A PRAISE!

Praise GOD!  We have completed all forms.  Everything that needs to be notarized has been notarized.  Our SOFA document was signed by a lawyer and notarized yesterday.  Our medical has been done correctly and notarized.  30+ other forms are notarized correctly.  PRAISE GOD.  So what's next?  Putting all of these precious documents that we have worked so hard on in the mail.  We have to send them to Washington D.C. for apostilling.  Then they have to be mailed all the way back to us here in Germany.  Once we receive them, we will forward them on to "Finn's" country.  We are close, friends, VERY close.  I get teary just typing this!  Praise be to GOD.  Baby boy Solomon, we are coming for you SOON!

I have a strong urge to go buy some matchbox cars or something boyish!  I have NOTHING for a boy here in this house except for a size 2T coat, a pair of size 4T footed PJ's, and a Southern Miss ball cap.  (SMTTT!)  We just need to get him home and as long as we gather the basics, he will be just fine.  The plan is to meet him first and find out how big he is, then we will return home for the 10 day waiting period so that we can scurry around like mad to get everything we need for him during that time.   We could actually meet him in about 2 months, give or take!

Wow.  What a ride this has been.  God has really taught me many lessons in the patience category.  Don't get me wrong, I'm a very strong believer in that God's timing is perfect.  The day before all of our documents were done incorrectly (all 30+ pages, including our medical forms), I saw a little snippet of a Beth Moore video that was posted on my FB news feed.  In the video, she was speaking on Opposition.  She said to be very careful to not assume that the opposition is always from Satan. 

When we realized that all of our documents were done incorrectly, I had to think that perhaps God was slowing us down, not really because of pride, but that we needed to be on God's timeline, not ours.  Maybe it wasn't Satan at all.  Don't get me wrong, Satan hates adoption and I'm positive that I have felt his opposition over and over again throughout this process.  His attacks come in the form of doubts, fears, and anxieties.  I know those feelings come from him because every time it happens, scripture comes to my mind to reassure me that we are on the right track...

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world"..James 1:27

"Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” 2 Corinthians 4:17

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

And so, so many others... God is GOOD.  Truly, truly good.

So why are we so antsy to get "Finn" home?  Well, I have heard that for every year a child spends in an orphanage, it takes anywhere from 6-12 months per year for that child to catch up, emotionally, physically, etc.  So "Finn" is 3 years old and it could potentially take us up to 3 years to teach him how to love, trust, receive love, learn, speak, walk, eat, etc.  We have to teach him how to be a little boy so every day is valuable.  I know that God's timing is perfect.  God has called us to this and He knows the details.  He really does.

Thank you so much for your prayers, donations, love, support, kind words, everything.  We are almost there, but we will be patient. 

God's timing is perfect.

A Thank You

I just wanted to say THANK YOU to those of you who are donating to our adoption fund and helping us to bring our little boy  home.  Over the past few hours, we have noticed that people have generously donated to our FSP through Reece's Rainbow.  We may never know who you are but we just want to tell you that we appreciate these donations, every single dollar.  Thank you for helping us save this little boy's life.

Please pray that we are able to finish our paperwork tomorrow!   This will be our last paper hurdle and once we have this paper signed, we will send everything back to the US, have the documents apostilled, then sent back to us (here in Germany), review everything and then submit our dossier to Finn's country!
SO CLOSE! 

God bless everyone of you.   

The Details

What a journey this is!  So much paperwork!  It seems that we will never get it all done.  Once we get a form completed, notarized, and apostilled, it changes... or something wasn't correct on it in the first place.  Being military, stationed overseas, mixes things up a bit.  We were hoping to have everything done in time to submit our Dossier on Feb. 1 but it looks as if we may be waiting a little longer.  We sent off for our FBI background check back in Oct. and that still has not been issued (for those of you who are adopting, this is not a requirement for everyone, so don't panic!  Our HS agency requires this).  We just can't move forward until we receive everything.

It seems that we take 2 steps forward and 3 steps back.  I'm ready to get our boy home so that we can move forward and establish our new normal.

I know that God's timing is perfect so we will be patient.  There are benefits to having to wait longer, though.
We have more time to save money.
We have more time to try to secure an adoption grant or loan.
We have more time to prepare our home.
We have more time to learn more about the country we are traveling to and learn the language.

But every day that goes by is one more day that our "Finn" is in an orphanage without his family. 

I wish I could be worry-free but I inherited the worry trait from my daddy.  I just can't help myself...but I am getting better.  I have been very much at peace with bringing this little boy into our lives.  I don't worry about how our lives will change because I know this is God's will for our lives.  I cannot deny that God has put us on this path to this sweet little boy.  He is our son and we are going to bring him home. 

As I worry, God speaks to me in a still quiet voice.  He always says the same thing every single time.  He really is the most patient, most loving, the ONE and ONLY God.  The great I AM.   And He says to me, "I AM in the details."

"God, will we have enough to get him home?"
"I AM in the details."

"But God, will WE be enough for him?  Can we provide what he needs?"
"I AM in the details."

"God, how do I leave my children behind to go to his country to get him?"
"I AM in the details."

"God, how do I bring my children with us so that I don't have to leave them behind?"
"I AM in the details."

And only one time has He said anything any differently to me.
"God, how, as a mother, do I leave my children behind?"
And He said, "This boy is your child, too."

So I'm not sure how everything will work out.  I don't know the details but God obviously does.  I'm glad He's got my back!  I have faith in Him.

He is in the details.

Are you crafty? Do you own your own business? Can you help?

Family, Friends, Strangers, Friends of Friends,

In February we are going to hold a giveaway (aka raffle) to raise money for our adoption. There will be two other military families who we will be sharing the proceeds with. All three families are in the middle of an international adoption and are stationed in Germany.

Right now we are just trying to gather prizes to be given away.

Are you crafty? Do you own your own Etsy store? Are you an independent consultant? Do you run your own business? Do you like to bake? Do you want to donate?

All donated items will be given away during this giveaway. We will accept anything you have to offer and all prizes will/can be linked back your business or store.

The more prizes we can come up with the sweeter the pot will be -- which means the more tickets we can sell!

Please share this with your family and friends as well :)

Please email me at Solomonadoption (at) hotmail (dot) com or comment on this post if you would like to make a donation.

Thank you so much!

Love and Hugs!

Maria