2B or not 2B...but what was the question?

January 7, 2013- Looking back to the last post (yes, it's been quite a while), I am amazed at how things have changed; disheartened that we are not where we were supposed to be; thankful that we are not where we could have been!  So, October 5th, the girls and I boarded United /Lufthansa for our 'easy' trip.  We planned a few extra days in Liepaja to see their foster family and friends.  We arrived in Riga on 10/6 and we were met by their foster dad, who drove us to Liepaja.  We went to church on Sunday and spent the afternoon with the family.  We had a wonderful time seeing everyone- almost like 'coming home for Christmas'!  Everyone had gifts and Grandma made some of the most delicious food for us!  I had my first experience on the ice and managed not to break a leg as I gingerly glided around the skating rink, never venturing more than a foot or two from the rail!  Lera got to spend some time with her friends at the Karosta Day Center, and a couple of sweet sisters hung out with us for a few days.  Then came the day before court. (Can you here the creepy music playing?  Da Da Duhhhhh!)
I could tell the girls were very troubled.  They began arguing and having heated discussion in Russian.  They wouldn't share what was going on until late that night.  They were trying to work out their differences and had listed 8 things they felt they needed to work on.  I was impressed that the girls were able to put their differences on paper....We discussed it a little, but the problem is, once Lera is angry, it's hard to get her to cooperate.  And if Lera doesn't communicate, Rita gets her feeling hurt- so it's a catch 22!  So, Daina picks us up for court, and she talks briefly to the girls.  Little did I know, but we walked in to a formal courtroom, with Judge, Court Reporter, Prosecutor, and our Attorney and Translator.  Not at all what I was expecting!  Everything was moving along ok until the judge called the girls to the stand.  Let's just say that we ended up with a lot of confusion and hurt feelings...So, the prosecutor recommended we have another 4 months to resolve these issues...and that's how we ended up here today...still waiting...now preparing for trip 2B (or 3 of 4 now!).  It was a hard return to the US, although I was so thankful the Judge didn't pull one or both girls from the adoption!  We met other families at LIDO's that night, but unfortunately I couldn't enjoy the food and I don't think I was good company.  So many families were dealing with heartache that night- not just us!  So, 2A was a flop...2B will hopefully be short and sweet- Limited contact with friends and family to cut down on confusion, no extended stay, just a quick trip to Liepaja and hopefully, a stop at the bridge on our way out of town so we can put our Adoption Lock on the rail and throw away the key to symbolize that we are family forever!!! (An interesting note...when I ordered the lock, I should have had them engrave it with not only our names, but it should have had 10/10/12...but, for some reason, I did not put the date...hmmmmm.  So now I will take the lock to our local jeweler and have them engrave our 'new' date! 
These months have been helpful and hurtful for our situation.  The additional time has helped them get over some of their anger towards each other, but they would have done that anyway, and probably even quicker without this uncertainty hanging over them.   It has added additional stress to all of us because we still face this giant elephant standing in front of us, trying to keep us from our purpose.  As we look down the path, fear of the elephant keeps emotions stirred up, uncertainty of our outcome causes short tempers, it takes a lot of money to feed the elephant.  There are blessings beyond the elephant, but it's hard to focus on them when we know we have an elephant to kill!  So how will it end?  I don't know, but in Jesus' name, we press on! 

