Our Kaz kiddos

I'm torn about the idea of putting this picture out there but I wanted you all to have a face to attach to your prayers.  To give a little background information, this is not the sibling group we had initially thought we would be adopting.  At first, we were given the option of adopting a little girl named Alina who is 8 years old.  We recently found out that she has a brother, age 12, and as of 3 weeks ago the country of Kazakhstan will no longer allow the seperation of siblings.  We knew we were not able to adopt a child above the age of 8 due to the paperwork trail and timing.  We felt terrible at first and really needed some Divine guidance.  I guess in God's plan, it is meant for them to be together and our prayer is they will be adopted soon. 

About 2 weeks ago we got a picture of two other children.  Kristina is 7 and her brother, Vladimir is 4.  Of course we were very guarded but went ahead and asked Adoption Ark to send us more information.  Keep in mind, we asked for information about Alina for months (since October, 2009 to be exact) and never got ANY information other than a birthday.  Well, by the end of the week we had updated pictures of Krissy and Vlad followed by some priliminary medical information.  For me that was 'a sign'.  Needless to say, even thought we aren't supposed to get attached, Glenn and I fell in love.  Who wouldn't???   So here they are.  Please keep them in your prayers but remember ultimately we won't know for sure if they will be 'our' children until we travel to Kazakhstan.  We have a good feeling though...

Catching you up on our adoption journey

After much prayer and endless research, Glenn and I decided to adopt from Kazakhstan in November, 2008.  As you know, we already have three beautiful daughters, LeeAnn, Amy and Hannah; the thought of adding to our blended family was a little overwhelming at first.  It was certinally something I had always dreamed of but Glenn felt his life was fully complete.  God had a different plan.  One Sunday at church, God spoke to Glenn in a life changing way through the song "Break My Plans".   From that moment on, we both knew in our hearts that we were being led to add to our family. I will admit, I dragged my feet for awhile.  I couldn't believe this was finally happening.  I was a more than a little scared.  After all, at that time I was a 38 year old career woman, wondering if I missed my mommy prime.   As I was getting over my cold feet, Glenn and the girls were growing with excitement.

From there, it has been endless hours of document collection and paperwork.  We worked with Harmony Adoptions in Maryville to complete our homestudy and are working with Adoption Ark in Chicago, IL, to complete the international portion of our adoption.  We have been fingerpringed atleast 5 times (fingerprints don't change : ) and traveled to Atlanta to get clearence with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service.   Then we wait...and wait...and wait.   As of today, our paperwork has cleared the Kazakhstan Embassy and is being processed through the Kazakhstan Ministry of Education (similar to our Department of Children's Service).   We are hoping to receive a region assignment and letter of invitation to travel to meet our kiddos in May, 2010.  We can finally see the light at the end of this tunnel.  

We are hoping to adopt a little boy, age 4 and a little girl, age 7.  They are biological brother and sister currently in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan.  For those of you wondering, Kazakhstan is a former Soviet region that boarders Russia and China.  It will be quite the experience for me to travel to the other side of the earth (I hate to fly...married to a pilot...go figure).  

I'll be posting as soon as more information comes our way.  Please keep us in your prayers.