Sunshine on the Horizon

After 3 ½ very long years, Deb and I took steps on Wednesday that will put us closer to bringing our daughter home than ever before. As many of you are aware, we made the difficult decision a year ago to switch our country program from Albania to China’s Waiting Child program. With this transition comes a new set of required documents and forms that will allow Bethany Christian Services to access the Waiting Child Portal and begin matching our profile with a child. This is extremely exciting and a relief as it is one of the final hurtles to receiving a referral.

We are thankful for many of our friends in the Adoption Community who have supported us by providing referrals and resources. We have been in contact with medical professionals, education experts and social workers to make sure that we are prepared for any and everything. It has been tough, but we were very blessed to get everything in.

So Bethany Christian Services will now be reviewing all of the documents and beginning to search the portal for a little girl that matches our profile. Could it be in the next month? Yes. Could it take a little longer? Sure. We will still be waiting, but we will let you know as we receive referrals.

The burden now turns to logistics. As we await the referral, we will now need to begin to raise the funds necessary to travel to China and pay the necessary Agency/Country fees. Our goal is to come out of this experience with as little debt as possible. This has been difficult to date primarily because I had nothing concrete to share with everyone and could not in good conscious ask anyone to support us yet. Some of you have been generous and we have seen some small donation come in . . . thank you. However, many of you have asked how you could support us, to which I said I would let you know when the time was right. Well . . . the time is right. Below is a breakdown of what we will need to raise in order to bring Sunshine home without pulling money out of our 401K or building further credit card debt. Please prayerfully consider how you can help. (James 1:27)


Breakdown of fees . . .

Agency fees - $2500

Country fees - $7000

Travel to China – (+/-) $8000

Travel within China – (+/-) $6000

Total - $23500

How you can help . . .

- Pray that God will provide all funds we need.

- Purchase coffee from Just Love Coffee. The donate $5 from every purchase to our adoption efforts www.justlovecoffee.com/sunshinefund
- All donations can be made through ICARE International. ICARE is able to collect donations and provide receipts for tax purposes.

Make checks payable to: International CARE, Inc.
Mail donations to: International CARE, Inc. c/o Ruiz adoption PO BOX 1603 Bel Air, MD 21014

**Please do not write your name in the memo line as the IRS does not like that. Please enclose a brief note informing the processors that you are making a donation to the Sunshine Fund - Ruiz adoption.

Progress . . .

So much has happened since we decided to pursue "Sunshine" in China. God has led us down a path only He could devise. Yesterday, Deb and I spent the whole day running back and forth from Harford County to Crofton and Annapolis completing the paperwork for our Dossier.

What does this mean? Well, it means that our paperwork will be sent to China for approval within the next few weeks (after translation). Once approved, we can be referred a little girl once a match is made. This puts us back on track for a realistic waiting period. I'll try to keep you all updated on when the next big step occurs.

In other news, God has been doing so many great things at Mountain Christian Church and in Harford County. Two weeks ago we kicked off a new ministry called The Father's Heart. This ministry will focus on educating and encouraging MCC folks to foster and/or adopt orphans here at home and abroad. We had over 75 adults at the kick off meeting from all interest levels and experiences. There is a great deal of excitement around the ministry. So exciting!

Please pray that the paperwork goes through the system quickly.

Destination China - Full Speed Ahead!

More apologies are in order for keeping you waiting for the past 4 1/2 months. When last we updated, we were in the process of deciding what to do about the adoption program we were participating in. For the past 2 1/2 years we have been awaiting a referral from Albania. About a year ago we were informed that our sources in Albania were doubtful that a referral woudl come through within the next year or two. With the uncertainty surrounding the program, we have prayerfully made the decision to switch our focus to China's Waiting Child Program.

God has been pressing on our hearts and asking us the question "who are you doing this for . . . Me or for yourself?" We wanted to evaluate where the most need was and allow God to work through us to give Sunshine a new hope (no connection to Star Wars, episode 4). China has so many children with minor, correctable special needs. These are children that would receive immediate care in the US, but in China they sit in institutions and await an uncertain future. We believe that God is focusing our efforts on these children.

So, where are we in the process? This feels like deja vu . . . We have updated our Home Study and re-applied to the INS for approval. Once we recieve confirmation from the INS, we can formally apply to China. Since we will be applying to a waiting child program, we could be matched at any time after approval. Imagine . . . Sunshine could be home by the end of summer . . . how awesome would that be!

On a side note . . . I went to the Steven Curtis Chapman concert this weekend and what a story he and his family have. They are the picture of what adoption is and should be. It was great to hear more about his adoption ministry - Show Hope. If you have interest in supporting ministries that help the orphans and widows of this world, Show Hope is a great one to support.

We are still raising money for the Sunshine fund via coffee sales. Feel free to buy some great coffee at www.justlovecoffee.com/sunshinefund. You can expect another post when we hear back from the INS and are ready to submit our official home study. Cheers!

July, 2010 - Where to turn?

In the grand scheme of things, what is a couple of years? How long is long enough to wait? When is it time to "fish or cut bait"? More to the point . . . is it time to look in a different direction for Sunshine?

