Update after surgery!!

Hi everyone,

Isabelle had her palate surgery on the 4th and it was quite an ordeal afterwards. She is finally getting some sleep (as am I wheew!!!!). She had a 105 degree fever right after being let out of the hospital, so we went back, but they just told us to give her tylenol/motrin and to go back home................that/along with actual recovery took a couple days for her to get over, but she seems to be right back into things now.

She had her 1st follow up visits yesterday and all is WELL on those fronts.

Her ears (tubes put in) will only be checked every 6 months now, with the tubes taken out in about 18 months.

Her palate looks WONDERFUL!!!! The dr. said he left a small fistula (hole) behind the cleft in the gumline for future surgery help and I can't even see it!!!!

She doesn't need to see the dentist/orthodontist for another year and a half, so that's good as well.

The only other thing she has coming up in the near future is her lip revision. I can only imagine that this will cause her just as many problems sleeping/eating as the palate surgery has.

She is still wearing the no-no's (arm restraints) so that she won't put anything in her mouth, but we're allowed to take them off if we are watching her closely. Well, she doesn't put things in her mouth really, but does touch her lip/nose often........................so when we have to put the no-no's back on after the lip surgery, I think we're going to have a much harder time!!!!!

I think I'm having a harder time recouperating this time than Isabelle has!!!! She's doing so well................but we have to wait til Christmas (3 weeks from surgery day) to leave off the no-no's and start giving her some of our foods again (she'd just started eating solids during T-day weekend).

Her lip surgery will either be during Spring break, or right at the beginning of summer so that I can be with her for the 3 weeks afterward.......................

I'll update more as things happen.

For now though, I've decided to open a picture only blog so that those just wanting to see new pics can go there without thumbing through all this stuff.............

belleshopepics.blogspot.com

Thanks,

Terri for the Casebier's

Isabelle's dr. reports and update

Hi everyone...........

I just wanted to let you know what is going on with Isabelle's health.

1st ~~ We have seen an ENT and her hearing is good, though there is fluid behind her ears (VERY common in cleft palate). So, we will be having tubes put in her ears during her palate surgery next month.

2nd ~~ Her cleft palate surgery is scheduled for noon on Dec. 4th. Before then, we have to get her off the bottle and off the pacifier. These are the only 2 items she really has from the orphanage still, so she'll be losing her "comforts"........please pray that the transition gets going and is fairly easy.

3rd ~~ Speech therapy has started because Isabelle has quite a few "feeding" issues. She doesn't like to put anything EDIBLE in her mouth (other than through a bottle), only those things that aren't edible. We need this to get her off the bottle/pacifier.

4th ~~ She has had her OT evaluation and, though we have seen a TON of improvement in the last month, she will be starting occupational therapy soon. There are some sensory integration issues and some developmental delays that we will be working on through this.

Isabelle is SO smart and LOVES to explore!!!! She's not too afraid to put her hands in things, as long as it doesn't stick to her hands...........:):):)

She is really doing well. She still doesn't walk or cruise around things (other than her playpen), but she has SO much going for her. I THINK she's gained about 2 pounds just since she's been home AND her little legs are getting a lot stronger (through walking with us letting her hold our fingers).

We also have been able to get pictures done for our adoption announcements........so I'll post them soon.

Well, it's hard keeping up now because she continues to have problems with schedules................just now she woke up again..............

I will post more later.

Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers!!!!

Terri for the Casebier's

Update from home

Hi everyone..............we got home last Sunday and things have been a blur since then.

In Russia Isabelle showed me what she learned from the orphanage.........they have them sit on the potty after changing them, so each time I changed her diaper, she would go pee again right afterward.................one day she peed 4 times on me........that's right, on me..........and all her clothes. Boy I must LOVE this child............lol

She stayed in a playpen while we had her in Russia and she was fine with it. The moment we got back, she refused to use a playpen. Gary was up most of the 1st night with her (she'd slept a COUPLE hours on the plane AND had a 10 hour time change). He finally got her to sleep (after waking me up 2-3 times when he tried to put her in the playpen and she'd wake up) about 5 a.m......................

Going from no children to 1 that's on a major time change AND a toddler is hard...........she doesn't sleep as much as the orphanage noted and DEFINITELY less than a newborn.............and needs EVERYTHING!!!!!

Tuesday I took her for her 1st well baby check. After getting 3 shots and having to get blood drawn twice, as well as give a potty sample............she's got to do it all again in another month..............they have to update her shots, do another potty sample (she's got a bug right now), and give some blood again.........I'm not looking forward to the fussiness again.

Monday (yesterday) we went to our 1st cleft dr. appointment. He said that she immediately needs to get off of the bottle (she'll only eat by bottle) and the pacifier before she can have her surgery..............the bottle and pacifier are her only Russian comforts left. I wanted to get her on solid foods, but then I thought about how she's going to have to be on liquids for 3 weeks after surgery............SO, we have to change her diet only to change it back!!!! Add stress so that later we can change that back.........and then back again!!!!!! YUCK!

The cleft dr. said that we should be able to have her surgery in Dec. or Jan.......he also said that we shouldn't do ANY daycare in the meantime..............we need to have it in Decemeber (not just because it's earlier and better for her, but because I have to go back to work soon, esp. if I can't stick her in daycare before surgery).............

Well, his scheduler called today and told me all the details of the surgery........then asked me if I wanted surgery in Dec. or Jan. when I told her Dec., she promptly told me that she didn't have any 3 hour surgeries in December...........she told me to call back later though.

I just called back and got a surgery scheduled for December 4th.........at noon............so we'll have to keep her up on the 3rd til midnight or so.........so that when she wakes up (hopefully around 10 am) she won't be up as long without eating...............but usually she's STARVING when she wakes up.

So, let me recap prayer requests:

1. Transitioning her off the bottle and pacifier
2. Her food eating sensory issues (appointment on this Thurs. afternoon)
3. Ear dr. appointment not scheduled yet(most cleft babies need tubes put in and we
need to see if Isabelle needs this)
4. Surgery on the 4th of December!!!!! and the recovery time (3 weeks, yes, that's
Christmas day!!!)

Thanks for following on our journey with Isabelle.................
Terri for the Casebier's

Russia Update

Hi everyone!!!



Isabelle greeted Stacey (my cousin) and I warmly on Sunday afternoon. Our flights (except a couple hiccups) and our road trip to the orphanage went well. Everything (at that point) that I warned Stacey about went just the opposite of my warning (like the Moscow customs line that's usually VERY hard to get through and long, had no line at all basically, though they were still slow and I was the 2nd to last to get through...........:):):) ).



The road trip back from the orphanage was a bear though. It took us at least an extra hour to get back to the city and hotel. That night we tried to feed her, but she wouldn't eat. We couldn't figure out the formula/baby food combinations, but tried. I figured she was just tired and put her to bed. A few hours later she was up again and still wouldn't eat. I got concerned and tried to call our translator, but her phone number wasn't available. The next morning she still would not eat, though she was VERY hungry and fussy by then. So, I tried to use a a spoon with the baby food (like we do in the States) and she was so hungry that she let me do that for a little bit. We finally figured out that it was possibly the nipple on the bottles that was bothering her. She wouldn't even let me put the bottle in her mouth, though she would look at it longingly.



We headed to the store and got some more bottles and a couple other small items and went back to try it out. She was still apprehensive, but "aunt" Stacey held her arms and made her try it. She wasn't fussy very long at that point. I think she'd just got to the point where she didn't trust the nipples and that's why she wouldn't try out the new ones. The American bottles are not what she's used to, and the Russian ones don't touch her cleft palate the same way. Up to this point we hadn't seen any bm, but thanks to Whitney (Stacey's sister in Colorado) we knew we were ok with just the formula for now (she won't eat the babyfood unless we mix it somehow with the formula).



Last night she woke up again late (but I was up anyway) and she went back to sleep laying on top of me, then beside me..........................from which point I eventually was able to move her into the playpen. She seems to be bonding very well to me AND to Stacey. I think the real test will be when we see her around others (esp. women) and if she'll cling to me rather than just going off with anyone.


Today (Tuesday) she is an absolute pistol. I was concerned yesterday because she was being so quiet in her crib. I was concerned that she'd learned not to cry because it did her no good. Well, she's quite over that!!!! She's not only crying, but babbling up a storm. It's hard to get her to nap on the orphanages schedule.................but she's finally down for a little right now.



We head back to Moscow in a couple hours. All of our paperwork here is done (as of today). Tomorrow I get to hear her full lung capacity at the dr. office..........yuck! Then Thursday we are at the US Consulate and Friday at the Russian Embassy..............wow, I sure am going to be well versed at these government things now. We're in Moscow til Sunday morning and will be back home in the evening Sunday.



I miss everyone and hope to hear things are going well.


Terri for the Casebier's
Forever Family Day 10/09/2007

Traveling TODAY!!!!

I am so excited about traveling with Stacey today..........I can't wait to meet up with her in Chicago.

I fly to Chicago alone..........then meet up with Stacey (traveling from Denver). We then head to Paris, then Moscow, and finally travel to Samara on Sunday.

Sunday afternoon I get to keep Isabelle forever!!! I will finally start to feel like a mom and be just as overwhelmed with all the responsibility as I can possibly be.........I can't hand her back to someone else a few hours later like I could with daycare............she's actually going to be MY responsibility FOREVER!!!! (or at least until she's an adult........lol).

Tuesday we'll head back to the courthouse (or maybe just our translator will) to finalize the 10 day wait thing and then fly out in the evening for Moscow again...........

