tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70617517453028233932024-03-14T10:24:42.525-07:00Open Your HeartJenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121297325663415742noreply@blogger.comBlogger223125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061751745302823393.post-90993356975285619592014-08-16T13:19:00.001-07:002014-08-16T13:19:35.148-07:00Metcha Day - 4 Years<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
4 years ago Chris and I walked into a Ukrainian Orphanage. We met with the Director and learned all about the little girl we had been working so hard to bring home. After much anticipation they brought Milana in to meet us. She smiled and ran right into our arms. We were hooked. (Little did we know she would spend the next weeks running into everyone's arms). They took us to a room where we got to spend 10 whole minutes with this little girl before coming in and asking "Do you want her?"</div>
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It's hard to believe we met our little girl just 4 years ago. In some ways it seems like she has been with us forever. In other ways it breaks our hearts because we know she hasn't. We know that her first years weren't the best and we spend a lot of time thinking about what her life would have been like had we only gotten her sooner. <br />
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We would love more than anything to be able to take away all the pain of those first years. We would love to take away all the trauma and all the hurt. Unfortunately we can't. All we can do is give her all the love we can. Some days its enough. Some days its hard. Every day its worth it. No matter how hard things get its always worth it. Look at that smile :)</div>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121297325663415742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061751745302823393.post-48509270042897629552014-08-15T19:10:00.001-07:002014-08-15T19:10:24.550-07:006 Months Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I attempted to add more pictures than this. Unfortunately, this was all I got. It isn't the best picture, but it made me laugh so hard. You gotta love Doychin photo bombing Rumyana's pic :)</div>
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I can't believe it has been 6 months already. I'm not quite sure where the time has gone. Since my last post (3 months ago) a lot has happened. Doychin turned 4. He made a mess of himself and got frosting all over his face and hands. (This is huge as my man doesn't typically like to touch his food). Rumyana shoved her entire cupcake in her mouth and then got fussy when she couldn't have more. (She loves to eat)!<br />
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Both Doychin and Rumyana were evaluated for Special Ed. Services and will be going to school. We will have 5 kids in four different schools this year - - YIKES!!! <br />
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Recently Doychin has become more and more interested in books. Yay! He has started walking over to me with a book and climbing into my lap so I can read to him. I love it! Rumyana is playing more and more every day. Both kids love music! We spend a lot of time singing and dancing. Milana and Doychin are constantly signing something - mostly songs from Frozen. They are quite the pair!<br />
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Milana is anxiously awaiting the day Rumyana starts talking. She walks up to Rumyana several times a day and says "Hey Rumyana!" and looks at her for a bit awaiting a response. Milana realizes then Rumyana can't do the same things she can, but she really wants her to join in. <br />
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All in and all we are slowly, slowly, slowly making progress. Some days it two steps forward, one step back. Other days its 20 steps back. <br />
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**In addition to today being 6 months home for the littles it is also a big day for Milana. She has been home for 3 years and 11 months. I can't believe next month will be 4 years. This time four years ago we were just getting ready to meet her. Keeping my fingers crossed I can upload a pic or two for that post.<br />
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121297325663415742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061751745302823393.post-61910879149624089162014-05-15T09:08:00.001-07:002014-05-15T09:08:09.815-07:003 Months Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Our newest littles have been home for 3 months. (Mila has been home now 3 years 8 months).</div>
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We have been enjoying the beautiful weather and spending some time outside.</div>
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Doychin really likes to play on the slide and the roller coaster. His first ride on the roller coaster was not successful at all, but he watched Mila enjoying it and decided to give it another shot. He has gotten brave and now tries to climb up the slide. However, he is constantly thwarted as this Mama is a firm believer in going DOWN the slide and not climbing up. Sorry little man!</div>
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Doychin enjoys following Mila and copying whatever it is she is doing. So of course he decided to give the hoola hoop a shot. He couldn't quite manage it, but he will get there eventually. </div>
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What a surprise it was to find Rumyana playing with toys!. She doesn't really care for toys or playing much so this was a special treat. </div>
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I know Mila really enjoyed this short lived tea party with her little sister. </div>
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These last three months have been quite busy for the most part. I don't think any of our other four children have had quite as many doctor appointments as the two new littles. We seem to always have somewhere to go or some doctor to see. It is nice the days where there is nothing to do. Then we just get to relax and hang out. </div>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121297325663415742noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061751745302823393.post-61926973132051409482014-03-15T14:42:00.000-07:002014-03-15T14:42:05.876-07:00Time FliesToday is a pretty amazing day. Rumyana & Doychin have been home with us for 1 month. It's hard to believe it's been a month already. Where does the time go? Things are going well. We have been busy with lots of doctor appointments - it seems we have way more than we did when Milana came home. It could be that there are two of them. Who knows?<br />
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Today is also an amazing day because Milana has been home for 3 1/2 years!!! It just doesn't seem possible. She has grown so much - well she's gotten a little taller anyway ;)<br />
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It really has been an amazing journey so far with all three. They are all so very different from one another. It is amazing to see the changes over time. Doychin is getting brave and exploring more. Rumyana is tolerating Nix more. Milana - well...she still thinks she runs the place. We didn't give her the nickname "the Queen" for nothing. Seriously though, Milana is talking more and more, she is learning and can read several words. Pretty amazing for a child who was written off by so many.<br />
