Initial Paperwork Now in Russia!

Our "initial packet" to the Bryansk region of Russia made it, this past weekend, with no hiccups what-so-ever! Additionally, it has made it into the hands of the regional coordinator there. Hooray!!! I got a brief text from the "deliverer" of our packet, dear Angie, my new friend from Mercer County, Ohio who is also going through the adoption process with the same agency as us- European Children Adoption Services based in Plymouth, Minn. Angie and her husband are presently in Russia, and this time, they will bring home their sweet son, Roman. I have been so blessed to get to know Angie, and I thank God for placing her in my life.

Angie was kind enough to ask the regional coordinator if Sveta was in the same orphanage as Roman. As I suspected (since she is a few years older), she is not. Angie offered to take a couple of photos of Sveta for us while there (if the kids were in the same orphanage). That would have been great, but I accept that it just wasn't meant to be. It's amazing how we as "waiting" adoptive parents just want so badly to have a photo, a video, or even just an observation by a friend, who has seen our child and can give us a nugget of information that we didn't already have. We won't know a lot about Sveta until we actually arrive in Russia, which should be in about 6-8 weeks. Although that's the typical time frame after the "initial packet" is delivered, I think Kevin and I are still in denial almost that it's actually going to happen. We still just haven't wrapped our minds around the idea that we will soon be hopping on a plane to Russia, then a train which will take us 7 hours to see our daughter! I've said in this blog all along, our adoption is a journey... journey indeed. ~Especially since Kevin has only been outside the states to go to Mexico, and for me, I've only stepped across the border to Canada.

As for other happenings... hmmm... well, this weekend, I finally felt at peace for the first time since summer began. I've been so under pressure to fill out the grant and loan applications and fundraise, that I just haven't felt a lot of joy like I normally do in the summer. Also, I believe that the enemy was stealing my joy. This weekend, I chose to get it back! We had an incredibly fun Saturday walking the nature trails of Pine Hill Park, in Mason. Afterwards, the kids had a blast running through the fountains there! We even packed a picnic lunch and just RELAXED. Kevin and I both needed that. We decided to continue the fun at home, camping out in the backyard! Now that was memorable! Although our tent is supposed to sleep 6 persons, our experience is that four persons was tight enough! As we were sipping our coffee on the back porch Sunday morning, Kevin commented, "We'll soon need a larger tent with a third child and all." He was thinking of Sveta in a way I hadn't yet... all FIVE of us camping out, as a family. It's thoughts like that, that bring me joy and put a smile on my face. Having a wonderful family like mine... how could I not smile!