On Wednesday we'll head to the dr. office to update her shots and get all of her medicals................Thursday we're off to the US Embassy to work on passports and immigration things.............Friday we're off to the Russian consulate to register our little one before traveling back home on Sunday........

Yes, I said Sunday, not Saturday. I thought we'd have to stay overnight Saturday when I 1st made plane tickets............so Stacey & I will have more sightseeing to do in the mean time. I know I want to see some of their famous churches............and possibly do a Kremlin tour...............plus there are other famous things there that I may not even think about that Stacey knows of.

Gary & I went to a famous art museum when we were there last time, and I like art.......so I hoped I'd like this one with 62 rooms.............it was ok, but most of it was portraits................I liked the tile mosaics and some armour in the last few rooms................we walked so much this last time, that when I saw the chiropractor last night (started seeing him after being in such pain from the 1st trip) he was in awe at how much more loose my leg joints were this time................I wonder how it'll be after this trip and carrying Isabelle while walking..........:):):) (Pray for my back though)

So much to do and so little time to do it in. Packing went well into the night.......and yet I'm at my weight limits pretty much..............so I don't know how that will work out in the end................

Gotta run..........too excited to stay on the computer...............but I'm gonna post some pics from the last trip 1st..........this trip was a lot cooler than the last, but it was still really warm............some pictures show me REALLY sweaty, but I don't remember sweating nearly like that. Also, as soon as we stepped off the plane in Samara, they took us to the orphanage to see her............so this is also travel sweat I guess...........:):):) Please understand and don't be disgusted.........

Terri for the Casebier's

Joy and Sorrow

Hi everyone..........this has been a truly crazy week for me after returning from Moscow at about 3:30 p.m. on Sunday and then to leave again for Russia today.

Soon after I arrived home, I got news that a co-worker (teacher & friend) died on Sunday from Breast cancer. Monday was my first trauma response team intervention. I think that staff probably took it harder than most of the children. Many of them weren't too upset, but would ask questions about it throughout the week to try and deal with what was going on.

Tuesday evening I came home to a prayer chain email that let me know our music minister lost his wife suddenly. They still don't know why, but that she's definitely in a better place. She left behind a 12-13 yr old son, a 24-26 yr old daughter/son-in-law, a 1 yr old grandson, and a very sad (yet hopeful) husband.

Grief is heavy for all around here.........funerals are today.

However, I won't be able to attend because I am leaving today to pick up Isabelle on Sunday. My heart is torn between grief and excitement...........I must press on and bring our little one to her new families here...........she can help overcome some of the sadness I hope for these other families..........

Terri

Home from 2nd trip!!!!! 3rd trip on Friday!!!!!

Court went well on Thursday and now we have to wait the 10 days before we can pick up our little Isabelle. The 10 days turned out to be not business days, but literal days.....................though the 10th day can not fall on a weekend because of paperwork. The 11th day is when we can finally finish the paperwork. Well, our 10th day falls on the 7th.............................NEXT Sunday!!!!!

So, I will be returning to Russia THIS FRIDAY!!!!! and will have full custody of Isabelle on Sunday afternoon, though I won't be able to leave Samara or finish paperwork until Tuesday the 9th. Then I will travel back to Moscow until the 14th to finish paperwork there and finally bring her home.

We could not have done all this without your prayers and help!!! We SO appreciate the love and care of our church family!!!! Thank you for rejoicing with us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1. Please pray for me as I come back to get Isabelle without Gary........................my cousin is going with me so that Gary can hopefully get a job (focusing better without me there honestly). So, I get to become a mom.......................kinda by myself.............for a week. That's pretty scarey for me since Gary helps me so much. Fortunately, I will have a stroller....................so I won't have to carry her every where.

2. Please pray for Gary as he is home by himself for the week and also for his job hunting.

3. Please continue to pray for our finances in this. We have less than a week to get the remaining "cash in hand", and though Gary is not going with us, we are paying for my cousins tickets, etc. because we asked her to come in place of Gary so that Gary could try to make money. So, she is losing some money to come and didn't ask to come in the first place.

Even more so than the current adoption monies, I will be off for about 10 weeks this school year (maternity leave) without pay so that Isabelle can adjust and bond correctly. We NEED Gary to have a full-time teaching position to pay the bills. We've also discussed, even more than ever, about selling our home as it eats up a majority of our funds each month (high mortgage, not because it's falling apart).

4. Please pray for this next trip and my cousin Stacey. She's a great woman of God and has always wanted to do orphan missions work (Africa preferrably though). She needs prayers that God will use this not just as a missions trip for her (giving others to minister to), but also that God will use this time to guide her in what He has in store for her next.

Also, she's in her early 30's and still single, has ALWAYS wanted to be a mother and wanted to help children in every possible way. I know that seeing these orphans will break her heart, but it will also stir more things up inside her. Please pray that God keeps her heart from breaking too much and that whatever happens will be a positive growth for Stacey, as well as our relationship.

5. Also please pray that Isabelle will adjust to being away from the orphanage quickly and that being out on the busy streets of Moscow will not be too much of an overload for her. Also that our trip back will be pleasant and easy to handle with her having a "lap" ticket. If we'd gotten her a regular ticket, we'd have had to pay about $2400 and that's just 1 way and more than the adult round trip tickets we have!!!! I can't hold her the whole time (because of my back and hip issues-- see ya Tuesday Dr. Tonte!!!!), so pray that there's an empty seat beside us as well!!!

Now, for a little of an update about getting to Samara on Tuesday--

We arrived about 6 p.m. on Tuesday in Samara and our translator apologized for realizing that she would be too busy on Wednesday to take us to the orphanage, so we went to the orphanage straight from the airport!!!! We were tired (but not that bad) and hadn't eaten. Once we got close, I realized that I hadn't had any time to put the workers "gifts" in the bags yet..................so before we went in, I scrambled to do that.

When we headed inside, I was delighted to see that they were renovating the inside of the orphanage. The kitchen was being totally redone (from what I can tell) and they were painting the walls.................it was a work in progress, but I was excited to see it.

We waited patiently for several minutes while they figured out where to put our gifts (by the way, I have to take the rest of the baby powder this next trip because there was so much and weighed alot!!!! THANKS!!!)..................Isabelle (Yulia) had been sleeping because it was about 7:30 at that point. When they brought her into the room and I said hi (from across the room) her eyes lit up and she got a BIG smile on her face. My goodness, I knew at that point that I was TOTALLY HOOKED on this little one....................she's only 1, so there's no way she remembered me from 1.5 months ago, but she was acting like she did!!! She was so much more active this time. She still doesn't walk, but her feet are flat on the ground now and she gets around REALLY well in the walker. In the walker, she trekked across the room to check out a stuffed animal...............knowing I only had an hour this time to be with her, I called her name..........and she came back!!!!!! I was so amazed at that!!! Gary and I played with her for such a great time, the hour FLEW by!!!!! It was really hard leaving her there. I kept telling her, and myself, that I'd be back to get her in 2 weeks (actually, it'll be 12 days from then), but it was a killer knowing that I wasn't going to get to hold her, play with her, or talk to her for the next 2 weeks.

We then went to the hotel. The next day we went to our 8 Dr. appointment. It went quickly and well. They asked us a lot of questions that seemed silly and funny to us, but they wanted to make sure we were healthy enough to be around for a while.

We went to court on Thursday and there was a delay because 1 of Isabelle's papers didn't make it there. We waited for about an hour, then they finally started. The interpreter was even nervous because the prosecutor understands English as well............so she couldn't just tell the judge what she wanted to hear.

The questions (I think because of the delay) were surprisingly short....................and we were officially declared the parents to Isabelle Hope Yulia Casebier!!!!!! We are now parents, though we have to wait the 10 days, just in case WE might change our minds...............................yeah right!!!!

Well, we came back to Moscow that night and have been dealing with getting some cultural items for her since then.

Today we road the long flights home...........it took about 17 hours to get home and we are both sore and tired!!!! However, my adrenaline is still really pumping as now I have to hurry and get ready to go pick her up NEXT Sunday!!!!!! I have to leave on Friday to get there by Sunday at noon-time..........I don't understand why I have to go at noon, but that's when I have to be there and it's playing rough on getting everything done here.............so please pray for that and rest as well as the trip coming up VERY shortly!!!!

I missed everyone and have some great pictures of the 3 of us together that I want to share, but I probably won't get to it this week..........go figure!!!

Those that have sent us shower gifts -- I hope to get our thankyou's out before I go.........but may not be able to. Please know that we are TOTALLY grateful for everything and are really psyched about getting to do this...........I'm just kinda going crazy trying to get everything done right now and still work (yes, I am going back to work tomorrow for 4 days!!!).

Gotta run and work on packing again..........

Thanks a lot for the prayers and keeping all of us in your thoughts..........I really miss all my family and internet friends right now, you keep my stress down!!!

Terri for the Casebier's!!!! WAY TOO EXCITED (not sure how someone can be TOO EXCITED) about going to get Isabelle next Sunday!!!!

Traveling Tomorrow!!!!

Well everyone..........we are headed out in the afternoon..............we are VERY excited, but at the same time we have some more prayer requests.

Please pray for our traveling mercies (including no pain this time from dealing with luggage and getting enough water/sleep)..........

Pray for our physicals on Wednesday........if I'm feeling then like I am now, I don't know what the 8 doctors will say.

Pray for our court time on Thursday that it will go smoothly. We're not planning on them waiving the 10 day wait.........which turns out to be a good thing because we were informed last week that we needed to get yet another apostille from Austin.........guess we all know where Gary will be heading the 1st week of October!!!!

