Not Flesh of My Flesh,

Nor Bone of My Bone,

But Still Miraculously My Own.

Never Forget for a Single Minute,

You Didn't Grow Under My Heart - But In It.

My sisters & my nieces hosted a Toddler Shower for Lee and I this weekend. It was a wonderful time and we are truly blessed. Every one's generosity has me speechless and feelings of excitement and anticipation keep growing and growing inside of me. We can't wait for Adam and Agnieszka to meet the many loving, kind and caring people that exist in our world.

The very first gift I opened, believe it or not, I started to become teary eyed.

I wasn't expecting to, but it just happened.

I reached into a gift bag and pulled out a beautiful plaque which looked like this.

Journey.

"I know the plans I have

for you," declares the Lord,

"plans to prosper you and

not harm you, plans to

give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

I read it aloud and in hindsight this gift, at that moment, was perfect.

It meant God was present.

Jeremiah 29:11 is a bible verse that has become a guiding light for Lee and I. Often we recite it at different times, but it is those times when it appears unexpectedly and randomly that we are reminded there is such a great and powerful director orchestrating the most beautiful love song ever to be played in our lives.

From there we went into a whole lot of O's and Ah's and a pretty funny moment when everyone was telling me about letting Play Dough dry first before vacuuming it up off the floor. I winked but replied "Why would there be play dough on the floor?" :)

Then everyone started telling me that our home was not child proof enough. But I have every electrical outlet plugged up? We then together counted a minimum of 5 glass vases and one wall mounted candelabra that had to be put away for a few years.

Then we got to the TOWER OF SAFETY!

Let's count them: ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR Car Seats!...... Whoa.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I Found the Chair!!

It is hard to believe only 2 weeks have gone by since we returned because if I had to guess I would say it feels like at least a month or two. Time is moving very slowly.....including the next phase of paperwork. It's my understanding that we are awaiting the children's birth certificates from Warsaw in order to submit to USCIS. So, I am thankful the holidays are upon us because it gives me the opportunity to keep busy and go shopping!! :) and if I am out shopping I can't help but stop at The Carter's or The Children's Place stores and marvel at all the cute stuff. It is wonderful to have met the children and have a sense of what they would look like in the clothes!

From a previous post I promised to show everyone the trick to turning on the lights in your hotel room! Here it is!


After we walked into our guest room, Lee and I spent about 10 minutes checking every plug and turning every switch trying to figure out the lights. Finally, I headed down the hall to Magda's room to humbly ask for help with turning our lights on. I felt so silly! She was kind and patient and explained the key card has to be placed into the slot.... and Presto! Every light came on! (to our defense we had been up for well over 24 hours and we were not at the top of our game!!) It was pretty funny!

After some well deserved sleep we felt better about conquering the issue with "running out of battery power". Ha! The transformer plug was so heavy that when it was connected to another plug it pulled out of the wall and would never charge. There was a definite moment of panic before we put our heads together and came up with this!



Lee and I both feel strongly that we need to get our children some basic building blocks to play with when they get home. How else would you learn to do something like this! :)


Another "funny" we had was interpreting this next picture...... I thought for sure the circus had to be in town because the little girl in the picture was holding some candy on a stick! or a balloon! (Everything is "on-a-stick" in Wisconsin at the Fair) The realist that Lee is promptly informed me that it was a cross walk (oh, I knew that I just thought it would be fun to go see the monkey's!! Te, He, He)



Okay, one more......




This was Agnieszka's favorite chair. It's made by Fisher Price and her caregivers carried it to her where ever she was. I bet she could sit and play all day long with it. On our last day, I told her that Daddy promised to find the chair and have it at home waiting for her. Well, after a quick search on the Internet, we discovered the chair had been recalled!! I was relieved to discover that a fix had been issued by Fisher Price, but they weren't selling the chair any more.

THANK GOODNESS for E-BAY!!!
I FOUND THE CHAIR!!! and hopefully it will be delivered next week! Hallelujah!
Here's hoping your holiday is filled with Hope and Excitement of the events to come!

