Almost ready to come home!!

All is well here in this beautiful country.  It has been snowing a lot since Sunday and we have enjoyed spending lots of quality time with our new little sweethearts!  We took them outside today to see the snow.  Of course, little Miss Avery couldn't wait to get her hands in it! 

 

The children are doing great and Caden has really started to eat and drink much better.  We marvel each day at how well they are doing.  Avery has started to seek out affection and she loves to be held and cuddled.  Caden is warming up more and more and seems to be trusting us more.  He is a very sweet, mellow little boy with an infectious laugh and a smile that melts your heart.  Avery is a spunky, fun loving little girl with big brown eyes and a sweet personality.  God has truly blessed us in this journey and we are overwhelmed with the joy that we feel in having these two precious children as part of our family.

 

 

There are 3 other families here with their new children.  It has been great spending time with them!  I love hearing their stories and seeing the special children that are now part of their families.  Though it breaks my heart to know that so many sweet little children are left to spend this holiday in an orphanage,  it is wonderful to know that these children have a family to be with on Christmas. 

 

 

Soon to be home!

 

 

Getting to know each other

We are having a blast getting to know each other.  There is a lot of down time right now so we are just hanging out playing, reading books, watching sesame street videos on YouTube (Avery loves it), and sharing lots of hugs and cuddle time.  It is amazing to watch these two precious children come out of their shell and start to develop trust in us.  Avery is a very playful little girl.  She has such a cute personality and she even plays a little rough at times!!  She will be able to hold her own in our house!   LOL  Caden is slowly warming up and there has been such a change in his personality and energy level.  He is walking around, exploring things that interest him, smiling ALOT, and we are so thankful to God to see this frail little boy starting to eat and DRINK.  That was a challenge on the first day.  We are experimenting with more things every day and so far he has not protested.  He even gets excited to see his sippy cup of milk! 

We have met a few other families from the U.S. here in the hotel.  It is so much fun to meet their adoptive children and to share our stories.  We rode the subway into the Center today to do a little sight seeing with our new friend Jamie who is here adopting two little girls.  It was extremely cold so we were not able to do a lot of exploring but we plan to try again another day.  There may be some snow heading this way tomorrow so we may be stuck at the hotel for a couple of days.  It is nice to have other families here to share the time with!

Yes, I know I am rambling again and you really want to see more pics, so check out these cute faces and be ready to smile! 

We are so thankful that God provided the funding for Big Brother Seth to come along on this trip.
He has loved being along for this special journey.

Caden loves his milk.....we are so thankful.

All bundled up for a cold ride in the city.  Avery loved her big adventure today!

 

Thought you might enjoy this video of Avery playing with her big brother.

 

Thank you all for your prayers and support!  We can't wait to be home to share our new joy with you all!!

 

We Are Here!!

I know, I know, there are probably many of you wondering if we were lost in Europe or something since I haven't posted.  Well, actually we were lost in Europe for a few hours!!   :)  Our flight was late getting to Rome so we missed our flight to Sofia.  Soooo, we had to be rerouted to Munich and then on to Sofia.  We arrived 9 hours later than our original arrival time.  Needless to say, we were quite exhausted!

Yesterday, we got up at 6 and left at 8 to drive to Avery's orphanage.  We picked her up and then because of snow here over the weekend, we had to take the long way to Caden's orphanage.  It was late when we arrived (after about 8 hours of driving) so we spent the night and picked up Caden this morning.  We headed back to Sofia straight to the passport office to have their pictures done for their passports.  It has been quite a whirlwind since we left Roanoke on Monday.

Caden and Avery are settling in.  We are spending time playing and sharing lots of hugs and kisses. 
Avery was a little out of sorts yesterday and refused to sleep.  We finally got her to sleep by about 10:30 last night.  Caden would not eat or drink all day.  We are already worried because of the extreme state of malnutrition he is in, but finally, at dinner, he ate some rice and a banana.  I gave him some milk a little while ago and he did drink a couple of ounces.  Yay!  I put them down at 8:15 so finally I can give you all an update!  Whew, I had almost forgotten how busy a baby can be.  Even though they are 5 and 3, they are very much like babies.  We are so thrilled and feel so blessed. 

Seth (my 13 year old) made the trip with us.  He has been great and is so excited about his new brother and sister.  We haven't taken as many pictures as I thought we would but we did do GOTCHA DAY videos.  I am including some of the pictures with this post....I know that is what you really want to see anyway!!   Sorry for all the rambling....enjoy the pics.

TRAVEL!!!!