Please also pray for our health. Allergies (ragweed) have hit hard already and I'm not feeling well at all!!! I am on my regular allergy medications, but also on antibiotics for another couple days and cough suppressant. Gary also has allergies but hasn't had as severe a reaction as I have......pray that I don't end up giving him something on top of his allergies.

I am SO ready for Isabelle to be home and to be able to treat her like she's our baby.........and though I'm really excited about getting to go look for cultural items for Isabelle's keepsakes and having a "new" journey in Russia, the allergies leave me less than excited about getting on a plane or about walking around outside. Hopefully Russia will have a VERY low pollen count!!!

Well, I gotta go help Gary finish packing (mostly done)............

Thanks for following along and for praying for our family as we go from being a couple to becoming a couple with child to becoming a family (adding Hannah as well).

Terri for the Casebier's

2nd Trip Dates!!!

Well, we received our court date on Tuesday............it's September 27th and we have to be there no later than the evening of the 25th.

I decided not to post until I had the travel plans set up. So here they are:

We leave on the afternoon of the 21st (I'm taking 1/2 day off) and getting to Moscow the 22nd. Originally we'd planned on touring Moscow after we had Isabelle, but we have since come to our senses............and figured that a 1 yr old girl, new to us and ALL of her surroundings, might be a little cranky. Plus she would also require naps/feeding times............so won't be able to gather cultural information for Isabelle once we have her..................AND we probably won't be going back ANYTIME soon (probably not ever)............so we need to get this type of information for her now, so that when she asks about where she's from, we'll be able to answer her.

ANYWAY!!!! Back to the itinerary.......

21 SEP 07 - FRIDAY
AIR LUFTHANSA FLT:439 330P
LV DALLAS FT WORTH 09HR50MIN

22 SEP 07 - SATURDAY
AR FRANKFURT FLT:3184 820A

LUFTHANSA
LV FRANKFURT 1050A
03HR 00MIN
AR MOSCOW SHEREMETYEVO 2 350P


25 SEP 07 - TUESDAY
AIR AEROFLOT FLT:831 150P
LV MOSCOW 1HR 55MIN

AR SAMARA 445P


27 SEP 07 - THURSDAY
AIR AEROFLOT FLT:832 620P
LV SAMARA 01HR 50MIN

AR MOSCOW SVO 710P


30 SEP 07 - SUNDAY
AIR LUFTHANSA FLT:3189 705A
LV MOSCOW SVO 03HR 15MIN

AR FRANKFURT 820A

AIR LUFTHANSA FLT:438 1005A
LV FRANKFURT 10HR 45MIN

AR DALLAS FT WORTH 150P

All this, plus I am returning to work on the 1st.......so that I can work as many days as I can before we bring her home!!! :):):)

Prayer requests:

1. Please continue to pray for her health and her transition with all that will be new.
2. Please continue to pray for our finances. That Gary will get a job. I will not be paid for about 9.5 weeks this year (being out for maternity -- bonding time and then again for her surgery time).......God is going to have to do something supernatural for us. We need to be able to pay bills and pay for our bare essentials as well.
3. Please pray that our travel will be more smooth this time. Last trip I came back in a lot of pain, and we moved to a different hotel each night. That's another reason for staying in Moscow and catching our breath before taking the next flights.

Thank you again so much for all of your prayers!!!!

Terri for the Casebier's

Update on the wait for a court date

Hi everyone..............just wanted to let you know that we finally received notice today that the documents from Moscow have finally been received by the interpreter..........now we are just waiting for the judge to return from his/her vacation on Monday to get the final word on when our court date is. We are planning that it will be at least 2 weeks from the call.........so hopefully around the 25th. Then we would return to get her around the 9th.

Thanks for continuing to pray. We had a WONDERFUL family reunion this last weekend, and we received some great gifts, including some financial help towards our trips.........we are still about $1000 short of the "cash in hand" for the 2 trips and need the flights and hotel costs as well, but I am still sure that it will all come together as we NEED it..............God's still faithful and HE's still in control of this adoption...........not the Russian government, or us..........

:):):)

I'll post pictures from the reunion and our 1st baby shower EVER this weekend........after I recover from another week at school...........lol

Terri for the Casebier's.................

Update on the wait for a court date

Hi all,

I was somewhat depressed yesterday evening...............I had found out that the translator still has not received the 1 document she needs from the Moscow adoption affairs office. It has to travel snail mail from request to answer. It is the letter saying that Isabelle has been released for adoption.

This is sad because we'd just heard a week before from the translator and she made it sound like she had already received the letter. We were planning on travel dates around the week of September 17th. Now, I am thinking that the court date (2nd trip) will be around the 1st week of October at the earliest. Hopefully getting her (3rd trip) around the middle of October. Our little girl is just sitting there and wondering why those 2 people came to see her and showed her the rest of the orphanage........and all that stuff outside. She's wondering if we'll ever return and take her on a walk again, blowing bubbles, laughing, and trying to understand her babble talk...........and helping her try to walk.

But, I choose to look at the positive. I have more time to raise funds for our 3rd trip cash and the airline/hotel costs. I also had been struggling with returning to school after we get her. I also wanted to keep the momentum I currently have with my job, because I know that this momentum will be a LOT less after we bring her home.

I'm doing a little better with the thought of returning to school, but I really didn't want to come back before Christmas break.........but I wanted to spend at least 8 weeks with our little girl, then another 4 weeks with her after her surgery. Well, I should be able to go back after Christmas break now with only being out about 8-9 weeks off.................so that problem would be resolved (and I'd actually be getting 12 weeks off then because of holiday breaks as well).

So, that's it for now...........hopefully this time will also mean that Gary is able to find a job prior to traveling for the 2nd trip..........please pray that this happens and any potential employer will understand his need for traveling and not let that interfer with hiring him. Optimally though, they will have him as a substitute until we come home.......then hire him fully, because that way he won't use/lose any of his leave time (or if it's in my district, use any of our COMBINED 12 weeks off for FMLA).

Thank you for your continued prayer.

Terri for the Casebier's

Update on paperwork to Russia #4 and more

Hi everyone.

I'm finally physically recovering from our 1st trip. The jet lag didn't really hurt me at all..................it was the really back strain that I'd created on my upper back!!!! My shoulders and neck are starting to feel better after heading to the chiropractor for a few "treatments"............that will teach me for trying to lug 2 suitcases, a laptop, and a backpack around Russia..........and that's not even including the larger backpack and 2 duffle bags that Gary was carrying around!!!!

I've already determined that on the 2nd trip we'll have 1 backpack, 1 duffle bag (gifts), and 1 suitcase (with a handle and wheels)........that should make it a lot better. On the last trip we'll have 2 suitcases (wheels and handles) and 1 large backpack. One of the suitcases will be for all of Isabelles things (clothes, food, toys, etc). We'll leave all that stuff in our Moscow hotel before going to get her because that trip will be one giant turn around to stay in Moscow the same (or next) night.

Update on finances~~~~ well, God (as always) is wonderfully good. 1. We still do not have money for hotels/airlines, but we do have credit that we can use if necessary. I'm just afraid that if we use it (and end up maxing it out) that we may be stretched to far, bills wise. 2. We have most of the cash in hand for the 2nd trip though (about 3000 out of 3500 needed). The 3rd trip is only 10 days after the 2nd, so I'm not sure about the cash in hand for that one though............it's ok, so far He hasn't let us go anywhere without everything we need!!!! (and He never will...... :):):)).

Update on her paperwork!!!! ~~~~~ Her paperwork is all in Russia and the translator is trying to schedule a court date. We hope to know in the next couple days when the court date will be (and thus when our 2nd trip will start). We've been told to expect the "10 day wait" to be 10 business days..........and if the 10th day is a Friday, it may require us to wait until the Monday afterward. We're still planning on coming home in between trips so that I can continue to work and not lose any leave days without our daughter.

Well, that's the word for now...........I'll be posting AS SOON AS!!! I have the court date........YEA!!!!! Then I'll have to quickly order the visas and purchase plane tickets.............we still hope/expect to be traveling the week of Sept. 10th or 17th.......All looks very positive.

Thanks for all your continued prayers and love!!!!

Terri for the Casebier's

Update on paperwork to Russia #3

Hey!!!

I found out today that the 1st (larger) batch of our dossier paperwork was received in Russia and is being checked over and translated!!!! Translation (of ALL documents) takes 2-3 days............

The 2nd and final (smaller) batch was also sent out today (Fed Ex tracking number is 8606 0518 3509)..............and if I go with how fast the other batch went, they could have it by next Tuesday or Wednesday...............and fully translated by (at least) NEXT FRIDAY!!!! (8/24).......................now if we could only figure out where the paperwork from Moscow was in the process!!!! If it's there by translation time, we could have a court date set as early as 8/27!!!!!...........maybe even a day or two earlier!!!

So, keep watching for our next update within the next week and a half to two weeks!!! I'm SO excited!!!! We may even have a travel date before going to the Family Reunion at Labor Day!!!!.............lol we're in Labor!!!!! :):):)

Terri for the Casebier's

Remainder of Dossier to Agency!

Well, we went to the Secretary of State today and got the rest of our Apostilles done. Afterward, we overnighted our documents to IFS..........they should get them on Monday, copy them, and then send them right back out to Russia on Monday as well. I've requested the tracking information for both sets (she sent out the 1st part of our dossier earlier this week so Svetlana could start translating it) and will update you as soon as I have that information.

