Meeting at the Ministry

Sorry for the glare off the window but wanted to share the view from our hotel.  I was awake as the sun was coming up this morning and although I do not like to see the sun come up, this was a pretty site.  Jason slept for over 10 hours last night while I got in a whopping 4.  I think in all of my life I have never been on such little sleep as the past 4 days but jet lag is not kicking my tail like it normally does.  Oh wait, I just had a flashback to when Hollynn was a baby and I had no clue what sleep was.  Maybe that's where I learned how to hang!!

Today was our meeting at the Women's Ministry of Affairs.  We were prepped before we left but the only thing they mentioned was our homestudy agency's license expires on June 30th so we will need to update this.  I loved that the harder lady of the two couldn't help but smile when she started looking through our pics and saw Hudson and Hollynn.

We wanted some good Russian food today the problem is not many places have english menus but our driver made a call and took us to a place where I had veal stuffed with pears with a raspberry sauce on top (awesomeness!).  Jason had lamb, which he had never had before, he didn't care too much for it but he liked his Russian pancake stuffed with cabbage. 

We spent all yesterday afternoon with the couple that is doing everything the same time as us.  We are really enjoying them and since we have 2 days of down time we are going to hang out with them and do some site seeing tomorrow.

On a really weird note:  Everything I say in my head has a Russian accent to it! Ha!  I remember doing this last time too!!

I have already almost read my over 600 page book, that I started on the plane ride over.  I brought another one but I got mixed up and brought the second in the series, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do with myself since reading is how I put myself to sleep.  I guess next trip I will just pack a whole bag full of books!

We are here. Jason just spoke Spanish to our waitress I think jet lag is starting to set in. Going to take a quick nap and then head out, will post later.

New York

I'm not sure why blogger keeps putting this on sideways.

We made it to New York City and are now ready to say so long to NYC!  I have always wanted to come here but now that I am here I am ready to go.  I came back to the hotel, showered, and still feel dirty.  But I am glad to have gotten to see everything, there was some really cool things.  Of course the best thing was going to where Jimmy Fallon is taped, unfortunately he is not doing any more taping until May but I still was extremely excited :) 

We were blessed with a free plane ticket to New York (which we had to use today) and found a good deal getting out of JFK tomorrow straight into Moscow.  We arrive in Moscow 7:30 a.m. their time.  I will post when we get there.  We go to the Ministry of Women's Affairs on Monday morning for our meeting and then we won't get to see him until Thursday.  Things are a little different now from when we went through it with Hudson, and we have to wait on the paperwork to be finished before we can see him.  So we will have a few days of down time.

I have more pics to upload but since blogger keeps on uploading them sideways I'll wait until I can figure it out :)

Change in Plans...

Hello family and friends, I want to update you all about a change in our plans. This morning I awoke with an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach, I can't really describe it, it was just uneasy. I went to the couch to read my devo. like I usually do and the very last line in it was something Corrie TenBoom said, "Do not hold tightly your possessions; hold them loosely, that way when God takes them out of your hand it will not be so painful." That didn't help my feeling any!

I went ahead and called to check on all of our flights and hotels to just make sure I had everything lined up correctly and while I was doing that our agency beeped in. It was Sonya, the Russian director, delivering us some bad news. A Russian family came in the orphanage 2 days ago wanting a child. They picked, who we thought, was our next son. It was all confirmed this morning. Our agency went to bat and fought tooth and nail for us but b/c we haven't signed any paperwork there was nothing they could do. Sonya was distraught. This has only happened 2 other times in over 20 years of our agency doing Russian adoptions. She had not eaten or hardly slept since yesterday, worrying over all of it. I sat there in shock.
She told me she could tell us about another little boy that had just came into the data base, he turned 9 months old on the 15th. But she wanted me to process this all first. I told her to let me call Jason and see what he has to say.

I called Jason and cold chills ran up my spine when he said, "Well, we won't lean on our own understanding but the Lord's. This child needs a home like every orphan does." So I called Sonya back and asked them to e-mail us the video and a pic. and his medical. Of course, it wouldn't open on my computer and we needed an i-phone to get the app and Jason was on a job. So he came home, had to do something to his phone since it wasn't working correctly and an hour later we could finally see his video. He is Eurasian, absolutely adorable, big stout guy. At 8 months old he could pull himself up and stand. He laughs and plays in the videos. The agency offered to pay for all of the stuff we have already paid for if we decided not to go. They also offered to pay for a dr. to come meet us with our first meeting with him and examine him. He seems and they all say he is healthy and much stronger than the other kids his age, I believe that just from the video.