Finally!!!  We got our travel dates!!  Our babies will be home for Christmas!!
Praise God!   We leave on December 3!  Can't wait to share our journey with you all.   Be sure to check here for pictures and trip updates!!

We are so blessed!  Thank you Jesus!!

It Won't Be Long Now!

  God has truly used this experience to teach me patience.  From day 1, it seemed that each leg of the journey took us longer than any one else.  There have been moments (especially lately) when the wait felt unbearable.  My heart has been so heavy.  The nights lying awake worrying and wondering....why us?  Why do we have to endure one delay after another?  Why is our process taking so much longer than others?  Each passing day is one more day my babies are in those orphanages.  I still can't believe that 7 months have passed since our first trip!  God reminds me every day that I need to lean on Him.  I need to keep my faith and trust in His timing.  I admit, I have struggled with this lately.  But, I am praying more and seeking God's peace..........

I do want you all to know that we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Shelley emailed yesterday and said that she will have our travel dates soon.  I started packing 2 weeks ago!!  I have actually packed, and unpacked, and re-packed.  I know it sounds a little obsessive but I don't want to forget anything!!!  :)  I actually think that the process of packing the suitcases has been therapeutic for me!  It is a reminder that very soon, I can zip up those suitcases, drive them to the airport, and put them on an airplane heading across the ocean.  Hang on my sweet babies!  It won't be long now!

Good News...Praise God!!

We are finally, officially, Caden and Avery's family!  The judge approved our adoption on Monday, October 29th!   YAAAAYYYYYY!!  We are so excited and so blessed!!  We got the news as we were driving to work Monday morning.  We were high-fiving each other and shouting, "THANK YOU GOD!" as we drove down the interstate.  It was an awsome feeling of excitement and relief.  It has been such a long wait and we were worried that there might be more delays.  It has now been 7 months since we last held our babies and the wait has been almost unbearable at times.  We have felt the presence of God through this whole journey; through every piece of paper, every email, every fundraising effort, and every minute of  the wait, no matter how difficult the process became, we knew that He was there, holding our hands through it all.  If all goes well, Avery and Caden will be home for Christmas!  What a wonderful gift!!

We have been keeping ourselves busy since school started.  Between sports schedules, dance, and even a wedding for one of our crew, there is never a dull moment in our busy household. 

Please keep us in your prayers as we wait to hear a travel date.  We are almost fully funded so pray also that the last bit of money needed will be raised quickly.  It shouldn't be long now so check back here often.  I will post our travel date as soon as we are notified!

Blessings,
Wendy

YAY...We have a court date!!!

Ok, Ok, I know....I am a terrible blogger.   :)    I really appreciate all of you who follow our story here on our blog.  Please forgive me for not updating to let you all know our progress....or actually lack of for the last couple of months........but......we have finally been notified of a court date! 
                               OCTOBER 29!!!
We are so excited!!!!  It has been such a long wait.  I can't believe it has been almost 6 months since we saw our sweet babies.....we never dreamed that we would still be waiting.  It has been difficult at times, but God has held our hands through this whole process, and we know that he has this timed just the way it is suppose to happen.  Please, please pray with us that the judge will not ask for anything extra that may cause more delays.  We so desperately want to have our children home for Christmas.

Many of you have asked about our fundraising.  I am happy to report that we are almost at our goal.  We only have about $2000.00 more to raise.  Our church has been wonderful to us.  Through donations and a love offering, we can finally see the light at the end of the long fundraising tunnel.
I feel so blessed to have such an amazing church family.  We have had such an outpouring of support since our journey began.  We could never express the gratitude that we feel for all that they have done for our family.

We are also so grateful to our family and all of our wonderful friends for the emotional support during these difficult months of waiting.  Thank you for all of the kind and encouraging words on those really tough days.  It is amazing how uplifting just a quick phone call, text message, or email can be on a day when discouragement seems to be taking over.  I hope you all know that we appreciate your support.

For those of you who aren't familiar with this process, I know you will be wondering what happens after court.  Well, our sweet and patient Shelley has explanined to me that there are still a few more steps in the process but that we can hopefully travel a month or so after the court date.  (Shelley, thank you so much for your support and patience with all of our questions!!  You are the best!!) 
We are praying that we can travel soon after Thanksgiving (if not before) to bring our babies home.  We have so much to be thankful for!!  What a wonderful Christmas this will be to have Avery and Caden home with us, their family, for Christmas.  Praise God!!

