He KNOWS!!!!

We have talked to V*ktor!  Actually, we have talked to him several times since last Monday morning. We finally were able to do a phone call. Brian was already at work, but it was me, Bec (his roommate's mom), cousin N, V and his roommate Jur@.  At first, they wouldn't put us on speaker and weren't really saying much. We realized they had been in a school assembly and we were going to get them in trouble for being on the phone - oops!  Jur@ was the first one to hear that they were being adopted, and he said "Really????"  It's amazing how ONE word can convey relief, hope, excitement, love, and a sense that a GIANT weight had lifted off this boy's chest.  As soon as the assembly was over (which was about 5 minutes), they started asking questions and talking to us.  Cousin N told V*ktor about how it would be a while, then we would come there and go to court. She was explaining how the court would ask him if he wanted to be adopted, and he responded "YES YES! Tell them I say YES!... and tell them Jur@ said YES, too!"  It is soooooo exciting that he knows we are coming for him and he will HAVE his forever family!
For the first few days after we told him, he would call and ask "You come tomorrow?"  At first, I thought that it was one of those things where you hear this amazing wonderful news and your ears turn off to miss the details (that it's going to be several months, that we're trying to get there as soon as we can)...   Then, I realized he was actually just confirming that we are still coming. I think that he is so excited about it that he just keeps wanting to make sure it's real and that we will go get him.  Breaks my heart to hear him asking me to come tomorrow because I wish I COULD!!!  Since then, just a 2-3 minute phone call every day or 2 seems to make him happy :)
Yesterday was pretty funny... Jur@ called Bec and was telling her how V*ktor was down at the discotech (at 10:30PM Ukraine time).  He let her go on for a minute wondering what in the world that was all about until he told her that it was apparently a big festival day. They all got to go eat all the food they wanted and run free for the evening. Jur@ was home with a stomachache since he ate too much... So, all the orphanage children (including my son) were at the discotech late last night. allllllllllrighty then! :)
We have a fun, silly thing going on right now... Remember Ned? The scarecrow from the garage sale?  Well, J had a fantastic vision... My Mom's group took some of the garage sale leftovers and made a few more :)

These lovely friends have been showing up on porches and yards across town for the last few days :)  Each person gets to enjoy it for awhile then tell us where to move it. It's very funny! They come with a note telling a little about V*ktor and our family. If the recipient wants to donate, they can and it is very much appreciated.  Mostly, it's about having fun and spreading the word :)  We have an awesome community here, and it has been amazing the support we have received!
Coming up on September 29th is the 5K Walk/Run starting at the Unadilla Park 8AM (registration at 7:30).  You can still register up until racetime, but I'd love to have them ahead of time if at all possible! It would help with my sanity- what little I have.  So, get signed up if you want to walk, run, or ride along on a truck and heckle (haha, just kidding, that was for you D K).
Thank you ALL for your awesome support, prayers, and love for us and our sweet boy!

Donations accepted here (non tax-deductible available for current expenses)
http://www.youcaring.com/fundraiser_details?fundraiser_id=7124&url=bringviktorhome

He Can Move a Mountain - HALFWAY THERE!