So we are still leaving tomorrow as planned. We have been on our face this a.m. We trust the Lord. We know He alone is Sovereign. I know He is going ahead of us and even though I can only see an inch in front of me, He makes our paths straight, He guides us. We have asked Him throughout this whole process to shut it down if it wasn't His will. Seems He is opening another door. His plans are good, I will cling to this!

Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; -Isaiah 12:2

I have that peace that is indescribable. What's crazy is the feeling I had this morning left completely after I got off the phone with Sonya and Jason and I have total peace about this. Yes, total peace. I am sad we lost our first referral but he has found a forever home, and I will pray for his sweet face still. I am also looking forward to what the Lord has in store for us and meeting this new little one.

Please pray for us, I know I have been asking for a lot of prayer here lately, but if you happen to think of us during this time, please pray! We are ever so grateful.

Moscow Bound Very Soon!

T-SHIRT INFO. IS ON THE NEXT POST SO IF YOU ARE WANTING TO LOOK AT THEM, PLEASE SCROLL DOWN.

Next Friday we will be boarding a plane for New York and then leaving the next day to head to Moscow!! Then on that Monday we will go before the women's ministry of affairs to "accept our referral". The only stinky thing is we won't be able to see him until Thursday. My prayer is that this changes and we can somehow get in there sooner to see him. Something about how we havea to wait on the papers we sign on Monday to be finished and they should be finished up on Wed. We will have Thurs. and Fri. with Heath and then return home on Saturday.

I had gotten to my desperate point, I just wanted to hear something so bad and it was looking like it was going to be later than we expected and then the phone rang asking if we were ready to go to Moscow!! I am sooooo excited and in that same breath, I'm also dreading leaving Hudson and Hollynn. I have never been away from Hollynn, and the only time I've been away from Hudson is when I had Hollynn in the hospital and when we went one night away for a couples retreat. It bothers me just to think about leaving them even if it's only for 8 days. I think I am going to spend the next several months torn in two, until we are all together, forever.

Our t-shirt sales are doing well, but we still need to sell even more so keep putting the word out. I have someone coming today to look at a horse to buy, so say a little prayer that this may be the right person for her. If she sells, we should have everything we need for our first trip and then can begin getting ready for our next big payment and our second trip! Thank you so much for your support in this!!

I cannot type on this blog without praising the Lord! Do you know who I am? Do you know the pit that He pulled me out of? Do you know I am the wretch? Do you know I am the most undeserving? And yet, His grace washes over me every day. He blesses me beyond anything I could ever put into words. He just keeps on providing. I have been so overwhelmed by Him lately that at times all I can do is sit with my head in my hands and tears streaming down my cheeks, telling Him thank You, thank You! And then at other times I throw my hands in the air and praise Him with more tears and just stand in awe at Him. You won't see me cry very often, if at all, but He can move me to tears instantly. He holds me when I don't think I could be any more desperate, He comforts me when I am broken, He sits with me in the quiet, He speaks to my heart, He celebrates with me (and we celebrate BIG TIME), and He shows up even when I think He might be late-He's right on time!

Bring Justice

Is this not the cutest model you have ever seen?

We are selling t-shirts to help raise money for our adoption. This is so different for us this time around because we don't have much time to prepare, not that I am complaining, I wish it would go even faster b/c I can't wait to get my hands on our baby! We are doing some fundraisers to help with the cost. We have to have over $30,000 by July! This is the most radical thing God has asked me to do. While I don't mind stepping outside of my comfort zone, I actually find that kind of fun. This is wwwaaayyyy out of my zone. I am the saver, the be prepared for things, but this has caught me off guard. I know we serve Jehovah Jireh, and He will provide. And as He is doing it, we are going to praise Him b/c the only way we can pull this off is with His mighty hand!

I chose this verse because by buying this t-shirt, you are helping to bring justice to an orphan, my little Heath! Maybe this t-shirt will strike up a conversation in the grocery store or with a family member and you can tell them our story and spread the need for adoption. If you are able to buy a t-shirt or two, know that we are ever so grateful!

T-shirt prices for children's Small through adult XL $15

2x $17 and 3x $18 If you need it shipped, please add $1 to help with shipping costs.

If you are local, we will deliver to you.

If you buy or help us sell 4 shirts or more OR give a $50 donation your name will go in the drawing for some really cool prizes...

Signed items by Pat Summitt (these can be personalized with your name or whoever you would like)

Don Ponchos gift card

Trail Ride

Yard Mowing

Really cool hand made cutting board

31 bag

and more!

