just a couple more... for their daddy and siblings!

baths, pjs and sisters...

GOTCHA!!!!

Officially introducing:

Yana Jewell and Tavi John Mayden!!!!

Just a short post while they both have a little down time in their beds, as when they are awake they want attention! And well... do you really expect me to say "not now"?!!!! :)

Yana hasn't eaten much, but a little milk and oatmeal cereal. Tavi ate some spaghetti and french fries. She liked it.

Now Yana is sleeping, and Tavi and I might go walk around the hotel. .... Tavi is doing great. She is the sweetest little bugger! And she remembered me! I really couldn't believe it! She even remembered the games we played adn the songs we sang! At 4 years old I find to remember someone whom you met for 10 hours, 5 months ago amazing!

Yana is doing great too. She can't walk, but she will stand and walk holding hands intentionally. She raises her arms to be picked up, and she doesn't let go of toys just because Tavi wants her too. I find all that really encouraging!!

There is so much I could say. But some emotions can't be put into words. Thank you Jesus, you got us here and my girls are no longer without a family!

The only other thing I can think to say is "WATCH OUT WORLD, HERE THEY COME!" :)

IN SOFIA!

We are finally in Sofia!!! We get the girls in the morning! Then we get to just hang out till Thursday! :)

I am SOOOO excited! Yana, Tavi.... just one more sleep sweeties! And then never again will you sleep in an orphans bed! You are claimed, cherished, loved, and WANTED!

Praising God tonight!!!!!

Stuff :)

OK, so some GOOD news! YES, we are leaving on Monday as scheduled! Our departure date to come home will most likely need to be changed to Saturday, [and possibly Tues, or Wed thanks to a lovely July 4th holiday for the US embassy]. :) But hey, I will be holding my girls so I will get through it! :) Though I am really, really wanting to just get home and have them meet their DADDY, who is also ready to MEET them finally!! :)

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NOW as I get ready to travel, a good friend of mine is also getting ready to travel in a week to pick up her son from Eastern Europe. Freddie just turned 15. Can you imagine? 15! 15 years w/o a family! That just isn't right. Bill and Lyndi are AWESOME, and I am so blessed to count Lyndi as my friend!

They have done so much to raise the funds needed to bring Freddie home. They were at the end, ready to roll... and then a "hiccup!" came along. Please read and pray for them, and if possible considering donating! Even an amount as small as $5.00 can make a difference! Here is what is on their blog:

There's been a bit of a Hiccup
A few days ago, I got an email, one I had to sit on and wait for more details, but one that I thought was devastating at first. Well, now that I have details, we are a bit more optimistic, but still in a "panic".

What did we learn?
We learned that our Freddie was not born in the country we are travelling to, but instead, he was born in Russia.

What does that mean?
That means that in addition to attending court in the country he lives in, we will have to have a country lawyer go to Russia after court to obtain his original birth certificate.

How does this affect the adoption?
Other than adding a few steps, it does NOT affect his ability to be adopted! Praise Jesus for this, we were very worried until we got our details!!!

What does this mean financially and to your timeline?
It DOES affect these 2 areas!! The cost of this person to go get his birth certificate is an additional $3,000. It also prolongs our stay by about a week.

What are we doing now?
Well, for now, our plan is to move forward and get Freddie, he has been the child on our hearts for the past 2 years and we feel that with the help of EVERYONE, we can still make this a reality. A friend offered to take Patrick while we travel, this was offered before, but I originally turned it down, but have now accepted, so we now have the money from his plane ticket to help with some of the expenses, but we are still gonna need YOUR help!!!

What am I asking from you?
I am asking EVERYONE to PLEASE PLEASE help us bring him home. I know many of you have already helped, but this is such an unusual situation that I need your help now more than ever. I ask that you each post on your blogs, on your FB, spread it by word of mouth, however you can, please help spread the word!

Does Freddie know you are coming?
We honestly do not know for sure...what we DO know is that the other children from his orphanage have been sent to a summer camp in Italy (this is very common for older children in this country to go to these camps) and he was not sent, since his director knew we were coming. I can only assume that Freddie has figured out why he wasn't sent, instead he is at a local camp. He's been around long enough to figure that one out. So, has anyone flat out told him? Probably not, but I assume he has figured it out on his own.

To donate you can go to this link and donate via paypal or check!

Freddies adoption fund

Leaving June 28th, or maybe not... :(

SO... we are still having problems with paperwork NOT moving! The birthcertificates aren't ready, they need to be in the right office by tomorrow to be ready by Friday. SO that the passports can be taken care of, so that I can arrive on Tuesday and pick the girls up Wednesday! Then to get medicals, and visa interviews out of the way so we can leave bright and early Friday! NOT a whole lot of room for waiting around on paperwork!

I hate this.... I don't want to wait. I want to have it all taken care of so that I can FINALLY hold my girls again, and not have to say good bye!!!!

I am 4 days from leaving! To be this close, and have to wait yet again....

9 days!!!!!

Really 9 days? 9 DAYS until I am on the last journey to bring our girls home! 11 more sleeps and they will never again sleep in an orphans bed! Praise God!

Do they know? Has God placed excitement and hope on their precious little hearts? My arms have never hurt so bad as they do right now just longing to caress and hold them close once again.

16 months ago today we said YES to God to bring these two little girls into our family! The road has been long, but never lonely! God has been there every step of the way, and He has sent me wonderful friends who have offered support that literally pulled me through in the darkest, longest days! I LOVE you, ALL of you!

Each negative comment I ever experienced in regards to the girls adoption was FLOODED with positive, strong and loving responses from those who "get it"! Praise Jesus!

9 more days.... I don't know how I am going to last. BUt, by the Grace of God, I will... and on that day, that GOTCHA day, my Yana and Tavi John will know that they MATTER!

The joys of international adoption.... NOT!

I am asking for your prayers! The passport system in Bulgaria is a mess! The birthcertificates office is not getting things done on time! If these two things do not time out my travel plans are TOAST! To be honest, to be within 2 weeks if holding my precious girls again, and then have things fall apart and be delayed... It's going to kill me :(!

God can do this! I am praying He doesn't want to see me grow anymore in the waiting process! I am praying for a miracle of a perfectly timed out end to this journey! I am begging God to let this work! I don't want to know how much I have left in me, I just want to bring my girls home!

Yana is already 7! Tavi is 4 1/2! We have been on this journey for 16 months! Please God, they need to come home! I need them home!!!

Buying tickets!

So I got my travel dates confirmed! I will be leaving on the 28th and returning sometime between the 2nd and the 4th! I am buying tickets today hopefully! So exciting! Just 25 MORE days!

John and Kelly plus 9!!!!!!

Somewhere around 1:00 am this morning John and I became the parents of 2 more daughters!!!!!! Praising God! Great is Thy faithfulness!