WOW! Blessings abound!  What an amazing week!  All week, countless people poured out their love for us and for V*ktor by donating their garage sale items and their precious time to help sort through it all.  I tried to keep a list of all the wonderful people donating their belongings to our cause, and I came up with 25.  I know that there were many more than that who dropped things off when I wasn't even around!
I have to say that my Mommy group is OUT of this world!  You see, this last week (before planning the garage sale) I had already taken a job that kept me busy for 10 1/2 hours during the day all week. So, I was only able to work on the garage sale at night. My Mommy friends helped in all the planning, made all the signs for the sale, put up fliers, prayed for us, and donated their own items. As if that wasn't enough, when I was unavailable all day Friday, they went to the store and spent SIX HOURS cleaning, organizing, accepting donations, and making some sales to people who walked in. So, when I arrived on Friday night, everything that had already arrived was ready to go !  They are truly an amazing group of unselfish, wonderful, giving people who I am blessed to have as my friends :)
I met Brian and the kids at the store Friday night and we brought over everything that had been in our garage. We started getting the extra stuff all organized, putting out the Tshirts, and trying to remember what else we needed to do!  My friend Mary from about an hour away, who is also adopting from Ukraine, came down with her kids to help as well :)  She arrived after 9, put her kids to bed at our house with Brian, then she and I headed back to the store to unload all the stuff she had brought along!  We got back around midnight, printed out some things, and got a little bit of sleep!
Yesterday was truly a miraculous, blessed day! We had soooooooooooooo much support from our community, church, family, and friends.  I really wish I had a way to personally thank everyone who was a part of it. Mary and I arrived at 6:45 and got to work.  Brian came later once all the kids woke up.  My Mommy friends were back out to help with the sale that morning about the time it got really busy. Another friend's daughter wanted to make brownies. A and Mary's daughter Kelly sat out front to sell pop and brownies. They would get soooooo tickled when someone walking by just gave them a donation and didn't want anything to eat or drink.  When another kid joined them and they ran out of brownies, she ran across the street to the grocery store to buy a box of brownies!  LOL!  It worked:) They kept selling!
A few moments really stood out to me - the three ladies who came in to buy 3 hats and gave $50 - the lady with tears in her eyes as she dropped off donation items and said how wonderful this was - the lady who came in and wanted a T-shirt but wasn't sure if she had enough... We said it was close enough, but she continued to count out quarters for the last dollar to $17.  Then, as she slipped out the door, she handed me a sealed envelope... with $100 in it. - the couple who really wanted the beautiful rug, but wondered if $40 was "too cheap" for it. (We gladly sold it to them and felt so blessed!) - my sweet son A and all the other kids who worked so tirelessly and were very good all day wanting to do their part to bring V home...             Just the overall emotionally, mentally, physically exhausting process that was so worth every second.  All the local shoppers came in excited about the cause of bringing V*ktor home.  The out-of-towners were interested to hear all about it, too! There were many people who just stopped in to make a donation and didn't even look at the sale. Others gave much more than an item was worth. Some truly had a need for something and maybe wouldn't have been able to get it if we had things priced above their budgets.  It was just a day of blessings for everyone!

We had a lot of laughs, too :)  My favorite was the leisure pants.  Apparently, my friend J said to just donate the leisure suit pants to Goodwill because nobody would buy them.  I said it's almost Halloween! They'll sell!  She didn't believe me :)  So, at around 4pm when they still hadn't sold, it was a little slow... We decided to make it a featured item and put a sign on it that it was an auction. Got some laughs but no bids. So, the pants (and a few other pieces of clothing) were made into "Scarecrow Ned." The kids loved it! Brian said that if he didn't sell, we were putting him on J's porch - lol!  No worries, Ned sold!  Though now, J has an awesome idea for another fundraiser with some of the leftover clothes :)  Stay tuned.
At the end of the day, at 5:29, I FINALLY let A go "shopping."  He had asked all day about getting to look for things he could have.  It was very cute :) Even given free reign, he didn't go too crazy, just got some things he wanted and a few things for B (since she was with Grandpa).  The kids had been sooooooo awesome that we went to give them dinner and ice cream treats :) Brian took them all to our house to watch a movie while Mary and I went back to load up her van with as many leftovers as possible for her to use at her fundraiser garage sale.  I figure that people donated the items to help with adoption of an orphan so what better way to use them!  Since we have homestudy appointments near her twice this week, we can haul a lot more up there, too!  We still have some cleaning and packing up to do, but it was a huge success!
Did I say huge success? I meant phenomenal, stupendous, unimaginable, mind-boggling!!!!  God provided in such an amazing way!  Including profits from our Tshirt sales, we made almost $2000 yesterday towards V*ktor's adoption!  Then, today, we were invited to the Ukrainian church to tell them about our adoption.  At the end of the service, we went up to tell them about New Horizons and Viktor (who a lot of them met).  The church gave us $1500!!!  I did the math, and, including the adoption assistance we will get from Brian's work, we are over halfway to having all that we need to bring Viktor home :)

HALFWAY THERE! 

Today is September 9th - just a little over a month since we started the adoption process.  WOW!