Levahna told me that Svetlana is also waiting for a document from Moscow (snail mail) to allow Isabelle to be "released" for adoption. Once she has that document (along with ours) she can set the court date. I figure she should have all of our documents by August 27th and all of them translated no later than August 30th (she said it only takes her about 3 days........and most of the documents will be there by about the 20th). I really hope the Moscow document is there by the time the rest of our documents get to her. I also hope that we are one of the 1st families in court once the judge returns from her vacation on September 10th. Only time will tell though.

Please pray for speedy travel on the documents, a close court date, and money for the trip.

Thanks!!!

Terri for the Casebier's

Remainder of Dossier to Secretary of State!!!

I just finished the last of our dossier paperwork today and am driving to Austin tonight and the sec of state tomorrow for apostilles.......................then overnight to agency and they copy and overnight to Russia..............we've already sent about 98% of the dossier to Russia and that should be almost completely translated by the time that these last few items arrive. The translator told us that when we get to go to court totally depends on how fast we send in the rest of the documents..............little did she know that we REALLY DID have them done!!! She kept saying that she hears that all the time. I told her we only lack our 171 (in the mail when we came home), our physicals (couldn't do until we returned from the 1st trip), and the document she had to email us once we returned. Tomorrow all that will be heading back to the agency and then on Monday out to Russia!!!

We received the email from the translator yesterday, the 171 in the mail when we returned on Monday, and the doctor forms were filled out today (Thursday).........remember we just got home late Sunday night. The translator should be floored when she gets these in less than 2 weeks from today. She should have our completed dossier within 2.5 weeks of our returning from our 1st trip to Russia!!!

Now if God would just reveal where the money is going to come from...........lol He is so good at teaching us patience isn't He?! lol

Terri for the Casebier's

We met her!!!! and adoption update

Hi everyone.............we couldn't post in the city of Szyran (sp?), but we got to meet her. Other than the cleft and orphanage related delays, she's perfect!!! She is dinky though!! I mean, I couldn't believe how small she was as they brought her in.

She crawls and tries to stand, but it's so cute and funny how she tries to stand. She holds onto things with her legs way too far in front of her. She gets up on her legs with her head on the floor. I almost think that she'll be standing on her head before she stands on her feet!!! :):):)

We knew after seeing her and talking for a little while to the dr. that is on the property that she was meant to be ours. Our translator said that we were very lucky to get her because Russia usually doesn't let such a healthy child leave the country.

We were able to take her for short walks around the orphanage and were worned about mosquitoes, but we only saw a mosquito once............in our hotel room that 1st night after the orphanage visit.

On the 1st visit day we got to spend 6 hours with her: laughing, eating, napping, etc. She was so over stimulated with all the things around her, that she didn't pay much attention to us for quite a while. She was too busy crawling around the room checking everything out. She stared for quite a while in the mirrors, I doubt she'd ever seen much of anything outside of her bed and playroom. It was great to see her explore. For naptime that 1st day, we took her outside in the stroller for her nap because we didn't want to bother the other children. There was a little covered area with about 4 beds and a large wooden playpen under it. We sat there until she finally fell asleep. She slept for about an hour and a half...........then we had to go in and meet with the orphanage director, social worker, and the doctor again. The doctor gave us all of the information on "Yulia" and the social worker talked to us about the family.

Yulia's mom was a young single woman that only signed the release papers because of Yulia's cleft issues. Her mother (Yulia's grandmother) works in the medical field and both women agreed that it was best for Yulia to be taken care of in this way.

Yulia had her 1st cleft surgery (lip) in April..........thus she didn't look much like the referral photo we'd received. I'm very glad that she's had the surgery, but she can't really breathe out of the right side of her nose...........it's really sad to hear her try to breathe.

Our 2nd meeting day was cloudy by my thoughts of her being left there. Though the caretakers work really hard and give the children all they can, they also can't give the children all the individual attention they need. She just spent 2 days getting tons of attention and being able to explore.......now she has to just sit there again. I watched her after we put her back in the wooden play pen in the play room on the 1st day (there are 2 really large pens there) and I saw her just sit and stare at the bottom of the pen. It was like I'd just put her in jail and there was no hope and nothing new to learn there. There were a small pair of plastic keys in the pen and she picked them up and kept hitting them on the floor.........not much excitement or fun could be seen. When we talked to her the 2nd day (after putting her in the pen) she was still laughing and interacting with us, like she was sure we'd be back.

I can only think about her wondering where we went and why we didn't come for her again. Then, when we do return in a couple months, she may be excited, but we'll only be able to see her for an hour that trip..............and have to leave again. She will never be able to understand that we'd be back in about 2 weeks to take her home. I can't stand the thought of how lonely this must make her feel and how much distrust it could build in her.

We know that Yulia will probably be walking by the time we get to return..............and I'm happy for her, but sad that I won't see it.

There are so many good things we've seen in this trip and so much more we're having to deal with in our thoughts.

I know that your prayers have really helped me to keep my fears at bay after talking to the doctors here in the states. I know that they also are what blessed us in being able to make an immediate decision on our little girl. We are so BLESSED by her and by our friendships.

We've been told by our interpretor (sp?) that we can return as early as Sept. 11th..........because the Judge is on vacation until then. She said when we return is totally up to us and when we get in our paperwork. I told her that all we're missing was the 171 (got it today in the mail!!!) and the dr. physical's that we weren't allowed to do until now. The 171 is now ready to head to the state department for apostille and we checked out the dr. information. We go tomorrow for blood work and then have to return in a week or so for the physical (once the bloodwork has returned). Hopefully we'll get it totally completed and to Austin (for apostille's) before I have to return to work for 2 days on the 14th (a week from tomorrow)/15th..........or at least before I return full-time on the 20th.

I'm going to post video/pictures within the next few days. We've been given the ok to post them. You can see just how cute,smart, and tiny she is. I'll also post the original referral picture for her too so you can see the change.

Prayer Requests:

1. Isabelle Hope Yulia Casebier -- that she won't be sad/lonely and will quickly trust us again when we return and are finally able to get her. For her also to stay healthy and safe until we are able to pick her up.

2. Gary still needs prayers for a permanent teaching position........so he still has a little more flexible schedule still.

3. This also means that we have financial issues for the adoption as well. This was an unexpected blessing..........but that also means that our time to raise funds was limited. I'm figuring with about $4000 per trip in airline tickets and $3500 per trip in cash, that we need at least another $15000.........PLUS hotels. We have a little in the adoption savings account thanks to a couple of Gary's family members and a church garage sale. I'm just praying that God really opens those flood gates of blessing so we can bring her home without any MORE credit card debt.

4. Our medical reports to go quickly so that everything will be in Russia very soon and they can schedule our court date.

Thank you,

Terri for the Casebier's

We're in Samara!!!!!

Hi everyone!!!!

2 words............HOT and FAST!!!!!

This trip is SO FAST!!!!! Every night we've been in a different hotel. They have looked really nice, but their food is REALLY expensive!!!!! A water (16 oz.) is about $3!

It is as hot and muggy as Texas here, but the big difference is that we have no recognizable (significant) air conditioning in doors...............there's no way to escape the heat, be prepared to sweat all the time!!! :):):)

We arrived in Samara today and met with our translator and driver. They are WONDERFUL. We've already gone to get our notary documents done (something normally AFTER you've seen your child, but because our 2nd day falls on Saturday, it's not open) and have met with the assistant to the minstry of education here. They have all been delightful!!!!

A few months ago someone showed me how to access the Russian site for children and I looked at all of them. I only saw 1 little girl with a cleft in 2006 and didn't think it looked like her. Well, apparently they have already done lip surgery and that IS our little girl. She looks so different it's scary to me............I want to make sure it's the same child that we've been falling in love with this whole time............ :):):)

I can't wait to meet her tomorrow!!!! I'm SO excited to make that trip!!!!! We get to be with her from 12-6 tomorrow (we're 10 hours ahead of TX from here) and then rest...........just to meet with her for about 4-5 hours the next day as well. I just realized that I may need to change my outgoing flights!!! I need to ask 1st thing tomorrow so I don't mess up there................hopefully it will only change the Samara flight and not the home flight. We were already having to stay the night in Moscow..............so that's not a big deal if we can get this all figured out pretty quick.

Well, tomorrow we will not have internet access and the access here costs us by the 15 minute intervals.............so I'm off for now.

Please pray for us and know that we are thinking of all of our friends in China right now..................I hope you're staying a little cooler than we are. Also, remember that you get to go home with your little ones, we don't this trip. We have to leave her for about another 2 months until court........... :( so pray for me not to cry too much tomorrow. The closer it gets, the more attached to this little one I get, regardless of what the dr.'s say and what I see tomorrow..............Gary is pretty much committed already and I've kept my heart at bay until we see her................but I don't know how much longer I can hold it back.....................and it breaks pretty easily!!!! Please pray for our return trip as well.

Also, we went to the store this evening and things are MUCH cheaper there, we had to get a taxi though and it cost the same as the total of our groceries (mostly water of course).

BTW, the diet is SO OUT with this. I have no idea of what I've eaten this week so far.....................but I did get in 2 shakes today (yea me!!!). I WILL gain weight, but I'll also lose it too.

Thanks,

Terri for the Casebier's

Isabelle Hope?

Well, I've said it before that I'm nervous because of what the 3 doctors have said regarding the health report we currently have (and their liability issues). It makes me a lot more nervous than Gary.

