no opportunity but crime - but if they had families who loved them and gave them a sense of self worth and education - what might our world be like??
We know not everyone can adopt - but we thank everyone who has supported us in this adoption and in our last. We thank you for your prayers & support!
Kate
Thursday, November 25, 2010
perhaps December?
Quick note - now we are hearing there may be a vote in December.
I am not supposed to write many details. Little 'Claire' is on an international photolisting & there is quite a bit we are not really allowed to publish - IE - her legal name, her country, region, etc.....that is frustrating as I would like to share but I gotta follow the rules.
That being said - ultimately the vote for changes is looking like it will really be a great thing for the children waiting for families in her country. That is - in the long run. Families who are in the process right now are really the only ones who might have to wait longer. In the long run this will likely make adoption in her country easier and more attractive to those considering Intercountry adoption. That is a great thing!
So again - just pray for this vote and for the kids in limbo (kids that have been committed to but do not have court dates - 'Claire'). Legally this little girl is not even a little bit ours. We just have her referral - we have commited on paper for her, but her country has not released her to us. As a reminder - our son was not ours legally until we had him in Moscow either, we made three trips to Russia before he was legally ours - so really nothing is different at this point. Please just pray for stability in her country. It looks as if things might take a little longer, but we think that no matter which way the vote goes we will go and get our little 'Claire' - no matter how long it takes.
Please keep us in our prayers as we work through our paperwork and our homestudy.
Happy Thanksgiving!!
Kate
I am not supposed to write many details. Little 'Claire' is on an international photolisting & there is quite a bit we are not really allowed to publish - IE - her legal name, her country, region, etc.....that is frustrating as I would like to share but I gotta follow the rules.
That being said - ultimately the vote for changes is looking like it will really be a great thing for the children waiting for families in her country. That is - in the long run. Families who are in the process right now are really the only ones who might have to wait longer. In the long run this will likely make adoption in her country easier and more attractive to those considering Intercountry adoption. That is a great thing!
So again - just pray for this vote and for the kids in limbo (kids that have been committed to but do not have court dates - 'Claire'). Legally this little girl is not even a little bit ours. We just have her referral - we have commited on paper for her, but her country has not released her to us. As a reminder - our son was not ours legally until we had him in Moscow either, we made three trips to Russia before he was legally ours - so really nothing is different at this point. Please just pray for stability in her country. It looks as if things might take a little longer, but we think that no matter which way the vote goes we will go and get our little 'Claire' - no matter how long it takes.
Please keep us in our prayers as we work through our paperwork and our homestudy.
Happy Thanksgiving!!
Kate
Monday, November 22, 2010
two cute stories to share.....
so still no news on any vote in 'Claire's' country yet. I cannot stress enough how important it is for her country to NOT close. If it closes it leaves us with our hands tied but 'Claire' will go on existing, she will go on waiting - that is overwhelming to think about. Think of your baby - imagine them two years old and living in state care indefinately....we know she is not ours yet, but we do love her & feel a tremendous burden to bring her home. please keep praying.
In the meantime I thought I should share some cuteness.
'Big Brother' constantly prays the following prayer 'Jesus we know you have a baby sister for us but please can we have the baby sister that doesnt have no toes, because we will love her anyway even though she doesn't have all the right toes' - so cute it takes my breath away.
'Big Sister' is making plans for how she is going to help 'Little Sister' all the time. She is convinced that she will be potty trained since she is two and is very excited to show her where all our family potties are located. 'Big Sister' is also going through her signing videos and deciding on how to modify signing so that 'Little Sister' can do them even though she doesn't have five fingers.
I just pray that little 'Claire' gets to know how much she is already loved. She will truly be a little princess if she gets to come home to us! Please pray that it is SOON!
Kate
In the meantime I thought I should share some cuteness.
'Big Brother' constantly prays the following prayer 'Jesus we know you have a baby sister for us but please can we have the baby sister that doesnt have no toes, because we will love her anyway even though she doesn't have all the right toes' - so cute it takes my breath away.
'Big Sister' is making plans for how she is going to help 'Little Sister' all the time. She is convinced that she will be potty trained since she is two and is very excited to show her where all our family potties are located. 'Big Sister' is also going through her signing videos and deciding on how to modify signing so that 'Little Sister' can do them even though she doesn't have five fingers.
I just pray that little 'Claire' gets to know how much she is already loved. She will truly be a little princess if she gets to come home to us! Please pray that it is SOON!
Kate
Thursday, November 18, 2010
11/18/10 - happy birthday sweet girl
Today is hard for us. It is little 'Claire's' birthday. I can't believe what it is like having a birthday and not having is celebrated.
