We now have court scheduled for next week for both of our kids! Aleksa's will be MONDAY, and Wesley's will be THURSDAY! We will fly back to the USA on Friday, without our kids...
Here's a little about the process from here on out, and why we're still not home free after court.
Ukrainian law requires a 10 day appeal period after court before the court decree is issued. Until that decree is in our hands, we cannot work on getting a new birth certificate, tax code, and passport for our child with their new name and including us as their parents.
And so... Friday we will go home without our kids. We'll be home for one week, then a friend that is like a 'third grandma' (but a YOUNG one ;) ) to our kids and a great friend and mentor to Michael and I, Chris Harm, will be returning to Ukraine with me. We're planning for that to be on December 11th that we begin travel, which will land us in UA on the 12th and we can start the process to get everything done for the kids on Monday the 13th. We may return earlier if Aleksa's court decree will be available sooner and I am needed to physically be here to pick it up.
Here's the hard part... Ukraine is currently putting a bill amendment through Parliament which is intended to stop all international adoption from multiple countries including the USA. It is set for vote on the week of December 14-17th. If passed, there is a time frame for the President to sign it in to law. As soon as it's signed in to law, it can (and likely will) immediately affect everyone that is in the process of adopting.
Until today, I was under the impression that if we had the court decree, that we would be 'safe' to be able to get our kids home. Unfortunately, that may not be the case. I understand that in the past when changes like this were made (such as not allowing single people to adopt which was voted in during our 2008 adoption) that people were affected on all different levels. Including the re-issuance of birth certificates and obtaining passports...
Our children were both born in the same city (both were in the same baby house but Aleksa was transferred further away in '08). Birth certificates are redone in the city of the child's birth... so those two will both be done at the same location. The birth certificates can take 1-3 days to get. After getting a birth certificate, some regions require that the child acquire a new tax code, which is like a social security number. The tax code can take 1-7 days to get. After getting a tax code (if required), then a passport can be applied for. This is done in the capital city of the child's current region, which means that the two kids' paperwork needs to be filed for in two different places. The passport can take 2-10 days. THEN, we bring both kids to the capital city (whenever their previous parts of the process are done) and they go to a medical appointment in order to have that information sent to the US Embassy. Generally that same day a first appointment is held and the next afternoon the final appointment is held at the Embassy and the Visa for travel is given. The next day we can go home!!
As you can see, this is another long process!
1-3 days Birth certificate
1-7 days Tax code
2-10 days Passport
2 days medical/visa
That's a MINIMUM of 6 days... but that is VERY unlikely, especially with two children in different regions. It's more realistic to think about 10-12 days, and possibly even 22.
We are hoping and praying that we can get all of those things accomplished in TEN DAYS, allowing us to fly home on day 11... December 23rd. Just in time for Christmas...
If we miss Christmas, that isn't the end of the world. Michael will be home with our kids, and Chris' children are all older (youngest is...17?) so Christmas could wait a few days if needed.
The BIGGER issue, is getting everything as quickly as possible so that we are able to get through the ENTIRE process and get our KIDS HOME if the worst happens and Ukraine does indeed close down all international adoption from the USA-- including children with special needs.
We are praying that Ukraine will NOT close to special needs adoptions, if the bill passes at all. But while doing everything that we are able to do from here... we are also preparing ourselves for the possibility of all of this happening and asking for the way to be paved in prayer.
God has brought us this far!! HE will continue to guide each step, to guide our hearts, and to protect our children.
And... by the way... we spoke at the Embassy Consulate today and it was very well received :). Thank you for your prayers there! I'm thankful to have had that opportunity and for Michael to be there with me to be able to contribute from his perspective to answer questions as well!
Where would I be without Michael here beside me?? I certainly couldn't do any of this without God or my best friend :)
The Cornish Family... Chasing God's calling...
Friday, November 26, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Not yet…
Still waiting on court for Wesley. We should know tomorrow... just like we should have known today, and yesterday, and Monday, and last Friday. Hopefully we really will know tomorrow...
In the mean time... we decided we haven't seen Aleksa in a long time and went to go see her today. 2 1/2 hours there... 1 hour to visit... 2 1/2 hours home. It was worth it!
When we arrived the Deputy Director (who knew we were coming) wasn’t there. Through cell phone translator services LOL, we learned that Aleksa has a cough and was quarantined… they were waiting on a doctor and she’d had a fever the day prior. The day before—we’d called the day before to ask if we could come… so…
Anyway, a nurse brought her in to us then brought us to an empty room where we could play with her. Instead of a 2 hour visit (our driver had been 30 min late to start with…) we ended up getting in just an hour with her. It was worth it, no matter how short, to be able to play with Aleksa again today.
Here are some pictures from our visit with Aleksa today...
She had a good time dressing and undressing with her hat and coat today… and dressing up Daddy and Mommy too :). Too bad Mommy had the camera… just some pic’s of Daddy with the pink hat!
During our visit an adult ‘child’ with developmental delays came in to our room. She spoke to me in “clear Russian” (from what I could tell), but all we could do is say “I don’t understand” in Russian. She said something else… we repeated the same… She stayed and watched Aleksa sit on our laps and snuggle, then jump up to build with big fabric blocks… then she left. I’d say she’s just a few years younger than Michael and I, early 20’s maybe.
Aleksa needed to use the bathroom while we were playing, and again she took me by the hand and we went to the restroom. This time, there were other people in the building, and 2 girls followed us in to the communal restrooms. Aleksa went and found her “mixing bowl” on the floor and went to the bathroom. One older girl- probably about 18 or 20- came over and talked to me after using a commode with no seat on it.
“…. (speaking Russian)…. mama…. papa…. (more talking in Russian)….”
She took her hands and with two fingers held out about 6” apart she continued to tell me something… with mama and papa… The other older girl from earlier was there as well. She watched. The younger of the two came over and hugged me. A sweet loving hug—not a rough or uncomfortable situation.
With that, Aleksa POPPED up off her little bowl and ran over to pull her away from me. She was getting possessive! The older girl came hesitantly over and leaned in slowly. I hugged her too. Aleksa was ready to go, trying to pull me from the room and I made sure to give her a big hug as well. Then I fixed her pants and shirt and the older girls again began commenting about “mama…”. I got Aleksa to wash her hands, though she wanted to DRINK the water out of the sink rather than just wash, and we walked back down the hallway. Aleksa’s protective hand holding mine securely as she walked me down to the room where her Papa is.
I think she’s really starting to understand that we are there for HER. That she has a Mama and a Papa that come to see her.
And the other girls… are seeing what they are missing.
It breaks my heart. They have been there since they were 4 or 5 years old. Now, at 18 or 25… 15… 20 years living in the institution. One adult to 30 kids at many times. It’s a good facility. A clean building. A kind staff (from what we can tell). A nice director who has cleaned it up a LOT since arriving 15 years ago. But no mama. No papa. No one saying “I love you, and I’ll travel the ocean for you.”
There is no way we could turn away from Aleksa and let her be another adult child… who we could have provided for… but decided not to for whatever reason.
No, she is meant to be our daughter. God brought us to her—TWICE! There are so many more there though… watching us hug her. Watching us play. Hearing “mama and papa”. And understanding very well what that means. Those older girls had great speech. Just a different language than ours. I wish we could know what they were saying. I wish we could talk to them. But instead, just a hug, an “I don’t understand.”
Today is Thanksgiving, and I’m thankful for so many things. I’m thankful that God brought us back to Aleksa. I’m thankful that He provided for us to be here right now. I’m thankful for our family and children back home. I’m thankful for our parents who are keeping things going there. I’m thankful for every person who is praying for our family. I’m thankful for every person who has trusted in God’s provision for themselves and helped us financially in this adoption. I’m thankful for those who will continue to give to our adoption, because we know that God will be providing the last $12,000 that we need to be able to finish these adoptions.
God is good… all the time. I’m thankful that I don’t have to worry about anything because HE is in control!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Keep Praying!!
Please continue to pray that we will get court dates today! It has been 5 days since we thought we'd have the dates, but one thing or another in both regions has held up finding out. We are praying to have court on Monday and Tuesday next week.
For several reasons, I *should* be leaving by December 2nd. That is Thursday.
Our parents are doing great with our children, and our children with them, and we are VERY blessed to not have the added stress of how they are doing. Everyone is doing great and it sounds like the grandparents are enjoying this extra bonding time with our kids-- though I know they're also tired and ready for us to be home too :)
Please pray that we get our court dates today, and that they are for early next week!!
