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