We ask today for continued prayer for this little girl. We ask you to pray that she is well taken care of and that she is learning things she needs to learn. Her little eyes look so soulfull (is that a word?) in the pictures we have of her. I just wonder what her little mind is thinking, what her little heart is feeling.
Please pray for her country as they still have not voted in favor or against Intercountry adoptions. We pray this will favor families trying to adopt. We pray if anything changes it simply makes it a better process for both families trying to adopt and the children waiting. We pray that if there are any changes that 'close' the country for adoption for any amount of time that we will still be able to keep tabs on 'Claire' until it reopens (countries close from time to time - it is USUALLY short - a matter of months - but it can be longer, it is up to that country)
We are continuing with paperwork and continuing our fundraising but we are asking people NOT to put money in her account right now through RR - we are asking only that you pray. For now just pray that everything works out that she can in fact be ours.
We ask today for continued prayer for this little girl. We ask you to pray that she is well taken care of and that she is learning things she needs to learn. Her little eyes look so soulfull (is that a word?) in the pictures we have of her. I just wonder what her little mind is thinking, what her little heart is feeling.
Please pray for her country as they still have not voted in favor or against Intercountry adoptions. We pray this will favor families trying to adopt. We pray if anything changes it simply makes it a better process for both families trying to adopt and the children waiting. We pray that if there are any changes that 'close' the country for adoption for any amount of time that we will still be able to keep tabs on 'Claire' until it reopens (countries close from time to time - it is USUALLY short - a matter of months - but it can be longer, it is up to that country)
We are continuing with paperwork and continuing our fundraising but we are asking people NOT to put money in her account right now through RR - we are asking only that you pray. For now just pray that everything works out that she can in fact be ours.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
prayer for 'Claire's' country....
Hi all ~
Just a quick update. Apparently there is a vote to happen this upcoming week (or possibly the week after - not always 'on time' =)) in Claire's country that could potentially close Intercountry adoption at this time.
There is no real reason to stop them, there have been no complaints or concerns, so we don't think there is a big need to panic.
However, we do feel since this vote is coming up it is important to pray that it favors children waiting to come home to families and that her country continues to allow Intercountry adoption.
We are still moving along as planned, we hope you will keep us, 'Claire', and all waiting children in her country in your prayers - we will update!
Blessings
Kate
Just a quick update. Apparently there is a vote to happen this upcoming week (or possibly the week after - not always 'on time' =)) in Claire's country that could potentially close Intercountry adoption at this time.
There is no real reason to stop them, there have been no complaints or concerns, so we don't think there is a big need to panic.
However, we do feel since this vote is coming up it is important to pray that it favors children waiting to come home to families and that her country continues to allow Intercountry adoption.
We are still moving along as planned, we hope you will keep us, 'Claire', and all waiting children in her country in your prayers - we will update!
Blessings
Kate
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Timing is everything! A few prayer requests...
Hello all!
We are getting paperwork together and every day everything seems more real!
We have doctor & live scan (background check) appointments scheduled for the 2nd week in December and then will start our home visits of our homestudy.
The very earliest we will be able to submit our dossier is February. We pray this is the case & we ask you to pray that her country will accept our dossier at the earliest possible date. With the possibility of that submission date being moved back & paperwork only being valid for 6 months we are really hoping that delaying our Dr. appts & LiveScan until December will be enough time.
we will still of course be able to adopt her - we would just need to update info if paperwork is submitted more than 6 mo after completion - basically we are hoping to avoid having to do more Dr visits (not covered by insurance), notary, and livescan fees - to do this over will EASILY cost another $1000 - so we are just really hoping for timing to be in our favor!
We cannot delay it any further or we risk not having the homestudy complete before February.
We want to ask people to pray that everything is 'best case scenario' - meaning things go through as quickly as possible.
We pray that she is well taken care of, that her needs both physically and emotionally are met.
We pray that her little heart & mind are protected - there is so much stigma associated with adoption and specifically orphans from different countries - we have been blessed that our son bonded & fell into our family so perfectly, we have the same hopes for this little girl. We ask you to pray for her!
We have raised all our upfront fees needed for our homestudy & the small commitment fee (for Reeces Rainbow) before even commiting to her. Any funds in her account we will be able to use for travel expenses - flights, in country fees, her passport, food, taxis, buses, hotel/apt, etc. We will not need these fees until sometime after Februrary - but if you are looking for a 2010 Tax Deduction - please know any donations made go 100% to us & are 100% tax deductible. Again - we do not 'need' it now, but anything donated will be saved until we travel & as we see that $$ rise in her account it does bless us!