A Mid-summer's Night Dream

9/20/12- 15 days and counting until we head back to Latvia for our 2nd of 3 trips!  In just 20 days, we will no longer be a family of 3; for in 20 days, we will stand before the Orphan Court and agree to be a family of 5!  In a mere 40 days, the adoption will be final in the court system as the 20 day period closes in which someone could contest the adoption.  Then we will return to Riga for a week of Embassy appointments to finalize the immigration of our girls.  Once we land, there will be 2 new Americans in the USA! 
This summer has been a mixed bag of emotions.  We have experienced a lot of new feelings, tested a lot of discipline methods, watched and evaluated attitudes, and I am happy to say that Mark and I have survived, grown and bonded better with them than I really thought we would.  Now, it hasn't been without it's bad days; but, they have been 'days', not weeks or months! 
It has been interesting to watch the relationship between Rita and Lera.  Since I've never seen a sister relationship up close, I've learned a lot about girls, and particularly, TEEN girls!  They are also discovering what it means to be sisters, even though they both have biological siblings!  I am beginning to know the different tones of their voices and what attitude will soon be displayed.  I'm seeing what brings true happiness, and what causes stress.  I am sometimes still surprised when Lera curls up in my lap in the rocking chair, but I love that opportunity to simply hold and rock her for as long as she lets me.  I've been so proud of how Rita has pressed into studying and reading books for school.   I've seen the two of them comfort each other, and then cause the other great pain (sometimes physical, but more often emotional).  I've heard the laughter of pure joy as they ride with their dogs in the back of the truck, as a million stars twinkle in the night sky above them, and they point with excitement as they identify some of the constellations!  I've fought their independent, rebellious streaks and gotten irritated at their neediness.  I've battled feelings of guilt while at work, knowing they are home, bored and missing me (and so thankful that they miss me!).  I've cried tears of joy and tears of desperation.  Both were healing!  I've prayed for them, about them, and in spite of them...and that also was healing!  I've been anxious to get to this day, yet hoping time would almost stand still so we don't miss a moment spent together.  They are the highlight of my day, and the reason I'm exhausted at night.  I love them with all my Momma heart (except for the part that belongs to my son) and I'm so happy to finally be able to say, "these are my daughters"!  They are my dream come true! :)

It's Where We Are...

So much has changed since my last post!  We were given a court date of May 15th in Liepaja Orphan Court.  That meant flying from Jackson, MS on May 13th...Mother's Day!  We had an early morning flight out of Jackson and Michael drove us to the airport.  We caught our flight to Charlotte, NC, then to Dulles in DC, Frankfurt, Germany, and final destination of Riga, Latvia.  Once we arrived in Riga, we waited (and waited, and waited) for our bags, but they never came!  The Lufthansa customer service was awesome!  They gave us emergency kits and began tracking our bags.  We took a taxi to Avalon Hotel in Old Riga.  After checkin, we were so exhausted so we laid down for a while before dinner.  By the time I woke up, the tummy was wreaking havoc and supper was a no-go!  One bag arrived late Monday night and Tuesday we started off with a wonderful breakfast downstairs.  We ventured out to exchange money for Daina and miscellaneous expenses as well as on a mission to find flowers for the girls.  Daina was set to meet us at 10:00 am at the hotel to drive us to Liepaja for court.  We found a great outdoor market not far from the hotel and bought 6 beautiful, purple tulips.  After packing, we headed downstairs to meet Daina. I had never seen a picture of her, nor her us; so when she walked in we didn't recognize each other for a while...then she walked over and I met one of the sweetest people in Latvia!!!  We were in the capable hands of her son as he drove us to Liepaja to reconnect with the girls!  There were so many emotions as we neared Liepaja and Daina kept us engaged in conversation.  As we approached the city, Daina told us about her first impressions of Liepaja, but then went on to tell us how much those impressions changed as she got to know the people and area. 
Liepaja is an amazing town!  It did not take long for us to fall in love with that place!  We went straight to court and followed Daina's lead as she worked the system.  We went into a modest but very functional court room with large windows looking over neighboring rooftops.  Not long after, the judge and assistants entered and court proceeded.  Daina explained all that was being said, we answered questions, and then the door opened and the girls came in with their foster dad!  It was so awesome to see them again!!!  We completed court and we were granted permission to keep the girls with us for the next 3 weeks while in Latvia.  With that, we gathered the girls suitcases, crammed them into Daina's car along with ours, and headed to Kaleja Maja, a converted attic apartment in a Blacksmith house that was built in the 1800's. 
Kaleja Maja was an amazing home away from home!  There was a kitchen with a small refrigerator, sink, and 2 burner propane cooktop.  The kitchen was also set up with two beds for additional sleeping space.  Two seperate bedrooms and a small bath completed the apartment!  But, at least we got to cook 2 meals a day in the apartment instead of having to eat out each meal.  The girls claimed their room, but after seeing a small bug in the original timber walls, they moved on to the kitchen sleeping space! 
For the next 3 weeks, we had the most amazing time in the girls hometown.  We rode bicycles all over town, played in the Baltic Sea, met their friends and family, and got to enjoy seeing where the girls grew up!  We completed all of our required visits with our social worker and court, and headed to Riga to secure the girls Visa's.  The US Embassy in Riga is a very secured compound near Spice Mall.  Our first trip there was with Daina; Our second trip was just me while Mark and the girls stayed at the mall to shop.  With Visa's in hand we prepared to fly home!  It was so exciting to be completing that leg of our jouney with our girls at our sides!  Even an overnight delay in DC was enjoyable with them with us!  So, off to Jackson on June 2, a day late, but all in God's time! 