**In addition to our timeline to get home, we also have learned that the second vote on a bill going through Ukrainian Parliament right now will be held on the week of December 14-17. IF this passes as is then it will put an immediate STOP to all international adoptions from the US. We do not yet know whether it will pass, or whether it will be changed before being brought back for vote, or whether it will even be held that day. We also don't know if we will get our court decree even if this passes... if we've already had court.
Our prayer is that special needs adoption will continue to stay open! In case it does not, we really want to have our court decrees for BOTH children IN HAND before the vote is held. The court decree is not available until 10 days after court is held. That means that we really need to have court by December 3rd to help ensure that we will be issued the court decree and not affected by the current legislation.
As a side note to others adopting-- we do NOT know whether adoptions in progress will be allowed to continue, whether those who have already passed court but not issued their court decrees will be given them, or whether those with even just a dossier in at the SDA will be allowed to continue... It is all up in the air until the hearing date and even that may change (moved earlier or later). So, continue to press on toward your children if you feel that's God's pull. He will direct your paths, and His heart is for the children. Know that it is not without risk. But children are worth EVERY risk that we can make. What is really at stake? A child vs. Time and money. The child wins.
Thank you for joining us in prayer!!
For several reasons, I *should* be leaving by December 2nd. That is Thursday.
Our parents are doing great with our children, and our children with them, and we are VERY blessed to not have the added stress of how they are doing. Everyone is doing great and it sounds like the grandparents are enjoying this extra bonding time with our kids-- though I know they're also tired and ready for us to be home too :)
Please pray that we get our court dates today, and that they are for early next week!!
**In addition to our timeline to get home, we also have learned that the second vote on a bill going through Ukrainian Parliament right now will be held on the week of December 14-17. IF this passes as is then it will put an immediate STOP to all international adoptions from the US. We do not yet know whether it will pass, or whether it will be changed before being brought back for vote, or whether it will even be held that day. We also don't know if we will get our court decree even if this passes... if we've already had court.
Our prayer is that special needs adoption will continue to stay open! In case it does not, we really want to have our court decrees for BOTH children IN HAND before the vote is held. The court decree is not available until 10 days after court is held. That means that we really need to have court by December 3rd to help ensure that we will be issued the court decree and not affected by the current legislation.
As a side note to others adopting-- we do NOT know whether adoptions in progress will be allowed to continue, whether those who have already passed court but not issued their court decrees will be given them, or whether those with even just a dossier in at the SDA will be allowed to continue... It is all up in the air until the hearing date and even that may change (moved earlier or later). So, continue to press on toward your children if you feel that's God's pull. He will direct your paths, and His heart is for the children. Know that it is not without risk. But children are worth EVERY risk that we can make. What is really at stake? A child vs. Time and money. The child wins.
Thank you for joining us in prayer!!
Retarded
I've had a few conversations in the past weeks here in UA and in the weeks previous back home about the word retarded. Believe it or not, it's actually been removed from the US health descriptions of people that were previously called "mentally retarded" (including all of my disabled kiddos) by a new law called "Rosie's Law".
In recent conversations, there's been the idea of whether we can really shield our kids from everything negative. People can make fun of them because of their hair color, their weight, or their height... and they can make fun of them for their disabilities. But removing a word from the general vocabulary of people around us isn't going to help anything.
I understand, but I think differently.
One day my children will understand that the term "retarded" is referring to people like them. In meeting after meeting at both doctor's offices and schools (and no, I don't think Rosa's Law will make this immediately disappear), people refer to our kids as being mentally retarded. They will (at least most of them) understand that this term in some way describes them. And that it doesn't refer to EVERYONE around.
When it's used negatively by someone trying to hurt them, or trying to hurt someone else... there's nothing we can do about it. Someone trying to be mean WILL be mean.
The problem is... when people use it and don't even THINK about it being something that's insulting or mean.
"That's retarded" or "you're a retard" or "don't be retarded"... these are all things that we hear ALL THE TIME by people around us. Mostly young people, kidding around with friends. Sometimes college age 'kids'-- but often times adults as well.
The thing with this is, they don't MEAN to be insulting or rude. It's simply another word in their vernacular which means "dumb" or "stupid". But guess what?
My kids aren't dumb or stupid.
Yep... they're not only NOT dumb or stupid, but very soon they will begin to recognize this word, and its meaning, and when the doctors use it to describe them... then the teens that they look up to or a babysitter or a friend uses it derogatorily... they ARE going to wonder.
If that person likes me, why do they call me stupid? Why do they make fun of their friends by saying their friend is like me? If they're my friend, my babysitter, my relative, my schoolmate, my parents' friends... if they're someone close to me, why do they think it's bad to be like me?
How do I know that they'll probably feel this way? Because I've talked to other kids, teens, and adults that hold that same "mentally retarded" label. Some with Down syndrome. Some with other disabilities. And they DO voice their concerns. And that IS how they feel.
And so... a challenge. Catch yourself. Catch others. Speak up for those without the 'audience' to speak up for themselves.
If someone's race, gender, or religious beliefs are being used as a common term of "mockery", the group of people it describes generally work together to promote social change and irradicate the word. Unfortunately, using the word 'retard' or 'retarded' is picking on a group of people who won't generally rally together to make things change...
By definition, "retarded" means "slow." Our kids have slower development. It's true! But it's not something to be intertwined with "stupid," "dumb," or any of the like.
In 2007 this high school student made a speech which explained pretty well how he feels about the word. He was then invited to present this speech at several other governmental meetings. Listen. Share. And feel free to comment with your thoughts here as well.
In recent conversations, there's been the idea of whether we can really shield our kids from everything negative. People can make fun of them because of their hair color, their weight, or their height... and they can make fun of them for their disabilities. But removing a word from the general vocabulary of people around us isn't going to help anything.
I understand, but I think differently.
One day my children will understand that the term "retarded" is referring to people like them. In meeting after meeting at both doctor's offices and schools (and no, I don't think Rosa's Law will make this immediately disappear), people refer to our kids as being mentally retarded. They will (at least most of them) understand that this term in some way describes them. And that it doesn't refer to EVERYONE around.
When it's used negatively by someone trying to hurt them, or trying to hurt someone else... there's nothing we can do about it. Someone trying to be mean WILL be mean.
The problem is... when people use it and don't even THINK about it being something that's insulting or mean.
"That's retarded" or "you're a retard" or "don't be retarded"... these are all things that we hear ALL THE TIME by people around us. Mostly young people, kidding around with friends. Sometimes college age 'kids'-- but often times adults as well.
The thing with this is, they don't MEAN to be insulting or rude. It's simply another word in their vernacular which means "dumb" or "stupid". But guess what?
My kids aren't dumb or stupid.
Yep... they're not only NOT dumb or stupid, but very soon they will begin to recognize this word, and its meaning, and when the doctors use it to describe them... then the teens that they look up to or a babysitter or a friend uses it derogatorily... they ARE going to wonder.
If that person likes me, why do they call me stupid? Why do they make fun of their friends by saying their friend is like me? If they're my friend, my babysitter, my relative, my schoolmate, my parents' friends... if they're someone close to me, why do they think it's bad to be like me?
How do I know that they'll probably feel this way? Because I've talked to other kids, teens, and adults that hold that same "mentally retarded" label. Some with Down syndrome. Some with other disabilities. And they DO voice their concerns. And that IS how they feel.
And so... a challenge. Catch yourself. Catch others. Speak up for those without the 'audience' to speak up for themselves.
If someone's race, gender, or religious beliefs are being used as a common term of "mockery", the group of people it describes generally work together to promote social change and irradicate the word. Unfortunately, using the word 'retard' or 'retarded' is picking on a group of people who won't generally rally together to make things change...
By definition, "retarded" means "slow." Our kids have slower development. It's true! But it's not something to be intertwined with "stupid," "dumb," or any of the like.
In 2007 this high school student made a speech which explained pretty well how he feels about the word. He was then invited to present this speech at several other governmental meetings. Listen. Share. And feel free to comment with your thoughts here as well.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
No Court yet...
So ready to know when it will be!!
Pray for a court date for both regions please!!! :)
Pray for a court date for both regions please!!! :)
Monday, November 22, 2010
Monday
And not so great news.
Today we were hoping for court dates for both our kids.
We didn't get either.
Both are needing another day or two... so we wait. Saturday's plane will be leaving without us on it, and we are hoping to get court dates for either Friday and Monday, or Monday and Tuesday. Reality is... we have NO idea.
At the moment, I have been in Ukraine for 3 weeks and Michael for 2 1/2. We're ready to have court. Ready to be back home with our kids. Ready to be back HERE and to bring our new kids home. Ready to move forward.