Today, Lee and I are struck by some self discovery.... At different times throughout this process there have been mounds of paperwork, or apostilling difficulties or delays for a stamp which have placed visions of villans in our heads. Individuals who were making the process harder or more aggrevating. Truly, however, that isn't always the case. There are others in this process which deserve much recognition. The real heros of the adoption process are many, but I had forgotten about the caregivers. Maybe "forgotten" isn't the correct word, but I had not put a face to these individuals. There was no face on those whose hugs are the only hugs my children have known or whom they can remember being loving and kind. There was no face for those that have fed our children day after day and changed all their dirty diapers and have nursed them back to health when they have been sick. Today we said good bye and it was about the most difficult thing we have ever had to do. It was all I could do to communicate my appreciation to the caregivers by saying "thank you" over and over and over again as I reached out my hands from my heart. It is the blessing of the Caregiver that I will add into my prayers tonight, and it is their story and their face that we will never forget to include in our story.

Another Great Day!

We had yet another great day! We spent 1 1/2 hours walking around with Adam and Agnieszka throughout the village and around their orphanage. They were so excited at everything they saw and squealed in delight at the sight of people walking their dogs and cars whizzing by. It is so thrilling to see a child discovering something new! We are having some technical difficulties with re-charging batteries, so we may be out of "juice" soon. All is well, though. I have started a list of things I want to be sure to inform everyone of and will be sure to post when we get home. Funny things to make traveling 5000 miles away from home a little smother..... Like how to order bottled water without getting just plain Hot water (without tea) and how to turn your lights on in your hotel room. Sounds crazy, but there is a trick to it!! :)

Make it a great day! Live Love Laugh!!

What an incredible Day! It was rainy and cold on the outside, but warm and sunny on the inside. Both figuratively and literally! These pictures were on our first meeting with Adam and Agnieszka. Their orphanage is a clean, happy place filled with bright painted rooms and lots of toys. Throughout the day, we got the genuine sense that their care givers really loved the children and have been very nurturing. We spent the first half of the morning with the Director of the Orphanage Center and the Director of the specific orphanage Adam and Agnieszka reside. Followed by some brief questions pertaining to why we choose Poland and were we prepared for the challenges of parenting, we were lead to a rather large room to play with children. As we were lead to the doorway, both Lee and I were unaware that the children were already there. We stepped into their world almost unexpectedly, however, instantly were overcome with complete joy. Wow! is really the only word I can come up with right now. It's either that or the studdering......"A A A A A aaaaaa" scenerio. We were able to feed the kids lunch, see their sleeping areas, bath areas and even put them down for a nap! The second visit was after lunch and just as energetic. "I alone know the plans for you...." and God said those plans are GOOD!

Getting Ready to Turn the Corner

Over the past couple of days many have said "This is so exciting, how do you feel?" My first reply was a studdering "A, A, A, Aaaaaaa". My second reply to the question was "I am so overwhelmed!" and on my third reply I was lucky enough to send it via e-mail so I could articulate a little more precisely the exact emotions. But what are those exact emotions because there are so many? I think I have figured it out.......Do you know that moment just before you turn to walk down the aisle at your church and marry the man of your dreams? Now hold your breath as you recall the exhaustion from the months of planning every minute detail, the anticipation of turning the corner and seeing all your loved ones gathered to bear witness, the flood of memories of those in heaven but somehow knowing they are standing right next to you watching and encouraging your journey, and the Love of God beating so hard in your heart that you feel as though it could burst. Take that moment and stretch it out for 10 days and that is exactly how I am feeling. Lee and I are blessed and I can't wait to turn the corner.

We Have Dates!

I am shouting from a Mountain top - We have dates!!!

Can you hear me?

I can't begin to express the excitement we are feeling right now! We leave in 10 days. We are finalizing our travel arrangements and are planning to be in Poland on Sunday, 11/15. We will meet our CHILDREN (WOW) on Monday, 11/16 and Tuesday, 11/17 and then will travel home on Friday. It will be a very quick trip. Our heads are spinning, our hearts are racing, and our cheeks hurt because we are smiling so much! Here is our preliminary Packing list:

(2) Scrapbooks with family pictures
(2) O-Balls (they pack flat - great idea I picked up from another blog)
Crayons and Coloring Books
(4) sock puppets
A Journal to take notes (and to trace the children's feet and hands)
A measuring tape to document their sizes.
(2) Stuffed Animals
Small I-Pod Docking Station and I-Pod loaded with Children songs.
Snacks (not sure if the orphanage will allow us to give them snacks, but we thought we would try)

A Christmas Children's Book

Are we missing anything?

Yahoo!!!! This feeling is simply unbelievable!