We are home!

   Sorry to have neglected the blog but I was updating our secret group on facebook and just forgot:) We have been home for a little over a week and are adjusting as best we can. It is indescribable how amazing it feels to have everyone under one roof!
   Nehemiah seemed to be a total mess the first few days we brought him home. He cried constantly and wouldn't sleep unless being held. We were shocked because in the orphanage we never heard him cry. On day four two little teeth popped through and he settled down. I think with all the new things and the teeth he was just done. He is now sleeping much better and not crying all the time. He does love to be held and if he falls asleep while being held you cannot lay him down!:) Stinker, he is loving having so many brothers and two little mommies that talk to him all day. We can already see him growing in his strength. His head control is much better and he will sit with assistance for short periods. We are working on building his core strength and lots of bonding time. He has not had any bottles since leaving the orphanage he is only nursing. This is great but also a huge task with six children. Thankfully Joey has been home to be an extra pair of hands.
   Jeremiah seems to love having a family he hugs and kisses everyone and is loving exploring more of the house each day. We have been shocked how strong he has gotten in just the week we have been home. At the orphanage he needed two adults assistance to go up and down stairs. Now the goober is running up and down a few times a day to check out what is going on. He walked over a mile yesterday to the neighborhood playground and even went up the steps and down the slide a few times. He eats like a champ and has not turned down any of my cooking. The only thing he said no to was chocolate!! Silly boy. He is sleeping well at night and still takes a good nap during the afternoon. He supposedly was potty trained in the orphanage and the first few days in Ukraine he used the toilet but since being home he has not but we are rolling with diapers for now. (side note, wow five kids in diapers at night and three kids during the day is a endless job!!)
    Adjusting to a family of eight is not all sweetness and roses it is crazy hard work. Just having six kids under 7 years old is tough add in special needs and institutional behaviors and it is impossible. We turn to God minute by minute requesting patience and guidance. The support we have received from family and friends in the form of meals, gift cards, gifts for the kids and prayers have been so uplifting. To God be the glory great things He has done!

Little update:)

   Sorry to be away for so long we have had a very eventful trip:) We are back for now due to a glitch in the computer system in our boys region. But if you have not been following along on our secret facebook group, we received both referrals for the boys (about a week and a half apart) and have meet and started bonding with both of them. Nehemiah is 10 months old and the biggest little boy I have ever seem. He is so yummy and precious! He has started "talking" and is very smiley and happy. His orphanage is bright and cheerful with caring nannies and director. Jeremiah is a stinker! He is 4 (will be five at the beginning of the year) and is smart as can be. He has fooled his nannies into thinking he is not big or smart enough to accomplish the tasks that they ask him to do:) He is very ticklish and love love loves bubbles. He is going to really enjoy having 5 brothers and sisters. He really lights up in his groupa (like aged children grouped together in the orphanage) He is still not to sure about adults trying to play with him  ie. Joey and I :) To him adults tell him what to do and feed him. His orphanage is very clean and prides itself on order and healthy food. The children are well cared for, but affection and physical touch are not common from our experience. We will be returning on Friday evening and have our court date scheduled for November 26th at 2:30pm!! So excited to finally say we have a date. We will stay for the ten day wait after court and then start the process of getting birth certificates, passports and visas at the US embassy. Please please join us in praying that we will make it home as a family for Christmas! My children in the US would be devastated if we missed it.
   It has been a LONG difficult road for the past few weeks and we are so ready to have our whole family in one country under one roof. God has been good and met our needs as they have come along. Thank you for your support and prayers. After court is done and we are home we will be sharing lots and lots of pictures!!:)

And we are off.....

Mommy and Daddy are coming:)

Tomorrow Tomorrow we are leaving Tomorrow!!

  I don't know where to start this post? I am so overwhelmed we received more donations and are now $588 from being fully funded. It seems so inconceivable I remember sitting in my living room with a group of my friends crying because I was scared about what God had laid on my heart to do. And now we are one day from leaving the US to meet our new children for the first time and we are basically fully funded. We are not going to haggle over $500 when you look at $30,000! Plus we feel that our "total" is a guesstimate anyway based on past adoptions. We are pretty good at living cheaply and plan to continue that in country. So we feel that we can say with a degree of confidence that we are fully funded! Wow so amazing and all the glory needs to go to GOD. Thank you Thank you Thank you for all you have done we have felt so supported and loved.

Friday Fun Facts

 We leave in 4 DAYS!!
 We only need $2853 to be fully funded
 We will have kids give or take a month ages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 (turned 7 today)
 We are so very blessed!!

Meet our boy:)

 Here is an adorable picture of the little boy I spoke of in my last post, we officially committed to him this morning and hope to meet him a week or so after we arrive in his country. I can't wait to put a smile on that sweet serious face! I knew he was mine this morning when I read on the adoption group facebook site that someone else might be interested. I had a panicked moment and thought, "No, they can't have him!" :) We praise God that He is always with us and has guided us in this crazy process. You have a mommy and daddy coming for you!!!
                                                 

We have not decided who will get which name but we plan on keeping Nehemiah and Jeremiah we will make a decision after we meet the boys. Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

Praying Praying Praying

  The title sums up what we have been doing since my last post. We have been praying hard for direction and clarity in so many different areas of our lives. One major prayer is clarity on which child we should bring home. Our hearts are pulled to a little one that is soon to turn 5, in his region he will be transferred to a mental institution as 5 is the "age out" date for the orphanage. I cannot imagine my 5 year old going to a place like that and she doesn't have special needs! Other then picking up our clean unmarked bills from the bank I believe we are ready for our trip, which will make for a long 6 days:) I dread saying goodbye to my children and in a way I want to get it over with.