Here is her page again http://reecesrainbow.org/sponsorhamernikmarissa
First and foremost we simply ask for your prayers for her & timing & safe travels for us when we do go.
Kate
We are getting paperwork together and every day everything seems more real!
We have doctor & live scan (background check) appointments scheduled for the 2nd week in December and then will start our home visits of our homestudy.
The very earliest we will be able to submit our dossier is February. We pray this is the case & we ask you to pray that her country will accept our dossier at the earliest possible date. With the possibility of that submission date being moved back & paperwork only being valid for 6 months we are really hoping that delaying our Dr. appts & LiveScan until December will be enough time.
we will still of course be able to adopt her - we would just need to update info if paperwork is submitted more than 6 mo after completion - basically we are hoping to avoid having to do more Dr visits (not covered by insurance), notary, and livescan fees - to do this over will EASILY cost another $1000 - so we are just really hoping for timing to be in our favor!
We cannot delay it any further or we risk not having the homestudy complete before February.
We want to ask people to pray that everything is 'best case scenario' - meaning things go through as quickly as possible.
We pray that she is well taken care of, that her needs both physically and emotionally are met.
We pray that her little heart & mind are protected - there is so much stigma associated with adoption and specifically orphans from different countries - we have been blessed that our son bonded & fell into our family so perfectly, we have the same hopes for this little girl. We ask you to pray for her!
We have raised all our upfront fees needed for our homestudy & the small commitment fee (for Reeces Rainbow) before even commiting to her. Any funds in her account we will be able to use for travel expenses - flights, in country fees, her passport, food, taxis, buses, hotel/apt, etc. We will not need these fees until sometime after Februrary - but if you are looking for a 2010 Tax Deduction - please know any donations made go 100% to us & are 100% tax deductible. Again - we do not 'need' it now, but anything donated will be saved until we travel & as we see that $$ rise in her account it does bless us!
Here is her page again http://reecesrainbow.org/sponsorhamernikmarissa
First and foremost we simply ask for your prayers for her & timing & safe travels for us when we do go.
Kate
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Answers to some questions.....
1. What is her name?
Her legal name is protected -we know it, we will share it when she is legally ours. She is called 'Marissa' on Reece's Rainbow - because they are posted on an international photolisting they need to be protected - one way they protect them is by giving them an alias. We plan on naming her Claire and keeping her legal name as her middle name. (or maybe keeping her legal name and making Claire the middle....there is some debate.)
2. Where is she?
Also protected. We know it, we will share after our dossier is accepted. She is in Eastern Europe.
3. How old is she?
She will be two this month! (November)
4. When will she be home?
Short answer - not sure - as early as late Spring 2011 (we ask you to pray this is the case) - it is reasonable to expect her to be home in less than a year.
5. Is it 'for sure'
Nobody outside of her country can adopt her at this point. She is only listed internationally on RR & she is committed to us. She has some disabilities that make her EXTREMELY unlikely to be considered by a family in her country. We can submit official paperwork in early 2011 and then she will effectively be ours officially. It's complicated - that is the short version. This timing is actually awesome because we will need a few months to finish up paperwork anyway.
6. What is her disability?
She has SH/FM - Split Hand Split Foot Malformation - http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=13614 - basically she doesn't have all her fingers and toes. Literally - that is it. There are possible surgeries that can help her. There is no way to know without X-rays how much (if anything can be done) - we are totally ok if there is nothing that can be done, we love her already - but we hope we can help her be as 'normal' as possible. She is cognitively normal, no FAS documentation, and no other medical issue other than her SH/FM
7. Can she walk?
Yes.
We'll answer more questions later! I just thought I should start with the one's we have been hearing most often.
Please pray that our paperwork goes through quickly!
Please pray she knows how much she is loved!
Her legal name is protected -we know it, we will share it when she is legally ours. She is called 'Marissa' on Reece's Rainbow - because they are posted on an international photolisting they need to be protected - one way they protect them is by giving them an alias. We plan on naming her Claire and keeping her legal name as her middle name. (or maybe keeping her legal name and making Claire the middle....there is some debate.)
2. Where is she?
Also protected. We know it, we will share after our dossier is accepted. She is in Eastern Europe.
3. How old is she?
She will be two this month! (November)
4. When will she be home?
Short answer - not sure - as early as late Spring 2011 (we ask you to pray this is the case) - it is reasonable to expect her to be home in less than a year.
