The Name of the Game....Waiting

A lot of people have been asking me lately what's going on with the adoption. The answer.....we're now in the "waiting game". Russia has our paperwork, so now we wait. And wait. And wait. I've never been so thankful for being busy all the time. Why? It keeps my mind off of the waiting. Most days, the waiting is easy (because we are so busy most of the time), but other days, when I have a quiet moment to myself, it's excruciating. When I allow myself a moment to really think about my child just lying in a crib all alone, it's sometimes more than my heart can take. Then God reminds me that He has my child in the palm of His hand, protecting him/her. What more could a mother ask for? How joyous the day though when my child is in my arms! One month down.....5-7 months to go!

Please continue to pray for us! This is such huge task that God has called us to. It's much larger than we ever could have dreamed, but God continues to meet our needs as they arise. Pray that we continue to trust God to provide.

Alarming Statistics

Monday afternoon I decided to do a little research to find out for myself just how bad the "orphan crisis" is. What I discovered now haunts me. I can't seem to get these numbers out of my head. What's even more horrible, is actually putting a child's face to each and every number. It's hard enough to think about such alarming statistics, but to actually put a face with the number should bring us all to tears and motivate us to action.




There are between 143,000,000 – 210,000,000 orphans in the world today.

Every 15 SECONDS, another child becomes an AIDS orphan in Africa.

Every DAY 5,760 more children become orphans.

Every YEAR 2,102,400 more children become orphans (in Africa alone).

143,000,000 orphans in the world today spend an average of 10 years in an orphanage or foster home.

Approximately 250,000 children are adopted annually, but… Every YEAR 14,050,000 children still grow up as orphans and AGE OUT of the system.

Every DAY 38,493 children AGE OUT.

Every 2.2 SECONDS, another orphan child AGES OUT with no family to belong to and no place to call home.

In Ukraine and Russia 10% -15% of children who age out of an orphanage commit suicide before age 18. 60% of the girls are lured into prostitution. 70% of the boys become hardened criminals.



Lord, break our hearts with what breaks yours!

CIS Approval

It's official, in my hand I have our CIS approval! We were quite shocked that it arrived so soon. Our approval only took 24 days!! I've never been so excited in my life to open a letter from Homeland Security!

I know the hard part is about to begin....the waiting! Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Pray for peace and patience for us and for our child to be surrounded by people who can love him/her until we can bring him/her home to their "forever family".

CIS Fingerprints....Done

Yesterday, Troy and I had our last set of fingerprints done (I hope) with Citizen and Immigration Services. The sweetest woman did my fingerprints. When she looked at my form number (you know government forms.....they all have about a thousand digit number assigned to them) she commented, "How amazing, you're adopting". She then proceeded to ask me if we had any children at home already. I told her about our four children and I waited for her to say I must be crazy (that's usually the response I get). The response I got instead was, "I think you and your husband are awesome for doing this". I wanted to cry right then and there. You have no idea how happy it makes me when I find another person who believes in fighting for orphans. She then told me about a man and his wife that had been in for fingerprints last week. She said they had 11 children at home and were currently adopting #12 from Ethiopia. Of their 11 children, 9 of those are adopted. Wow!! Oh how I would love to meet that couple someday (whomever they may be). Praise God that people are taking a stand and living out God's call on their lives to care for orphans! Stories like that make me want to stand and shout!

Please pass my blog address along to any friends/family/acquaintances/co-workers that have adopted, are adopting or are considering adoption. I would love to talk to each and every one of them!

Too Long Between Posts

It's been quite a while since my last post! School started for the older two and then the younger two and I started Mother's Day Out. So, things have been hectic around the Cole household trying to get used to our new schedule. I have intended many times to sit down and update everyone on our adoption, but alas something comes up and the post is put off.

