One Year Ago

A year ago Scott and I were in Ukraine.  Yesterday was the one year anniversary of us meeting Sasha (when I think back on that time, I can only think of Benjamin as Sasha!) and Vitalik.  The boys were brought into the director's office with us, their teachers, our facilitator, the orphanage doctor, the social worker, and the director.  She told the boys in what seemed to us to be very harsh Russian, that we were here to adopt them.  It was blunt and cold and for the boys, completely out of the blue.  Sasha reacted with tears and fear and Vitalik reacted with (what we now realize) was a very confused smile.  This is our first picture of the boys after we met them.

So many emotions for both boys.  In today's entry from last year in my journal I wrote extensively about our first real lengthy visit.  Sasha had made a complete commitment to being adopted and was so happy to spend every minute he could with us.  With Vitalik, looking back, we should have been able to see it would not end well for our adoption of him.  He was withdrawn and kept his distance from us.  Still today, it is hard to remember how it went with him.  We were not the family he had dreamed of and it is still something we grieve even today.  Our thoughts and prayers and hopes of a good future for him are ever present.

Sasha, however, is home and doing amazingly well.  He is absorbing information faster than I can imagine.  We learned about Abraham Lincoln a couple of weeks ago and he thought Abe sounded like a really cool guy.  Now when we see a tall man, he exclaims, "Ah, Abraham Lincoln!"  It also dawned on me when I was saying 'Hey Diddle Diddle' with Ellie, that he had never heard it, or any other nursery rhyme I could think of to tell him.  His look of delight at hearing them was priceless.  We have so very much to catch up on!  We still have hard days here and there, but way more good days than bad.

I am very excited to tell you about the family who the proceeds from the first month of our jewelry sales will go to.  Here is a little of their story:

Craig and I have been blessed with 4 amazing children McKenna 19, Levi 17, Elias 13, and Dylan 11.  It has been my desire for several years to bring another child into our home through the blessing of adoption.  It wasn't until the fall of 2013 after a dear woman came to our church and spoke of the orphans in Ukraine and their desperate need for a forever home that we decided this is our time.  This is our son.  Edic is a 14 year old Ukrainian orphan with a sweet disposition and never ending smile.  We feel this young man has done far more for our family than he will ever know.  This journey has brought us to our knees and ever closer to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Our faith has deepened as we fully rely on Him to bring our precious child home.  In Ukraine, children age out at the age of 16 and are no longer available to families in America.  We desperately hope to bring him home soon.

"I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me."  Matthew 25:40

I met Pam online last year while I was in Ukraine and we have been talking ever since.  I am so excited about their adoption drawing close and am thrilled to be able to help them in a very small way.  In honor of Edic, I am making a few of these necklaces and they will be on my Etsy shop in a few days or feel free to contact me directly about one.  You can order one with or without the heart charm.  Anyone who is interested in buying one, know that all the proceeds will go towards this family's adoption process.

Don't forget to follow us on Instagram @leastofthese127 and check out our etsy shop at Lot127.  All proceeds will go to help support vulnerable children.

Time for a Name Change

Perhaps you noticed that I have changed the name of our blog.  Our old title was outdated and no longer applicable.  So moving forward, you can find us at thislittleblogofmine127.blogspot.com.  I plan to continue blogging about our ever-changing family, books I am reading, orphan care, adoption, fostering, and our new venture.

Scott and I have a passion for orphan care and we feel like it is a God-given passion for both of us.  We are always asking Him, "What next?"  David Platt says we should give our lives to God as a blank check.  And that is what we try to do.  It has taken us in many different directions; fostering, adoption, church ministry, community ministry, advocating for orphans and foster children, etc.  It is all for His glory.  All because we have prayed to break our hearts for what breaks His.  We have done things we would have never dreamed of on our own.  Gone to uncomfortable places and gone through uncomfortable things.  And we have never been more fulfilled or happier.  We feel like we are living in God's will for our lives.

