Home, Settled, and FINALLY an update from our trip!

I want to first start out saying that I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update about our trip.  We got home a week ago and life is finally settling down.  Jumping back into work with jet-lag and a broken heart made for a very long week.  To be honest, lots of tears last week and I just didn't have the energy to blog.

So, now I feel like I can finally give you an update!  

We arrived in Z's country on Saturday, September 7th after a 9 hour flight then another 3 hour one.  We actually left Friday the 6th out of Chicago and arrived around 3:00pm on Saturday the 7th... (Their time).  It was basically an uneventful trip there, we traveled with dear friends of our who were also going to visit their son in the same country... different orphanage though.  When we arrived, we waiting a LONG time to finally realize that our luggage didn't make the flight with us.  It decided to stay in Paris an extra day.  Luckily we were able to pick it up on Sunday before we headed to Z's orphanage on Monday morning.  That would have been terrible since all the beanie babies and Z's gifts were with our luggage, not to mention all our clothes!  

So, on Saturday and Sunday we hung out with a few of our other adopting friends, had a really nice dinner and basically "patiently" waited until 7:30am on Monday where we would make the drive up the mountains to see Z for the first time.  It took about 2.5 hours to get to Z's orphanage.  I'm so thankful that I took some Dramamine before I left because WOW... that was a bumpy, twisty, curvy, fast ride.  I would have been sick for sure!

We were warned prior to the trip that Z would be quite scared to see us.  That he doesn't like to be moved to unfamiliar locations.  He may not tolerate our visits and they may have to be cut short depending on how he does.  We were prepared for the worst.  We were prepared to meet a boy who we would just observe the whole week... because a week really isn't enough time to establish a bond or anything like that.  We didn't want to frighten him!

But, we also knew that God has heard our prayers to prepare Z's heart for us. We have been praying and all of our friends/family have been praying for this moment.  Z has been lifted up in prayer daily for over a year.  God is SOOO good!  The week with Z could not have gone any better!  And I truly believe that God was the biggest part of this week.  

The first time we met Z, he was very scared, but never cried.  He allowed me to gently touch his little legs and arms and cheeks.  He pushed me away that first visit, but did not cry at all.  Words can't describe how amazing it was to finally have met the child that I have prayed my WHOLE life for.  He is perfect, he is wonderful and he is our SON!  

By the end of the first visit he actually let me hold him, walk with him and play blocks with him.  Dave was allowed to be near him the first day... but the days to follow Dave and him formed an amazing bond.  

Z is VERY VERY small for a 7.5 year old.  We took his measurements during the week.  He is 37inches tall, approx 23lbs, his ankle is 4.75 inches around, his wrist is 3 inches around.  We can see the outline of his rib cage and his spine.  His waist is 15 inches around.  He fit into a 12month shorts outfit and his feet are about 5 inches long.  He is taller than a 1 year old, but light as a feather. 

A VERY exciting thing we discovered during the week is that Z can in fact hear!  He responded to us, by the end of the week he'd hold his hands up for Pat-a-cake and anytime we would play music he would bob his little head to the beat!  He is completely blind, but we knew that.  Honestly, he knows no different so really the blindness is not a big deal.  He can walk by himself slowly and like a champ when he's holding our hands. He prefers us to hold his wrist because his hands are his eyes and that is how he discovers the world.  Through touch!

Seeing him "see" Dave for the first time was the most amazing thing I have ever witnessed.  He would touch Dave's face, then touch his own as if to compare.  He would touch Dave's hair then touch his hair.  He did this for quite a while.  Dave and him formed an amazing bond this week and I can't wait til he is home so this can continue.  I think Dave would be content holding him for hours!

Throughout the week we got to visit him in the morning from 9:30 to about 11.  Then we would come back about 3:45 until about 4:30 or 5.  The afternoon visits were a little rough for Z since he was very tired.  He wanted to be alone much of the afternoon visits.  He would quickly scoot to the wall and throw everything that was in his reach to clear his space. Then he would rock.  It was very painful to watch him, but we knew to expect this.  He did love being held though and much of the time we would hold him and rock him.  