Now . . . we don't take this lightly, we never have, but if she's not in Albania or if God is moving in a different direction, who are we to keep Him in one spot. The doors to Albania for International Adoptions have been closing for the past year. We knew that. That was the subject of our blog back in September of 2009. By no means do we regret the decision to stick with the Albania Program. I don’t pretend to know the timing of God or even the reasons that He leads us in certain directions. The only thing I do know is that He is in control . . . and wherever He is leading, that’s the direction that I want to be going too.

The long and short of it is this . . . Albania referrals to the US have declined steadily over the past 3 years (from 13 in 2008, 5 in 2009 and 0 in 2010). The likelihood of receiving a referral now is very slim. Even though we are #2 on the list, this doesn’t help us if they decide to not refer any children. There are currently no other US agencies working in Albania and Bethany is not accepting new families, while encouraging existing families to consider other programs.

What’s up with those Albanians, you may ask. Well, from what we understand, it is actually good news. It seems the Albanians are doing a very good job in the development of their Foster Care System and referring children for adoption both in country and regionally (Greece, Italy, etc). For lack of a better term, they are becoming “healthy” and need less and less US help with their children. We continue to pray for the well being of the Albanian orphans and hope that God will see this through to every child finding a home in that wonderful country. Unless things change and by some miracle we receive a referral from Albania, I will regret not having the opportunity to visit and learn the culture.

So the question remains . . . where to turn? There are so many places that children need homes. Fortunately or unfortunately, we are in a relationship with a great Agency that has programs with some countries that hold our interest. Right now, the two at the top of the list are China and Russia. Both have major pros and major cons, but at the end of the day, we just need to go with what feels right and fits best with our family setup. What I mean by this is that there are restrictions that both countries have for adoptive parents (mostly medical). If we pass those, there is a decision to make, if not, it may be a bit clearer. More on that later . . .

So, we’re heading off on vacation next week and we’ve given ourselves a deadline. We will be praying and talking and praying some more about where. By the end of the month, we will have a direction.

Prayer Request: direction, direction, direction. Please pray that God will grant us a vision for where we should go. Pray that we would have favor with both the new country as well as the agency. Bethany has been great to deal with, but the process for all of this is expensive and gets more expensive with a switch in programs. If we go with Russia, there could be significantly more expense. Please pray that God would still provide for us financially through all of this.

Thank you for continuing to be interested in our posts and for your continued support.

February 2010 update

As of March we will have been waiting on our adoption referral for 2 years. The time has slipped by and we have found ourselves busy and trying to be patient. It has been two years that has seen growth in both Justin and Alex. Both are excited about being a brother to Sunshine, but Alex has gotten really jazzed about it. He spent the first 5 years of his life being the youngest and always being excluded from the bigger kids play. I've been watching him with younger kids and babies and he is going to be a great big brother.

So we wait . . . we are patient . . . we wait on God's timing. It may take us another full year (I hope not), but we will wait.

If you have been wanting to support our efforts to bring Sunshine home, we have a new fundraiser that we have started. A wonderful small business out of Tennessee has provided adoptive families with the ability to sell coffee and recieve a portion of the selling price as a donation. For every bag of coffee or t-shirt bought at www.justlovecoffee.com/sunshinefund they will send $5 to our adoption account. We will then be able to use the funds to offset our travel and agency expenses. This company has a great heart for providing for orphans and adoptive families. I plan to continue supporting their work well after our initial journey is complete.

Prayer Requests: Please pray that we continue to remain patient and waiting on God. Please pray for financial provision and direction in our careers. Please pray for our family (brothers and sisters) as we all look to be support for Sunshine. Mostly, please pray for Sunshine. That she will be well cared for, loved and looking forward to meeting her new family.

September 2009 Updates

Patience continues to be the name of the game. We have not been updated as to our status or the status of the program in general for some time. As you may remember, the Albania program was closed to new families as of the Spring of this year. Bethany Adoption Services indicated that they were fearful of the dropping number of placements from the country and did not want to provide misinformation to new families. At the same time, they were informing existing families in the program that the wait could turn out to be longer than first expected. We thought long and hard and prayed continually about what we should do and decided to stay with the program.

We feel confident that this is the right decision and know that our daughter will be coming to us at the right time. But we have to admit, it gets hard to wait not having a distinct time table. Even with the timing that we are hoping for (spring of 2010), it is difficult to wait that long. I guess we'll find out if we have to wait even longer than that . . . I can only imagine what pending Adoptive Parents who don't already have children and are unable to become pregnant must feel like. Justin and Alex have definitely kept us busy and continue to amaze us. Sunshine will have some great big brothers to help care for and protect her. :)

For those of you who are considering adoption for your family, one thing to consider is your health insurance at work. Now, I know that there is a great deal of talk in the news about the pending Health Care Reform by the President and Congress, but lets just think about it from the perspective of what we know. Deb has been researching options for better care, cheaper rates and overall family coverage. We considered going with a plan that would give us a lump sum to spend as a family throughout the year, but decided that would not be wise as we are not sure if Sunshine will have any medical conditions which would need to be tended to when she comes home. Some of the other plans may be a bit more expensive, but could save us a great deal when we need the plan beyond what the cap might be. Just something to consider.