5. Is it 'for sure'
Nobody outside of her country can adopt her at this point. She is only listed internationally on RR & she is committed to us. She has some disabilities that make her EXTREMELY unlikely to be considered by a family in her country. We can submit official paperwork in early 2011 and then she will effectively be ours officially. It's complicated - that is the short version. This timing is actually awesome because we will need a few months to finish up paperwork anyway.
6. What is her disability?
She has SH/FM - Split Hand Split Foot Malformation - http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=13614 - basically she doesn't have all her fingers and toes. Literally - that is it. There are possible surgeries that can help her. There is no way to know without X-rays how much (if anything can be done) - we are totally ok if there is nothing that can be done, we love her already - but we hope we can help her be as 'normal' as possible. She is cognitively normal, no FAS documentation, and no other medical issue other than her SH/FM
7. Can she walk?
Yes.
We'll answer more questions later! I just thought I should start with the one's we have been hearing most often.
Please pray that our paperwork goes through quickly!
Please pray she knows how much she is loved!
Here we go again.....
We are so excited to announce that we are in the beginning stages of adopting a little girl from Eastern Europe!
She is photolisted on Reeces Rainbow - an amazing site that advocates for harder to place children with disabilities all over the world. We noticed this site for the first time shortly after bringing our son home three years ago and just fell in love with the concept. Their ministry is simple - it is a nonprofit grant organization that allows anyone to donate money to a specific child's 'adoption fund' - available children are listed with their grant fund listed under them - so many people say 'oh, I would adopt, but it is too expensive'. Reece's Rainbow has heard this and basically has aided in lessening that financial burden. The idea has worked - SO many children have found their forever families this amazing organization - children that statistically had a much lower chance of being adopted now have loving families - how great is that?!
Long story very short - we noticed 'Marissa' months ago. We actually inquired about her and had even started paperwork only to find out she had been committed to before we could finish our paperwork! While we were so sad to hear she was no longer available to us, we were happy to hear she had been found by a family.
Months went by, we made other inquiries on other children that didn't quite work out and we decided maybe we just need to let it sit for a while. We stopped visiting the site and just waited....until a good friend who loves Reeces Rainbow even more than we do emailed me '....did you see that Marissa is available again?'
I didn't really believe it, we were a little shy to ask again....but after a couple days we got online and there was her cute little face on the waiting children listing again - we committed to her the next day.
We ask that you will pray for this beautiful little girl. She will be two years old this month. We know that these are crucials days and years in her development and we just want her to somehow know that she is SO LOVED. We pray that she can be home with us as soon as legally possible and that her little heart is just happy and that she feels secure until we can come and get her.
We hope this blog will help everyone understand our hearts and share in the journey to a little girl we plan on calling 'Claire'
.jpg)
Check out her commitment page - http://reecesrainbow.org/sponsorhamernikmarissa
Love,
Harry, Kate, Josie & Silas
She is photolisted on Reeces Rainbow - an amazing site that advocates for harder to place children with disabilities all over the world. We noticed this site for the first time shortly after bringing our son home three years ago and just fell in love with the concept. Their ministry is simple - it is a nonprofit grant organization that allows anyone to donate money to a specific child's 'adoption fund' - available children are listed with their grant fund listed under them - so many people say 'oh, I would adopt, but it is too expensive'. Reece's Rainbow has heard this and basically has aided in lessening that financial burden. The idea has worked - SO many children have found their forever families this amazing organization - children that statistically had a much lower chance of being adopted now have loving families - how great is that?!
Long story very short - we noticed 'Marissa' months ago. We actually inquired about her and had even started paperwork only to find out she had been committed to before we could finish our paperwork! While we were so sad to hear she was no longer available to us, we were happy to hear she had been found by a family.
Months went by, we made other inquiries on other children that didn't quite work out and we decided maybe we just need to let it sit for a while. We stopped visiting the site and just waited....until a good friend who loves Reeces Rainbow even more than we do emailed me '....did you see that Marissa is available again?'
I didn't really believe it, we were a little shy to ask again....but after a couple days we got online and there was her cute little face on the waiting children listing again - we committed to her the next day.
We ask that you will pray for this beautiful little girl. She will be two years old this month. We know that these are crucials days and years in her development and we just want her to somehow know that she is SO LOVED. We pray that she can be home with us as soon as legally possible and that her little heart is just happy and that she feels secure until we can come and get her.
We hope this blog will help everyone understand our hearts and share in the journey to a little girl we plan on calling 'Claire'
.jpg)
Check out her commitment page - http://reecesrainbow.org/sponsorhamernikmarissa
Love,
Harry, Kate, Josie & Silas
Sunday, October 31, 2010
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