But, on one of my yahoo groups (LCC) another person asked about "small head circumference" (a major issue this last doctor had) and the response from other adoptive parents has been overwhelming!!! NONE of it has been negative. ALL of the children have been fine up to this time in the conversation. I think the thread was meant more for me (the only one adopting from Russia) than anyone else. God knew I needed this encouragement and He's been using them to give me the peace I need about Isabelle. He's the one that brought her to us, we didn't go seeking her out.............I can't wait to meet her............though I'm terrified and excited at the same time. I'm trying to not get my hopes up to high after 5+ years of waiting for a little girl to call my own. You would think that after infertility AND adoption that I'd have a child by now...........but no, God had a different plan. From what it looks like at this point, it really includes this little one. I can only continue to pray that He gives me peace and ask that everyone else continue to pray that our 1st meeting will be one that melds our hearts together as a family. That I will be at peace and know immediately that she is or is not to be our baby.

Terri for the Casebier's

Garage Sale endings

Well, we closed the sale today a little early..........but after 3 days I believe we did pretty good (though not in the 1000's......lol). All 3 of us workers were ready to have it done though..........and most of what was left was clothing, older pictures, and little things that had been there the whole time.

Now on to the rest we have to do before leaving!!!! :):):)

Terri for the Casebier's

Garage Sale 2nd day happenings!

Hey everyone..........just 4 days til we leave and 7 til we meet her. I can
hardly breathe at times............

I am still a little concerned about her, but God is using others in my
groups to comfort me. We've been having a garage sale the past 2 days and
I've asked to not know about the money end. I don't want it to effect me.
I'm the one keeping up with the adoption expenses and we're only able to
take this 1st trip because of credit cards....... :(

I was very frustrated this morning and left for a little while to get some
other things done (my friend is having the sale for
us)..........................and I left dh there to help out. When I
returned, he and I planned a piece of our evening (haircut) when the sale
was over for the day and I decided to stay for the rest of the day (about 2
1/2 hours more) because it wasn't that long and I just didn't want to stress
out again with waiting.

So, I stayed. There were a lot of down times and only a few really up sale
times during that 2.5 hours.................but there were 2 that really
impacted me.

1. I was watching as mothers were letting their el. school children out of
the car while they waited inside the air conditioning of their cars. This
kinda frustrated me as I watched the kids run back and forth to ask their
parents if they could get something. One was a little blonde girl, probably
in the 3rd grade. She had already ran back and forth a couple times when
she looked at our board talking about the little one. She asked who our
little one was, and when I told her that we were raising money here to help
go get her, she said, "I can give $5!".....................my first reaction
was, I don't want you to get in trouble with your mom, so you better ask
her. She said it was her money and her mom wouldn't care. So, I said it
was ok.......................THEN, I promptly started looking around for
something else to give her..............lol I felt so bad that she'd given
up so much of her money and I wanted her to feel like she got something.
There was a fabrige (sp?) egg sitting there and I let her see
it............she took it too...................she really blessed me with
her big heart.

2. As closing time (4 pm) neared, we were starting to pack up and a few
more people came so we stopped for a little bit. I saw this mom with 2
children (1 older that didn't talk much) and a 5 year old girl. I watched
their interactions for quite a while. We had some puzzles there and the
little girl was going to get one, when she came to a veggie tale one I asked
her if she knew them and she didn't say anything. Several other comments
made me wonder if her family was Christian or not (something I really hadn't
been thinking about, but I was thinking about it with this family because of
the girl). Well, when she got to the poster we told her what we were doing
and she commended us (something not uncommon)....................then when
she got ready to pay her $3.75 she got out a check book..............which I
was thinking was odd. She went on to say that she was going to make it for
a little extra to help us bring her home. Then she went on to say that she
was a pastor's wife for a church down the road. They had a women's group
and they would be praying for us in our adoption. She wanted us to contact
her sometime closer to the 2nd or 3rd trip.................for prayer I
imagine. Because she kept on talking about the prayer group, I pulled her
over to the board again and had her look close at our little one's face and
told her the whole story about the 3 dr.'s..............I asked her to pray
about her health and our peace in knowing our decision. She already knew
what to pray for. She lead dh and I in prayer right there............it was
SO awesome!!!! Right before I pulled her to the board I looked at the
check. At first glance, I thought it said $10...........then I read it and
realized it was $100. That was a little less than 1/2 of what we made
yesterday all day!!!

When we got home, dh looked up the church site and found that it had a
Tuesday evening "Cowboy Church" service.............well, our church doesn't
meet on Tuesday's and our previous church was a "cowboy"
church......................I bet we check it out soon after we're back!!!

Well, I'm still at 4 days til take off and 7 days til meeting, but I'm much
calmer knowing that God is still so much a part of
this.......................He is organizing this FAR BEYOND what I thought
when I said before that He was going to really have to do things. I figured
that was just in the finances part (and though it is, He hasn't been so
"obvious" in this for this adoption up to this point) instead it's been a
lesson of trusting Him for a much greater thing.............her health and
me being able to help her/take care of her if her health isn't what I
hope.......................keeping my eyes on Him and not the circumstances
around me.............wow.........I'm terrified!!!! :):):)

1st Travel plans & more

Well, it's taken a week.........but here's our itinerary for the 1st trip.

7/31/07 Leave for Moscow
Stop over in Frankfurt, Germany before getting there
8/1/07 Arrive in Moscow and stay the night in a hotel close to the airport (so I don't have to pay for more transportation -- $300/night
8/2 Fly to Samara in the morning
Meet with Coordinator and officials in the afternoon
Spend the evening in Samara and night at the Renassance (sp?) hotel -- $300/night
8/3 Go to orphanage in another town to meet little one
Spend the afternoon looking around the town (taking lots of memory pictures)
Spend the night in hotel there (arranged by coordinator) about $100/night
8/4 Go back to the orphage and spend a little more time with her
Meet with officials again to sign paperwork stating that she is the child
we wish to pursue (like an LOI in China) and they agree to it (like an LOA
in China)
Leave for Moscow in the evening
Spend night at same hotel from the 1st -- $300 again
8/5 Leave for Frankfurt and then on to Washington, Dulles and then to Dallas

So, in case you weren't very clear here it's going to be about $1000 for hotels alone...............and then the airline tickets cost about $1650 each. If we end up needing to make changes it'll be an extra $250 plus whatever extra hotel costs.

Keep us in prayers. I'm going nuts right now trying to make sure I've got all the "little" things packed and done as well as contemplating everything that's happening right now.

We didn't want to go into debt for any adoption, cash only.........but at this point it was inevitable with how quickly this has gone. If Gary is able to get a good job in the Fall, the adoption costs should be fairly easily covered, but that hasn't happened yet and I'll be losing some pay this year because of being out on maternity leave and family medical leave act (for her surgeries).

Then there's the other concern. We finally got word from the 3rd dr. today, the one that's worked with Russian adoptions before. She did NOT give us a lot of hope for this little one. All because of how small she was at birth and how big her head is right now........

This confuses and frustrates me because she was premature and her growth in ALL areas of her body is in line with each other, though very low and not on the charts. She doesn't look like she has other problems, but the dr. said with these things, there are chances of cerebral palsy (at best of the worst problems). She also asked us if we could request another referral.........she was VERY discouraging. Yes, we can refuse her once we get there (we're sending pictures and video to the dr. on the 1st night we see her), but it's not fair to her or to us to even meet her if there isn't a chance that we'll go for it. I can't handle an MR child with other children on the way, let alone handle one needing the cleft surgeries and not being able to stay at home for at least the next 2 years with her. It's not fair to either of us.

So, pray for our decision. I am hooked on this little one and have seen some really incredible stories lately about dr. diagnosis not being accurate and the child being ok. But when you have 3 dr.'s all giving you negative feedback (2 working with adoptive families alot) it's really hard to stay encouraged. When I look at her I see nothing but a healthy little cleft affected child. Please pray that this is all the dr.'s will see when we get there. Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is prevalent in Russia and I read a little up on it today.........it SEEMS like she has some of the possible symptoms of it, but none of the dr.'s have brought that up.

None the less, she is a little one that needs a home...........and we need a little one..........she's imperfect, but so are we. I struggle with thoughts of how I could even think about not accepting her!!! Another yucky thought is that now we're so involved with Russia that we can't do a domestic adoption (at least until one or both of these is over) and if we don't accept her, we MAY get another referral while we are there.........or we MAY be put into the LONG waiting line for Russia (I think it's about a year right now) and I'm not sure that our agency will be in Russia at that point, because Russia is just going through reaccreditation again with it's agencies and IFS is not one of the current agencies.............it's rumored to be shutting down independent adoptions soon.

Ok, now everyone is up to date and can see all that I'm feeling......a little TMI I think...........lol

But please pray for my packing AND my sanity as we go and meet this little one. Please pray that God will make it obvious to us while we are there if she is or is not to be our little Isabelle (though wouldn't the name Isabelle Hope[God's promise of hope] be perfect for her anyway!!!).

Please also pray for our finances. I've been handling just the adoption expenses and I've just become aware of some more things that I don't like what I see (which I probably contributed to a great deal with buying everything for the girls including decorating and quilt swaps). Please pray that God will help us to not only get out of debt, but to not get into any more debt with the adoptions.

Thanks,

Terri

1st Travel Dates!!!!!

WWWHHHHHHHHIIIIIIPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

We got our 1st travel dates today........we leave July 31st and return August 5th.......

We'll get to meet with the government people in charge on the 2nd (the 17th anniversary of my parents death, so now I have something GOOD to remember the date for!!!!:).................then meet Isabelle on the 3rd and 4th........then they make us immediately leave on the 4th..........

I have to go make the travel plans........and schedule with dr. for checking out the medicals............etc.

Terri for the Casebier's!!!

As of today -- Birthday????

Well, still just waiting........BUT, we are a couple days closer.......the translator should be finished translating now........so it should be at or heading to the facilitator's office to match us to Isabelle........and then write us the email that invites us to go and meet her. I can't wait!!! I'm getting TOO excited about it!!!