We continue to pray that God will have His hand on Sunshine and that she will be well cared for. Despite the longing and the lack of information, it is a joy to await her homecoming. Please pray with us that the timing will be right, the finances will be available and the journey will be smooth. My God is good and delivers what we need and can handle.

Sunshine Update - July 2009

The summer is progressing along and we are still without definite information about a referral for the adoption. We are trying to be as patient as possible and working to raise funds and prepare our hearts and minds for her arrival. We continue to believe that next spring we will be receiving a referral and traveling to meet Sunshine. Let me bring you up to speed on some of the things going on in the world of adoption.

Some good news on the adoption front . . . Check out this article from the Baltimore Sun about the state of Maryland's efforts to place orphan in permanent homes throughout the past year. It is very encouraging.

Please pray for Deb and I as we start to talk with Mountain Christian Church about beginning an Adoption Ministry. The need is great in Harford County as well as throughout the state of Maryland for adoption advocates; people who can provide information, legal and medical support and financial resources. We have a long way to go and need to get the church body on board with the vision, but I feel that there is great potential for a ministry like this to support families in all phases of Adoption.

And some bad . . . Something that has been bothering me over the past two weeks comes out of Hollywood. Warner Brothers Pictures has decided to release a film called Orphan. This is a film about a Russian child adopted by a couple who is unable to have biological children. The film is a horror flick and insinuates the dangers of adopting a child that you have not nurtured. Now, Hollywood has released films like this in the past and I don't necessarily have an issue with the storyline. My problem is with the title and the marketing of the movie. Originally the line "It must be hard to love an adopted child as much as your own" was stated in the trailer for everyone to see. This was later edited out by WB after many complaints by adoptive and foster families. What makes me more upset is the title of the movie coupled with the premise that with orphans come troubles. The public has an easily susceptible subconscious. In a time when children are awaiting a home, advertising a movie like this does nothing to further the cause of adoption. I only wish that WB had the foresight to see such an obvious misrepresentation of waiting children and I pray that families will not be discouraged from considering these children after seeing such a story.

Please also feel free to join us in our efforts to raise funds for the adoption. You can use the Chip In link from previous postings. Thanks to all who have already given and we look forward to putting all of the resources to good use.

Spring Is Almost Here . . . Again

Spring is almost here and we enter into what we hope will be the beginning of the countdown. The agency is pretty sure that by this time next year we will be in Albania meeting Sunshine. While I feel that the time can't go fast enough and my desire to meet her is peeked, we continue to need more time to get the place ready.

Last week, with the help of some good friends, we ripped out the old carpet in the living room and had some new carpet installed. Nice and clean and stainless . . . Next is the kitchen floor. Uncle Matt (my brother) will be coming over soon to help me install that. Deb and I have started scratching our heads over what to do with the guest bedroom. That will the room that she will call her own. Currently, we have a double bed and a closet full of my clothes. There's no room in Deb's closet for my stuff, so . . . we'll see. :)

The boys have been keeping us busy. They are very much into sports these days. Alex just finished his first basketball season and Justin is about to sign up for his second season of Football. Both are in a Tae Kwon Do class and both will be playing baseball in just a few weeks. Good times . . .

My sister in-law's pregnancy is also coming along nicely. We are expecting "Leven" (we call him that because he'll be the eleventh grandchild) on April 17.

Many of you have been asking how you can help with our adoption. You're desire and willingness is very much a blessing to Deb and I. I have created a Chip-In page (the widget above will take you to the site). There is also a breakdown of what we are expecting to lay out for the adoption. I understand that there are plenty of people asking for your money (some outright taking it in the name of "Change"), but we could really use your help with this life-altering experience.

The Dilemma of a Long Wait and a Slumping Economy

Scared, frustrated and confused . . . yet hopeful, trusting and determined. All of these words describe what has been going on in my mind and heart over the past few months. As we have all felt, the economy continues to nose-dive despite the posturing and actions of our elected officials to provide answers. Every day I see our 401K lose value, friends lose there employment and the stock market cut in half. I would be lying if I said that more thought has not been given to our travel plans and future expenditures in all areas of our family. But . . . this is where we are. This is where God has put us for this time in life.

Fortunately for our family, both Deb and I are still employed. Both of our employers have gone through the thinning process. Whether it's letting go of unproductive employees or eliminating of select positions, the cuts are hard. I pray that both of us will have demonstrated added value to the respective firms and that we will continue to enjoy employment. Both have also been in the process of reevaluating employee benefits. I hope and pray that this does not effect the Adoption benefits that both firms currently offer. Time will tell.

Sunshine's homecoming is not in my hands . . . only the Lord who commands all things despite our best laid plans will determine where the funds will come from and what jobs Deb and I will be in when that is to happen. Her life does not depend on the economy of the United States. Whether we continue in recession, deepen into depression or rebound, Sunshine still needs to come home. As much as I hate what is going on in the markets and despise what our politicians are doing to our debt/taxes/potential for growth, I have complete confidence in what God has planned for us.
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Prayer Request: Please pray that we would continue to manage our finances so that we can make Sunshine's homecoming a reality. Pray that she is safe and protected from harm in a loving environment. Please pray that Deb and I would remain safe from any future cuts in the job markets. And finally, pray that we would be able to raise the remaining funds necessary.

