Court date!!!

There is less than 24 hrs until the court date in B*lgaria! This is where a judge will look over the paperwork closely and decide if I should be Silas' mom. This will happen sometime in the night Canadian time.

If there is even the littlest problem with the paperwork he/she could say "No, Go fix this little thing and come back in a month."  And that would really suck! Not the end of the world, but really, really discouraging.

So please pray with me today and tonight that things would go smoothly in B and that the judge would be kind and understanding.

Once the judge says yes I will go back in about a month to bring Silas home!

I got this message from an online friend, someone who's been there, done that, with adoption.

"I will be praying fervently!! What God sets into motion for a treasure of His - He will bring to pass! Walk in confidence - God is faithful and He who called, will complete it!! Keep me posted!"

Thank you Linny for those wise words!

In other non-adoption related news - here's the pictures of my latest backyard project! This is what we built out of all the ice that was harvested from the river.  An ice slide! The daycare kids love it.  It's also hollow so that they can go inside it like a fort.  Very cool!

Every day is a day closer

I haven't updated this blog because there hasn't been much to update it with.  I'm currently waiting on court dates in B*lgarian court.  There was a bit of a snafu with some signatures on all the files that the Minister of Justice had but that was just sorted out this week and all those files/dossiers should be getting court dates any day.  So we wait!

But I haven't been idle in my waiting. 

I made this. That took a few weeks.

 

And then last Saturday I started this with a friend.  We're hoping to make something else epic in my back yard.

 

 

 

And I finished one of my courses and started the next one. Maybe one day I'll actually have my ECE diploma.

 

I've also done a bit of online shopping for little boy clothes. Old Navy! It's been fun getting those little packages in the mail.  I've been holding the clothes up and scratching my head, wondering if Silas will fit them when he comes home.  It's so hard for me to tell without actually having him here to try them on. Hopefully I take the right size of stuff with me when I pick him up!

 

 

I've also been studying scripture and trying to read my way through the bible.  I came across Eph 2:10 the other day.

 

Ephesians 2:10

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.


Only this time it wasn't in a KJV bible.  It was a New Living Translation and it was worded a bit differently.  I know very little about different translations and I don't think I have a NLT bible but I found this version online.

Ephesians 2:10

New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁰ For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

So God has made us new, into a masterpiece, SO THAT we can do the things he's already planned for us to do even before we were born!
 
There's so much to that verse it kind of boggles my mind.  We, as Christians, were made to do good things so let's go and do them! Forget about getting that/those new ___________ (you fill in the blank), you can't take it to heaven people! Don't you think it's worth it to give up a little bit of comfort here on earth in order to do some good thing that GOD has already planned on you doing??  We are here on earth for just a blink of an eye in time compared to the vast span of eternity. 

We live on one of the most privileged continents on the earth. 

Luke 12:48
From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

Our hardest day here is still easier than a large percentage of the people living in other countries.  There really is no excuse. 

Please, please, please fellow Christians don't let your comfort level or your fear or lack of trust stop you from doing what God has already planned for you to do.  He won't leave you on your own to do it either.  He'll LEAD you.  I mean com'on, how hard is it to follow someone? Okay so in this case you can maybe only see one step in front of you but that's all you need! Take one little baby step.  Check out www.reecesrainbow.org and see all the beautiful faces of the children needing families.  Then ask God what He wants you to do about it.

Jet lag is not fun!

I've been to Eastern Europe and back. I did a great job of updating facebook but I never found the time or energy to write a blog post.  The traveling was exhausting! I'm still fighting jet lag.  So for this post all about the trip what I'm going to do is copy and paste my fb statuses and then comment on them where I have more to say. 

Well except of the little mishap of me forgetting my wallet at Jody and Carla's (yes REALLY!!! Carla had to go back for it!) we've made it to the first airport safely. Just a few minutes until we board. Oh and Sara was "randomly selected" for extra security screening. lol

Yeah....I really did forget my wallet.  A huge thank you to my sister in law for driving the 15 mins back to her house to get it for me!

Airplane Selfie!

What a Trip! We made it to B*lgaria Finally! Having supper with the translator in a bit. Soooooo tired right now.