We knew from the get go that it was unlikely that we'd finish everything with two separate adoptions in 3 1/2 weeks... but we hoped :). It did look possible, but now it's just not going to happen.
We know God has used us in the time He's put us here... and we know we've been here for a reason for this length of time! Now we hope and pray that it's His plan for us to be able to have two successful court hearings and a quick trip back home.
Our "project" that we've been working on is about as far as we have the ability to take it and we've handed it off to others who can really make it what it needs to be. We're still doing some little things with it, but in the next 2-3 days there will be nothing more we can do for it. Yep, I realize this doesn't explain much... but to say that we're finished with that and it's not the piece keeping us here now.
God is good-- ALL the time! Even when we are on the other side of the world and missing our kids :).
Please pray for quick and SUCCESSFUL court for both of our children, and that we can be HOME quickly. My dream is to have our 8 children at home for Christmas.
God can do it!
Today wasn't a total wash. We visited with Wesley and met two more adoptive families- the Parkers and the Lococo's. It's such a blessing to meet other like-minded families who are reaching out to the orphaned. One family is adopting two children with HIV-- their FIRST two children :). The other is adopting one little 4 yr old girl with Down syndrome... their #6.
Tomorrow we're going to #1- sleep... because I've come down with a cold and it's 11:30pm right now... and we haven't gotten a lot of sleep. #2- meet again with those families to take them shopping for gloves... it's cold now! And that's why I'm sick :) #3- meet with a friend who we originally met in September, who happens to be in charge of all the baby houses in the capital city. NICE guy, adoptive dad, and a Christian :) Looking forward to meeting him again.
Today we were hoping for court dates for both our kids.
We didn't get either.
Both are needing another day or two... so we wait. Saturday's plane will be leaving without us on it, and we are hoping to get court dates for either Friday and Monday, or Monday and Tuesday. Reality is... we have NO idea.
At the moment, I have been in Ukraine for 3 weeks and Michael for 2 1/2. We're ready to have court. Ready to be back home with our kids. Ready to be back HERE and to bring our new kids home. Ready to move forward.
We knew from the get go that it was unlikely that we'd finish everything with two separate adoptions in 3 1/2 weeks... but we hoped :). It did look possible, but now it's just not going to happen.
We know God has used us in the time He's put us here... and we know we've been here for a reason for this length of time! Now we hope and pray that it's His plan for us to be able to have two successful court hearings and a quick trip back home.
Our "project" that we've been working on is about as far as we have the ability to take it and we've handed it off to others who can really make it what it needs to be. We're still doing some little things with it, but in the next 2-3 days there will be nothing more we can do for it. Yep, I realize this doesn't explain much... but to say that we're finished with that and it's not the piece keeping us here now.
God is good-- ALL the time! Even when we are on the other side of the world and missing our kids :).
Please pray for quick and SUCCESSFUL court for both of our children, and that we can be HOME quickly. My dream is to have our 8 children at home for Christmas.
God can do it!
Today wasn't a total wash. We visited with Wesley and met two more adoptive families- the Parkers and the Lococo's. It's such a blessing to meet other like-minded families who are reaching out to the orphaned. One family is adopting two children with HIV-- their FIRST two children :). The other is adopting one little 4 yr old girl with Down syndrome... their #6.
Tomorrow we're going to #1- sleep... because I've come down with a cold and it's 11:30pm right now... and we haven't gotten a lot of sleep. #2- meet again with those families to take them shopping for gloves... it's cold now! And that's why I'm sick :) #3- meet with a friend who we originally met in September, who happens to be in charge of all the baby houses in the capital city. NICE guy, adoptive dad, and a Christian :) Looking forward to meeting him again.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Speaking of...
Well, speaking of our kids, and our God, and our Faith, and stepping up and saying YES. That's what we did today.
This afternoon we attended church with our friends who own the home we're staying in (they set it up like a B&B for us :) ). It was a Russian speaking service, so aside from knowing that the presenter was speaking from Ephesians about the Armor of God... and several references to the Apostile Paul... we have no idea what was said :).
After the sermon Michael and I went up and were introduced... but we have no idea what was said about us. Michael took the first portion of our story and spoke about what led up to and through our first adoption, then I picked up and shared a bit of Emma's story, Lynae and James, and then our current adoption. It ended with a challenge to allow God to use you- whoever you are- however He plans to. God used us- an at-home mom and a dad working in the church- to be a family for 3~soon to be 5 children with special needs. He used us to help over 225 kids come home. He's using us for other purposes while we're here. He doesn't need someone special to do His work. He just needs our YES-- even before we know what the question is.
Several people came forward to ask us about adoption, others about special needs, and a few know people raising their disabled children. We weren't sure how this would be received by the church... but the response says that God prepared hearts and prepared our words.
We are blessed to be a part of this... to be able to be God's voice here and there... maybe to share something which can touch a heart.
This afternoon we attended church with our friends who own the home we're staying in (they set it up like a B&B for us :) ). It was a Russian speaking service, so aside from knowing that the presenter was speaking from Ephesians about the Armor of God... and several references to the Apostile Paul... we have no idea what was said :).
After the sermon Michael and I went up and were introduced... but we have no idea what was said about us. Michael took the first portion of our story and spoke about what led up to and through our first adoption, then I picked up and shared a bit of Emma's story, Lynae and James, and then our current adoption. It ended with a challenge to allow God to use you- whoever you are- however He plans to. God used us- an at-home mom and a dad working in the church- to be a family for 3~soon to be 5 children with special needs. He used us to help over 225 kids come home. He's using us for other purposes while we're here. He doesn't need someone special to do His work. He just needs our YES-- even before we know what the question is.
Several people came forward to ask us about adoption, others about special needs, and a few know people raising their disabled children. We weren't sure how this would be received by the church... but the response says that God prepared hearts and prepared our words.
We are blessed to be a part of this... to be able to be God's voice here and there... maybe to share something which can touch a heart.
SMILEY boy!
My mom was asking if Wesley has head control or not, since Mike and I were fully supporting him in most of the pictures. YES, he holds his head up very well! When he is nervous or upset he ‘extends’ through his trunk and neck. Since he’s very much still getting used to us, he’s having this fairly often so we’ve been supporting him more now than we probably will need to once he’s more comfortable with us. Here’s a few pic’s when he was just sitting on Mike’s lap playing with us—no snuggling. He ‘curls in’ some but I think that’s mostly because he’s not USED TO sitting like this for any period of time. He always has a stroller or other form of support since no one just sits and holds him most likely. As he gets stronger from doing this he’ll be just fine.
I was also asked what Wesley is able to do right now. He has good strength through his trunk, and is HIGH tone through there. I’m still figuring out the terms and what means what, so if you’re more educated on the way to explain things or what terms mean what I’m saying, please fill me in :). Since Wesley has Spastic CP, his body will tense up and have these “spasms”. It appears to happen most frequently when he is nervous or upset, or if he’s startled.
Wesley’s legs are held tightly together—to where his knees touch or his calves cross and knees go one on top of the other when he is tight. They are usually at about a 45 degree bend when he does this, or thereabouts. When he loosens up, he can sit fairly well with his legs relaxed next to each other and his knees separated a bit. This should make changing diapers… interesting ;).
Wesley is not sitting independently and would fall over if put in a sitting position due to his spasticity. He may benefit from the “Bumbo” type seat (with a bean bag behind it!) and would definitely benefit from a corner chair or a Riftan or something like that in the near future as well. His hips and waist are very small and his legs are very thin with very little muscle or fat on them.
His paperwork says he is microcephalic, but compared to the size of his body, he actually looks to have a large head :).
We are told that Wesley can army crawl, and we’ve noticed that he has a good amount of use in his hands. He tends to keep them close in and closed fisted, but he CAN extend his arms all the way (at least one we’ve seen him reach out to me with) and he can open and close his hands fairly “easily” (though you can tell he concentrates a lot to do it). His hands don’t appear to have any contractures. He’s just not been worked with to learn to use his hands to do anything… YET :).
He eats from a spoon and eats a lot of the same things the other kids do. Mostly soups and such with pieces of veggies and little bits of meats. We’re told he enjoys candies (but have been told NOT to feed him :) ). He doesn’t feed himself—doesn’t use his hands ;). He drinks from an open cup, which I’m happy about since it’s not another kid to have to get off a bottle LOL.
He’s had regular massages and we’re told he’s even had Botox injections (which help loosen the muscle spasticity and lasts for about 3 months at a time).