Saxophones and Sacks of Phones

Our garage sale has had many donations already, and others are bringing more tomorrow! We are TRULY blessed with many wonderful people all wanting to help us bring V*ktor home. This is going to be a great sale with something for everyone!  I have been down there with some awesome friends tonight taking donations and organizing to get ready for Saturday. I am sooooooooo thankful for these ladies (and my poor husband trying to rig up hanging racks for the clothes). I honestly was at a loss of even how to start organizing something this large. They jumped in and went right to work organizing everything, and it's really looking good!
Last week, a friend told me at church that she had saxophones to donate for the sale.  Later that day, I told Brian that they were giving us saxophones for the garage sale. He said, "Sacks of phones?"  I busted out laughing, because I HAVE a paper sack full of old phones for sale. So, our garage sale has "everything from Saxophones to Sacks of Phones!!!"  LOL  I see a poster coming on...
We have been receiving quick messages every day from V*ktor.  We have sent a few videos, and he has sent a few videos.  I know he has been really busy with school starting, and the time zone difference doesn't help in trying to coordinate a time for us to talk.  We get lots of "I miss you. I love you." messages, and we are definitely missing him, too! He asked if we would adopt him or if he could come back, and that has been hard knowing how badly he wants to return and doesn't know that we are doing our best to get him back here!  At this point, we said we want to see him again and are working on making that happen. We had hoped that the interview team would be going back to his orphanage so that they could tell him about our permanent plans!  Unfortunately, we just learned that they are not going there this time, so they won't be able to tell him!  So, right now, we are working on setting up a conference call.  Cousin N has agreed to be our translator :)  Yaaaa!
I had hoped to have more news when writing this post, but just wanted to at least do a quick update.
Look for more updates in the next few days if we can get that conference call!

Donations for the garage sale will be taken tomorrow at Hometown Variety from 6-8PM.
T-shirts will be here on Saturday for the garage sale!  So, come on down to check out the garage sale and get your t-shirt :)  You can also turn in your 5K registration there if you want!
We can't say thank you enough to all of you awesome people, your support, and your powerful prayers!

B's first day of preschool :)

We have Contact!

Wednesday morning, I was fumbling around trying to look something up quickly on the computer while still half asleep.  Then all at once I jolted awake faster than a sound asleep newborn baby when being laid in the crib for the 100th time...   There was a MESSAGE from V*ktor!!!!!!  Actually, there were several short sentences - love you, miss you, can I come back at winter break...  A and Brian immediately came over to the computer so they could read the few short words from V*ktor. It was so good to hear he was doing well.  Thursday, I caught him online and we did a quick videochat (B and C enjoyed it, too). The connection was pretty bad, but just the quick snippets in and out were GREAT to see his sweet smile and his friends coming in and out of the picture!  They are finally back at school, but classes haven't started, yet.
Yesterday morning, we were greeted with one of the sweetest videos ever...  Really...  It was so awesome!  "Hey!!!!... Mom.... Pop... It's Viktor... For you!...."



         He also had typed a few things to us.  He let us know that he had been practicing his violin and that he had so far been able to keep everything we gave him (he was worried things would get stolen... as they sometimes do at the orphanage).  Brian got to videochat with him over lunch yesterday :)  I use that term loosely, though.  When you need full handmotions and sound it's quite challenging to communicate when it's cutting in and out so badly!  Mostly, the communication is in the little window where you type and you occasionally hear snippets of the voice and see quick blurbs of video...  It's kind of funny... We send all our typed communication in Ukrainian and he sends all his in English.  You have to check the translators because sometimes it doesn't translate what you want it to say, so you occasionally have to play this back and forth game with the translator to get it right :)  So after I have written something to him, if I go back later and want to see what I wrote... I have to translate it!

Other happenings this week - A has started full soccer practices and is moving up to the BIG field this year. B had her preschool open house where she jumped right in playing with old friends and making new ones. She is really excited about preschool starting on Monday! C had her checkup with the pediatrician - looks good except that darn runny nose! She is starting to move around more and try to pull herself up... Well, maybe Mom is getting more comfortable leaving her on the floor to fend off the loving assaults of her big sister, so she's having more practice!