I found another packing list today that I'd already down loaded.......it actually seems to give me a little more detail (keeps me a little less nervous!!). :):):)

I also went to the health department today to check out immunizations......Gary & I will be getting the vaccines for Hep. A & B (both lifetime vaccines), tetanus (sp?)(good for 10 years), and TYPHOID!!!!! Yep.........that's a disease in food and water........so I want to take care of that one.............and it's only good for 5 years.......hopefully we'll be back from China by then.

I also got an email from the USCIS last week. It said that I didn't need to get re-fingerprinted.........but also that I still had to pay for the fingerprinting.
.....that's really odd, but of course the U.S. government wants to take all the money it can from everyone!!! :{

I've been thinking about the time and everything. Isabelle's birthday is in July......so today COULD be her birthday!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!!!!! I can't wait to hug you, hold you and love you and teach you to give kisses...........I can wait for the arm restraints after surgery, but I hope that you'll do so well that you won't need them long. I can't wait to take you swimming for the 1st time........but we'll probably need to get your surgery out of the way first.........lol

I can't wait to dress her in outfits that I've been collecting for the last 4 years!!! I can't wait to tell her how much I love her and that it's going to be ok.......she won't have to sit alone in the orphanage anymore. She won't have to struggle to talk or play anymore. We're coming and we're going to help her in EVERY way possible!!! :):):) Most of all, we are going to teach her that she does not EVER have to be alone again! She can ALWAYS count on Jesus to be there for her!!!

Now, if God could just show ME how we are going to do this financially.......without going into more debt!! :):):)

God is always good, so I WILL trust in Him for HIS provision (not mine).

Terri for the Casebier's

Adoption verse & Prayer requests

This is one of today's posts from heartlight.........I thought it was appropriate and encouraging for the process we're in.

ADOPTED

Galatians 4:1-7
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=Galatians+4:1-7

Dear Father,

Thank you for delivering us from slavery and immaturity. Thank you
for sending Jesus Christ at just the right time, in just the right
way, that he might redeem those under the law, and that we might
all receive the adoption as sons.

Thank you for sending the Spirit of your Son into our hearts,
crying, "Abba! Father," so that we are no longer slaves but sons.

In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

We are getting closer and closer every day to going on the 1st trip and meeting our little girl. I am calculating about 2 1/2 (weeks at the most) till we get the letter of invitation to go and meet her. I can't wait!!!!! I'm so excited about it that it's overwhelming. I'm having a hard time thinking about anything else, and yet, I'm also to the point of not knowing what else I can do about her right now. I know that I still need to get shots.........but will do that when Gary stops his temporary job next Thursday. We still have plane tickets and hotel money to figure out, as well as donations for the orphanage and gifts for our helpers. There isn't much I can do about that but sit back and trust that God will provide it all. We'll be having a garage sale after the 1st trip to help raise funds. We're also putting a flyer in the church bulletin to help get donations for the orphanage and helper gifts. We also have applied for several grants (for Hannah) and know that we need to resubmit grant applications for Isabelle, but this adoption is going so fast (for the 1st trip) that we won't have any responses on the grants until well after we're home from the 1st trip.

God has been good so far. Gary's temporary job, along with our own saving plan from my job, has provided the money for the "up front" costs and the 1st trip cash. Hopefully Gary will get a full-time teaching position very soon and then in the Fall (before going again), we'll hopefully be able to save much of the rest of it.

It definitely will all come together.......I just get concerned when I think about when it will come together or how we'll pay for the hotel and airline tickets. That seems to be the most expensive part of all of this.........

Though that's all true, nothing is compared to the anxiousness that I'm feeling about finally being a mom. I'm overwhelmed that I've waited so long and it's finally going to all happen. But, it's not just going to happen, it's going to happen with a beautiful little girl with a cleft palate. I've joined groups of other mothers with cleft affected children and have to say that I'm totally overwhelmed about all the surgeries and possible "failures" from the surgeries. It doesn't deter me 1 bit about going and getting Isabelle. But, it does make me wonder if I am going to be able to keep working once she comes home. I will want to be with her all the time for bonding at first, and then to be there to comfort her after the surgeries.........and then if something "doesn't take" with the palate surgery, I'll need to have it done again. Though I could probably wait til next summer (and maybe would have to anyway), I know me and I would want to get it done very quickly. I can't wait to have her in our arms and get her clefts fixed.

I can't wait to dress her up and love on her like there's no tomorrow!!!! I want to give her all the love and attention she's missed getting for the last year. I want to dote (sp?) on her like others have dotted (sp?) on their children. It WILL be hard financially..........we'd planned on me working full-time until Hannah comes home (now that may not happen) and then going part-time. Please pray that Gary gets a full-time teaching position soon and that he then gets two years behind him so that he can work towards a school counseling position (or another master's position in education). If he does that, he'll be able to make the money I'm making now.....which will help alot.

We don't know what God has planned, in anything, but especially in relation to our jobs. Only God knows.

Please pray for:

1. Gary's Full-time teaching position
2. Finances for the hotel and airline tickets for all 3 trips to Russia (we also still need to raise the cash for the 2-3 trips)
3. My counseling position -- what should I do? Stay full-time or go part-time or not work..........so many questions for me in this.

Terri for the Casebier's

Fed Ex arrived in Samara today!!!!

WWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOO HHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Our Fed Ex package arrived in Samara TODAY!!!!! Two days earlier than required!!!! So, the translators are off and running............about 1 week for them and then about 2 weeks for the officials to send us back a letter inviting us to come and see her.

Yesterday I got updated medical information (measurements)........I took them to the dr. today and hope to hear GOOD NEWS quickly!!!! :):):) I can tell by the measurements that I definitely think I won't have to worry about the "possible" hydrochephalous diagnosis...........I didn't think I did with how cute her picture is!! :):):)

Terri for the Casebier's

Update on paperwork to Russia

Hi everyone.........in case you've been following the Fed Ex paper route with me, I wanted to let you know that it's in Russia and I found out today that the Fed Ex site will have it listed as "in transit" from now until it reaches it's destination (by THIS Friday!!!! 6/29/07).

At that point, it has to be translated (about 1 week) and then it goes to the officials and they have to decide to send us an "invitation" to come and meet our daughter...............we've been told that it's roughly 2 weeks for them to send out that invitation...........

SOOOOO, that means that we should be hearing from them within the next 3 1/2 weeks and then travel within 1/2 to 1 week after that.

Just wanted to let you know........keep us in prayers for 1. Donations for the orphanage, 2. Gifts for the orphanage workers and all those involved in our adoption, 3. Finances for plane, food, and hotel, 4. Finances for paying the remainder of the adoption costs (traveling money needs--not hotel, food, & plane related), 5. Traveling mercies.

Thank you everyone!!!!

Terri for the Casebier's

Paperwork Update

Ok.....as of yesterday, I received my receipt from the USCIS for the 171 application.....they got my homestudy WITH the application, but for some reason didn't send us a fingerprint sheet..........so we are waiting on that response for now.

Today, we received the FBI fingerprint cards back. Now they will be overnighted (received by Monday a.m.) to our agency so that they can priority mail them to the West Virginia Secretary of State for apostilles. I'm hoping that all of this travel for them will have them back in the agency's hands by July 6th.

The only other paperwork that we have to get done is our medical paperwork. We can't get that done until we're really close to going because it expires too quickly.

None of this paperwork is required for our 1st trip...........and I found out that the "word" comes back to our agency via email..........so now the 1st trip timeline COULD be 10 days to get there (IT'S IN RUSSIA AS OF TODAY!!!!), 7 or so days to get translated, then another week or so for the government to issue the invitation and give us a date for travel. Considering that the 10 day wait to get to Russia is already well under way, that means we could be hearing something and traveling for the 1st trip as soon as the middle of July!!!! :):):)

That really puts me more at ease because we need to be totally back here before August 13th, when Gary will HOPEFULLY be starting a new job.......plus we'd like a couple days to rest before going back to work!! :):):)..........AND, I think we can get the doctor stuff done as soon as we back from our 1st trip.......so we need a day or so to get that done (the dr. office doesn't have a notary IN it, so we have to go when the notary for the dr. office is in -- they're across the street in an actual office type position).

As you can see, this is going pretty fast........Please pray for us to be fully ready and for our finances. The 2 people that were trying to get tickets for us will not be able to..........so we need to figure that out as well (besides the orphanage donations and gifts for those that help us out while we are there).

This is definitely not the same as our China adoption........lol :):):)

Terri for the Casebier's

IT'S ON IT'S WAY!!!!!

Here's the email I just received from my agency!!!!

Hi Terri,
I wanted to let you know that I received your home study today. A copy is attached. Your dossier will go out today to the region. I am sending it Fed Ex and the tracking number is 8597 4559 2378.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Kind regards,
XXXXX


I'll be tracking it each step of the way..........but she said it should take about 10 days just to get to the region (so much for next day delivery........lol).

I figure 10 days in, 10 days out, and about 7-14 days for their paperwork process........so it should be about 27-34 days before we hear anything.

Until then, the blogging will mostly consist of my feelings, packing, and of our fund raising efforts.

Until then.............

Terri for the Casebier's

Confusion?...........or a blessing?

Well,

Here it is................yesterday I contacted my agency........they told me that the Moscow clinics had closed, but we were still doing medicals "in region"..........so we shouldn't be delayed at all.

AND, after talking with this same person on Friday about the medical information we have on Isabelle and her telling me how "accurate" it is.......she told me yesterday that sometimes it IS better than what is listed..............which is what I asked about in the first place.