The flights were mostly uneventful except for a rough landing in Frankfurt.  The flight attendant in the back said, "Well THAT can't be normal!" after we had landed. I gave her a hard time about that being the last thing you want to hear from a flight attendant! lol

I've been awake for over 30 hours now so even though it's only 7:30 here I'm going to hit the hay. About 14 hours until I meet Silas! Pray that his heart is ready for this.
Please pray that I have calm nerves tomorrow. I'm feeling a bit sick tonight and I couldn't eat much supper but that's probably because I'm so tired.
Also pray that my body realizes that it's not on a plane anymore. My bed seems to be moving around lol
And thank you for your prayers as I traveled. I hardly had a moment of motion sickness. And that's coming from someone who gets sick on a swing at the Park!
We had a very rough landing in Frankfort. I overheard the flight attendants talking about how terrible a land it was lol . Then the two hour flight to Sofia was very turbulent most of the way. The pilot kept going up and down (maybe to find calm air?) And that was really hard on Sara's ears. They finally popped after supper she said. The good news is no more airplanes until Saturday! Just taxis and walking until then.
Sara is in the tub. She slept a little bit everywhere so hopefully she'll be good as new tomorrow.

 

I think I slept not too badly that night with the help of a sleeping pill.

 

Well visit number one is done. I held him and played with him for about 90 mins I think then it was time for him to go for lunch and nap.
He's a sweet little cuddle bug and I got him to laugh a couple times when I tickled him. His legs are Soooooo skinny and he has scratches on his ears because they are itchy and he won't leave them alone. He also has a big scab on his nose between his eyes that he apparently gave himself.
He made eye contact very briefly twice and that was it. They say he's like that with everyone. He made some noises and said Mama once. Not that he knew what he was saying but he made the sounds for it on his own.
There is no room for us to visit so we're doing it at the top of the stairs in a little hallway type place. Not ideal but we'll make do. Off for the second visit now!

 

Meeting Silas was pretty much as I expected it would be. I was a little surprised at how much he scratched his ears and he did have some anxiety over all the attention.  I was very happy with how cuddly he is.  He loves to be held!

Having the visits where we did was disappointing because I couldn't put him on the floor to crawl around. Normally there would be a special room for us but because the building they were in before is under renovation they're temporarily in a smaller building until that is finished.  At least we had a couch to sit on!

 

Visit number two is in the books ! This time I got to feed him! He ate a huge bowl of peach puree and he ate like a champ. They say he doesn't drink well from a cup but I'm encouraged to see that he has very little tongue thrust. Everyone in the orphanage has been interested in my work and adults with down syndrome and surprised at what kind of life they live and how well they can do. The director was very impressed that I have this kind of experience.
We won't be able to post pictures or video. We had a very long wait in the notary office this afternoon waiting for the notary to come watch me sign a paper saying I wouldn't publish or sell any pictures or video of Silas. lol But if you see me in real life I can show you.Sara Wood has been a champ through all the boring waiting and I'm so glad she's with me!
One thing B*lgaria lacks is fresh air! At least in Plovdiv. Every room we've been to was hot and the smell of cigarettes is everywhere and if not that then perfume ! I can't wait to breathe in some fresh Canadian air!
Our translator is having trouble getting a taxi to pick us up after visits because the orphanage is in a bad area so we have to walk to a better street and catch one there. lol How does that make you feel dad? Haha don't worry, we'll be fine!

 

Ugh, the lack of fresh air drove me crazy the first few days. It either got better or I got used to it.  It didn't help that our hotel room smelled of smoke.  Thankfully on the next trip we'll be staying in a hotel with non-smoking rooms!

 

Visit number three was with a tired little guy this morning. By the end of the visit he was sound asleep in my arms. I may have shed a tear or two at that point. He's so sweet. I might get to feed him again this afternoon.

 

Awww, I got a little weepy when he fell asleep in my arms. I didn't expect him to be that relaxed and it was such an amazing sweet moment that I'll always cherish.

 

Visit number four was harder. Silas is overwhelmed with the attention so I kept this visit quieter. It's hard interacting with him while the translator and the orphanage psychologist watch your every move. I am tired and he is tired. He ended up scratching off one of his scabs and bleeding. So they put a bandaid on it. I'm feeling pretty homesick tonight too. Hopefully a full nights sleep will fix that. The air was a bit fresher today so that was nice. Still nothing like that good old Manitoba air though!

 

Tuesday evening was so hard. I was so homesick and tired. I didn't tell Sara because I knew I'd break down in tears if I talked about it. I had a long soak in the tub and a talk with God then tried to sleep and felt much better in the morning.

