Merry Christmas!

We've made it through Christmas and what a wonderful Christmas it was!! There were times that I was sad that our Viktorija could not be with us to celebrate but mostly I am getting excited that we are getting ever closer to bringing her home. They allowed me to put together a little care package to send to her which I loved....finally contact with her. I picked out some very cute mittens and matching hat, coloring book and crayons, and a cross necklace, but my favorite was a photo album filled with pictures of her soon to be family. She will be able to see all of our faces before we meet her. I'm hoping it will make it less scary for her.

Dec 14 our paperwork went out to USCIS so it has been almost 2 weeks. Once we have our approval we will be moving quickly! We've also been told that our coordinators in Lithuania, the Family Law Center, thinks we should stay in Siauliai where Viktorija is living and not in Vilnius where I thought we had to stay. But they are uncertain if they can find a place big enough to accommodate us all. Uh oh! The good news is that B is working with his friends in Lithuania to help us find a place.

I have been thinking a lot about how far we have come. The adoption road is scary and bumpy and frustrating, but God helped us through all of it! He just kept asking us to trust Him. Now that we are nearing the end of waiting, I can look back and see all the things God has used in our life to lead us and help us along the way. One of the scariest part was financial...how were we going to come up with money? We had learned from Broderick's mission trips to Lithuania that money should never stop you from what God is calling you to do. So we stepped out on faith. We have been humbled by some amazing people who have generously given to us to lighten the load and help us bring our daughter home. It brings me to tears thinking about these wonderful people and I can't come up with the words to express how I (we) feel. I wish there was a word, a very special word, that could be used to tell them that what they have done for our family is priceless and will never be forgotten. Adoption has taught me trust, patience, courage, humility, gratitude and just how much love is surrounding us.

We are getting closer....slowly.

Well the paperwork has come. We know a little more about her family, but nothing else was new. We have sent our acceptance of the referral to Lithuania and are now wading through more endless paperwork for our government so we can bring her home. It's amazing to me how much paperwork is needed for an adoption. I feel I am writing the same things over and over again. They make it so difficult and every time I think I'm done, my social worker emails that something else needs to be done. Very frustrating!!  As I understand it, we have a form for the US to fill out and that approval can take 8-12 weeks and then once we have that we can ask for a court date in Lithuania and that can be 2-4 weeks out....so March. We were really hoping to be bringing her home this year, but I feel so much better having an idea of how much longer. The other great news is that they will start preparing her for our arrival and telling her about us. We are putting together a photo album so she can start to see pictures of her parents, brothers, house, room and extended family. I am so excited to be able to send this (and a few gifts) to her!! Our families are so excited too! Praying that the next several weeks go by quickly and with no more surprises of more paperwork needed.