Summer's End

This time of the year is always bitter sweet for me..I absolutely love summertime!!  And since I am a teacher, I especially love my time off each year.  I enjoy spending the days with my kids, swimming, playing outside, going to the park, and just hanging out.  And of course, there is always the long list of summer "projects" around the house....well, it is actually just a continuation from the previous year's list that gets longer and longer because many of the projects never even get started....Ugh!!  At least the list was started with good intentions.   :)

My children went back to school today and my school system starts on Monday so I have a week to finish up a few of those last minute "projects" and get myself ready for another school year.  I actually look forward to this time.  Even though I hate to see the summer end, I am glad to get back to a routine.  (And by this time of the summer, my kids are just DONE with each other!!  LOL)
It will be good for all of us to go back to the routine that makes us all tick....school, homework, sports, etc, etc.

The beginning of the school year has a special meaning this time....it means that we are very close to the reopening of the courts.  This reopening means we can once again start the countdown to our long awaited GOTCHA Day!!  Too much time has passed and we are soooooo ready to bring our babies home.  We had so hoped to have them home with us for the summer, but we know that God's timing is perfect in every way...and so we trust!  We trust they are safe, we trust that they are well, and we trust that things will move quickly so that we can go and get them!!  We also pray daily for patience.  Waiting is so difficult....as those of you who are in this process already know.  That is just part of this process. 

Our fundraising has been slow over the summer but we are still planning a few more things before our travel.  We are very close....we only need the money for our final trip.  Please pray with us as we press on in our efforts to raise this last bit of money.  In addition to our round-trip tickets, we need two one-way tickets this time to bring our babies home, so our cost for airfare will be more........but soooooo worth it.  I cannot wait to carry those little sweeties onto the airplane!!  It will be the moment for which we have waited a long 17 months!  I admit, I am growing weary of the process...especially the fundraising.  But I am keeping my eye on the goal and the mission that God has placed before us!  It will all be worth every minute of the wait, every piece of paper signed, sealed, and delivered, every tear shed, and every dollar raised when we finally get to bring our boy and girl HOME!!

We are so blessed!!

Court Closing Approaching

Like many other families waiting to get that ever so anticipated court date, we sit here with burning anxiety and fear that its just not going to happen right now.  We are keeping our faith that God's timing is always perfect, but the pain of knowing that with the closing of the courts for a summer recess, we may now be delayed another several weeks in bringing our babies home. 

My heart breaks when I look at their pictures.  I can still hear the sound of their sweet giggles and feel the beat of their heart as I held them close to me.  I lay awake at night worrying that they are in pain, or sick, or hungry, or scared, or lonely.  I am suppose to be their comfort....I am their mommy.  I don't question but I do hurt.  I am not angry but I am worried.  I admit, I have had a rush of many emotions lately.  I know their needs are great and I know they need me....I can feel it!  We cover them in prayer daily.  It breaks my heart to sit at the dinner table with our family and feel that someone is missing (make that 2 someones).  We all feel it.  The children repeatedly ask..."How much longer??"  That question burns in my head...How much longer??  And yet I know that God holds the answer in His hand.......I know that He is holding our sweet Avery and Caden in His hand.  So...until that sweet GOTCHA day, We will just keep pressing on and trusting in God's perfect will and timing. 

I-800 approved!!

We are so excited...we have our I-800 approval and have completed all our second stage paperwork and updated medicals!!  Now to get those apostilles and it will be off to Bulgaria......and then we wait.  You would think that we would be used to this waiting but it just doesn't get any easier.  We are praying that things move quickly and we can get back to pick up our babies before summer's end. 

We have also been blessed with more donations from our church family.  We are now half way to being fully funded for our second trip.  We truly believe that when you honor God, He will honor you.  It is our mission to honor him in all we do.  We feel so blessed to be given this wonderful opportunity....we get to be Avery and Caden's mommy and daddy....what a special blessing!!

Please continue to pray that our fundraising will be successful and that our process will move quickly.  Our sweet little girl desperately needs surgery for her cleft palate.  We are also concerned about the hip dislocation and each passing day is one more day with no medical care for these issues.  We know that God is watching over our sweet babies and that His timing is perfect. 

Thank you all for your support........what a blessing this journey has been and will be!!  The best is yet to come!!

I Am Still Here!!

Please forgive me for just leaving you all hanging.  :)  After a very long exhausting flight home, we had to get right back into the swing of things on Monday morning....back to work!  We had trouble with sleep the first 2 nights in Bulgaria and then the same trouble for 2 nights after returning home.  Nothing like lying in bed wide awake when you know that you have to get up at 6am the next morning...ugh!  That's that wonderful thing called jet lag, but no amount of jet lag could have kept me from making that trip.  I would go again this weekend if they told me I could come and pick up my babies. 