UPCOMING EVENTS  (some repeat, some new info) I have created some events and a facebook group to keep everyone updated on what we have going on.  Here is a quick rundown :)  If you would like to help with any of these things or have questions, just let me know!

Garage Sale Saturday Sept 8th 7:30am-5pm at Hometown Variety Store in Syracuse - We are having a garage sale.  Many of you have already told me you have things to donate for the sale. THANK YOU!!!  Wednesday and Thursday (Sept 5-6th), I will be at the store from 6-8PM so you can drop off items to sell. If you know that time doesn't work for you, or if you'd rather I come and get it, let me know!  I can meet you another time or just pick it up.

5K Run/Walk Saturday, Sept 29th    8AM at Unadilla Park  -  Registrations will be taken up until the race. However, only registrations turned in prior to Sept 15th are guaranteed a t-shirt in the requested size at the event. $25 before Sept 15th, $30 late registration any time after Sept 15th.  I have posted information on the public facebook event. Also, I can email the registration forms to you if you are not on facebook. Just let me know!  I will have registration forms at the Garage Sale on the 8th, so you can always come check out the sale and signup for the 5K!

 Tshirts - We are still taking orders for those! I will have the first shipment by the Garage Sale day on Sept 8th.

You can make donations here (not tax-deductible):
http://www.youcaring.com/fundraiser_details?url=bringviktorhome&fundraiser_id=7124

If you would prefer to make a tax-deductible donation, please contact me and I can give you details. Thank you!

"I Refuse"

EVERY SINGLE DAY I check the "Russian facebook" account V*ktor set up for me hoping, praying that maybe just maybe he has found access to a computer... No such luck :( I only see the handful of messages I keep sending him that show up in my outbox.  I've heard he might be there tomorrow, but most likely it will still be another week or 2 before we could hear from him.  For now, I can only look at pictures and put together the ziploc bag I'm sending with the interview team next week!  (When the New Horizons team goes back to interview kids for winter hosting, they will take a gallon sized bag with them for prior hosted kids. It's a fundraiser for them and a great way for us to send things to him KNOWING he will get them!)  Here's a picture of what I'm sending (plus there will be cards and some more pictures that weren't printed in time to join the 400+ that he took home)!

                                                                          Hat, slinky, poprocks, gum, pixi stix (He sat and ate packets of sugar off the table at a restaurant one time, so I figured he might enjoy pixi stix :), silly putty, cards, balloon with rubber band thingy, glostix, floss, picture collage, and card from Mama. Will add card from Papa and pictures colored from A and B.

As we prayed about adoption and V*ktor's future, we knew that the money was an obstacle. Supporting him as our child isn't an issue, it's just a LOT of money to bring him here. Instead of focusing on that, we truly prayed that we were willing if God provided. So, we proceeded with the homestudy paperwork with faith knowing that it would come.  If it didn't and we did our part, then we knew it was out of our hands.  We immediately started to see donations come in and people wanting to buy t-shirts (they ARE pretty cool tshirts), help with fundraisers, and lots of encouragement. Every donation no matter the size means so much to us. The prayers and encouragement mean the world, too.  All of these things were enough to show us we were on the right track.  Remember the church that we met "by chance"  (if you've read my other blogs you know I believe in GOD, not chance)?  Well, they were so excited to hear about V*ktor coming back that they collected donations at their youth bake sale and plan to do something else this weekend!  Then, last Thursday night, I opened the mail to find a VERY substantial check from someone I met one time. It was completely overwhelming! We are incredibly touched to know that so many people support us and our sweet V*ktor. In the memo line it said "Bring our precious V*ktor home! :) " Seriously, I kind of looked up and laughed like "yeah, God, I get it :)"  With our donations so far, we are 13% to fully funded!   In just TWO WEEKS!