Not sure if I said this already, but I am convinced he does NOT HAVE ARTHROGRYPOSIS, and that he DOES NOT HAVE SPINAL INJURIES. Those are two things we were told earlier on (along with the blindness- which he is not blind but is VERY near sighted and may be “legally” blind) that was coming from a credible source, but the info has to have either been lost in translation or have been given mistakingly about a different child :).
When Wesley was born he was VERY tiny, and was born premature (almost as much as our James). He had a brain hemorrhage due to a lack of oxygen during birth. He stayed in the hospital for just over 2 months then instead of being brought by a caretaker to the orphanage, the doctor brought him there himself. He asked the doctor at his baby house (there are 5 separate houses at this facility, but he has been in the same one since he arrived) to take good care of him because he wasn’t going to live more than 1-2 months.
Obviously, he did :). The doctor said that it’s “their way” in her house that they give extra care and attention to the weakest and most needy children, and they began immediately to do everything they could for him. He received treatments and medications and massages… and I don’t have my paperwork with me right now so whatever else they did escapes my current thoughts. Basically… they got him healthy and did everything they could to keep him ‘physically healthy’.
He is well attached to the baby house in general and his caretakers. He is calmed by their talking in soothing Russian female tones. He smiles when he sees them. He’s happy when he comes to us.
Though he’s never been educated or taught (that we can tell yet), he has been taken care of and brought to a place where he is HEALTHY physically. It’s in his reports that he hasn’t been sick at all in 2010, which considering it’s November right now, is very good.
For any CP moms (or just anyone that knows…) out there, he seems to get very ‘rattley’ in his chest at times, then can generally cough and clear it some. We were told it has to do with his positioning, but my thought is that it still seems like that shouldn’t happen unless there’s something that’s “not quite right” with some of those systems. So, if you have any insight on that, I’d love to hear a voice of experience there :). The good thing is that he seems to be able to ‘clear’ it. But it will often be that way for most of our visit and appears to only be clear for a few minutes. We’re told he doesn’t reflux and when we asked if he was getting a cold, we were told that “it’s because of his position.” He had these sounds when I visited in September, and two weeks ago, and now. So it appears to be consistent.
I’m sure there’s more to tell about BOTH kids, but I’m off to another project :)
Slowly but Surely...
Yesterday we visited with Wesley again in the afternoon. He was HAPPY the ENTIRE time!! It was only about a 20 minute visit, but him being happy was wonderful. Michael held him and tickled his neck and his palm and he laughed and played. It was so sweet. He stayed pretty 'tense' (physically, like his legs) but he was calm.
Mike handed him over to me after a bit and he relaxed even further. I think he knows that we're coming just to see him and play with him now. He realizes he's not going into the room with medical equipment for any sort of treatments.
When his caretaker came, we told him goodbye "Paka, paka!" and she brought him out into the hall to put him in his stroller to go back to his room. We gathered our things and went out and she was still working with him there. We said goodbye again and his huge grin was just what we needed. He's doing great getting used to us and hopefully when "gotcha day" comes (the day we get custody of him) he will be comfortable enough with me to come happily. We know he will likely be curious about what's happening and upset over the next days, but we hope and pray that God will prepare his little heart with some peace and understanding so that he's not scared.
We're waiting on a confirmed court date, but it sounds like Friday is a good possibility for Wesley, either early before we go to the Embassy or late in the afternoon.
Things are still moving along with Aleksa's adoption as well. On Friday Yana got a document from the SDA that is needed for court. The court is doing everything VERY by the books and requested that paper before they set a court date. Generally courts set a date then just make sure that paper comes to the court meeting. So, we still have no court date.
Monday Yana's bringing that document out to region and submitting it. We are praying HARD that we receive a court date for THIS WEEK when she delivers that!! We love it here but are ready to be home with our other kids as well. REALLY miss them!!
Today we're working on projects this morning and are attending a Russian speaking church this afternoon with the people we're staying with (at the B&B- which is their home). We'll be presenting our testimony after the main message, so if you're awake, please pray that it goes well and is accepted with open hearts for God to speak through us. It will be focused on FAITH and encouraging others to seek out what God has called them, individually, to do. We'll be speaking around 2:45 which is near the end of the service, and that's 7:45am Eastern time.
Though things with the adoptions are in a waiting pattern as far as anything WE can do goes, we are keeping busy and are finding the days go by quickly. Thank you for your continued prayers!
www.mcornish.org
Mike handed him over to me after a bit and he relaxed even further. I think he knows that we're coming just to see him and play with him now. He realizes he's not going into the room with medical equipment for any sort of treatments.
When his caretaker came, we told him goodbye "Paka, paka!" and she brought him out into the hall to put him in his stroller to go back to his room. We gathered our things and went out and she was still working with him there. We said goodbye again and his huge grin was just what we needed. He's doing great getting used to us and hopefully when "gotcha day" comes (the day we get custody of him) he will be comfortable enough with me to come happily. We know he will likely be curious about what's happening and upset over the next days, but we hope and pray that God will prepare his little heart with some peace and understanding so that he's not scared.
We're waiting on a confirmed court date, but it sounds like Friday is a good possibility for Wesley, either early before we go to the Embassy or late in the afternoon.
Things are still moving along with Aleksa's adoption as well. On Friday Yana got a document from the SDA that is needed for court. The court is doing everything VERY by the books and requested that paper before they set a court date. Generally courts set a date then just make sure that paper comes to the court meeting. So, we still have no court date.
Monday Yana's bringing that document out to region and submitting it. We are praying HARD that we receive a court date for THIS WEEK when she delivers that!! We love it here but are ready to be home with our other kids as well. REALLY miss them!!
Today we're working on projects this morning and are attending a Russian speaking church this afternoon with the people we're staying with (at the B&B- which is their home). We'll be presenting our testimony after the main message, so if you're awake, please pray that it goes well and is accepted with open hearts for God to speak through us. It will be focused on FAITH and encouraging others to seek out what God has called them, individually, to do. We'll be speaking around 2:45 which is near the end of the service, and that's 7:45am Eastern time.
Though things with the adoptions are in a waiting pattern as far as anything WE can do goes, we are keeping busy and are finding the days go by quickly. Thank you for your continued prayers!
www.mcornish.org
Friday, November 19, 2010
PICTURES!
The long awaited meeting of Papa and Wesley!
(In Ukraine, they refer to us as Mama and Papa…)
Wesley is NOT used to men. AT ALL. He did GREAT with Michael though!! Yesterday we were in a rush and had only a few minutes to spend with him. He got upset when we went into the doctor’s office (like a director… it wasn’t a medical room!) and they brought him back to his room. Today he kept getting upset, but would calm quickly.
We had a great visit with him each time! He is a SWEET little guy!! He is going to be a great fit in our family, but is going to need to be given his time to get used to each new person. He’s begun to recognize me and my voice a little now (I think). But he still got SO happy when he saw his caretaker come and bring him back for lunch!
We are so blessed by both of our “new” kiddos! Please continue to pray for everything to go through and to do so quickly so that we can get home with all the rest of kids AND stop worrying about the possible moratorium which could still stop us in our tracks (until we have the court decree in hand… after court… after the 10 day appeal period…)
Here’s a few pic’s of Wesley and I as well :)
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Today I did something I never thought I would do
and it's exciting!!
Try it, go ahead... do something outside the norm-- step out of your comfort zone a bit!
Try it, go ahead... do something outside the norm-- step out of your comfort zone a bit!
Meetings went great!!
We met Wesley "officially" this morning!! Michael met him for the first time :)
He definitely knows his caretakers and is preferential to them being around. He'd start to cry when he heard the door close if they weren't close by. He is a DOLL though, and it's wonderful that he has those bonds!
He's REALLY skinny. Today he was just in a tshirt, tights, and shorts and we were able to better see how little he is. He's healthy, just skinny...
He has been in ONE baby house since he was 2 months old, cared for by the same set of workers (for the most part). I'll tell ALL about him... later! Along with some pictures.
Our 12pm meeting went REALLY well, though I can't share much about it yet. THANK YOU FOR PRAYING! Please continue to pray, because this was the "first step" and there are several more to come. This isn't related to our adoption :). Oh- but I should have requested prayer that we would be ON TIME. We ended up being 25 min late and one of the people we were supposed to meet with wasn't there. I think it was for the best, but I still feel badly that we weren't able to uphold that commitment as we'd intended.
Off to do secret things that I will tell about when I can :) HA! :)
**ALSO, THANK YOU to those who have donated to our adoption fund! We've received $600 in donations through RR (www.reecesrainbow.org/sponsorcornish.html) and another $1000 donation through other sources. That $14,000 we still needed to raise is now down to $12,400! Bit by bit! Please continue to pray for that aspect of our adoption as well. THANK YOU!!
