Coming Home at Last!

We went to the U.S. Embassy this morning and "Hope" had her Visa approved, so we are all clear to make the long journey home. We leave tomorrow! Can't believe this time in Russia is coming to an end. So many wonderful moments, people and memories! Can't wait to share them all. Next post will be written in the good 'ole U.S. of A. Pics to follow! :)

Hello Moscow, long time no see!

We made it back to Moscow and now we are sitting in our hotel resting as our new little girl takes her nap. It has been a long day and Nana Linda's day has just barely started as she makes the long journey over the Atlantic Ocean ahead of us!

As for us, we still have work to do! Tomorrow, "Hope" has a doctor's appointment early in the morning and a rep from our agency is coming to help us complete the paperwork for her Visa application and prepare us for our interview with the U.S. Embassy. Once her Visa is issued, we can finally come home!

It has been a long, wonderful (almost) 3 weeks here in Russia! I can't wait to share all of the amazing ways God blessed us on this trip. For now, we are happy to have landed in this comfortable place where we can rest and feel a little more at home. I promise to post pictures soon!

Until then, Dosvadanya!

It's Official!

So very sorry for the lack of updates on our blog since we traveled back to Russia to bring Hope home. We have literally been kept so busy that the only thing we do in our "free" time is eat, sleep, return messages and work on documents. We are so thankful for Nana Linda who traveled with us and has been acting Nanny to Benjamin on this trip. We could not have done this without her!

Now, to our news! As of today, it is official: we are legally "Hope's" parents!! The paperwork was finalized earlier today and Thursday will be our "gotcha" day when she finally gets to leave the orphanage with us. Everything is dated 11/1/11 ♥ New beginnings ... praise the Lord!!!

There is still much for us to accomplish before and after we pick her up. We have to finish documents for our appointment at the U.S. Embassy, pick up her passport, complete her exit paperwork from the orphanage, etc. We will do our best to post a more detailed update here before we travel home if we can. We just wanted to take a quick moment to share the wonderful news with all of you that "Hope" is ours at last!! :)

Hope In Sight

I woke up this morning feeling more refreshed and encouraged than I have in a long time. All night I dreamed about all the things God has done to make the dream to adopt Hope a reality and I heard the song, "There is Hope in Sight" (by Out of the Grey) playing in my mind all night long. Here are the lyrics:

Peace comes and goes
Oh but lately, Your peace flows
And when I focus on You
Your love comes into view
There is nothing between us as far as I can see

There's hope in sight, hope in sight
If seeing is believing, then call me a believer
Hope in sight, there's hope in sight
Now that I can see you through the eyes of faith

Peace, when it goes
Oh it leaves me with just one hope
No matter how near or how far
Your light is the brightest star
There is hope at both ends of the telescope tonight

There's hope in sight, hope in sight
If seeing is believing, then call me a believer
Hope in sight, there's hope in sight
Now that I can see you through the eyes, the eyes of faith

I will look up
I will lift up my head and go on
I will call on the One who has carried me through
Will carry me until the end, there's hope

There's hope in sight, hope in sight
If seeing is believing, then call me a believer
Hope in sight, there's hope in sight
Now that I can see you through the eyes, the eyes of faith

This morning, after dreaming about Hope all night, I woke up to, "Great is Thy Faithfulness." God is so good and so faithful, through the peaks and through the valleys, He has never left our side. And I, for one, am thankful.

Visit From A Friend

Today we had visit from a friend: the missionary we met while we were in Russia! We had heard of this wonderful lady who helps adopting families prior to going on our first trip in August, so we looked her up and found her. We Skyped with her a couple of times, then met her at her home in Russia when we traveled. She invited us to attend a class she teaches at her apartment about Bible history and archaology. It is an English speaking class and her way of sharing Jesus with the community. We met several local families that night and enjoyed the wonderful time we got to spend with a fellow believer and American while in a foreign land. A week after we left, she was sending us pictures of our beautiful little girl who ran up to her at the orphanage and said (in Russian), "I have mama!" She occasionally visits the children and volunteers there. It was such a blessing to see new pictures and know that this special lady was visiting her in our absence. We found out a few weeks ago that she would be coming to the U.S. for a visit, but didn't expect to see her here, but she sent us a message this week saying she would be passing through and asking if she could come by! Of course, we said YES! She brought photos and souvenirs from the region and shared wonderful stories about life there. It was so neat to spend time with her so soon before we travel again. She put in a word with one of the students from her class that we met on our first trip so we could attend some activities with the group again while we are there. Apparently he is studying to be a translator/tour guide. What a wonderful connection for us on our long trip -- with his help, we will really get to see the region this time! I sure hope she had as great of a time visiting us and seeing where Hope will live as we did having her in our home and sharing about all the great places to see when we are there. Thanks for visiting us, Eileen, and for being a very special part of our Journey to Hope! :)

God's Perfect Timing!

Today was an important day. I went to the bank to make a deposit and transfer our final payment to our adoption agency. I was hoping the manager who helped me with the previous payment (just before our first trip) would be working. Instead, I learned that she had been transferred to another branch 15 minutes away. I could have had the new manager help me, but I really felt like I was supposed to have the other one do it, and so I drove the 15 minutes just to find her. When I walked in, she threw her hands up and said "Emily! I just mailed you a packet today! I'm so glad you're here!" She had been trying to reach me concerning some documents that needed signed for our "Journey to Hope" account. Had she not reached me, she would have had to put a freeze on our money -- praise God that I listened and went to that branch! She was also able to help me with several other things that we needed to do to prepare to travel again and gave me a big hug with tears in her eyes when I left. It was such a neat thing to see how Hope's story is touching people. She asked me to come back when she's home, which I will do eventually, that is, after we visit the County Clerk, the Auditor's office, the ladies at Kroger's deli, etc., lol. So many people want to meet this special, long awaited beautiful little girl who will soon be ours!! :)

We Are Bringing Her Home!

Almost three years ago, we made a decision to adopt a little girl from Russia. Next month, we will finally bring that little girl home! We received the call yesterday with our court date and have been making arrangements all day! While we are not able to share all the details at this time, we can say that she will be home before Thanksgiving! Thanks to everyone who has supported us, prayed for us, believed in us, encouraged us and loved us through this process and through the years of infertility and loss before we started our Journey to Hope! There is finally a light at the end of the tunnel!

To those of you who helped with the garage sale fundraiser we did last weekend, we raised almost $2,000, which will pay for two of our airline tickets. Praise God! We are praying that some of the grants we have applied for will come through as well. Please continue to pray for provision and protection as we go through the final steps to complete the adoption process and bring Hope home from Russia. We'll post updates as soon as we can!

HOPE IS COMING HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)