Now, the real kicker, the person online that told me about the doctor closings, etc..........she's with MY agency and MY agent is who told her about the closings and started this whole mess...................clarity is apparently not a strong point for her............. :(

This just teaches me that I have to make sure I ask LOTS of probing questions to get to all the details and ask things MANY different ways so that she understands what I am looking for.

However, it's also WONDERFUL to be able to still hope that Isabelle will be ours and that time will come soon...............we still hope to travel by the beginning of August...........

Our last document will arrive in the Oregon office today from the Secretary of State!!! It will go to Russia today as well!!!!..............the countdown starts to getting our letter of invitation..................I REALLY hope that we are told to make the entire 1st trip before the 13th of August (when Gary starts his new job, new school, new career) so that Gary can go with me and not have it interfere with his job..............

Thanks again for all the prayers!!! Our "Hope" is renewed!!!!!!!!!

Terri for the Casebier's

Great is YOUR faithfulness oh Lord............YOUR mercies are NEW EVERY morning!!!! Your STEADFAST LOVE NEVER ceases!!!!

The end???? or just a new direction........AGAIN???

The Saga continues...............it's amazing what happens when we all start
saying how things are going really fast and God is so obviously in
it.................

Tonight I received an email from a NEW member (introduction) in the Russian
group............she's waiting for her court date (already made 1st visit)
and has to have the "8 doctors" give her baby the check up. Apparently
there are 2 sets of offices you can go to..............1 shut down a month
ago and the 2nd shut down on the 15th............................the reason
according to her agency..............to slow down adoptions.

We haven't sent our paperwork (or money) to Russia (though we have to the
agency) because of the glitch with the 1 other
paper........................now I don't know exactly what to think. I'm
sorely depressed.

We can change to another country, but we can't afford to switch to another
country (we couldn't really afford Russia, but the fees were reduced for
her) and even then, they all seem pretty shaky to me right now. The agency
won't return fees............only allow us to change countries or keep with
this one.

So, that means we're 0 for 3 now..............applied to Ukraine,
closed.......applied to China, slow down happened (lucky if we'll get her
within the next 3 years).............applied to Russia, closed.

And now we don't have Hannah's money AND we don't have the money to do a
domestic adoption.

I've emailed my agency to ask them questions and should hear back tomorrow.
If it doesn't go well, I probably won't be online for a pretty long time.
This is too depressing for me right now.

Here's the email's that I received.........

"My agency just told me last week that the 2 clinics that complete the '8 dr. medicals' have been shut down for 30 days apparently to intentionally delay the completion of adoptions. One was closed earlier in the month and the other was closing on the 15th of June. They are trying to get more information and see if there are any alternatives. I'm hoping something can be worked out!"


> Are you saying that they are intentionally shutting down the dr.'s so that
> adoptions can't be finished?

"Yes, that's what my agency told me (on Wednesday of last week)... I don't
have any more information than that. I'm hoping that it is a
misunderstanding and that adoptions are continuing. But it has me nervous
since I'm waiting on my court date."


Thanks, I really do appreciate all of your previous and new
prayers.................

Terri for the Casebier's

Our Hiccup begins..............

This last few days has been kind of a downer for me. First, our agency,
being small, had a person out for family issues and so she didn't take care
of our home study update like she was supposed to. Then, when she got to
it, it was dated incorrectly (because we'd already taken her other papers to
be apostilled) so we had to get it reapostilled. As of tonight it's still
sitting in the Secretary of State's office (has been there 2 days now with a
Fed Ex envelope attached). Who knows when and or where it is in the office
building (handed to the mail room) and if they've even touched it yet. The
agency was "HOPING" that Oregon would have it by Monday, but now there's no
chance of that. It's all that I'm missing for my documents to go to Russia.
I've not only done those currently necessary, but those that aren't due
yet................and my agency is dropping the ball!!!

Then, we finally got word from a doctor today about Isabelle's medical file
(actually both doctors finally got back to us today). The prognosis really
wasn't that great. She "COULD" have hydrochephalous.................and
possibly cerebral palsy according to what was written. I know that some
countries put the "worst case scenario" down to help the child get out
sooner, but this is ridiculous. It may not be what she has. Her head,
according to both doctors, looks fine..............she was premature
though............probably 2 months because of a problem her mother had (not
because of anything she had going on). So, we've requested updates on her
numbers, her current developmental abilities, and a video...............the
video is a long shot. They basically quit doing them in Russia a little
over 2 years ago. I'm all about the cleft palate stuff, but I don't think I
can handle the other stuff if it's real. If we get there and it's true, we
can choose to not accept her and they'll match us with another
child...............but I don't want to do that. However, I don't want to
not accept her and not fully know that she has it..............I don't know
what to do. I am torn. I've already seen her face and started falling in
love with her. Dh has already started planning for her. Dh has some
classes in occupational therapy, so developemental delays (not Cerebral
Palsy) are really right up his alley..................that doesn't bother
me. Cleft lip/palate/nose is totally correctable so that doesn't bother me
either...................and then there's the whole issue (for me) about how
can I not accept a child just because of a birth defect..........I mean, the
child still deserves a mom & dad..........that's just horrible to not accept
her because of it. If I birthed her, I wouldn't turn away.....................and possible defects are always a possibility with your own births (though we can do things to try and prevent them, we can't always prevent them).

So, please pray with me that I can be at peace and that God is able to give
us some information for the doctors that leads them to believe that she is
ok.

Thanks,

Terri for the Casebier's

God is still Good ALL the Time..............

Well, this week has been full. We worked on Isabelle's paperwork and her room (clearing out the "storage" area....lol) until Friday. On Friday, we took the church van on "Adventure Friday" for the kids, to Plano. While there, I called Levahna and talked to her about costs, the possibility of not getting Isabelle when we got there, and a bunch of other stuff.

She said she'd send me the "rest" of the paperwork, but she forgot.............as far as "losing" Isabelle, it's only possible if a Russian family wants to adopt her. As soon as we've completed our 1st trip, even that won't stop us from getting her. There isn't any way for another international family to take her while we are doing this, so that's a relief.

Hiccup???? This week, I'd gotten most of the paperwork finished for the dossier, but I didn't have Gary's employment letter. I figured I'd wait until he got a job. But Levahna reminded me that the Home Study said he was a substitute teacher and gave an earning. Our employment letter needed to match that. So, when we got home at 4 pm, I told him about this and he rushed (I've never seen him have such an urgency about things) over to the administration building. Instead of making us wait, they helped him immediately. When he got home at 4:30, I called and barely caught Jaclyn (Texas office) because they were supposed to get the "final" copy of our homestudy update that day. She hadn't gotten the update yet, but was sure she'd get it on Monday. She knew that we wanted to take it with us to the USCIS appointment on Tuesday morning, so I told her that we'd head to Houston on Monday after finishing in Austin. She told me that she'd have to ask someone and get back to me. In the mean time, I called the social worker, Kim S. and left a message that I needed to change our numbers and if she'd get back to me asap. She has a bad habit of not calling back very quickly. Well, Jaclyn called me back and turned me over to Kim C...........apparently she's the one that works with the homestudies when they come in. While I was talking to Kim C., Kim S. CALLED ME BACK!!!!! So, I did a 3 way with them and we figured it all out. Kim S. had everything emailed to Kim C. before I got off the phone. Kim C. told me not to bother going to the Dallas USCIS on Tuesday, but rather to go on to the OKC office............so I'd have time to get the Home Study in the mail rather than travel to Houston on Monday.
All that and then I contacted the OKC office online and found out that they don't do "appointments" there. However, they have an email specifically for adoption related questions. This email person is supposed to contact us back within 2 working days........so I should still hear from them by Tuesday!!!! Then I'll Fed-Ex our 171 application and homestudy to them (all at once) and let them get on with things!!!!

At that point I'll be waiting on the USCIS to return my 171, the FBI to return my fingerprint info, and to return home from the 1st trip so I can get the dr. information done.............and there are others out there that have been working on this stuff since December..........I'm much farther than that!!! I want to be gone TOMORROW!!!!! :):):)

As if that wasn't enough, I worked at the food bank last month and met a woman that worked for an airline. She offered to let me use 2 of her 4 free roundtrip tickets on our adoption to China.........I thought it was wonderful, but kind of blew it off because our trip is so far away and I thought we'd probably raise enough money inbetween time to not really need it. Well, now that we are going to Russia so quickly, we REALLY need it. I went back to the food bank today and the same woman came in. She remembered what she had told me and we talked about it. I told her that I was now going to Russia, IMMEDIATELY, and she was all on board for trying to help us out with flights for 1 of our trips............I CAN'T believe this!!!! I'm still not sure it's going to happen. She has to go to work on Wednesday and figure it all out. She was kind of concerned that I may need the information sooner, but I told her that basically I was out of town until Wednesday anyway (Austin Monday, USCIS, Dr., and Waiting Families Meeting on Tuesday).......so Wednesday is the best for me anyway!!!! Coincidence???? I THINK NOT!!!!! Even if this doesn't end up working out, it's so encouraging to know that God is working out all the fine little details when I don't even know what's going on..........I couldn't have planned meeting this woman last month, before I was even thinking of Russia!!!!

We're coming Isabelle!!!! I wish we could be there this week!!! I hope we're there at least by the middle of July, but for this to happen God is going to have to (and WILL) work some miracles financially!!!! This little one needs your prayers, as do our finances.........we thought we'd have a lot more time to raise money before the adoption, but we were wrong........lol Good thing that God is NEVER wrong!!!!!