He definitely knows his caretakers and is preferential to them being around. He'd start to cry when he heard the door close if they weren't close by. He is a DOLL though, and it's wonderful that he has those bonds!
He's REALLY skinny. Today he was just in a tshirt, tights, and shorts and we were able to better see how little he is. He's healthy, just skinny...
He has been in ONE baby house since he was 2 months old, cared for by the same set of workers (for the most part). I'll tell ALL about him... later! Along with some pictures.
Our 12pm meeting went REALLY well, though I can't share much about it yet. THANK YOU FOR PRAYING! Please continue to pray, because this was the "first step" and there are several more to come. This isn't related to our adoption :). Oh- but I should have requested prayer that we would be ON TIME. We ended up being 25 min late and one of the people we were supposed to meet with wasn't there. I think it was for the best, but I still feel badly that we weren't able to uphold that commitment as we'd intended.
Off to do secret things that I will tell about when I can :) HA! :)
**ALSO, THANK YOU to those who have donated to our adoption fund! We've received $600 in donations through RR (www.reecesrainbow.org/sponsorcornish.html) and another $1000 donation through other sources. That $14,000 we still needed to raise is now down to $12,400! Bit by bit! Please continue to pray for that aspect of our adoption as well. THANK YOU!!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Alive and well
Even if I DIDN'T blog for one day! :)
So-- yesterday started off busy and stayed busy all day. We were able to meet one of the other RR facilitators, Serge, for coffee in the morning and had some great discussions and a good time getting to know each other a bit. On Saturday we will visit a few orphanages nearby and one of his team members will go with us.
After meeting Serge, we walked out to McDonald's to get some lunch for the Lutz family and ourselves then went back to their apartment to hang out with them and their kiddos. They just adopted three little ones with Ds, ages 3.5, 3.5 and a BRAND NEW 6-- it was her birthday!
We only had a little time before running down to the SDA for our appointment which of course didn't take much time at all... More time waiting than doing anything :). After the SDA we walked and made a phone call and ended up meeting up with Charissa Browning and her little son Justice and Melissa Lorenz with her new little Liza for dinner.
Then... we went back to the Lutz' to say GOODBYE! They are headed home TOMORROW!! So excited for them to be able to start life as a family with all their little ones home!
We didn't get back to the B&B until about 10:30!
Then this morning we got up and had breakfast, but then we came back upstairs and CRASHED. I didn't sleep well last night so we both went back to sleep for a while. Mike woke me up and said we needed to eat lunch and be ready to meet Nadya for more of the paper chase... so we got it togeher and headed out for food.
Lunch was disgusting. I doubt it's somewhere anyone else would try to eat at since it's well outside the main area of the city- so no worries. But let's just say it wasn't worth trying. So we went next door to the supermarket and bought drinks and a bar of white chocolate. That solves all troubles!
We went for a walk up Andriivsky Street, which is known for its roadside stands all up and down it and it ends at the SDA. It's a STEEP hill and quite a walk to get there, but worth the effort. We got a call from Nadya while out walking, so we met her at the notary's office and signed another petition there then brought it to the SDA. There, we did the hurry up and wait game a little more, and at about 4pm we were the first of the day to receive our referrals. Our first referral ended up being the ONLY referral that was given that day at all. See... God HAS been working for us in that area-- it just FEELS like everything is going S-L-O-W-L-Y!
After the SDA, we had no plans for a while, so we walked with Nadya as she headed for the US Consulate/Embassy to meet the Lutz family and get them to sign something. She took us by way of China and we teased her that she could play "lose the Americans" and we would have had NO idea where we were! She brought us to the edge of this cliff and said "see out there..." and we said NO. Because there's about 20 feet visibility today with HEAVY fog ALL DAY LONG. She said, "well, you see, you WOULD see this bald mountain and beautiful homes and..." Really, she could have told us there were trolls in the bushes and unicorns dancing through the hills, because we could see NOTHING. Another day maybe ;). She gave us directions how to get back to where we were meeting people for dinner and sent us on our way on the Metro.
We met up tonight for supper with Melissa Lorenz and Liza again, and also with Mel Dellanos and her new little Timothy and Cathy and Tully Bachman with their son Evan and their new daughter Marina. We had a great time getting to know everyone!
Finally back to the B&B and then we started a different chase, trying to get a meeting set up for tomorrow and a translator for it, and finding out whether it will work with our adoption meetings that are already in place.
It all worked out!
Please pray that the meeting will go well. It's not something I can openly talk about (yet) but is something we're really looking forward to and that *could* have an impact on some things here in UA.
So... tomorrow we'll be leaving the B&B at 7:15 to head out via Metro to meet Nadya then on to the inspector's office and then over to Wesley's orphanage. We'll be doing the morning fairly quickly to make it back downtown in time for the meeting. After that... no plans for the rest of the day!
As far as an update on Aleksa's stuff goes-- we are just waiting for news. There was a small issue with paperwork- the orphanage added a diagnosis to the medical at the last minute so the inspector had to change his paperwork to match it. It was all submitted on Monday and the changes were supposed to be submitted on Tuesday. Other than that, we're just waiting on a court date for her.
It LOOKS like... we may be able to KEEP our original tickets and fly home on November 27th! I have confirmed with the US Embassy that I'll be presenting on the 26th about special needs adoption, and we hope to have court for Wesley on the same day if possible. They will arrange court around the Embassy, time-wise. We are hoping to have court for Aleksa before then as well. It's possible that they will want to have 2 hearings for court for Aleksa, since it's the first adoption ever to take place in that orphanage and in that area at all.
Ok, off to bed, tomorrow's going to be an early morning! THANK YOU for your continued prayers for the adoptions and for our kids at home (I have updates on them I'll post soon too!) and for our meeting tomorrow :)
So-- yesterday started off busy and stayed busy all day. We were able to meet one of the other RR facilitators, Serge, for coffee in the morning and had some great discussions and a good time getting to know each other a bit. On Saturday we will visit a few orphanages nearby and one of his team members will go with us.
After meeting Serge, we walked out to McDonald's to get some lunch for the Lutz family and ourselves then went back to their apartment to hang out with them and their kiddos. They just adopted three little ones with Ds, ages 3.5, 3.5 and a BRAND NEW 6-- it was her birthday!
We only had a little time before running down to the SDA for our appointment which of course didn't take much time at all... More time waiting than doing anything :). After the SDA we walked and made a phone call and ended up meeting up with Charissa Browning and her little son Justice and Melissa Lorenz with her new little Liza for dinner.
Then... we went back to the Lutz' to say GOODBYE! They are headed home TOMORROW!! So excited for them to be able to start life as a family with all their little ones home!
We didn't get back to the B&B until about 10:30!
Then this morning we got up and had breakfast, but then we came back upstairs and CRASHED. I didn't sleep well last night so we both went back to sleep for a while. Mike woke me up and said we needed to eat lunch and be ready to meet Nadya for more of the paper chase... so we got it togeher and headed out for food.
Lunch was disgusting. I doubt it's somewhere anyone else would try to eat at since it's well outside the main area of the city- so no worries. But let's just say it wasn't worth trying. So we went next door to the supermarket and bought drinks and a bar of white chocolate. That solves all troubles!
We went for a walk up Andriivsky Street, which is known for its roadside stands all up and down it and it ends at the SDA. It's a STEEP hill and quite a walk to get there, but worth the effort. We got a call from Nadya while out walking, so we met her at the notary's office and signed another petition there then brought it to the SDA. There, we did the hurry up and wait game a little more, and at about 4pm we were the first of the day to receive our referrals. Our first referral ended up being the ONLY referral that was given that day at all. See... God HAS been working for us in that area-- it just FEELS like everything is going S-L-O-W-L-Y!
After the SDA, we had no plans for a while, so we walked with Nadya as she headed for the US Consulate/Embassy to meet the Lutz family and get them to sign something. She took us by way of China and we teased her that she could play "lose the Americans" and we would have had NO idea where we were! She brought us to the edge of this cliff and said "see out there..." and we said NO. Because there's about 20 feet visibility today with HEAVY fog ALL DAY LONG. She said, "well, you see, you WOULD see this bald mountain and beautiful homes and..." Really, she could have told us there were trolls in the bushes and unicorns dancing through the hills, because we could see NOTHING. Another day maybe ;). She gave us directions how to get back to where we were meeting people for dinner and sent us on our way on the Metro.
We met up tonight for supper with Melissa Lorenz and Liza again, and also with Mel Dellanos and her new little Timothy and Cathy and Tully Bachman with their son Evan and their new daughter Marina. We had a great time getting to know everyone!