So, what's happening with our adoption??? Well, Troy and I have our appointment to be fingerprinted for our CIS approval on Thursday. (This will be the 3rd time we've both had to be fingerprinted during this process!) Our caseworker told me that it should only take a couple of weeks after our fingerprinting to get our CIS approval. (I'm not going to hold my breath though.) Once we receive our CIS approval, our paperwork will be headed to Russia!!!! Our wonderful dossier preparer, Kate, sent me an e-mail on Friday letting me know that our dossier paperwork was complete and being sent to our agency (Gladney). Yay!!!!

Some days it seems like this is taking forever (and we haven't even begun the REAL waiting period) and then other days I CANNOT believe it's all happening this quickly!

Please continue to pray for our family and for our child who is waiting for us to come get him/her. It's extremely hard to think about your child just sitting in a crib somewhere waiting on you to come get them. I am thankful for a God who says to "Cast all our anxiety upon Him because He cares for us"! This is all in God's hands and in His perfect time, our child will be home in his/her "forever family"!

Dossier Paperwork.....Check!!!!

This afternoon, Troy is sending all of our paperwork, via FedEx, to our wonderful dossier preparer, Kate. I don't think I've ever seen a stack of paper (that I've had to fill out, sign and notarize) that large in my life!!! Now, our dossier is not complete, but we've now done everything on our part. Our poor notary's hand may fall off soon from notarizing and re-notarizing document after document. We owe her BIG! I've put my husband on a mission to figure out what her favorite restaurant/store is, cause I think a gift card is a MUST! :)

What, you may ask, is our next step? We're currently waiting for our CIS approval. CIS approval basically means we're approved to bring an orphan home to the United States (In my book though, once that child's in my arms, they're no longer an orphan!) and the child can obtain his/her visa before we leave Russia. Once we receive our CIS approval, our dossier can be sent to Russia. So.....we wait so that then we can wait some more! I'm beginning to think that God thinks I need patience. I was once told that you shouldn't pray for patience unless you REALLY want it. Well, I'm learning that it doesn't matter if you pray for it or not. God knows where you're lacking and He'll make sure He fixes that! HA!

The one thing that has surprised me is just how happy and excited I am, even when I know there's nothing else I can do but wait. Now, check with me in 6 months or so and I may have changed my tune. :)

My kids on the other hand, are not as happy as me today. They had to have TB tests yesterday so that we could complete their medical forms. Yes, I put off their medical forms until last because I knew they would NOT be happy with me. I think they're beginning to wonder what else they're going to have to do to bring their brother/sister home! :) They were troopers, though! I'm amazed daily by the strength of character my children are developing. Even after being stuck with a needle yesterday, last night they were praying that God would protect and bring home their new brother/sister quickly. I don't think there's anything more precious than the love of a child. The one thing I do know for sure, is that our child is going to be blessed with amazing brothers and sisters!

Please continue to pray for us! There are some moments when I know that your prayers are all that's getting us through. Sharing this journey with so many friends and family is AMAZING!

Tapestry Conference 2011

I received an e-mail recently from our adoption agency letting us know that there was going to be FREE adoption/foster care conference (Tapestry Conference 2011) held in Irving, Texas in October. Of course the FREE part automatically caught my attention, so I headed straight to the conference website to check it out. (www.tapestryconference.org) I registered right then and there. It looks like it's going to be incredible, and (did I mention) it's FREE!

Tapestry is a ministry of Irving Bible Church. It is an "encouraging and supportive community of adoptive and foster families as well as those who are exploring adoption or foster care". The keynote speaker for the conference is going to be Jayne Schooler. Jayne is the author of several well-known books for adoptive and foster parents, including The Whole Life Adoption Book, Telling the Truth to Your Adopted or Foster Child and Wounded Children, Healing Homes. There will be 20 different breakout sessions to choose from, dealing with everything from "Adoption Realities vs Myths" to "Practical Realities of Connection while Correcting".

If you're interested in adoption in any way, shape, form or fashion, I highly encourage you to attend. Registration is filling up fast, so the sooner the better. Besides, how much fun would it be to hang out with me at an adoption conference? LOL