This week passed WAY too quickly and Friday was probably the hardest day of my life.  I knew it had to be done, but I also was not prepared for how much I'd love him right away.  I do however take comfort in knowing that he will be attending a school for the blind starting last Tuesday until we come to get him in 4-6 months. This is a residential school that is not just for orphans.  It's for all blind children in his country.  He will live there and go back to his orphanage only on holidays... which shouldn't be too many since we should be coming back for him by January.  We fully expect him to make excellent progress at this school.  He is very tactile and just waiting to discover this world!

100 of Hannah's animals made it's way to his orphanage!  They were very excited to receive them.  

We can't share any pictures that show his face on this blog.  Soon, when we pass court, we will be able to share more... until then... here is one picture that pretty much sums up our week.  Soon, Little Z... soon you will be safe in mommy's arms forever!  

Thanks for your continued prayers.  I have updated the donation bar at the right.  Thanks for all who have donated so far.  We are so blessed!

So, what's next...

We got our i800 approval in the mail on Wednesday.  This means that the US has agreed to let Z come into the US and reside permanently here.  Basically, back in April, they gave us permission to bring a child from his country into the US for adoption... this approval allows him specifically to come into the US.  We are waiting on our Article 5 from the embassy in his country.  I believe this is basically issued to say that we have followed all legal procedures and that everything is Hague compliant for this adoption.  Once the Article 5 is issued, which really shouldn't take too long, we will wait on a signature from the MOJ.  I am not going to even guess how long it will take for this signature.  I do know that the MOJ is getting back to work after their summer holiday so there shouldn't be delays because of that.  But, unexpected delays could happen just like they did when we submitted our dossier back in April and waited until June to get our referral.  I will continue to pray that it will be signed quickly.  After the signature, we will get a court date.  I have been told that court dates are assigned about a month after signature.  Then, once court happens, he is legally our son and we wait about 3 weeks to a month to travel to pick him up!  We are guessing that this travel will take place in January, but hoping and praying that the process is even quicker and we can have him home by Christmas!  Trying not to get our hopes up too much.  We do know that we are on the home stretch and he will be home before we know it!  

The puzzle is now complete!  Thanks for all who were a part of this amazing project.  It looks awesome and my dad will be gluing it together soon so we can display it!

Again, thanks for praying.  Soon I will write about this weeks car show fundraiser down in OH, I will announce the winner of the $100 Visa gift card from the puzzle pieces and I will continue to update you on the time frame as we get more information.  If we could raise about $4000 to $5000 more, we would be done fundraising for the most part.  That would cover the last trip.  Please continue to prayerfully consider helping us bring Z home.  We don't expect all of our fees to be funded through others.  We have come up with most of the fees so far from our quickly diminishing savings and the donations. But if you feel led to help us with the last leg of this journey, please feel free :-).

    

We are LEAVING tomorrow!!!

Bags are packed and we are ready to go!  We fly out tomorrow evening and head over to Z's countries capital.  We will be there until Monday, when we will then travel the 2 hours to get to his city and spend the week visiting him at the orphanage.  We will hopefully visit him in the mornings for a couple hours and then in the evenings a couple hours.  Monday thru Friday.  On Friday we will go back to the capital and we fly out on Saturday. 

It's going to be a whirlwind of a trip.  One we've been wanted to go on for a very long time.

This trip will be the first time Dave or myself have witnessed an orphanage.  We probably won't get to see any of the other children there, but we are bringing them 125 Hannah Hopes beanie babies.  I pray that those children can be blessed by God's love!

We are prepared for a lot of emotions this week.  Little Z does not know we exist, he doesn't know what a mom or dad is or even that soon his life is going to change.  He may be very scared when we meet him.  He may reject us at first.  He may love us and cling to us.  He won't understand that we will be leaving him on Friday to then come again in 4-6 months to bring him home.  We are prepared for the emotions that could come with this trip.

We are bringing him a blanket that we will leave with him.  It has been in our bed for months so that he can begin to recognize our scent.  I will also be wearing a mild perfume so he can associate that smell with him mommy.  Then I will wear the same perfume when we pick him up.  This will hopefully help him remember me.  It may not, but it can't hurt. 

We will be able to start accessing his needs.  We are unsure whether he is fully blind or fully deaf.  We don't know if he is sick, we don't know anything more than a few paper write ups about him.  We soon will, and we soon will be able to start preparing our home to meet his needs. 