Finally back to the B&B and then we started a different chase, trying to get a meeting set up for tomorrow and a translator for it, and finding out whether it will work with our adoption meetings that are already in place.
It all worked out!
Please pray that the meeting will go well. It's not something I can openly talk about (yet) but is something we're really looking forward to and that *could* have an impact on some things here in UA.
So... tomorrow we'll be leaving the B&B at 7:15 to head out via Metro to meet Nadya then on to the inspector's office and then over to Wesley's orphanage. We'll be doing the morning fairly quickly to make it back downtown in time for the meeting. After that... no plans for the rest of the day!
As far as an update on Aleksa's stuff goes-- we are just waiting for news. There was a small issue with paperwork- the orphanage added a diagnosis to the medical at the last minute so the inspector had to change his paperwork to match it. It was all submitted on Monday and the changes were supposed to be submitted on Tuesday. Other than that, we're just waiting on a court date for her.
It LOOKS like... we may be able to KEEP our original tickets and fly home on November 27th! I have confirmed with the US Embassy that I'll be presenting on the 26th about special needs adoption, and we hope to have court for Wesley on the same day if possible. They will arrange court around the Embassy, time-wise. We are hoping to have court for Aleksa before then as well. It's possible that they will want to have 2 hearings for court for Aleksa, since it's the first adoption ever to take place in that orphanage and in that area at all.
Ok, off to bed, tomorrow's going to be an early morning! THANK YOU for your continued prayers for the adoptions and for our kids at home (I have updates on them I'll post soon too!) and for our meeting tomorrow :)
Monday, November 15, 2010
No SDA today...
Hopefully tomorrow...
There is a possibility of another "big" appointment soon. We don't know the time or place or even who is involved, but someone else is working to set up things for it. PLEASE BE PRAYING!! We have no idea what to expect so we're depending on God to make it happen-- or not-- and if it does, to bring forth the things that need to be said and change the hearts that are open for change.
Thanks for praying!!
There is a possibility of another "big" appointment soon. We don't know the time or place or even who is involved, but someone else is working to set up things for it. PLEASE BE PRAYING!! We have no idea what to expect so we're depending on God to make it happen-- or not-- and if it does, to bring forth the things that need to be said and change the hearts that are open for change.
Thanks for praying!!
Everything NOT related to our adoption...
It's hard to believe that today is day 14 since I left the US. And still, we're waiting on our SDA appointment for Wesley (hopefully today!). So much has been accomplished for our adoption of Aleksa, and we are GRATEFUL for that!
At the same time, God has provided multiple encounters that can be considered nothing less than divine appointments. It began before I left the US when sitting next to a man who asked about my Kindle. I guess I really was supposed to buy the Kindle, if for no other reason than the conversation that ensued ;). He was from the US Department of State and the head of humanitarian aid. Wow, what a conversation we had! One more person in an authoritative position who knows the plight of special needs orphans abroad.
There have been many since then which I won't go into details about, but in general, the person that is helping us with Aleksa's adoption, Yana, was divinely planted for this time and purpose. No question that she and I needed to connect on a personal level- and no question that she is the right person to interact with the director and get things done for us.
In being here early, God used me to help two adoptive families through things before Michael arrived. One family's child had a seizure and though I did nothing, I was able to sit and be with mom and baby (I say baby, but she was 7 and just the SIZE of a baby...) at the hospital while everyone ran around in a tizzy. Mom needed nothing more than to hear that everything will be ok-- and I could handle that part ;).
Yesterday Michael and I wandered out to find Hillsong Kiev church. We knew it was one metro stop north of where we would get on and that it was near an Ashan (grocery store- looks like AWAH if you're looking at it in cryllic writing- W is an "sh" sound and H is the "N" sound.). We got off the metro and walked, and walked, and walked... and finally we heard music... and we saw the 'tent'. It is a semi-permanent structure, but it sure is a tent! We went inside and asked if they translated to English. A young man standing at a counter (not working it) translated for us and the girl working the counter went to get someone else. They seated us near the back of the HUGE auditorium (which, remember, is a tent..) and said they'd be back.
With that, a woman came up and introduced herself, she and some friends were already seated in the row behind us. We found out that the two woman run a street kids' ministry in Kiev, and through just a bit of conversation, we arranged to have lunch together after church. They were both Americans and have been living and working in UA for a long time. One since 1991 (the fall of the communist regime) and one since 1998.
Worship began and I've never experienced anything like it. A huge auditorium packed full of people, a stage with lights and three gigantic screens and a sound system that makes your chair rumble on the temporary plywood floor... but it wasn't the atmosphere that was amazing. It was the worship. The lyrics came up on the screen, and these songs, originally written in English, were translated into Russian with the SAME SYLLABLE PHRASING as the English songs. Both English and Russian words showed on the screen, all the people called out to the very same God in worship, and right next to them I could sing the English words to the same song. I'm pretty sure I could never really explain it, so here's a video. Many of you will recognize the song, and be able to sing along easily-- yet, the leader is singing in Russian :) And YES, this video was taken inside the 'tent'
God brought the people who were sitting behind us into our lives for a purpose! There's no question there, because they opened our eyes to some things that we didn't know were happening within things that we are directly related to... and they really were not-so-good things that we couldn't have known about without being on the ground here in Ukraine and talking to people "outside our circles." Now we know- from multiple sources. Yeah, not really saying much detail there, because now there's more to 'figure out' since our eyes have been opened.
We had lunch at McDonald's, and as we were leaving (with an invitation to meet the children the ladies we met minister to and see their facility while we're here)... a man approached us. I recognized him immediately and he pointed across the outdoor eating area to his 4 yr old daughter with Down syndrome. He's one of the dads from the parent meeting that we'd attended on Saturday at the Down Syndrome Center in Kiev. We went over and met his beautiful little pig tailed princess and she continued to eat her french fries and chicken nuggets, used to being the star of the show :). They were having a "father day" while her mom worked that Sunday afternoon. Through some gestures, some English, some Russian, and some guesses, we learned that they'd watched TV, worked in the garden, then gone for lunch since he was home for the day with her. He lives just a block or two away from there and was very sweet with his daughter-- VERY proud of her!
Today I have such a mixture of thoughts and emotions going through my heart and mind. Not about our adoption or family at all, but rather about the other things happening while I'm here in Ukraine. About the details of things going on here and what different things are involved-- in so many different levels.
Michael and I came on this trip knowing that God is stirring our hearts not only for our children who we hope to bring home (though that's certainly enough of a reason to be here!!!) but in other areas as well. God is calling us to KNOW what happens on the ground here and to align ourselves with people of influence who are not working with the basis of a title, but rather by knowing WHO they are, and WHO they belong to. To finding CHRISTIANS who are making a difference here in Ukraine, and seeing things as they really are. We may find some changes in who we 'align' ourselves with in the coming months as Christ calls us to action with those that represent Him in every word and action.
When we attended Hillsong Kiev church, the preacher was visiting from Austrailia, so he actually preached in English and it was translated into Russian. He spoke a very simple message, but a powerful one with a few different key points. One was to know WHO you are. The idea of an inheritance-- that if a father dies, the son is offered an inheritance. Before he can accept it, the son must first prove who he is. In doing that, he must also prove whose he is, and who his father is. The speaker referenced some time he spent with the royal family of England and that even from a young age, Prince Charles had the knowledge that his actions would reflect either positively or poorly on his family and on his country. He made his decisions based on who he is, and whose he is, to bring his family joy and honor and not disgrace. So must we, as Christians know WHO we are, and whose we are, and that our actions, if we call ourselves Christians, WILL reflect either positively or poorly on Christ. They will bring God joy and honor, or disgrace.
Calling oneself a Christian but aligning with the world does NOT bring Glory to God. God calls us to be set apart, to "be Holy as I am Holy." To do each action as Christ would do it, to represent Him in our actions.
Will we fail? Most likely so, most likely often, and most likely hard.
In talking to David and Laura Lutz last night, we debated (our way of conversation with David LOL) through many different Christian topics and points of conflict within the church and society. We thoroughly enjoyed it and I believe they did as well ;). It wasn't a matter of right or wrong that we debated, but rather principles of application of the Word of God (for the most part). Anyway, that aside, we talked a bit about how Christians often "hole up" and don't go out into the world to FIND those who need Christ, but rather internalize and feed themselves and close their eyes to the needs around them. We also spoke of what forgiveness and grace are. The main 'point' that came out of that one is that when a person truly asks FORGIVENESS, there must also be REPENTANCE.