Please comment on this post if you would like to purchase a shirt or more :) or you can e-mail me at lindsey@treasure2farm.com or send me a message on facebook!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

Update

Be sure to read our big news below...but I have to share that a prayer request on that list is already answered. The FBI CALLED, yes called, to tell me the dates on our clearance letter which is what we needed to plug into our homestudy & finish up all of our paperwork! Seriously moutain just moved!!! God is amazing and He is clearly at work! What next? Papers translated in Russia and we wait on an appointment to officially accept him and once they get that appointment we will have travel dates. Pray that will go smoothly and quickly!

BIG NEWS!

We are more than thrilled to announce we will be parents to 3 children by the end of the summer. We have a son in Moscow! I wish I could post pics but cannot, so trust me when I say he is absolutely precious! He very much favors Hudson with big brown eyes and dark hair and he has the cutest cheeks I can't wait to give big kisses! He is only 8 months old! We should travel in April to meet him. We are waiting on FBI, which as many of you know that travelled this journey, they take their precious time. We weren't suposed to get it back until April 21st, but on Monday I called and talked to a very nice man who told me he would do everything he could to expedite ours. Otherwise we can't get travel dates. So if you could please pray for the FBI to hurry with our paperwork we would appreciate it so much!

Many of you are saying..."I had no idea!" Truth be told, there was only a very small handful of people who did know. We started paperwork in January and were thinking it would be nice to bring our next child home this fall/winter. God has different plans and it's been crazy how fast all of our other paperwork has gone. When we got the call on Monday, we were absolutely blown away! And in love :) I cannot wait for you guys to see him!

I want to ask for specific prayer requests...
1. Please pray for Heath, that his heart would be open and ready for us and his transition smooth. Pray that we can get to him very quickly and get him home before his first birthday!

2. Pray for his caretakers, that they would love him, hold him, and take the best care of him they can until we can bring him home.

3. Please pray the request above regarding FBI

4 Pray for Hudson and Hollynn too, this will be a big adjustment. Hudson is very excited and talks about how cute he is and how he will share his toys with him and teach him about tractors!

5. Pray for us financially as we thought we had time to prepare for the financial burden, there are some very big lump sums of money due very soon. I know Jehovah Jireh and I know He has it all worked out, it's just that my eyes don't see the way His do! We are going to have some really awesome t-shirts to sell that I will post about at the beginning of the week when they have them done. We are also going to plan to sell our home, as hard as it will be, we have to do what we have to do and I'm willing to sacrafice what I need to for those brown eyes! We just have to wait to do it when his adoption is finalized b/c all the paperwork headed to Russia has this address on it and we don't want to have to delay anything by changing addresses in the middle of it all. I do have several horses to sell and pray Carney Lawn Care will get extra jobs!

Thank you for joining us in this journey! Thank you for your prayers and love!

Can my children be this big!? I was just looking through pics and man does time fly! I can't believe my boy will be 5 this year!

We are gearing up for Easter Egg hunts at church and are really getting into the show season so life is busy! The kids have been having a BLAST outside here lately. Hudson has been hosed down several times now due to being covered, yes covered, from head to toe in mud! And Hollynn is a girl on a mission. She doesn't stop from the time her feet hit the ground in the morning. She is in constant action! Andy has to get neutered this week since he has been caught down the road with his girlfriend a few times here lately. Needless to say there will be Andy Jr.'s this summer! Poor guy, but I got to do what I got to do! Stay tuned for a post I'm working on for later this week, you won't want to miss it!

Almost March!?

We never have pics of just us so thought I'd post this rare occasion!

Couldn't resist posting this one of weirdo Uncle Wilbur!

Nothing like playing some football on these warm days we've been having. Which I would have much rather prefered to have actually had a winter! I like colder weather but now that lessons are starting back up Thursday I'll take this weather, parents don't want their kids out in colder weather.

And last but definitely not least, we finally re-adopted Hudson in Tennessee. My friend, Shelby, was our fantastic lawyer and made it so easy to do. Hudson enjoyed getting to sit up high and get his picture taken. Can you tell Hollynn is not used to being up that early! Who am I kidding, none of us are except Jason! Now he will have a Tennessee birth certificate, which we will be needing as he is getting older.

As I mentioned earlier, lessons start back on Thursday which means back to a more strict schedule. I'm ready to get back to work this year, I have 7 horses I am working with each day, a few of them are young ones of mine but they still need to be worked consistantly. I'm loving it! We are going to be doing lots of showing this year and I am looking forward to that too! Lots going on :)