The waiting game continues . . .

Our long journey continues. We have been waiting for a year now and we continue to be patient for our referral. We are starting the renewal process that is required each year. The estimated date on the paperwork for the referral is 1.1.10 with a placement date of 4.1.10. So it looks like we have a while to go but we're hopefull.

Christmas this year was a great time for our family. This year we were awaiting, hoping and praying for two new Ruizs. Along with Sunshine, we will have another little one added to the family. Our sister-in-law Tina is expecting in April.

We would like to thank all of our family and friends who have been so loving, generous, supportive and excited for us during this long process. Your gifts, prayers and blessings for our Sunshine are a testimony to the wonderful people that will surround and love her for the rest of her life. God called us to find her but we share this journey with you all.

Blog moving to Facebook

Thank you to everyone who has been following our adventure here on Blogspot. We will continue to post new entries, but we are moving all entries to Facebook (www.facebook.com). If you do not currently have a profile you can sign up for free. Find me in the friends list and I'll be sure to confirm you.

Summer Fun

First, I want to thank you to my wonderful husband for throwing me a surprise 40th birthday party! It was a beautiful day on the waterfront with family and friends. Here is a picture of the whole gang at the party and a picture of me with my two Moms.

July 4th weekend was spent at Aunt Bethie's house in Ocean City, MD. We had a full house with my mom and Ray's parents there also. We spent time on the beach, going to yardsales (love my new Air Force Barbie for $3!!!), walking the Boardwalk, watching the fireworks and just general silliness. Justin went golfing for the first time (thank you for the junior clubs Uncle Bob!) with Ray, Dad and Uncle Bob. It was wonderful to be together with family. We can't wait to share our family with Sunshine. We talk about her often. I pray that she is safe and that God will keep her in the palm of his hand (love...love...). My cup runneth over....

Pictures of Justin golfing with the men and Mom and the gang at OC beach.

We received notice that the regulations for adoption in Albania have changed. It doesn't look like (at the moment anyway) that it will affect us, but we'll see. They have added requirements for adoptions submitted after May 1st. Our adoption was submitted in December and approved and accepted by the Albanian Adoption Committee in February. If we need more than one update(since adoptions take so long your information needs to be updated every 18 months) then we may fall under these new guidelines. Pray we get her soon!

I can't forget to mention how wonderful Montana was. This year's Indian Youth Camp in Hungry Horse, Montana was June 9 - 13. The theme was Heroes. We had about 200 Native American children from many tribes/reservations and camp staff from all over the US. The weather was a bit crazy, it snowed on June 10th! It was in the 70s by the end of the week - bizarre. There was a lot of restlessness with the campers at the beginning of the week and some even needed to be sent home, but by the end of the week God showed them his strength!! The chapel for the last night was on fire. God's presence was thick in the air with campers crying out for Him!! Praise God!! I love that my children get to witness such a place, holy ground....

It was great to see our "Camp" friends. Thank you for sharing my 40th birthday with me. We love you all!!

Blessings to all,

Deb

Mother's Day 2008

Well, it's been since February that everyone has heard from us. Here is the update as to where things stand. . . we're waiting. We have no new updates.

But, with Mother's Day upon us, Deb is constantly thinking of her. We continue to pray for her and wonder where she is and who is taking care of her. We'll be adding some new pictures of the family pretty soon. Deb wants to get a new shot of all the Ruiz grandchildren online. I'm sure we will get one of those this weekend at my mother's.

We are also very busy with preparations for Indian Youth Camp (www.indianyouthcamp.com) this year. All four of us are going out this year. Staff and camper numbers look pretty low this year. We're praying that God will do something amazing with the ones that he chooses to attend.

Please pray with us for both the continued strength, patience and financial provision for the adoption and God's Grace with camp this year. I really want to see him work though the staff again this year.

Blessings,
Ray

The Holidays are behind us and the year is in full swing. Everyday we think about . . . and pray about her. We don't know how long it will take before we get the call from the agency inviting us to make arrangements to travel.

We are continuing to pray that some of the latest developments in the region do not cause too much instability and lead to longer wait times for our adoption. With the recent separation of neighboring Serbia and Kosovo and the Albanian majority in Kosovo, the region is being watched carefully. http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL1957254220080219 Please continue to pray that this does not create any problems for our adoption.

I have also begun to make some progress on our travel budgets. I have contacted United Airlines which has a partnership with Austrian Air (http://www.aua.com/us/eng). The main flight to Albania is through Vienna. Deb and I will most likely need to purchase more flexible flight options, but the boys and their chaperone can fly through Vienna on a United code share flight for 50,000 - 80,000 miles (points). Since the airline is pretty rigid with timing and the boys don't need to have much flexibility in their schedule, we can use this great tool. I will have enough for one flight in my account and I have been promised another by a co-worker. I would still like to either earn enough miles or have more donated for the final ticket.

