An Intro

I realized I sent out the link to this blog to so many people that we know from different places and from different times, some of whom are intimately familiar with this whole adoption "journey" and others who may be hearing about it for the first time. So, I think it needs an intro.

Justin and I have three lovely daughters who we treasure completely. Each is very special in her own way, and we feel that it is by God's grace alone, that we've been blessed with parenting them.

The idea to adopt came from feeling that we have room for one more. It was that simple, we have room for one more. We have room for one more, and there are already so many in the world. The natural thing was to adopt a boy, and to adopt from Argentina--but a trip down there and a meeting with an adoption judge produced nothing. It's a country that doesn't allow international adoption--but I had thought that since I was born there, it would make a difference.

Back in the States, I clicked away on adoption photolisting sites. I was looking for a school aged son. Justin wanted a baby. I inquired about several but they all seemed to get chosen the minute I inquired. Finally, I found Ruslan, and 18 months old in an unspecified country, and called Justin in California where he was on business. Turned out he was about 90 minutes from the adoption agency representing Ruslan. He met with the adoption director and we officially began our journey to Kazakhstan.

Our girls are absolutely thrilled. Katrina would like to have 12 children when she grows up--six biological and six adopted! Isabelle initially wondered why "baby Nicholas" (what we would like to name our son) wasn't in my belly. We explained there's more than one way to have a baby! And Sophie is approaching the perfect babysitting age, so the more the merrier.

There have also been times we've been worried about paperwork, or anxious about attachment disorder, but so far we have tried not to lean on our own understanding but rather on God's. Our neighbors have been a great support and encouragement, and are going to be essential for taking care of Sophie and Katrina while Justin, Isabelle and I spend three weeks in Kaz on the initial visit; and then two weeks after the "appeal period." But now I'm getting too "blogged down" in the details. You'll learn about all that as we go!