 

I'm feeling a little more human today. I might be over the jet lag finally. At lunch today I had some chicken and it was Soooooo good! I wish I was a foodie like Sara Wood.
The morning's visit went very well and Silas fell asleep in my arms again. So sweet. We can't let him down on the floor where we are because of germs so I put toys on one end of the couch and he showed us how he could army crawl towards them! He's pretty quick when he's motivated. lol I'm sure he could sit independently if he had more practice. His little chicken legs can hardly hold his weight but I did manage to get him to take a couple steps in the shoes that are three sizes too big.
We measured him and his feet are only 4" long and so tiny. His chest was 19.5" and he weighed 8.12 kgs and was 31.5" tall when they last took his measurements. His head was 17.5" I think. He is 2.5 yrs old.
When we arrived there was a B*lgarian couple visiting with a little boy with dwarfism whom they're adopting so it's nice to see that. Near the end of our visit some foster parents came to pick up a little girl that they will foster. Our translator said they were talking about me and if I was from abroad and if I was adopting that boy with down syndrome. Also they were talking about how foster parents don't want kids with down syndrome but they were happy that he was being adopted. Of course by then there were about 10 people in this small area watching me. lol It's weird being the one to stick out in the room.
After that we went out for lunch to the same place we ate at yesterday and there was the same girl there today who was also there yesterday eating lunch alone. She's about 10 and speaks English and today she asked us where we're from. I wish I'd talked to her more she seemed like a bright kid.
Then we went out and bought some snacks for the room and bought bus tickets for Friday. Now we're back in the room and Sara is sleeping. Poor girl is sick. I don't know if she'll come to the next visit. I feel a tickle in my throat too. So please pray that we get better !

 

Sara actually started feeling sick on the plane there.  I really believe that it was only because of your prayers that I didn't get sick and she didn't get any sicker than she did.

 

It's Wednesday night here.......I think? I went on the second visit today without Sara because she's getting sicker. We picked up some Bulgarian drugs for her so hopefully they help. I can feel my immune system working on something right now too.
The visit went pretty well. It seems like afternoon visits are harder on him though. I feed him again and this time he threw up a little about 10 minutes after. I'm almost convinced that he has some reflux going on because he does this funny swallowing thing for awhile after he eats. He was supposed to drink some juice from a bottle but he didn't do very well at that. So drinking will be a challenge it seems.
Tomorrow we have to take him in the taxi to get a Visa picture taken so it will be fun to see how that goes. Unfortunately Sara won't be able to come because there won't be room in the taxi. I'm disappointed that she'll miss out on that. She also missed out on the yarn store this afternoon. She said she didn't care but how could you not be sad about missing out on a B*lgarian yarn shop? lol

 

I can see a swallow study in our future. I wasn't liking the sounds he made after he ate. There's something going on there.

 

Silas and I went with the translator and an orphanage worker to the photography store for his visa picture. It took four adults to get the job done but we did it! While the we were waiting for the photographer Silas entertained us with some "singing" and saying "mom mom mom mom" and "mama". The poor little Punkin was worn out and fell asleep in my arms on the way back to the orphanage on the bumpy taxi ride. It's hard to believe that I only have two more visits with him. Tomorrow is going to be so hard.
After lunch we'll go back to the notary and I get to sign more documents! I really should have kept track of all the times I've signed my name since January for this adoption process. lol

 

It was so fun taking Silas in the taxi for the visa picture.  No car seat, no seat belts, just trusting God! And for a third time he fell asleep in my arms.

 

One last night in Plovdiv, one night in Sofia, one night over the ocean and then we're back in Canada. Tomorrow we say goodbye to Silas and I don't want to think about that. Sara is still sick and for the first time this trip she went to bed before me. Good night!

 

I really wasn't looking forward to this last visit but I knew it was coming and I'd have to say goodbye.  Interestingly Silas would not fall asleep for me this time.  He was so tired though but he fought it and stayed awake. Either he didn't want to wake up with me gone like the other three days or he was being a typical two year old! I gave him lots of kisses and snuggles and handed him back over to the lady from the orphanage and said goodbye.

 

We spent one more night in B*lgaria then caught a really early flight home.  We were met by almost the whole family at the airport which was a surprise! Canada welcomed us back with -40C temps and I could have done without that!  I finally got home on Sunday night and I've been fighting jet lag ever since.  Around about 7pm I get this feeling like I've been drugged and must sleep but it's not restful sleep.  And then of course I'm awake at 4 am.  blah  I did some exercise today in hopes that it would help me sleep harder/longer tonight. I sure hope it works.

 

So here are some thoughts on this trip:

1.) The nausea and nerves I was fighting for the two weeks before the trip were totally gone once I drove away from my house.  I also didn't get air sick on any of the flights and didn't catch any bugs the whole time. Only God can explain that.

 

2.) I go back and forth between excitement and stress most days. "Oh my goodness, I'm going to be a Mom! I need to buy clothes and shoes and we'll go on trips together and have so much fun!"  and then there's moments where its, "Oh my goodness, I'm going to be a Mom! I'm going to be responsible for this child who has Down syndrome and that's not scary, but he also has a heart defect which isn't fully repaired and will probably need further surgery and he's on three different meds and how am I going to do this??"