I have also begun to put some effort into collecting change and beginning to put that into the Sunshine Fund. I know that it is not much on a daily basis, but over a two year period it could end up being something of substance. Also, a big thank you to one of Deb's co-workers at T. Rowe who walked up and gave her a check last week (thank you NM!). This came as quite a surprise to Deb. She has not been vocal about the financial need behind this process. God is so good to provide for all needs.

There is still a great deal of excitement around this process. Even though we are continuing to wait, God is doing some wonderful things. He is allowing our boys to mature a bit more before Sunshine comes home. He is putting a greater burden for Small Group ministries and starting a group for Adoptive Families on my heart (I need to get one started at Mountain). And, He is encouraging us to share our Adoption story with others. So many of you have been great about asking about the progress. I wish I had more to share, but we are being patient.

Family Note: Big Congratulations to Deb’s brother David with the new job as Offensive Line Coach at West Virginia University. Go Mountaineers!!

Celebrating the Holiday!!!

Christmas has come and what a wonderful time to celebrate family and friends. What a wonderful time to celebrate the birth of Jesus as well! There has been a great deal of discussion and prayer around "Sunshine". My whole family is excited about her eventual arrival and this Christmas has shown that the anticipation is high. We realize that the holidays without her are quickly disappearing. She received her first Christmas present from Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop, a heart bracelet that reads Sunshine on the front and LYF (Love You Forever) on the back. She also received her first Christmas letter from Pop-Pop (tear). This is a Ruiz Christmas tradition where Mom and Dad write love letters to all of the children and grandchildren providing encouragement and speaking directly to how special each one is.

It has been over a month and a half since my last post. I apologize for taking so long to update the blog and our progress. Some of the best news that we have to share is that our Dossier was completed last week and sent to Albania on Friday, December 21, 2007. This is great news because it means that all of the paperwork that we have been working on for the past several months has now been validated and approved by our agency. Bethany Christian Services is very thorough with the paperwork and makes sure that everything is done by the book. Albania has never declined an adoptive family or requested more paperwork in the past once they are approved by Bethany.

So with the new year comes the waiting. Even though we are confident in the Lord's timing, it doesn't lessen the truth in what a wise poet once said:

The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you see one more card
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part

Home Study is Complete

Finally . . . the Home Study is completed. Deb and I started reviewing what will be sent to the INS next wee. For those of you interested, the Home Study is the document that describes everything about Deb and I and our family. It is a comprehensive document that will be used to petition the INS for us to be authorized to bring a child into the country.

So what is the next step you may ask . . . We have now begun the Dossier. This is a set of documents that will be sent to Albania to petition them for consideration of an adoption referral. The Dossier includes much of the information from the Home Study, but it also includes all of the official documents (birth certificates, marraige license, copy of the deed to our house, notorized police and medical records, etc.). All of these documents need to be not only notorized, but also Apastilled . . . I know, I've never heard of that either. Apastill (app-a-steel) basically means that we have to take the document to the Secretary of State in the state that the document was issued and have them authenticate it with the state seal. So this means that we will need to visit Annapolis for the Maryland documents and Harrisburg for Pennsylvania. The others will be done by mail. Needless to say, this is a huge undertaking and Deb has been working hard at completing these activities.

We feel so grateful and blessed that God is moving this process along. It is going to be a long wait ahead, but we have faith in who God has for our family. As we draw closer to our waiting period, please continue to pray for us and for Sunshine.

The Kindness of Others

First let me thank everyone who has been praying for Deb and I as we move through this slow process. I know that things will move at breakneck speed during certain parts of this while slowing to a crawl at others. We are at a quickened pace as we move toward the end of September. Meetings have are scheduled with the Social Worker to finalize the homestudy and begin to create our Dossier. This Dossier will be sent to Albania in our request for a referral. It is also the time for the first of two payments to the agency. Once we are approved, we sit and wait for the country to let us know when they have referred a little girl to us and given us notice to travel.

So many people are kind enough to inquire about the process and how we are moving through. We have been blessed to begin meeting other families who have adopted and can encourage us along. My work colleagues, who I see very seldom, have all been showing interest in this adventure and providing support in many different ways. Even at the Public Library. Deb and I were requesting a travel book on Albania at the Resource Desk and the Librarian said, "Oh, my husband travels to Albania all the time." Apparently, he works for a company that destroys chemical weapons and they have been working in the country for the past year. I asked if she wouldn't mind giving him our email and if he could tell us anything about the country. He sent an email about 3 hours later with pictures and lots of great information/advise . . . what a blessing! I have no doubt that something special is happening.

Through the kindness of others we have begun preparing for our daughter to come home. Here are some ways that you can help if what we are doing moves you:

1. Continue to pray for our family - This is obviously the most important thing you can do to help our situation. We believe in the power of prayer and that God is moving in this effort and willing to help us as we call on Him. The boys have been so excited about Sunshine coming home. Every time they see a Barbie Doll or other girl toy, they talk about getting it for their sister. We are continuing to work on the house; to have it in the best shape possible for her homecoming.
   
