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
Saturday, July 28, 2007
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
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!!!! :):):)
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!!!! :):):)
Thursday, July 19, 2007
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
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
Thursday, July 12, 2007
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!!!
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!!!
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
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
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
Monday, July 2, 2007
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
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
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