I really have no idea what life will look like when he's home.  The thought of trying to keep him calm and entertained on the long flights home is a bit daunting.  I'll have him for a week in the hotel first though so hopefully he gets a bit more used to being out of the orphanage by the time we get on a plane.  Poor boy is going to have his life turned upside down.  We'll just have to take it one moment at a time.

 

3.) I know that Silas is just as safe in his orphanage than he would be with me because God is watching over him and He is in control. He also has the power to heal Silas' heart and stop his ears from itching too.

 

4.) Having my sister Sara with me was so nice.  I'm glad she was able to come along and keep me company.  She also took all the pictures and video I have of Silas and those have been watched/looked at every day since I left him. It would have been a very lonely trip without her.  She's also coming with me on the next trip!

 

5.) Trip #2 is when I get to bring him home and that will happen in 4-6 mths.  There will be a court date set and a lawyer will represent me and convince a judge that it's in Silas' best interest to come home with me. Once that happens then there's some other stuff that happens and then I can go get him.

 

So that about sums it up! I'm going to be kept busy with Christmas and work and my courses so hopefully these next few months will fly by and I'll have my little guy home!

 

Also a huge thank you for everyone that prayed for us while we were traveling/in country. It means so much that so many of you love Silas even though you haven't met him yet.  Makes me all teary thinking of it really....or maybe that's just the jet lag. ;)  No really, thank you for praying! Please continue to pray that Silas would stay healthy and safe and that God would prepare him for the change that is going to happen in his life.

Six

Today is pretty much over so it doesn't count. 

That means in six days my sister and I will be getting on an airplane

and flying to Eastern Europe!!!

 

It's getting real folks.

 

Really real.

 

Dad keeps posting links about travel safety.

 

Mom, Dad and Mike (my brother) bought me a tablet for my birthday so that I can keep in touch

while we're there.  I should be able to blog about the trip while we're there. It will also come in handy for on the pick up trip in 4-6 mths to entertain Pete in the hotel and on the plane. And I can put lots of educational games on there for him in the future.

 

So obviously Pete is not this little boy's full/real name.

It is an abbreviated form though and I'm going to keep his first name as his middle name.

 

I will be asked at some point during this first trip what I would like to call my son in order to complete paperwork during the court process.

 

And..........

 

His name shall be called.......

 

Silas!

 

So there you have it!

Now you know!

 

Silas means "Of the Forest" which goes well with the last name Wood don't you think? hehe

 

I like it so hopefully he does too!

Growth Charts

Ever since I learned about them in my Early Childhood classes I've always loved growth charts.

There's just something about them.

I can't even figure out what it is that makes me love them so.

 

Anyways, I've plotted the height and weight of a certain little boy with Down syndrome.

The boy who I hope to call my son soon.

 

Keep in mind these are special growth charts for kids with Ds

because they tend to be smaller than typical kids.

 

So.

Height.

 

Not too bad. Lower than the 10th percentile though.

That means that almost all boys with Ds at his age are several inches taller

than he is.

But still, providing that the information I have is accurate, that's not too bad.

 

 

Moving on to weight.

Ummm, yeah....

 

That red dot is way too low.

 

Now it could be because of his heart condition.

 

Or his thyroid.

 

Or it could be because he's not being fed enough.



Or that the food they are giving him is lacking nutrition.
 

It could be that the people in charge of his care don't have time

to feed him a full meal.

 

Breaking. My. Heart.

 

Twelve days until I travel.
Fourteen days until I meet him.

For Pete's Sake

I am happy to announce that I have said YES to adopting a little 2 yr old boy with Down syndrome!

But there's a story behind this that is kind of neat and amazing.

Earlier this year I asked my agency about the possibility of getting the files of two different little boys with Ds that were listed on Reece's Rainbow.  I was told that I had to have my home study done first as well as have my letter of approval from the MB gov.  Before I got those, two families came forward and started the process to adopt the little guys.  Yay for families adopting! Disappointing for me though.

At some point in July "Pete" was listed on RR.  (See what I did there with the title of this post. Ha! So clever.)

Around this time I was also looking at the B*lgaria waiting child list and I found a child with a very brief description that sounded an awful lot like Pete. It turns out it was him as I found out later.

I still didn't have my letter of approval at that point so I didn't ask my agency about him. I decided to just step back and let the process happen so that I could be sure that I got the boy God intended for me.  I was going to wait and let the agency match me with a child.