2. Donate points or Frequent Flyer miles - recently one of my co-workers was kind enough to offer to pay for one of our international flight tickets using his credit card points (tix cost $1200/rt). He wants to be involved in what we are doing, has the points and is willing to help. We are looking to collect points/Frequent Flyer miles for Northwest Airlines or Sky Team. They have a couple of partner airlines that fly to Albania. I will have enough for one more ticket using my miles and points. We will need 3 more round trip and 1 One Way ticket.


3. Donate money - Many thanks to those of you who have already given, but we are in need of raising more funds. We would like to continue the process without too many further financial sacrifices. Again, this is an area where we are confident that God will provide for all of our needs.

If you feel led to be a part in this area, please don't hesitate to email me for details. We are well on the way to making this thing happen and we're so excited.

Moving, but slowly

Hi Folks,

I'm sorry it has taken so long to update you on our progress. It has been over a month since the last post. Things are moving along, but slowly. We are beginning this weekend to work on the final steps before our Social Worker interviews. We have online studies that are required and hope to get those out of the way over the next couple of weeks.

There is not much else to report. Deb and I had a great 10th Anniversary trip with just the two of us. We went to Key West, FL for a long weekend. We did the typical: Sloppy Joe's, Margaritaville, Hemingway House, Mel Fisher's Treasure Museum (very cool sunken treasure that this guy found in the Carribean). We also had the opportunity to just spend time with each other.

Being in God's Will

I have been so encouraged (smile, smile) by the sermons that I have heard in the last several weeks. I'd like to tell you about a few of them. Our pastor at Mountain just finished a series call "Born to be Wild". This was about getting out of our "safe" lives and really going after His will. That we were never meant to live this way but to really hear the "call of the wild" and be radical for Him. We then went to Ocean City and to Aunt Beth's church. The pastor there spoke of God's blessing for those who reach out beyond their comfort zone to walk in His will. When we returned home another pastor at Mountain spoke of trusting God and if He calls you to move for Him he will always provide...always. If God is for us who can be against us?

So with all of these messages I delight that for the first time in my life I feel really in line with God's mission. Perhaps I was born for this very purpose...to find her.

Alex announced at dinner the other night that he had named his little sister. We'll even consider his selection. So cute!!

Thank you to everyone who have left comments for Ray and I. It is nice to see and very encouraging. Please keep posting your comments to our thoughts.

waiting for you,
mommy

Some light summer reading . . .

One of the tasks on the "to do" list is to read the book Toddler Adoption: The Weaver's Craft by Mary Hopkins Best. So with 4 days on the beach and the boys playing in the sand beside me, I began to read. This book is an excellent reference for anyone considering adopting a toddler or any family or friends that would be helping to support a couple in this process. Infant adoption is treated as a separate type of adoption since most of the attachment problems are typically minimized. Toddlers have a harder time since they typically have multiple disruptions in their caregivers through a short time of life.

Best spends much of the first couple chapters in challenging the adopters to consider the difficulty of adopting a child in the Toddler stage. Many people who adopt a toddler do so out of necessity. Maybe the wait is too long for infants or when the child is referred they are an infant, but by the time the process concludes they are in the toddler stage. She states that couples who choose to adopt a toddler and do so with all the facts are typically the more successful in dealing with the many issues associated. I couldn't agree more . . . Deb and I have said from the beginning that we were interested in a toddler as opposed to an infant. Best's book has made me clearly rethink and reaffirm our decision. There are several factors that I had not considered, but as I read I am not dissuaded. I believe this is what God called us to and find that this book only gives us the preparation that we need.

Another thing that has been confirmed as I am reading is that I have not set forth expectations of what Sunshine will be like (physical apperance, personality, likes and dislikes, etc). I am trying to keep and open mind about all of this. Best states that many of the families who have the most difficult experiences are the ones who have envisioned what their child will be like and when they don't meet those expectations, dissapointment and frustrations sets in. I find it discouraging that families who are so open to bringing another family member into their home would have the notion that they would want the child to be anything other that who they are. As parents it is our job to mold children and set forth values and discipline, but not to force them to be who we want them to be. God has a plan for our children. He made them the way they are with different personalities and skill sets. As parents we should be drawing out the best in them, giving them the opportunity to experience things in life and setting them forth to do great things.
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Prayer Request: Please pray that God will continue to give Deb and I clarity and an open heart to whoever Sunshine will be. Also, that as we deal with problems she may have (physical, emotional, etc) God will give us the strength and the resources necessary to help her achieve her potential. Also, please pray that we will continue to raise the funds needed to make this happen.

Thanks again for reading and for praying for us and along with us.

Hot, hot, hot

The dog days of summer seem to be here early in 2007. Maybe it just feels that way because the air conditioner is broken down. This is the second year in a row that something has happened to it. I'm hoping it won't be expensive to fix. As you can imagine, we are already working hard to save money for Sunshine, I'm praying that these repairs won't cut too deep into that. The technician will be coming tomorrow, but tonight . . . we sweat. :)

First Inspections

It has been a long 3 weeks since I last posted. Things got pretty crazy as we packed up the boys and headed out to Montana for Indian Youth Camp. It was a great week at camp. It was one of those years that shows you how much more God can stretch you. IYC had the most campers that we've ever had (283). With limited staff, this did create some issues with running the camp. But, as always, God had His way and made a wonderful week for the staff and for the campers. I'm excited for what is happening with IYC and grateful that God continues to use me as part of the team that makes it all happen.