This is truly the hard part....holding them, hugging them, and getting so attached to them....and then having to leave them.  Wow...I had no idea it would be so painful to leave.  But Jeff and I are on a mission.  We have completed our I-800 and now we are working on a new form that our state requires for the homestudy agency.  There is just always one more piece of paper, one more form, but I know that it will all be worth it in just a few months.  We are pressing forward as quickly as we can and praying that we can get back as quickly as possible. 

We know they both will need some medical intervention very quickly after we get them home.  Our daughter desperately needs that cleft palate repaired and she has a hip dislocation that will need attention asap!

Thank you all for following our journey, for your support, and especially for your prayers.  It is so disheartening to know that the devil will try to interfere in such a Godly mission.  I am amazed at how evil tries to slip in....even in the Anonymous form.  But Jeff and I know that God prevails...that we are following his will for our lives and our family, and we will not be discouraged, nor will we allow evil to stand in our way.  We are so thankful for such a wonderful adoption community where we have found great support, love, and friendship.  There is no greater joy than knowing God holds us in his hand and he promises to never leave us. 

Day 11- 4th day with Caden

I can't believe that it is already Thursday and we have only 1 more visit with our boy.  It has been a good week of visits and we have seen him warm up to us more and more each day.  It will be so hard to leave Bulgaria on Saturday and know that we are leaving our babies behind.  We rest in the peace of knowing that our Heavenly Father will be watching over them.

Chavdar has been great...he has made sure we had opportunities for sightseeing and tasting different Bulgarian foods.  We have enjoyed experiencing Bulgaria's beauty and culture.  It is evident, however, as we have driven through these Bulgarian towns and villages, that we take much for granted in our beautiful America.  How do we become so complacent?  How do we become so ungrateful?   We can never imagine how much we take for granted!  God has truly opened our eyes.  We must never cease to give thanks!

Forgive me for not posting yesterday.  My heart has been broken for our sweet boy.  I guess I have found it difficult to type through the tears what has been on my heart.  He is so thin and his muscles are weak, but he has the smile of an angel.  Many people have asked us WHY?  Why, at our age, have we decided to embark on this journey.  Well, now I can tell them....No, I can show them.   You see this sweet child,  one who against so many odds, has been quite a little survivor and he ask for nothing...not even a toy, but somehow, his eyes cry out for someone to just love him.  He has refused our gifts of toys...he just pushes them away, but when we hold him close and tight, he melts into us.  His body is so small and frail, but his determination is strong.  As I held him close today, I whispered to him...Mommy and Daddy are coming for you sweet boy...stay strong, it won't be long.

The smile of an angel!!

Day 9-Caden Day 2

Today was an even better day.  Caden is warming up more and allowing us to hold and hug him without so much resistance.  We took him for Visa pics today and he was so good...he did seem a little scared but we enjoyed him clinging to us!  He is a very sweet boy with a sweet disposition.  He is very small so I guess we should plan for baby clothes for he and Avery!  We appreciate all the kind comments from everyone.  Your prayers and support have sustained us through this trip.  I am including pictures from today's visit and a few from our sightseeing adventures.  I wish I could share them all.  There are so many beautiful sights here in Bulgaria.  We feel so blessed to be sharing this journey with you all!

Mt. Vitosha in Sofia

There are peacocks living in the yard of our hotel. 

The Balkin Mountain Range view from our hotel

Blagoevgrad

Old town Blagoevgrad...the architecture was amazing

I will share more of Bulgaria tomorrow and of course more pics of our sweet boy.  We are hoping for a warm day to take him outside.  For now, it is very late, so I am off to bed.

Blessings,
Wendy

Day 8-First Visit with Caden

We are in Blagoevgrad....what a great town.  It is very different from Kazanlak.  This is a college town.  The American University is here as well as the Southwest University.  The Centre is very nice and filled with students from many different countries.  After our visits with Caden, we visited the older section of town.  It was amazing to see the traditional Bulgarian architecture and the artistry on the buildings...especially the church.  While there, we met a Bulgarian artist who was planning for his art exhibition to be held in Sofia.  We got to visit his studio and buy one of his paintings.  He has many paintings of different areas in Bulgaria.  A nice keepsake from our trip.

