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.