Unfortunately, Deb had to leave camp early due to the death of her Grandmother. She was killed in an automobile accident. Deb left on Wednesday to make a Thursday funeral (she traveled all day and didn't get into Clarksburg, WV until 4:00 am and had to be up for an 11:00 am funeral). All is well now and she enjoyed spending a few days with family that is scattered across the Eastern seaboard.

So . . . today we had our first inspection. Harford County, Maryland sent Mr. Driscoll to look over the house. Aside from a few minor suggestions, all went well. We passed! Now we need to have the Fire Marshall come in. We have started working on our Fire Evacuation Plan with Justin and Alex. They don't quite get it yet or why we need to practice, but we will continue to explain it to them. We are trying to move things along with the process as quicly as we can, but it feels like its not moving at all. I know that it all takes time, but God is still working on my patience. I realize that once this phase is complete, we will be waiting even longer and life will begin to roll quickly, but since this part is in our control I want it to move faster. Oh well, we can only do what we can do.
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Prayer Request: Please pray for Deb's mother as she mourns the loss of her mother and recovers from the same accident (she was in the car too). Please continue to pray for Sunshine. We know that she is eagerly awaiting her new home and we just pray that God will prepare her for life in the Ruiz family. :) Please continue to pray for all of the logistics (time, money, preparation, etc).

Indian Youth Camp

Hi Folks,

Sorry that it has taken a few weeks to get back on the blog. We are still working on the paperwork and inspections necessary to move our Home Study forward. We have both done our physical examinations and have received our Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates, Driving Records and Medical Clearances. The dog and cat have been to the vet for shots and we are setting up the house for the Home Inspection by the County Health Department.

Friday, we are all flying out to Montana for Indian Youth Camp. This will be my 15th year with IYC. Time goes by so fast. Justin and Alex love it there, I'm sure that our little girl will too. My nephew, Paul, will be joining us this year. This will be his first time away from home and his first flying experience. Pray for him!
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Prayer Requests: We aske that you will continue to pray that she is doing well as she awaits our arrival and that God will keep watch and protect her. Pray for my mother (Pat) - we invited her to travel with us to Albania. This is a huge deal since she hates to fly. When we did not get immediately shut down, I knew she wanted to, but would not enjoy the task of getting there.

*** We have set up a savings account to help offset some costs. Thank you to Mom Mom for donating to the Sunshine Fund. :) It all helps. If anyone else wants to help, please feel free to email me for the address.

Open Doors

"Get involved in what God is doing—because it’s already blessed." - Bono, Feb 2, 2006

In my life, I've learned that things are happening all around us. As we make our way through life there are daily events, mundane routine things that we are involved in and don't even think about . . . there are also major events, moving the hearts of the masses here and there. I have gotten involved in things like politics, business, even church and ministry. What I have learned is that our friend Bono is dead on when he says we have to get involved with what God is doing, no matter whether it is the mundane or the major. Instead of seeking the blessing on what I want to do, I need to find out what God is doing and get involved there. This is often the hard part, because it messes with our plans and goals. This is the road God has called us to. His word says that we are to take care of the "widows and orphans" (James 1:27/Ps 82:3/Ps 68:5-6). While this will not always be an easy road, it is where God is moving and we want to be involved.

So what does all of this have to do with the updates in our story? We are seeing God's hand at work as we go through the initial phases of our paperwork, as we work on the finances, and as we deal with people in the process. Now . . . we still have quite a long road ahead of us, but things are progressing. We have sent for all of the birth and marraige records (3 copies each). We will be getting the dog her shots and vaccination updates. Passport photos are in hand, we have secured a good chunk of the financing that we will need through an interest only loan. This is a great win for us in that we anticipate recieving reimbursements from the IRS (tax credit) and both of our employers that will equal $18,000. This will leave us to raise approximately $10,000 more to cover all costs. If anyone is interested in donating for this cause, I am working on the procedures for this (thanks in advance for even considering helping with this).

Mother's day was nice. We spent the day at my mother's house with all of the neices and nephews. Now that we have started this process, I can see that there is someone missing from this group. I can't wait to see her playing with all of the kids.

Check back in a week or so . . . I'm hoping to have a new family picture up.

Mommy's thoughts

It is great to feel like we are finally making some progress with a dream that I have had on my heart since I was a teenager. It has been a whole year since we lost our little person and it has been hard. But, God has been faithful and He is on the road to completing our family with a very special, very wanted little daughter (we'll nickname her "Sunshine", thanks to Mom-Mom). I have a lot of paperwork to do and it seems daunting (we're done with the fingerprinting!!, step 1 of 200). The wait time for her once we have completed everything is very, very long, too, too long but I will be patient (or at least try....maybe). We are drawn to Albania for some reason (Mother Theresa's home country...one of my favorite people ever) but we're still looking at Russia and the Ukraine. We will watch the different countries' stability and continue to pray as we go through our home study. I feel at peace to wherever He leads us.

So, my love, wherever you are...we wait for you to come to us. We're finally on the path to you. Godspeed... mommy

The ball is rolling . . .