Ok...I know, I am rambling and you all want to know about Caden. ;) Well....he is ABSOLUTLEY PRECIOUS!  We got to visit with him twice today.  The visits were shorter than those we had with Avery, but it was so wonderful to be able to hold our boy!!  He was a little cautious this morning but he did not cry.  He is a quiet boy; very calm and sweet.  This afternoon he warmed up to us more and Jeff had him giggling and playing a little.  He did not seem to know what to do with the toys but he was interested in watching us play!  :)  He did try to mimic some of our actions.  We gave him lots of hugs and kisses, which to our surprise, he accepted very willingly.  Ok, I will stop now so you can see the pictures....they will make you smile!!

This video is sure to bring a smile to any face!!

Day 5

Today was a sweet but difficult goodbye.  We had a birthday party for Avery.  All the children in her group, the orphanage workers, and her teacher were there.  It was great!  They decorated the play room so nicely and we brought a cake for everyone to share.  The children danced and they sang a celebration song for Avery.  We sang Happy Birthday and she blew out the candles.  It was such a sweet party.  After the party, we got to visit for a while and then we said our goodbyes to everyone.  Saying goodbye to our sweet girl was so difficult.  How do you reassure a child that you will return?  How can they understand that they really aren't being abandoned all over again?    Avery's Baba, a very sweet Bulgarian lady, was there to take her and she told us not to worry, that she will take good care of her until we return.  We are so grateful to her and to the workers at the orphanage for the care that they have given to Avery....and the other children.  They genuinely seem to care about them.  But....leaving her there was more difficult than we ever imagined it could be.  We now just pray.....pray for her safety and health, pray for a speedy process, and pray for a quick return to pick her up and bring her home to her family.  Please pray with us......

I am including some pictures of Avery at her party today.  She looks so pretty in pink!! 

What a sweet princess!

We are now back in Sofia.  Tomorrow will be our sightseeing day and then on Sunday we head to Blagoevgrad (Blah goyv grod).

Yes, we are still practicing the correct way to say it!!   :)

On Monday, we get to meet our son....we are very excited.  Please pray with us that all is well there.  We have not seen any new pictures or had any updates since we started the process.  The only information we have is from when he was an infant and he turned 3 on March 31.   We are trusting God and we know that we are following his will. 

Day 4

Wow!!  Is it Thursday already????  I can't believe we only have one more visit with our sweet girl.  We have truly had a wonderful bonding experience with Avery.  We are going to miss her so much!  Now the waiting will be even more difficult.  We went for a short walk in the village with the Babas and some of the children in Avery's groupa.  It was so much fun.  We stopped to see a stork in its nest and we watched the goats as they were herded to a nearby field.  Avery walked a lot today and was very tired when we got back to the orphanage.  We were invited to a celebration for a child in the orphanage who took his first steps.  It was fun to watch the children dancing and celebrating.  Avery loved the music and she loves to dance.  We will have a short visit tomorrow morning.  They have allowed us to bring a cake and have a birthday party for Avery and the Rhodes' son, Joseph.  They will both have birthdays this weekend.  I am so glad we are here to celebrate with them. 

Here are a few pictures of our visit today....enjoy...

Isn't she the tiniest little thing???  She is just precious!

She will be 5 on Sunday!

I will post pics tomorrow of the birthday party....stay tuned!!    :)

Day 3

Today was a warm day.  We played outside with the other children this morning.  During lunch, we went shopping in the Centre so that we could buy Avery some new shoes and a sand bucket with shovel.  This afternoon, we took her out to the sand pit and she played for over an hour in the sand.  She loved her new bucket and shovel.  I taught her how to use the shovel but she preferred to use her hands to pick up the sand...it is adorable to watch her fill the bucket with those tiny hands. 

We also made some friends with the stray animals that live around the orphanage.  Jeff and I bought dog and cat food and we fed the animals in the yard.  Avery loved being up close to them.  The animals have not gotten very close to us until today.  They seemed so grateful to have something to eat and to have just a little attention. 

It is amazing to think about how just a little attention and care made orphaned animals feel a little less lonely...even if just for a few minutes today in the orphanage yard.  My heart breaks to think what the orphaned children must feel.  To have no family to call their own....and their little hearts just crying out for the love, attention, and care that can only come from being in a family.  I watched the sweet ladies at the orphanage work hard to make sure all the children have their basic needs met and I know they care about the children.....but there are just so many.   So many children, so many needs, so many special needs.  There can just never be enough time for the touch, the affection, the nurturing that is so desperately needed. 

We must pray, we must advocate for these sweet innocent children who just need what we all need......the love of a family. 

Praise God that our sweet Avery will soon be home to know the love of a family. 

 Here are some of our new friends:

Little Miss Avery with her new shovel and sand bucket. 

Watching the doggy eat some food.

Still a little distracted by the doggy and kitty!

We are so thankful...........