Apologies that the blog has been kind of quiet the last two weeks!
One month from today we will land in Sofia, Bulgaria to bring R and S home! We have our travel dates - we leave July 19 (land in Bulgaria the next day) and return home on July 30. We are looking forward to the travel part of the trip - we like to travel and experience new cultures, new food, and different sights and sounds. We're not looking forward to leaving M and E for 10 days, but it's all part of the process.
Originally we planned to bring M and E on this trip with us, but after we took the first trip and got a glimpse of how difficult the second trip would be, we decided against it. There are some logistical reasons - the apartment we'll stay in only has two bedrooms; the cars will ride in don't easily accommodate six passengers, a driver, and their stuff; and, there are some appointments (doctor, U.S. Embassy) where technically M and E are not supposed to be present.
There are other reasons not to bring them. R and S are going to require a lot of energy, patience, and attention. And in another country, with different food, smells, customs, etc., M and E would require a lot of attention, too. Not to mention everyone (including us) being 'off' for a few days because of jet lag. I hope that someday (if R and S want to), we can all take a trip back to Bulgaria, but it will depend on their personalities and desire to travel - we won't insist on it.
This will be time for us to bond with R and S and begin building the bonds of trust that will lead to attachment. That sounds kind of lofty, but what it really means is helping them meet their basic needs, comforting them when they need it, and helping them grieve the loss of their foster families. It's going to be difficult, especially with the language barrier, and it will be key to building our relationships with the kids.
Map of Bulgaria
Map of Bulgaria
Friday, June 20, 2014
Saturday, June 7, 2014
Great news, not so great news, and silver linings
A post from Todd:
First the great news. On Tuesday, we "passed court." In adoption lingo, that means R and S are legally our children! They just happen to live in another country. It is great to know they are officially ours. Thank you for your prayers for this important milestone.
On Friday evening we got some not so great news. All along, we've been told to expect to travel sometime in June. A couple of weeks ago, May was even a possibility. But things have changed and we are now looking at mid to late July. As you can imagine, this is a disappointment to us, as we had already made preliminary plans for who would come take care of M and E while we were away, how we would spend the rest of the summer as R and S adjusted to life in our family, how/when we would consider getting them into school and learning English here, etc. But God has other plans.
In Bulgaria, after adoptive parents pass court, they wait for a court decree to be printed before finalizing travel dates. That was taking about a week or two weeks at the longest. People who adopt from Bulgaria have always expressed frustration at this part of the process. Why does it take a week to print a decree?
Well, something has happened and the court has slowed way down and we're not sure when we'll get a decree or final travel dates. We were given a date of July 20 and told it could be a week or two earlier, but the Bulgarian NGO won't commit to anything until the decree is printed.
So, we wait.
There is at least one silver lining in these developments. We will now be able to go on our annual beach trip with Todd's family for some much needed R&R. Since we've all been working pretty hard with school, work, fundraising, and getting the house ready, it will be nice to have a short vacation. And it's nice to have some breathing room in all the preparations. We could all benefit from slowing down just a little right now.
The travel delay is not the news we expected or hoped for, but we trust it is part of God's plan for our adoption and that the break will help us prepare more for R and S's arrival.
First the great news. On Tuesday, we "passed court." In adoption lingo, that means R and S are legally our children! They just happen to live in another country. It is great to know they are officially ours. Thank you for your prayers for this important milestone.
On Friday evening we got some not so great news. All along, we've been told to expect to travel sometime in June. A couple of weeks ago, May was even a possibility. But things have changed and we are now looking at mid to late July. As you can imagine, this is a disappointment to us, as we had already made preliminary plans for who would come take care of M and E while we were away, how we would spend the rest of the summer as R and S adjusted to life in our family, how/when we would consider getting them into school and learning English here, etc. But God has other plans.
In Bulgaria, after adoptive parents pass court, they wait for a court decree to be printed before finalizing travel dates. That was taking about a week or two weeks at the longest. People who adopt from Bulgaria have always expressed frustration at this part of the process. Why does it take a week to print a decree?
Well, something has happened and the court has slowed way down and we're not sure when we'll get a decree or final travel dates. We were given a date of July 20 and told it could be a week or two earlier, but the Bulgarian NGO won't commit to anything until the decree is printed.
So, we wait.
There is at least one silver lining in these developments. We will now be able to go on our annual beach trip with Todd's family for some much needed R&R. Since we've all been working pretty hard with school, work, fundraising, and getting the house ready, it will be nice to have a short vacation. And it's nice to have some breathing room in all the preparations. We could all benefit from slowing down just a little right now.
The travel delay is not the news we expected or hoped for, but we trust it is part of God's plan for our adoption and that the break will help us prepare more for R and S's arrival.
Monday, June 2, 2014
I Stand in Awe...
...of how God worked out so many last-minute details on Friday for the Both Hands project on Saturday.
...of people's generosity - through sponsoring the project and giving up hours on a beautiful Saturday to work at Connie's house.
...of how much a motivated group of people can accomplish! (A video will be ready soon and you can see what I mean.)
...of how we found out Friday afternoon that we met our $8,000 matching grant. This means we have enough money to bring Reni and Sashko home! We are still waiting for travel dates but are hoping by the end of June.
Thank you to everyone who worked on the project, gave a donation, or prayed for us.
Next up: our court date in Bulgaria is tomorrow, June 3. We don't anticipate any problems since our agency has well-prepared us with getting all the paperwork completed weeks ago, but we would appreciate your prayers. We hope to have tentative travel dates by the end of the week, and confirmed dates within one to two weeks.
People have asked how they can help us financially. Our donation page will remain open at Both Hands for at least a month, or we would appreciate Target or Wal-Mart gift cards, as we still have many basic necessities to buy for the children.
...of people's generosity - through sponsoring the project and giving up hours on a beautiful Saturday to work at Connie's house.
...of how much a motivated group of people can accomplish! (A video will be ready soon and you can see what I mean.)
...of how we found out Friday afternoon that we met our $8,000 matching grant. This means we have enough money to bring Reni and Sashko home! We are still waiting for travel dates but are hoping by the end of June.
Thank you to everyone who worked on the project, gave a donation, or prayed for us.
Next up: our court date in Bulgaria is tomorrow, June 3. We don't anticipate any problems since our agency has well-prepared us with getting all the paperwork completed weeks ago, but we would appreciate your prayers. We hope to have tentative travel dates by the end of the week, and confirmed dates within one to two weeks.
People have asked how they can help us financially. Our donation page will remain open at Both Hands for at least a month, or we would appreciate Target or Wal-Mart gift cards, as we still have many basic necessities to buy for the children.
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