Yesterday, at 9:03 am (so we were 3 minutes late) we arrived at Bethany Christian Services (BCS) to meet with Debra for our first meeting. We talked for about an hour about adoption, why we wanted to adopt, how we came to this decision, what our family thought of the decision. After this time, Deb and I were confident that not only was this what we wanted to do, but that this was what God called us to do. For the next two hours we discussed different countries and began the paperwork for our home study. We talked about Russia . . . we talked about Ukraine . . . and we talked about Albania. We talked about the age of the child, whether we wanted a boy or a girl, healthy or special needs. We even discussed domestic adoptions. But most of all we talked about countries.

In the end, a firm decision was not made, but we are leaning heavily toward Albania. This is a country in which BCS has a very strong program. They have a 3 building compound and a great relationship with the authorities. The main drawback with Albania is time. From the time we submit our dossier (could be 4 - 6 months from now) it could take up to 2+ years to get a referral from the country. This long of a wait will be painful for Deb, but the amount of information and the level of service we will be able to get from BCS should outweigh the length of time. I believe this will give us the time to research Albania, set up resources for when she arrives and be ready with all of our ducks in a row for our traveling adventure.

We started the paperwork. There was a ton of paperwork . . . Debra gave Deb and I homework. There were about 20 different things that need to be done from Birth and Marriage certificates to animal shot records. We have to get the house in shape for inspection, we have to put our financial records together (yep, they look at that too), and we have to set up physicals/bloodwork. So much to do.
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Prayer Request - Please pray that God will continue to lead us to the right adoption program and that He will protect her as she goes through her orphanage care. Please also continue to pray for provision during this time and that God will give me wisdom to use our current resources and to prepare for what lies ahead.

May begins

Well, it's May 1 and we are still anxiously awaiting our meeting with Bethany Christian Services to get the ball rolling. Deb and I have been diligently working on the budgets and funding options. More research needs to be done, but we are finding that many of the grant options are not available to us due to our income level. Every time we run into a roadblock, it just reminds me that we are doing something significant for another person, a child of God who is in need. If this is what God has called us to, He will prepare the way and make it happen.

I sent an email last week letting family and friends know about our upcoming plans and asking for prayers. I have received a good deal of responses from everyone excited about our plans. Please know that we covet your prayers and appreciate the encouragement. Even at work, my boss let me know that she and others would be willing to donate vacation time to help with any time off needs. This is a tremendous encouragement to me. I know how hard it is to make all of this happen and to be supported at work with such a thing is fantastic.

I'm still trying to get Deb to post her first entry. She has so much to contribute to this discussion. Her enthusiasm for this endeavor far exceeds mine.

Justin and Alex are very excited to meet their sister. The have already begun making plans for who will sit where in the van. They talk about her at dinner and ask about where they can set up her room. It's very cute.
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Prayer Request - Please continue to pray that God will reveal his plan to us and that he will work out the finances. We are in need of planning for the cost of the adoption as well as the change in the budgets when the child is with us.

The Challenges Begin . . .

Yesterday was a rough day. We applied for a line of credit through Bank of America and were turned down. We have had a rough history with BOA in the past and they weren't willing to work with us right now. I was kind of counting on this as it would have provided a bulk of the funding that we need and it was a line of credit, so we could take as we need.

With the dissapointment in mind, I know that God is still working on getting this done for us. After I spoke with the bank, I got in touch with our Credit Union. I was able to take a Deed of Trust loan with them. This is less money and a conventional loan, but it is about half of the money we need. Again, Deb and I are confident that God is moving here and will provide the balance of what we need to bring our girl home.
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So . . . we have our first official meeting with Bethany Christian Services set up for Monday, May 7. This will be the official start! We are very excited about what this means. The ball should be rolling pretty quickly on our end after the 7th. We will be starting the home study, finger prints, financial records, etc. This will be a busy time.
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Prayer Request: Please pray that God will continue to guide us to the right country/program, that He will provide the money necessary to complete the process, and that He will give our family patience and wisdom throughout the process.

Here we go . . .

Welcome to our blog. Deb and I will be posting our thoughts, prayers and experiences as we move through the ups and downs of the adoption of our little girl. God has been so good to us by giving us Justin and Alex, two wonderful, active little boys. They are very excited about the possibility of having a sister to add to the bunch.

Now . . . it is early in the game and we are just beginning, but our family has agreed that God is calling us to complete the family through Adoption. We are excited . . . really excited about the next 2 years and what they will be. There are so many questions . . .

1. How will God provide the money for all the fees associated with the adoption?
2. Where is she? (Russia, Ukraine, Kosovo, Albania, ???)
3. What will she become?

Deb and I met with the case worker at Bethany Christian Services last week. Her name is Debby and she is a very sweet lady, who seems to take a great deal of pride in her work. She also shows a great deal of ownership in each case that she works on. I think this will be the agency we use. Deb has requested a follow up meeting to get the ball rolling.

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Prayer - God please bless us as we start this proceding. Provide for us as we look for the finances, as we begin our home study and as we prepare for another child in this family. Bless our little girl wherever she is. Help her to grow strong and healthy and be ready for a loving family.