Now we feel like the 'next' thing has been laid on our hearts.  It seems like a small thing to many but it is something that makes me feel very awkward, nervous, uncomfortable, you name it.  I love making jewelry.  I hate selling it.  I hate marketing it/myself.  It leaves me feeling vulnerable like nothing else I have done.  I did it to raise funds for our adoption last year because it was necessary.  But I have felt for some time now that God is leading me to make jewelry as a way to raise money for orphan care.  So that is what I am doing.  I am busy designing, making, setting up the new Etsy shop, Instagram account, changing the name of the blog, and connecting all of these social media (thanks Ali for all the help!)  The proceeds will go to families in the process of adoption and to organizations involved in orphan care and orphan prevention/family preservation.  We are stepping into the world of business (yuck!) and hoping and praying that God blesses our obedience and effort for the sole purpose of allowing us to do more to further His kingdom.

So if you will, check out our instagram account, @leastofthese127, follow it, and share it.  (I am planning a promotional give-away soon!)  The more exposure it gets, the better.  The new etsy shop is called Lot127.  I am adding things daily to both of these.  And please, keep it in mind as you start your Christmas shopping!  Help us make a small ripple in the world of caring for vulnerable children.

Blue Lights

How has it already been a month since my last post?!  Goodness, so much has fit into so little time.  We still have our new little guys.  There have been some big adjustments; urinating in the bathtub instead of the toilet, rages at school, threats of the alternative school - yes for 5 and 6 year olds; what?...just keeping it real.  It has been a roller coaster for sure.  And then of course our oldest, Emileigh graduated from physical therapy school, moved home (in the midst of the craziness) for 3 weeks, and has moved on to her first job in Indiana.  Caroline moved back to Mississippi State University for her second year of college, Ali swooped in for one day from Rhode Island on her way back to school in Arkansas, and Collin and Elizabeth are plugging away in their happily-married-bubble.  :)  Whew.  I think that is all.

Oh yeah, and then came Sunday.  The new boys are learning how to gel with Jocelyn, Ellie Grace, and Benjamin.  They all run and play together and are acting more and more like siblings.  So Sunday afternoon they are all playing and one accidentally slams a door on another's hand.  One of the fingers was bleeding and we had concerns that the finger was broken.  We made the decision to play it safe and run him to the emergency room for an x-ray.  Long story short, it was not broken.  The ER doctor bandaged the finger, gave him some pain meds and sent Scott and T on their way to Sonic for consolation slushies.  After all coddling and attentiveness Scott just spent on this kid, they pull into the driveway, and T sighs and says, "I love Mama."  Gotta love it.

I, being the ever-diligent foster mom(I hope this reads as sarcasm), email our case worker with the details of what happened along with the doctor notes from the ER thinking that was the end of that.  Hahahahaha.  She emailed me back Monday morning to inform me that it was required that she report us to the child abuse hotline.  And that there could possibly be an investigation into the 'matter.'   Really. For a squished finger.  Obviously, I was a little upset and called Scott at work to let him know what was happening.  A few hours later, a sheriff's car pulled into our driveway.  I was shocked that a deputy would be sent to question the boys.  I walked out to meet her and it turned out that she was only delivering standard court papers for our boys.  Always before, these type papers had come via the mail, but whatever.  Benjamin has been a little afraid of law enforcement since we have been home, understandably so with him being from Ukraine.  I thought this was the perfect opportunity to introduce him to a deputy and after I explained his situation, I asked her to talk to him for a few minutes.  She was great and talked to him and then showed all the kids her car.  They wanted to see her blue lights on so she asked me if that was ok.  I told her of course!  She said sometimes people are concerned about what their neighbors would think but I told her ours already think we are crazy so go for it.  As soon as she flipped them on, here comes Scott pulling into the driveway, with a sheriff's car sitting there, with the blue lights on, with all of us standing around her.  He also immediately thought it had something to do with the report to the hotline so was greatly relieved to see us all smiling and getting a 'tour' of her car.  What a day.

We still have not heard anything further about the report or about an investigation.  Also, the squished finger is doing well.

Stay tuned.  I am hoping we have big news around the corner.