I probably won't blog until we get back.  Please continue to pray for us as we travel this coming week. Please especially pray that the Lord prepares Z's heart for the big changes that are coming.

WE ARE COMING TO SEE YOU LITTLE GUY!!!  Only a few more days!!  

CAN'T WAIT!! 

Fundraising for this adoption... Wow we are blessed!!!

I've had several people ask us how much we have raised so far and how much we have paid so far and how much is left.  If you know me personally, you know that I am an excel guru and you won't be surprised that I have been keeping records of this adoption.

Here is the breakdown:

Already paid to our agency, the foundation in Z's country, Homestudy Fees, USCIS fees, Plane tickets etc
       $20,305

Donation from selling scarfs, soaps, freezer pops, garage sales, spaghetti dinner, puzzle pieces... well, basically ALL our donations!!!
       $7,582

Now, what's left... Approximately $5,500
       First trip travel expenses including hotel, food, orphanage donation.
       Guessing this to be approximately $600

       Remaining foundation fees I think are about $1,000

       Second trip travel expenses (if plane tickets stay about the same)
       $3,000 for plane tickets for 2 + Z's one way ticket
       $900 hotel fees and food

We still have 36 puzzle pieces left if anyone is interested in getting their name on this little memento for Z to know how much he is loved.

We will continue to sell soaps and on September 21, 2013 my friend is doing a "Cruisin for Orphans" car show in Hillard, Ohio.  For details, search "Cruisin for Orphans" on Facebook.  There will also be a raffle and drawing for lots of awesome prizes.  My dad will be there grilling hotdogs to sell on a brand new grill that is to be auctioned off.  Each ticket for the grill is $5 a piece.  If you can't make it, but would like your name in for the grill, let me know!  It's a really nice outdoor grill with side burner.  We'd be more than happy to take it back to Michigan with us if you have your name is picked and you didn't make the car show!

The last fundraiser that is still in the works will be another concert with "The Lord's Light" band.  They have asked to come back and do a fall show because we had such a great time at the spaghetti dinner.  It will be a little more low key, but also a great time to break up the 5 month wait in between trips.  Of course, we will also have LOTS of new pictures from our visit with little Z next week to share at this concert.  More details will follow.

We feel so blessed by all the people who have helped us in this process.  Thanks for your prayers and support!

WE LEAVE IN 5 MORE DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!

We get to go in less than 3 weeks!!!

FINALLY!  The news we've been waiting for since April when we submitted our Dossier.

"GO AHEAD AND BOOK YOUR FLIGHTS"

Dave and I will be flying out on Friday, September 6th and we get to hug our boy on September 9th!

Words can't express how excited, nervous, happy, giddy and just plain RELIEVED I am.

We will be in the country for a week.  Leave Friday and come home the following Saturday.  It's going to be a very emotional trip, but one I've been preparing myself for... for a very long time!  I can't even imagine what its going to be like to be in the same room as the boy in the pictures, the boy that we love.

God truly does move mountains.  Even in the long waits and the uncertainty of this adoption, He has proven over and over again that "He's got this."  The timing of this couldn't have been more perfect!  Hannah and Stella both have birthdays in September.  Stella's is the 1st week and Hannah's is the 3rd week.  Thankfully we are traveling the 2nd week so we won't miss any of our kids' birthday!


Now... for a plea for help!

We are selling puzzle pieces.  If you have been following this blog you probably already know.  But here is the details: http://addingawealtothebus.blogspot.com/2013/07/quick-wont-you-buy-puzzle-piece-or-two.html

We still have about 138 more pieces to sell.  If we get all of these pieces sold, we will be able to pay off the credit card that we put the plane tickets on, it will cover the cost of the hotels, and the donation we plan to make to the orphanage!  Won't you PLEASE buy a piece or a few pieces?  We are far from being fully funded and we will still have some fees before the 2nd trip, BUT the good news is that God is providing and right now all we are asking for is to sell more pieces and get us through this 1st trip.

For $5, you will get your name or your family's name or your kids/grandkids' names on a puzzle piece.  We hope to sell all of them before we leave on Friday the 6th of September.  That way we can draw for the $100 VISA gift card and it can be in the mail before we leave.  Won't you please help.

