I'm Back

After having been sick with the flu for almost two weeks, I finally feel like Corrie is slowly coming back!  :-)  So much has happened the past two weeks, and yet it just all seems like a blur right now.  Christmas time is my favorite time of the year, and this year I did not get to do any of the traditions I so love to do.  Maybe I can catch up a little this week!  We did have a wonderful quiet Christmas just as a family and celebrated with a Happy Birthday Jesus dinner and cake!  We even got snow on Christmas Day!  Our family has never celebrated Christmas as a time to get presents but as a time to give to someone else something that is very valuable to you, just like God did for us.  This year has given the girls a new meaning of what it means to give to someone else what they could never have otherwise.
We did have our first home study appointment on December 18th.  It went well, and neither Abe or I really had any time to think about it beforehand.  We have an awesome social worker, and she is very knowledgeable about adopting from Eastern Europe!  She is trying to get our homestudy done and our I-600 in the mail as soon as possible.  Our next appointment is January 1, and then our last appointment should not be too long after that at our home.  Once we make it into the new year, we will start compiling our dossier and doing some fund-raising.  I could start now, but I think it will be best to wait until the new year and after our I-600 is in the mail.  Thankfully, we have a friend who has agreed to do all the notarizing for us so that we can be sure it is done correctly the first time!  I have met some wonderful families who have been through what we are about to go through already, and they are a huge help answering all my silly questions.  THANK YOU!!! 
I have finally completed our "About Us" page, but be aware it is a rather long summary of our family!  :-) I am reading a book called "Adopted for Life" right now, and am looking forward to sharing some thoughts from this book with you soon!
I hope you all had a very merry Christmas with your family!  We look forward to a very special first Christmas Celebration with Vika next year.  I will leave you with some little clips of our girls singing Christmas carols in front of our German Advent Tree in their pj's.  Ammadea got a little distracted by her Papa.  :-)  

The Beginning of a New Journey

I'm not really sure how to begin this blog, and writing has never been my best asset!  I have to start somewhere, and I'm sure along the way, the Lord will give me exactly the words that I need to say.  Feel free to learn about us by clicking any of the tabs on the top of our blog.  This blog is still under construction, so please be patient with me.  I'm going to try and document our journey through the current chapter in our lives, so that you can all follow along and pray with us to bring Vika home. 
Right now, we are preparing paperwork, writing self evaluations, going through three different background checks, completing medical evaluations, awaiting copies of vital records, and starting to raise money to finance her adoption.  Our first homestudy is scheduled for December 18th!  We are excited to see God's hand move in ways we can't even imagine!  I will do my best to share how much He is blessing us! 
Today, our two oldest daughters will have a part in our church's Christmas play, and I will share some pictures with you later this week!  They are such a blessing, and we are definitely undeserving to be able to call them ours!  God has been so good to us, and He continues to amaze us!