I didn't forget about Pete though. I checked almost daily to see if a family had come forward for him.  I even posted on the RR facebook page that I couldn't get him out of my mind.  I did ask if I could see the videos and pictures in his file but then I was told that there was a family coming for him! Yay for Pete!

Then ONE WEEK after I got the Letter of Approval I got another phone call from the agency.  There was a file that the lawyer in B*lgaria thought I might be interested in.  I got on the computer and opened the file.  It was Pete!  And he's adorable! And so small! And so sweet! And his medical file is confusing.  I had my doctor look at it and even he wasn't sure what some of the things on there meant. Maybe that's what made the family who was going to commit to him change their minds.  I may never know why they changed their minds.

Anyways....I said YES! Yes I would like to be his mommy. 

Yes, even though that means different medical things that might be scary. 

Yes, even though he is two years old and is still unable to sit up on his own and only weighs 17 lbs.

 

Yes, BECAUSE he only weighs 17 lbs and he needs a mommy.

 

So now what?

Now me and my sister will travel to Bg to meet this precious little boy.

In 12 days.

Yikes!!

We'll visit with him for five days and get to know him and his needs.

And then we'll fly back home.

I won't get to bring him home on this trip.
That should happen in 4-6 mths.

Between the first and second trips a lawyer will represent me in court
and a judge will decide if I should be Pete's momma.

Then there's visa and passport stuff to do and
then I can go back to Bg and bring him home!!

Did you happen to notice my fundraising thermometer?

Yeah! Thanks to a donation from the local assembly of Believers I am....
FULLY FUNDED!!!!

I'm still going to be doing the Avon fundraiser until mid-December
because there will likely be other unexpected costs that come up at some point.
And I have a few commissioned pieces to finish up.
It won't hurt to have a bit extra.
You just never know what might happen with international adoption/travel!
 

 

 

Keep in mind that at any point in this process it may all fall apart.  Stuff happens. Countries shut down. Sometimes kids don't live long enough and pass away before their parents reach them. I still have to pass court in B*lgaria.  I don't expect that to be too difficult but you just never know. So far everything has gone very smoothly.

 

So I'm trusting God still and always.  It's in His hands and it fills me with awe that He's been so good to me in allowing me to do this.

A little bit of everything

Orphan Sunday.  Today is Orphan Sunday. 

Churches all over North America brought awareness to the

orphan crisis today.

 

Many of my facebook friends posted about it today.

Lots of people blogged about it.

 

Renee said everything I was going to say, only better,

plus a few things I hadn't thought of.

 

The fallacy of "Orphan Sunday"

 

So go ahead and read her post.

 

Another Renee wrote about how we need to say "I'll take anyone."

 

I'll take anyone.

And here's a video about love featuring some
adorable former orphans.

I AM LOVED

So there you go. That's what Orphan Sunday is all about.

Now, on to fundraising!
 

 Right now I've got an Avon Fundraiser happening.
I'm really looking for people who will be willing to take
catalogues and generate a few orders.  Know anyone who
likes Avon? There's plenty more than just makeup!

 

 

I'm also in the beginning stages of planning an auction on facebook. 

So I'm looking for people who would like to donate things that can be auctioned off.

 

It could be something you make (hats, cards, cakes).

Or it could be something you do (house cleaning, ski lessons, child care, lawn care).

Or gift cards to businesses. Those don't have to be local businesses.

Online gift cards are great too.

So if you have any gift cards laying around that you aren't using please consider donating them.

Or maybe you have a home based business and could donate a sample of your product.

 

How it will work:

I'll use the existing facebook fundraising page.

https://www.facebook.com/youareworthmorefundraiser

 

There will be pictures of the items that will be auctioned off.

 

Place your bids in dollar amounts in the comments of the picture of the item you wish to bid on.

 

There will be a set amount of time for bidding. Probably about 10 days.

 

Like any auction, highest bidder wins!

 

The winners will pay for their items plus whatever shipping is mentioned

and I'll get your winnings mailed out to you or delivered if you're local.

 

Doesn't that sound fun?!

 

Let me know if you have anything you'd like to donate!

 

One other exciting thing on my busy agenda is

an opportunity to speak to a group of 50 or so women at a

woman's night at Solid Rock church.

 

I'm looking forward to sharing what God has done through this

adoption and to open some eyes to what the orphan crisis is all about.

And then I'm going to show them why they should help and how they can help!

Please pray that I let God use me to say the things He wants.

 

I found this poster that I think I'll use in my slide show.

 

 

 

 

Hopefully it gets bigger if you click on it.  I can't seem to change it.

 

See any of those five things that you could do?

 

And just because this post is a little bit of everything

here's a picture of the wool pants I have knit for my little guy.

Hopefully the first of many knits for him! :)