(from Dictionary.com)
Now we're seeking out God's will in so many areas, and recognizing things that God is teaching us to look for in who WE as CHRISTIANS align ourselves with. What and who we put our names on, and what they stand for. Because as Christians we represent Christ, and others who we align with- those who we allow to represent us with their deeds or reputation- will either make us and our God credible and reflect positively, or will bring disgrace and reflect poorly on us and on Christ.
Go ahead, read that one more time. I had to in order to realize what God was saying to me!
The night before I'd had a long chat with one of our hosts here in Kiev about ways in which the "influential and respected"Christian community that is involved in the rights of the child here in Ukraine interact. This group has a conference each year to discuss ways to put feet on them (meaning, to walk out their ideas) and get things moving, rather than to just like the 'idea' of caring for the children and orphans. I've been invited to return to be a part of that if it's possible. We will be praying to see where God leads with that and with our family between now and then. It was of his opinion that though Ukraine has been called by many in the political circles to be a Christian nation, it is a nation where the children on the streets, the orphans, the disabled... they're not cared for by the church.
Another woman I spoke with while here said that society tends to view the disabled here like they do the animals. They don't take care of the stray dogs who wander the streets looking for food and huddled together in the cold to stay warm. Disabled people are seen the same way- as less than human and not 'worthy' of a second glance.
We are but two people, but... OUR GOD IS OMNIPOTENT, OMNISCIENT, and OMNIPRESENT and HE can do great things. HE can turn a society's blind eye to recognize a need. HE can bring to light the needs and bring the CHURCH back to those needs. HE can bring a nation that cries out in their worship tent and sings "bring yourself upon our nation, I want your will to be done here!"
And HE can use anyone, anything, and maybe even us... Though we have no idea how or what He might do. God's given us these divine appointments. These opportunities so far outside the 'norm' of adoption contacts. These glimpses into His Kingdom and into the areas which things are going GOOD, very good and the heartbreaking truths of how things are going BAD, very bad.
Now we have to reconcile the truth that we knew when our feet left American soil with the knowledge that God's given us here on the ground in Ukraine and determine what paths HE has for us as we move forward in this life and calling that God has for us. We know God's placed disabled orphans on our heart for life. And we know it's not just so that they can all become a part of our family :). So, now we look for what paths God is prompting us to. God brought me out of the ministry He had me in for the last 2 years-- now He has other plans. Of this I'm sure. Just not so sure what they are yet :)
At the same time, God has provided multiple encounters that can be considered nothing less than divine appointments. It began before I left the US when sitting next to a man who asked about my Kindle. I guess I really was supposed to buy the Kindle, if for no other reason than the conversation that ensued ;). He was from the US Department of State and the head of humanitarian aid. Wow, what a conversation we had! One more person in an authoritative position who knows the plight of special needs orphans abroad.
There have been many since then which I won't go into details about, but in general, the person that is helping us with Aleksa's adoption, Yana, was divinely planted for this time and purpose. No question that she and I needed to connect on a personal level- and no question that she is the right person to interact with the director and get things done for us.
In being here early, God used me to help two adoptive families through things before Michael arrived. One family's child had a seizure and though I did nothing, I was able to sit and be with mom and baby (I say baby, but she was 7 and just the SIZE of a baby...) at the hospital while everyone ran around in a tizzy. Mom needed nothing more than to hear that everything will be ok-- and I could handle that part ;).
Yesterday Michael and I wandered out to find Hillsong Kiev church. We knew it was one metro stop north of where we would get on and that it was near an Ashan (grocery store- looks like AWAH if you're looking at it in cryllic writing- W is an "sh" sound and H is the "N" sound.). We got off the metro and walked, and walked, and walked... and finally we heard music... and we saw the 'tent'. It is a semi-permanent structure, but it sure is a tent! We went inside and asked if they translated to English. A young man standing at a counter (not working it) translated for us and the girl working the counter went to get someone else. They seated us near the back of the HUGE auditorium (which, remember, is a tent..) and said they'd be back.
With that, a woman came up and introduced herself, she and some friends were already seated in the row behind us. We found out that the two woman run a street kids' ministry in Kiev, and through just a bit of conversation, we arranged to have lunch together after church. They were both Americans and have been living and working in UA for a long time. One since 1991 (the fall of the communist regime) and one since 1998.
Worship began and I've never experienced anything like it. A huge auditorium packed full of people, a stage with lights and three gigantic screens and a sound system that makes your chair rumble on the temporary plywood floor... but it wasn't the atmosphere that was amazing. It was the worship. The lyrics came up on the screen, and these songs, originally written in English, were translated into Russian with the SAME SYLLABLE PHRASING as the English songs. Both English and Russian words showed on the screen, all the people called out to the very same God in worship, and right next to them I could sing the English words to the same song. I'm pretty sure I could never really explain it, so here's a video. Many of you will recognize the song, and be able to sing along easily-- yet, the leader is singing in Russian :) And YES, this video was taken inside the 'tent'
God brought the people who were sitting behind us into our lives for a purpose! There's no question there, because they opened our eyes to some things that we didn't know were happening within things that we are directly related to... and they really were not-so-good things that we couldn't have known about without being on the ground here in Ukraine and talking to people "outside our circles." Now we know- from multiple sources. Yeah, not really saying much detail there, because now there's more to 'figure out' since our eyes have been opened.
We had lunch at McDonald's, and as we were leaving (with an invitation to meet the children the ladies we met minister to and see their facility while we're here)... a man approached us. I recognized him immediately and he pointed across the outdoor eating area to his 4 yr old daughter with Down syndrome. He's one of the dads from the parent meeting that we'd attended on Saturday at the Down Syndrome Center in Kiev. We went over and met his beautiful little pig tailed princess and she continued to eat her french fries and chicken nuggets, used to being the star of the show :). They were having a "father day" while her mom worked that Sunday afternoon. Through some gestures, some English, some Russian, and some guesses, we learned that they'd watched TV, worked in the garden, then gone for lunch since he was home for the day with her. He lives just a block or two away from there and was very sweet with his daughter-- VERY proud of her!
Today I have such a mixture of thoughts and emotions going through my heart and mind. Not about our adoption or family at all, but rather about the other things happening while I'm here in Ukraine. About the details of things going on here and what different things are involved-- in so many different levels.
Michael and I came on this trip knowing that God is stirring our hearts not only for our children who we hope to bring home (though that's certainly enough of a reason to be here!!!) but in other areas as well. God is calling us to KNOW what happens on the ground here and to align ourselves with people of influence who are not working with the basis of a title, but rather by knowing WHO they are, and WHO they belong to. To finding CHRISTIANS who are making a difference here in Ukraine, and seeing things as they really are. We may find some changes in who we 'align' ourselves with in the coming months as Christ calls us to action with those that represent Him in every word and action.
When we attended Hillsong Kiev church, the preacher was visiting from Austrailia, so he actually preached in English and it was translated into Russian. He spoke a very simple message, but a powerful one with a few different key points. One was to know WHO you are. The idea of an inheritance-- that if a father dies, the son is offered an inheritance. Before he can accept it, the son must first prove who he is. In doing that, he must also prove whose he is, and who his father is. The speaker referenced some time he spent with the royal family of England and that even from a young age, Prince Charles had the knowledge that his actions would reflect either positively or poorly on his family and on his country. He made his decisions based on who he is, and whose he is, to bring his family joy and honor and not disgrace. So must we, as Christians know WHO we are, and whose we are, and that our actions, if we call ourselves Christians, WILL reflect either positively or poorly on Christ. They will bring God joy and honor, or disgrace.
Calling oneself a Christian but aligning with the world does NOT bring Glory to God. God calls us to be set apart, to "be Holy as I am Holy." To do each action as Christ would do it, to represent Him in our actions.
Will we fail? Most likely so, most likely often, and most likely hard.
In talking to David and Laura Lutz last night, we debated (our way of conversation with David LOL) through many different Christian topics and points of conflict within the church and society. We thoroughly enjoyed it and I believe they did as well ;). It wasn't a matter of right or wrong that we debated, but rather principles of application of the Word of God (for the most part). Anyway, that aside, we talked a bit about how Christians often "hole up" and don't go out into the world to FIND those who need Christ, but rather internalize and feed themselves and close their eyes to the needs around them. We also spoke of what forgiveness and grace are. The main 'point' that came out of that one is that when a person truly asks FORGIVENESS, there must also be REPENTANCE.
(from Dictionary.com)
1.
deep sorrow, compunction, or contrition for a past sin,wrongdoing, or the like.
2.
regret for any past action.