It may sound like a lot to ask... to sell 138 pieces in less than 3 weeks.  But I KNOW it's possible!  All things are possible through Christ who gives us strength!  Won't you please be part of Little Z's love story? Thanks for all who have donated so far.  As you can see... the names looks so awesome on the puzzle.  It's filling in quite nicely.  Do you see your name??  (if you bought within the last day or so, its on there, but this picture was taken Monday!)

Thanks for your continued prayers!

Travel date SHOULD be soon! :-)

Still waiting on travel dates.  We are waiting on the Minister of Justice to sign off on our referral then the foundation will schedule travel dates.  With Dave's job, we can't go as quickly as we thought so we need to at least give them 2 weeks notice for him to take a week off.  So, fingers crossed for traveling first week in September.

One thing I am learning... Adoption is unpredictable!!!  It will happen though I promise!

This gives us more time to sell 145 more puzzle pieces.  We have 55 sold so far!!  Woot woot!  Thanks for all the support!  Don't you want your name added to this awesome puzzle?

If you buy a piece for $5 you will not only get your name on the puzzle, but you will be entered into a drawing for a $100 VISA gift card.  Please help!  We really would like to have them sold by the time we leave.  Lofty goal... maybe... but I've seen amazing things happen!  Won't you be part of the "Bringing Little Z home" story??

Also, if you haven't seen this yet, we made a video to share our adoption story.  I'm quite proud that I learned to do this... with Hannah's help of course!!  LOL.  Enjoy our story and share with your friends.

Hopefully in the next couple days we will have our travel dates and we can celebrate even more.  Stay tuned.

Thanks for following our blog.

Blessings Galore!

First things first... We are still waiting for travel dates.  The foundation over in Z's country has to wait for the actually paperwork to be in their hands before they can schedule travel.  They expect this in a week or so. The biggest thing we are learning in this adoption is that the term... "HURRY UP AND WAIT" is very relevant.  Patience... as hard as it is... is a must.

We are praising the fact that travel will be SOON.  :-)

In the meantime, I want to share a couple blessings that we have encountered over the past few days.  God has been showing his love to us in the little things and we feel so blessed.

Last week, we were discussing the unofficial "dress code" for travel in Z's country on one of our message boards from our agency.  I sorta started getting nervous because everyone was saying women should wear capris, not shorts.  I own 2 pairs of capris and the rest shorts.  So, we will be visiting the orphanage for 5 days total.  With the cost of the flights coming up, along with the $5,500 in foundation fees that are due, we were getting a little nervous about the money situation.  I mentioned this to a friend of mine on our way over to get cucumbers from her mother in law's garden.  While we were there, my friend remembered her MIL was getting ready to donate some of her clothes.  Well, low and behold... she pulled out 5 pairs of capris.  The chances that they fit me are slim to none since I never have luck at goodwill or anywhere getting clothes that fit.  I tried them on... and all 5 pairs fit perfectly! Thanks Lana! 

 Only 4 our pictured because one pair I've already worn!

The next blessing came in the way of the mail.  Another friend of mine from Holland was going to sell us a toddler Patapum (which is a soft sided carrier much like the popular Ergo).  We wanted to try this out for Z on our first trip to see if he'd be willing to be carried in it.  These carriers promote attachment and for a scared little blind boy, this might be the best thing in the airport while traveling home with him.  Well, last week it came in the mail and my friend not only sent it to us... but she GIFTED it to us!  What an awesome blessing.  Thanks Susan!

  The Patapum is slightly bigger than the Ergo and has more support for a taller child.

The little blessings continued to come this past week.  On Thursday, I got home and found this in the mail.  I ordered it a while ago and sorta forgotten about it.  We weren't sure it would come in time for our first trip when we ordered it.  Can you guess what it is?

All we need now is a little guy to use it to explore his new world!

Give up?  This is little Z's first blind walking cane!  Let me tell you, this is the cutest thing I have ever seen. So little and perfect for our little guy!  We are still debating whether we will bring it on our first trip for him to try out and we would possibly leave it for him.  

Hannah has been busy sewing things for her little brother, but recently ran out of material scraps that my mom gave her.  Here are a couple of the things she has sewn.  I'm quite impressed with the work of my 13 year old!  She made these 100% on her own!