Part of why we started this was to teach our kids that we need to LIVE God's word... Not just read it, not just smile at people and be nice, not just "try to be good"... NONE of us are "good". Nobody. We all fail. We're ALL sinners. We all need Christ and His forgiveness.  Being a Christian is not about being "perfect." It's not about being liked. It's not about sitting in the seat on Sunday morning.  None of those things makes a Christian.  Trusting Jesus and believing in His death and resurrection as the payment for our sin - that's what makes us Christians.  As Christians we are called to show God's love and be like Him.  Well, God's love is unselfish. Sometimes it's just not about us. Sometimes God calls us to do things that are hard!  Sometimes doing the right thing is unpopular. A lot of times in this world you hear to "focus on yourself." Well, that's not what the Bible says...  The other day we were talking about Cub Scout popcorn sales coming up. Out of the blue, A told me how he wants to use all his gift cards he will likely get from that... Ready for this? You probably won't believe it... He wants to use it to buy V*ktor a Nintendo DS for Christmas. Such a sweetie. Makes my heart smile to have such a kind and caring kid.

I can't go very long without this song popping in my head. Josh Wilson, "I Refuse"

'Cause I don't want to live like I don't care
I don't want to say another empty prayer
Oh, I refuse
To sit around and wait for someone else
To do what God has called me to do myself
Oh, I could choose
Not to move but I refuse

Oh I just LOVE that song! Action! Love in action. I see it all around me. Friends, family, strangers who want to take action and make a difference! People sometimes tell us we are a blessing. Honestly, we see YOU all as blessings to us!  We serve an awesome God!

Below is information on some activities/fundraisers we have coming up. Spread the word and let me know if you are interested in anything or have questions!

YARD SALE- TAKING DONATIONS - If you have junk (uh, I mean treasures) that you want out of your house and think someone might want, let me know!  We are going to have a garage sale on September 8th (during the town garage sales - venue TBD). All proceeds will go towards adoption!  I can pick up stuff from you, or we can arrange a time for you to bring it over!

Tshirts - All The Tshirt info is in the last post. I have had a LOT of people telling me they want some. So, feeling pretty confident that we won't have a problem selling them, I'm going to go ahead and order.  Also, our wonderful Dollar General store has offered to let us sell them out front one Saturday morning!  Not sure of a date on that, but I think it's pretty cool!

5K - We are tossing around 2 options.  One is a morning 5K on September 29th at 7am.  The other possibility is a GLORUN the next Friday evening - haha which is our anniversary.  Still checking logistics on both options, but all you runners keep that in your head and I'll update this post and my facebook when we decide for sure.

Soup Supper - TBD

You can donate here (non tax-deductible):
http://www.youcaring.com/fundraiser_details?url=bringviktorhome&fundraiser_id=7124

If you would prefer to make a tax-deductible contribution, please contact me and I can give you details.

Bring V*ktor Home

I don't think I have too much to say right now. Guess we'll see by the time I finish this post!  We are still missing Viktor, and at least one of the kids asks about him every day wondering when he's coming back.  Yesterday, Brylar out of the blue said, "I really liked having 2 brothers. I wish V*ktor was here."  Well, dear! We're workin' on it :)
Saturday, we got fingerprinted at the sherriff's office.  I'm assuming that will be the only time in my life I do that!  I took a mountain of paperwork to the social worker on Monday so she can get started on our home study.  Right now our main thing is getting the home study done.  Once that's complete, we can move forward with applying for grants and completing government paperwork - yaa.

I just have to say - we live in the MOST awesome community! Everywhere I go, people are asking about V*ktor and wanting to know how they can help.  He's going to be one loved kid not only from us but from a whole town!  Everyone can play a part in his life!

So here is the fabulous Tshirt design! 
Youth sizes S, M, L are $15. 
Adult sizes S, M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL are $17
If you live here, then I can deliver.  If you live in Chattanooga, then my cousin will get them to you. 

If you do not live close to either of us, then add additional $5 shipping for 1 Tshirt, $8 for 2-5, $13 for 6, $16 for 7-10.  If you want more than 10 let me know and I'll see about direct shipping.

Please order by facbook comment, PM, or email me. If you do not have my facebook or email, comment here with your email address and I will email you for your info!  If I will see you before I place first order, then I will get a check from you then. Otherwise, you can mail it to me. After you order, I'll get you my address!   I plan to place order on Monday the 27th, so let me know by then!!!  This is a fun way to support V*ktor plus have a great T-shirt!

Details to follow about a 5K on September 29th :)

Life at an orphanage

Show encrypted text