Terri for the Casebier's

Paperwork update

Hi everyone............I just wanted to tell you that yesterday I requested a copy of the dossier paperwork. The agent had sent me a copy of the Set A paperwork for the 1st travel, but not the dossier for the 2nd travel.

As of tonight (11:27 cst).........I have all but 1 picture done for the Set A paperwork (Gary's working on cleaning up his paperwork....:) ).

For the dossier I lack

1. that same picture
2. A certified deed to our house (we'll pick it up tomorrow -- Thursday)
3. Notary trip AGAIN!!!!
4. A letter from a realtor about owning our house (we'll pick it up on Sunday)
5. 171 (waiting for an appointment to ask about if I need to be refingerprinted
since I just was last month) -- and then waiting for the 171 to actually be done
for me
6. FBI clearance papers were sent out today, now I await their return (hopefully
successful)
7. Doctors exam and paperwork (I can't do this until I know when my 2nd travel is,
because it expires too quickly)
8. Social worker home study and paperwork
9. And the most uncertain, but can't be stressed out about it because that won't do
any good, item..............Gary's employment verification form..............

Pray that he gets a job VERY quickly!!!!!

We will go back to the bank in the morning for another round of notaries.......and then meet/talk to our social worker in the afternoon. Hopefully she can get me something before we leave for Austin on Sunday.........to get the Apostilles done!!!!

5-9 should be all that's left for the dossier by Monday (hopefully #7 will be done by then too!!!).

Next week we start visiting with doctors..............on Tuesday we have the 171 appointment, then immediately afterwards we head to a cleft palate clinic to look at before/after pictures of children they've helped. On Friday we'll head to a pediatrician's office to have what little medical information we have, interpreted into non-medical talk......... :)

This week is coming to a close VERY FAST!!!! I still have a lot to do like creating a packing list for Russia (instead of China).........raising money for both trips.......and Gary still has to finish the "Eye's Wide Open" lessons required before traveling the 2nd time.

Please pray that these "little" things get done quickly (like tomorrow) so that we can move on to the bigger things involved with this adoption.............like bringing her home and knowing how to best care for her!!! :):):)


Please also note that I temporarily removed her picture from the site. I didn't want to possibly hurt anyone else's feelings that might have been working to get her. But also, I wanted to slow down a little bit. Though my agency has said she's mine, I know that countries still have a right to let someone else take her first (and then try and give me another while I'm there)............so to keep myself in perspective, I'm going to try not to stare at her pretty little smile too much. I risk a broken heart!!!! As well as breaking someone else's heart........or worse, some countries do not allow the pictures to be posted until total confirmation........so I want to try and think of all those rules just in case I don't know everything (when do I ever?)...........lol

Well, as par for this week, it's been a really long day and night.........I need to get some rest so I can tackle #'s 1-3 tomorrow + the social worker call AND I still have to go back to school to finish 1 last document (I've been out a week as of today and can't seem to find time to get that 1 document done with my principal!!!).......guess it's all the focus I'm giving to Isabelle.........:):):)

Terri for the Casebier's

Feelings today........and what prayer is needed

I wrote this to my ladybug friends, but I thought I'd post it here for everyone.........some of it was in the last post, but most of it isn't. Prayer requests are at the bottom............I'm trying to stay ahead of this adoption thing.

I gotta get going on house cleaning so I can get the pictures of the house taken for our SET A paperwork (they wouldn't give me the dossier paperwork yet.............. set A will get us to our 1st trip though)..............that's all we really have left except for the homestudy update and social worker information........hopefully she'll call me pretty quickly. I called her last night and left a message that we're trying to get it done this week................

As soon as we have the house pictures, we are traveling to Austin to get the Apostilles...............no waiting around...............and then overnight them to OR.....................my agent said that it'll take at least 10 days to get to the Region (Samara) and then who knows how long it'll take for them to decided to send me an invitation to the Region to check out the children..................then we'll go, meet, and choose Isabelle (probably during the summer, so we're thinking dh will be able to go at this point)..............then we have to come home for at least 2 months (she said it won't be any less than this)............and wait for the court date.................then we go back to court................then have to wait another 10 days to take her home (we don't even get to keep her after court until the 10 days are up) .........................we can't stay in the Region for those 10 days either..................so we'll probably travel around Russia or to Germany (where I graduated from) so that Gary can see many of the places I lived and grew up for the 3.5 years that I lived there.............I'm excited about that.

But, I'm not excited about the wait because it's during the school year and Gary will have a new job..................because of the timing, I may have to send dh home after the court..........and spend the rest of the time there by myself .....and bring her home by myself...................... :(

AND with all the cl/cp issues Isabelle is going to need surgery for and comfort she'll need...........I'm starting to worry about going back to work myself, because she'll need me!!!!

Pray that I fill out the paperwork right (according to what Samara is thinking)............for her cl/cp...........there's a question about accepting someone with a special need OR with a minor physical ailment...............I chose the physical impairment.........because it is physical and when I think of special need I think more of mental disability....................hopefully they'll characterize her as the same so there won't be any confusion later on.

Pray that Gary gets a job (we think he should be getting a call back on either of the 2 interviews he's had, but especially the one from yesterday..............(she said that she's not the final interviewer and that the principal would have to interview him as well). Thanks for the prayers so far.

Pray for me in this time that I'd not start to get too stressed out about the cl/cp thing. I can't be a sahm yet...................I have to wait until Gary's been working for at least a year..........or maybe 2 to quit all together. ...........................I was planning on working part-time at least until we brought Hannah home....................

Thanks,

Terri

Paperchasing part 1

Hi everyone.............

Everything started out with cleaning around the house while we waited for the agency to open. I was going a little nuts as I had trouble sleeping the night before. It's like having Christmas morning at Grandma (Alice) Poland's house. We know it's all down stairs, we know it's ours.........but we aren't allowed to go there yet and we DEFINITELY can't wake anyone up!!!! It was difficult, but my ladybug friends helped me through it.

After the agency opened Levahna sent me the other files that I needed. Jaclyn had told me that we could have her by the end of the summer if we worked quickly and I asked if Levanha if this was correct. She said it was. Later in the day, however, I asked her about time between the two trips..........she said it was no less than 2 months and that it'd be at least 10 days for the documents to make it to the Region (Samara).........so I won't be traveling for the 1st trip until July at least........Thus there is really no way that I can have her home by the end of the summer. Once again, I feel that my agency has not been fully obvious and honest with me about travel times involved...........I don't think they feel that they're being dishonest..........rather just trying to get the children home quickly. However, if I ask when's the soonest I can get her home........or can I really get her home by the end of the summer, I would expect an honest answer of NO the 1st time............not........I'll tell her after she signs the acceptance letter..........Very dissappointing...........and I don't know how it's all going to work out unless we wait until Christmas time for the 2nd trip..........Gary is going into a new job...........so he really can't take off too much work to do this right now and MUST (and wants) to be there for the 2nd trip..........

Yesterday went well as we got copies of our marriage liscense, employment verification (for Terri at least), most of our notary papers signed, and the checks written (to be sent today) for the agency fees (a little more than 1/2 the total needed) and USCIS fees (we're waiting to see if they're going to make us get RE-FINGERPRINTED after just getting done a couple months ago).

Today we are focusing on getting those things mailed out, finishing the notary work (we missed a couple papers yesterday), and cleaning our house more to take pictures -- a paper also has to be notarized for the pictures!!!

I got some sleep last night..........so not as hyper as I was yesterday.

A little down, but a little better organized paper wise..........BUT, this is only STEP A paperwork...........Levahna didn't want to send it all to me at once........boy does she not know me yet!!!! I asked her in the afternoon to send the rest.......since I'm already working on a lot of it...........lol She agreed, but I haven't seen anything yet...........

Well, I gotta go work on the house........

Terri

Introducing Isabelle Hope

Hello everyone............as we neared the last few days before we had to return our domestic adoption contract on Thursday (6/7/07) we received a call yesterday (6/1/07) from our China adoption worker, Jaclyn. She called to tell us that, knowing we were open to a waiting child with special needs, there was a 10 month old girl in Russia that needed a family. Jaclyn said that she has cleft lip/cleft palate/cleft nose, but she wanted us to consider if she would fit in our family or not. Jaclyn emphasized that either way, it would not effect our chances to get Hannah from China. She also said that the costs were somewhat reduced and if we got all of our paperwork (dossier) together fast, we could bring her home by the end of the summer.................

We thought about it overnight.........I had some reservations, but Gary didn't. He felt that with the timing it was from God. Had Jaclyn called me the following Thursday I would have already turned in the contract and all of the money we saved for Hannah to the domestic adoption agency........non-refundable.

My reservations were based on
1. She's not a newborn -- though this is the case and my dreams are dying more, God could still send us a biological child if He so chose.
2. Fear of being able to raise enough money for Hannah after giving it up for Isabelle and then fixing Isabelle's cleft issues. God can and will handle that. (By the way, her fees were reduced and the cost -- except for travel -- was a little LESS than the domestic adoption)
3. Isabelle's cleft issues will be handled either by an organization called the Smile Train (for free), or by other doctors in the area from hospitals that help children regardless of ability to pay.

So, my reservations were fear based and totally unfounded..............so when I woke up this morning, we talked again and decided that she is to be our daughter. The 2nd adoption, but the 1st child..........and Hannah the 1st adoption, but the 2nd child.............

I will probably call her Hope because I like Hannah and Hope...........but Isabelle Hope means God's Promise Hope..................Hannah's is God is Gracious, Beautiful Grace

I will be opening a blog for her soon.........and this time I have PICTURES!!!!!!

Terri for the Casebier's