Counting Down

On April 22nd, our updated documents arrived in Riga, Latvia and were delivered to our Latvian Lawyer.  We had already emailed our homestudy and it was due out of translation on April 23rd.  My gut feeling was that we would have our referral before the end of the month with travel in mid May.  I kept thinking how awesome it would be if we flew to Latvia on Mother's Day...well, on April 24th, we were given our court dates of May 15th and 29th, which means we fly out of Jackson on...Mother's Day!  Our official referral came on Friday the 27th and we immediately signed and returned, as well as emailed the Director of Children's Ministry to accept our referral.  So now, we have airline tickets booked, we have a room in Riga for our first night, an apartment in Liepaja for 14 days, and then an apartment for 3 nights back in Riga. 
Rita seems very happy with this change in her life.  I think Lera is happy.???  We are happy and excited to begin this journey.  We don't always understand 'why us'.  We are just glad we were chosen for this amazing opportunity!  The girls are such a blessing.  It is exciting to discover aspects of their hearts, to feed their hopes and dreams, to begin this life journey together with them.  Another adoptive mom wrote recently about feeling sad that she had missed so many of her adopted child's 'firsts'; but then she realized, even though the child was a teen, she still got to experience so many of the 'firsts' she enjoyed with her younger children, just with an older child!  I, too, look forward to many firsts! 

A Long Time Coming...

Much has happened in the past few weeks.  We have been been poked and prodded, tested, stuck, and questioned extensively.  And the verdict is...ADOPT!  A second opinion says, ADOPT!  And now, our agency has issued our renewed homestudy, I received it on 4/12, had them apostilled that afternoon, and shipped it to the Lindell's on 4/13.  It's rather interesting that Chris and Julie will be the one's to take these final documents to Latvia for us...we met them in Atlanta for the Christmas 2010 hosting.  We were hosting Emily and they were hosting her foster sister, Val, for the second time.  The girls communicated off and on during the hosting period and we thought we had 'lucked out' on our first hosting experience.  Everyone was sure we had found our daughter...even Emily's statements and actions said so!--until she got back to Latvia!!  Chris and Julie were supportive as we dealt with the heartbreak of 'losing' Emily.  Now, as we get ready to make our first trip to adopt Rita and Lera, Chris and Val will be making their 3rd and final trip to Latvia to finalize Val's US immigration status.  They will hand deliver our documents to Daina. 
We just got an email from Daina that our updated homestudy, which we emailed to Daina on 4/12, will be out of translation on 4/23, the day she should get our originals.  Then, all that is left is for the documents to be notarized in Latvia then delivered to the Childrens Ministry office.  Next should be our referral...
And again, we are tied with a Georgian family... this time it is Ken and Heidi Fletcher.  The Fletchers are adopting Lera's biological sister, Ksenija.  We were informed that we would all be in court together since the girls have to be adopted at the same time. 
So now it is time to reveiw the checklist of things that are needed for the 1st trip.  A handful of forms, income tax summary page, gifts for about 5 ladies and 2 men, gifts for the foster family, clothes for Rita and Lera, and a large sum of cash in the form of brand new $100 bills that can be exchanged for Lats and Euros.  Thankfully, the few fundraisers we had done last year plus selling some items we no longer used, have funded trip #1 (minus that pesky little thing called Airfare for 4!).  But, God will provide for that also.  Hopefully, in a little over a week, we just might have our referral.  Could we really be at this point?  It's been a long time coming, but maybe it's just about time!

Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart...the verse which inspired the name of our blog.  A reminder came through email this morning that I need to delight myself in the LORD.  A scripture with an instruction, and a promise.  The same promise Rita used on her cardboard testimony last summer for the NHFC video.  A promise I refuse to give up on.  As written by Robert Hotchkin on Elijah List: 
("Delight yourself in the Lord." That word delight in the original Hebrew is "anag" which means "to be soft or pliable." When our circumstances are difficult, or we have been believing for a promise of God to come forth and it has not yet manifested when we think it should or the way we think it should, we can often suffer from disappointment and discouragement. This can cause us to harden our hearts toward God, giving into fear and lies like, "Well, He hasn't come through yet so maybe He isn't going to." But when we take our eyes off those circumstances and put them back on God, we remember what He is really like. We remember that He is loving and kind and merciful and gracious and generous and faithful and trustworthy – no matter what! When we stop trying to figure out what He is doing, and focus on what He is like, it becomes easy to delight in the Lord. And as we do, our hearts "anag" – they soften, opening back up to Him, and we are able to believe and receive again.) 
I see this much like the steak I mentioned a few posts back...it has been beaten so much lately that it has become fork tender!  It is not easy to be 'tenderized'.  It's often very messy.  But the outcome can be quite glorious! 
We have made a little more progress toward the finish line.  Slowly, surely, we will get there! 

"One day, voices that lie, will all be silenced
One day, all that's divided will be whole again
One day, death will retreat and wave it's white flag
One day, love will defeat the strongest enemy
So we wait, for that one day, come quickly
We want to see Your Glory
Every knee bows down before Thee
Every tongue offers you praise, with every hand raised
Singing Glory to You and unto You only
we sing Glory to Your name." 
"Glory" by Selah

Pressing toward the mark for the prize

Saturday, March 10th...Springing forward on our clock tonight and springing forward in our attitude!  I decided to only speak of positives- I choose to see the vision of meeting our girls in Latvia.  I choose to see us bringing them home.  I choose to hear their laughter in our house.  I choose to believe.  Today, I got a letter from MSU Vet Camp...Rita has been accepted for a full scholarship to their 3 day Vet Camp in June.  My job is just to get her there...well, technically, God's job is to get her there.  We will do whatever it takes, whatever is required, whatever!  We have faced so many delays in this process that it just doesn't seem to matter anymore.  You know when you get news that would normally make you double over, but instead you just say 'whatever', you are becoming 'seasoned'.  Sort of like a steak that has been beaten to the point it is now tender enough to cut with a fork...yeah, we are there! 
Wednesday night at sundown started the Jewish holiday of Purim.  This, of course, goes back to Queen Esther's bold appearance before King Ahasuerus to plead for the deliverance of her people.  So Purim is a celebration of the day of deliverance from oppression.  Wednesday night, I was invited to give my presentation on Israel to Living Waters Church.  I only had a few days notice, but everything went great (ok, there were a couple of technical diffficulties with my 6 year old computer, but I was able to fill the gap with stories of our trip).  I felt it was a day of deliverance from the oppression that has been over us.  A day I decided to appear before the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and ask for His mercy and favor.  I know He is faithful to hold out that golden sceptor to us, His children. 
Lera's sister told me she has been praying so hard for everything to get approved and she feels like March 21 will be a good day.  I'm agreeing with her...a new season, a new chapter, a new beginning.  A start to a new life.  March 21, 2012.  Lord, hear your children!  We ask for favor, for supernatural intervention.  Lord, we ask that you work your miracles for us!!!  You are the only one who can make this happen. 

2 Timothy 4:7  I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. 
1 Corinthians 9:24  Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. 
Hebrew 12:1  Therefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.