A little bucket hat made lovingly by his big sister!

This little toy even has crinkly stuff inside, perfect for him!

So, today Hannah was thrilled to go to my mom's house because she let her go through ALL her material and take what she needed!  Well, her extra scrap material.  We can't wait to see what things her imagination can come up with!  Stay tuned... Until then, here's just part of the material that she was given from her grandma.  Thanks Grandma!

She promises to pick it all up before she goes to bed LOL!

Another blessing came tonight and I'm still smiling because of it.  We were going through craigslist today looking for a crib.  A lady posted about a crib and we responded. She had posted it yesterday and usually we get a response saying, "sorry, already gone!"  Well, tonight we got an unexpected response.  This lady is giving us her crib!  For FREE.  And it comes with the mattress AND it's fairly new... made in 2005!  It's dark cherry finish and will be perfect in Dave and my room when he comes home.  We plan on doing something like this when he comes home.  That way he can safely be in our room so he knows we are here to meet his needs.  I learned about this from another awesome adoptive mom and Dave agrees that this would be the best for Z.  Thanks Rachel for the idea!  Thanks Amy for gifting the crib to us!!!

This is how Rachel suggested.  This new crib we were gifted will be perfect!

I could go on and on about the little blessings we've received just over the past week.  I can't express how truly thankful we are!

Lastly, I want to congratulate my husband for getting a new job working nights!  If you know Dave you will know that public service is where his heart is.  He is a volunteer fire fighter, works on the Hazmat team, runs a business selling light bars and now he has a job as a security officer!  He will work 3 or 4 nights a week and when little Z comes home he will be able to stay home with him and we won't need to put him in daycare!  Dave has been trying for a security job for years.  Perfect timing wouldn't you say?  Please pray as he transitions from his other full time job because for a while he is going to be VERY tired. 

I'm so proud of my husband!

Please know that there are still LOTS of puzzle pieces to put your name on.  Let me know if you would like a piece or two.  Hoping to have all of them sold before our trip.  Won't you help?  For more information please see this blog post: http://addingawealtothebus.blogspot.com/2013/07/quick-wont-you-buy-puzzle-piece-or-two.html  

Anyone who purchases a piece of the puzzle will have a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card!  The more pieces you buy, the more chances you have to win!  $5 gets you a piece with your name on it so we can always remember who helped bring our little guy home.

Thanks for your continued prayers.  Hopefully the next post I write will be letting you know what our travel dates will by!  Praying it's this week!

 

Quick! Won't you buy a puzzle piece or two?

In the next day or so, we are hoping to find out what days we get to travel to visit little Z.  

Plane tickets are running about $1,800 to $2,000 a piece.  Quite a bit more than we anticipated for.  When our foundation tells us when to travel, we need to be ready to go. 

The orphanage has told us that they are planning on moving him when school starts and we really hope to be able to travel before he gets moved so that we can meet the people who know his history.  And maybe try and see if they can keep him at his orphanage until the adoption is final in 5 or so months.


Because we are going to be getting travel dates really soon and will probably only have a few weeks to travel, we are in desperate need for funds.  We have come up with a real quick fundraiser that we've seen other families do very well with.  It's called a "Puzzle Fundraiser."


Here's how it works: 
This is a puzzle we have bought and are putting together to put in our living room, for everyone to see!  Granted, he may not be able to see it, but we will be able to tell him about it.

There are 200 pieces to this puzzle.  You can purchase pieces of the puzzle in person or on the donation button on the right hand side of this blog or paypal as a gift to hanstella9@yahoo.com.

Each piece has a white coating on the back, which we plan to write your name on (or any name you choose) in colorful sharpie markers.  This will be a wonderful reminder of how many people loved him and helped bring him home.

Each donation of $5 will get you one piece of the puzzle.  Once we have all the pieces sold, we will draw from the entries for a prize... which will be announced soon.  I promise it will be good!

If you pay through paypal, please put what name you want to go on the piece.  Or you can message me through email or Facebook.  

We really hope that we can sell all 200 pieces before we travel so we can offset some of the travel fees. Three week or so... think we can do it?  

Please, won't you help bring us one step closer in our journey?

Thanks in advance.  I will let you know soon when our exact travel dates are.