Now we're seeking out God's will in so many areas, and recognizing things that God is teaching us to look for in who WE as CHRISTIANS align ourselves with. What and who we put our names on, and what they stand for. Because as Christians we represent Christ, and others who we align with- those who we allow to represent us with their deeds or reputation- will either make us and our God credible and reflect positively, or will bring disgrace and reflect poorly on us and on Christ.
Go ahead, read that one more time. I had to in order to realize what God was saying to me!
The night before I'd had a long chat with one of our hosts here in Kiev about ways in which the "influential and respected"Christian community that is involved in the rights of the child here in Ukraine interact. This group has a conference each year to discuss ways to put feet on them (meaning, to walk out their ideas) and get things moving, rather than to just like the 'idea' of caring for the children and orphans. I've been invited to return to be a part of that if it's possible. We will be praying to see where God leads with that and with our family between now and then. It was of his opinion that though Ukraine has been called by many in the political circles to be a Christian nation, it is a nation where the children on the streets, the orphans, the disabled... they're not cared for by the church.
Another woman I spoke with while here said that society tends to view the disabled here like they do the animals. They don't take care of the stray dogs who wander the streets looking for food and huddled together in the cold to stay warm. Disabled people are seen the same way- as less than human and not 'worthy' of a second glance.
We are but two people, but... OUR GOD IS OMNIPOTENT, OMNISCIENT, and OMNIPRESENT and HE can do great things. HE can turn a society's blind eye to recognize a need. HE can bring to light the needs and bring the CHURCH back to those needs. HE can bring a nation that cries out in their worship tent and sings "bring yourself upon our nation, I want your will to be done here!"
And HE can use anyone, anything, and maybe even us... Though we have no idea how or what He might do. God's given us these divine appointments. These opportunities so far outside the 'norm' of adoption contacts. These glimpses into His Kingdom and into the areas which things are going GOOD, very good and the heartbreaking truths of how things are going BAD, very bad.
Now we have to reconcile the truth that we knew when our feet left American soil with the knowledge that God's given us here on the ground in Ukraine and determine what paths HE has for us as we move forward in this life and calling that God has for us. We know God's placed disabled orphans on our heart for life. And we know it's not just so that they can all become a part of our family :). So, now we look for what paths God is prompting us to. God brought me out of the ministry He had me in for the last 2 years-- now He has other plans. Of this I'm sure. Just not so sure what they are yet :)
Sunday, November 14, 2010
SIX MONTHS!
It has been 6 months since James moved in to our home! It's hard to believe it has only been that long, because he has melded in as one of the family SO easily! James is such a sweet and loving little guy with a smile and a hug to willingly share. He's made some huge strides in the last six months... he now holds his bottle, is WALKING! He's eating new textures. He's using the potty regularly when given the opportunity. He's learned to like baths. He's jumping on the trampoline. He's walking next to Emma's wheelchair and holding on. He's carrying his own backpack to and from the car (walking!). He's learning to share. He's stopped throwing all his toys. He's stopped throwing his bottle. He's walking to and from the house/car without instruction. He's leaving his shoes on in the car. He's not banging his head at night. He's not rubbing his head on the rails much at night. He's completely off his feeding pump. He's recognizing spatial boundaries of the house and yard. He's beginning to recognize spatial boundaries at school. He's mimicking all kinds of new words and signs.
We are so proud of James and so blessed to have him as our SON! It's only 2 1/2 months since we finalized his adoption, and now we're on to another. I would have never even considered this as a possibility, but James has made it so EASY to say yes to another child, because he has come in, bonded, loved, learned, and become a natural part of our family SO QUICKLY. He is doing great, and though I hate leaving him for a few weeks, I know that he has also bonded with those that are watching him (grandparents). We know it is hard, being so soon after he came to us. God has brought us this far and He will bring us all through this. In the end it will be "just three weeks" in the midst of a long lifetime together. :)
James, you are loved and cherished! Happy 6 months home! :)
We are so proud of James and so blessed to have him as our SON! It's only 2 1/2 months since we finalized his adoption, and now we're on to another. I would have never even considered this as a possibility, but James has made it so EASY to say yes to another child, because he has come in, bonded, loved, learned, and become a natural part of our family SO QUICKLY. He is doing great, and though I hate leaving him for a few weeks, I know that he has also bonded with those that are watching him (grandparents). We know it is hard, being so soon after he came to us. God has brought us this far and He will bring us all through this. In the end it will be "just three weeks" in the midst of a long lifetime together. :)
James, you are loved and cherished! Happy 6 months home! :)
Based on measurements...
I took a few minutes on Friday to measure Aleksa to find out what sizes she will need when she comes home. We're not sure how much time we'll have to visit with her between now and then since she's so far from where we're staying (and there's not a whole lot of options on that) and since we're about to start Wesley's adoption as well.
Anyway, we have "wiggly dimensions"... over clothes. Which means we *hope* that they're right :)
If anyone has a way to figure out what sizes these would be, especially for pants to have the right inseam length, I would appreciate it! I'm *thinking* she's about a size 6 or 8, but that's based on TOTAL height, and typically kids with Ds have longer torso's and shorter legs. So she may need more like an 8 for shirts and a 6 for pants??
Please post if you know!! THANK YOU!!
(no, she had no intention of drawing on the paper, but she was happy to hold the pen LOL! And we were glad she was done 'melting down' and agreed to sit in a chair for a minute...)
Height measured- 46" Height when using other measurements to add them together- 48" (inseam+seated height)
Hip to floor- 25"
inseam TO FLOOR- 21"
in seated position, bottom to shoulder- 18"
in seated position, bottom to head- 27"
foot length- 7" (wasn't able to get a width- she wasn't happy that we took her shoe off!)
Waist- OVER underwear, tights, and snowpants- ~24" (guessing really ~21/22?)
Chest- OVER undershirt, shirt, sweatshirt- ~24" (guessing similar to her waist :) ~21/22?)
www.mcornish.org
Anyway, we have "wiggly dimensions"... over clothes. Which means we *hope* that they're right :)
If anyone has a way to figure out what sizes these would be, especially for pants to have the right inseam length, I would appreciate it! I'm *thinking* she's about a size 6 or 8, but that's based on TOTAL height, and typically kids with Ds have longer torso's and shorter legs. So she may need more like an 8 for shirts and a 6 for pants??
Please post if you know!! THANK YOU!!
(no, she had no intention of drawing on the paper, but she was happy to hold the pen LOL! And we were glad she was done 'melting down' and agreed to sit in a chair for a minute...)
Height measured- 46" Height when using other measurements to add them together- 48" (inseam+seated height)
Hip to floor- 25"
inseam TO FLOOR- 21"
in seated position, bottom to shoulder- 18"
in seated position, bottom to head- 27"
foot length- 7" (wasn't able to get a width- she wasn't happy that we took her shoe off!)
Waist- OVER underwear, tights, and snowpants- ~24" (guessing really ~21/22?)
Chest- OVER undershirt, shirt, sweatshirt- ~24" (guessing similar to her waist :) ~21/22?)
www.mcornish.org
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Dear Rebecca, Becca, Bec (not Becky),
You asked if you could share our link on facebook. I would be honored if you would do so! We are so dependent on prayer right now, and we are trusting God for these kids and for the financial provision to be able to bring them home right now. Thanks for asking first (never a bad idea in my book ;0) ).
If anyone else would be wanting or willing to post on FB or your own blogs, please share-away!
:)
www.mcornish.org
If anyone else would be wanting or willing to post on FB or your own blogs, please share-away!
:)
www.mcornish.org
A tour of our UA apartment
Here’s a quick tour of our previous apartment. We are now at a B&B which is someone’s (beautiful!) home, so I won’t post pictures… but, this last apartment was a rental similar to what many parents use in Kiev.
We were packing to leave and I was snapping pictures, so our things are all laid out :)
The entryway into the apartment was a small hallway. To the right, a bathroom and ‘straight ahead’ (kinda…) was the studio apartment room.
From the doorway looking in to the apartment to the right and then to the left is the kitchen.
From the far corners of the room…
And the bathroom… A beautiful tub and shower (but… no curtains anywhere here!). And yes, I took a picture of the toilet. Because this is the only toilet I’ve sat on in my adult life that I had wished I had a step for. You see, this toilet isn’t on a stand, and instead is installed right into the wall. Unfortunately, it was installed about 4” too high for a “normal height” person. I’ve seen some TALL Ukrainian women while I’m out walking around, but I’m pretty sure even they would be tippy toeing in order to use this toilet! Mike requested a stool… Guess I know how my kids feel now?? :)
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