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More to come later. I've got children crawling all over me! I love it :)Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121297325663415742noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061751745302823393.post-65510774130908398942014-02-22T10:33:00.002-08:002014-02-22T10:33:59.903-08:00Gotcha Day - February 10, 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
On Monday February 10, 2014 we were able to bust Rumyana & Doychin out of their orphanages once and for all. Our first stop was Rumyana's Orphanage. We were greeted by the Orphanage Director with a big smile. All the Caretakers who were working were all gathered in a room with Rumyana and the other children. All were saying their goodbyes to her. </div>
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While they said their goodbyes Chris & I sat with our translator (Dimitar) and the Orphanage Director. There was a ton of paperwork to sign and even more things to go over. She (Orphanage Director) gave us the run down of ALL of Rumyana's medications as well as a 10 day supply.</div>
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After all of the paperwork was out of the way we got to go in and see our girl. We were surprised to see that they had the photo album and all the toys I left for her on the first visit in September ready and waiting to go home with her. They also had presents. She was given a little bear that her favorite caretaker bought for her. They made her a little photo album of her with them in the Orphanage. She also was given a few other things. It was all very sweet. Probably the sweetest thing was the card that Rosi wrote for Rumyana. I cried as Dimitar read it to me.</div>
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One of the things that was shared with us was that Rumyana was baptized. Most of the Orphanage workers are Orthodox Christians. They gave us her baptismal certificate. (We were quite surprised to hear she had been baptized).</div>
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As we were getting ready to go they asked us if we brought clothes to change Rumyana into. We told them we did and they looked and seemed a bit sad. We said we didn't want to take clothes that another child could use. They then told us they were here clothes and no one could use them. So we kept her in the clothes from the Orphanage (which made them all smile). We attempted to put on the sneakers we brought for her, but they didn't fit. So...we traded the new sneakers for her shoes she wore there. They also threw in her inside shoes as well. Yes, I did say her inside shoes.</div>
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After a long and teary good bye at Rumyana's Orphanage (and promises to email pictures) we were off to get Doychin.</div>
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Doychin's Orphanage was much different. I'm not sure who greeted us, but it wasn't anyone quite as cheery. A worker waited with us and our translator while the Social Worker got paperwork ready for us to sign. At one point they brought Doychin out and then they took him away again.<br />
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The Worker asked if we had clothes for him and as we pulled them out she just shook her head and told our translator that it was all way too large. I did mention to our translator that we got the sizes based on the measurements they had sent us. (We had even returned all the much smaller clothes that we had gotten after receiving the information about his height/weight). Oh well.<br />
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After shaking her head at the too large clothes for a few more minutes the caretaker finally decided the socks we brought for him were acceptable and she took those back to wherever Doychin was. When they finally brought him out he had on a long sleeve shirt, boots, and snow pants. They would not put him in any of our clothes.<br />
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We signed some paperwork so that we could take him out of the Orphanage. One worker brought him a toy as a going away gift. They also gave us back our photo album we left for him of our family. They included several pictures of him. A baby picture, a picture of him on his 2nd and 3rd birthdays, etc. We were excited to get this gift. (We also got a cd with pictures of Rumyana on it). These are real gifts as we do not have any of that for Milana. Just one baby picture they gave us at our SDA appointment.<br />
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After signing the paperwork they also decided the coat we had just wouldn't work. So...they gave us one from the Orphanage and we gave them his brand new coat. The Social Worker looked a little confused, but just rolled with it. (She was so very nice)!<br />
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Finally we were able to get out of there and head to the medical appointments. Before leaving (both orphanages) they poured water on the ground for us to walk over. I wish I could remember what it means, but it was such a crazy day I don't. It's something they do for all families leaving with their children.<br />
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Our next stop was the medical appointments. First each little had to have blood drawn. Easier said than done. Neither of them have good veins and it was a pain to get blood. They ended up getting it from their little hands :( Rumyana screamed like a crazy lady as soon as she saw the needle.<br />
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We got to cut in line ahead of everyone waiting to see the doctor. (This was nice). The appointment itself was pretty uneventful. The doctor basically copied information from the paperwork I had brought with us (that was given to us by the Orphanages). He checked their height/weight, listened to them breathe, and that was about it.<br />
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When we got back to the hotel we were ready to relax a bit. Both Doychin and Rumyana were wiped out from the long day. When we went to take Doychin's snow pants off (let me just interject here and say it was at least 60 degrees outside) we noticed that he had NO pants on under the snow pants. And they were upset with me because we would have had to roll up the pants we brought?? Seriously???Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121297325663415742noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061751745302823393.post-66604728282225273242014-02-04T16:38:00.000-08:002014-02-04T16:38:22.223-08:00Matching Grant AND Tastefully Simple Fundraiser!!!!Before I get to the awesome opportunities we have been blessed with to help raise money for our adoption I want to thank everyone involved in this Matching Grant Opportunity. I also want to thank our fabulous Tastefully Simple Consultant and our Family Warrior and all of you out there who have shared our story, donated, prayed, etc. You are all amazing and my family and I are so grateful for all of you!<br />
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Thanks for letting me get that out of my system :)<br />
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We have recently been given two amazing opportunities to raise money for our adoption! The first is a MATCHING GRANT!!! The matching grant is for $450 and will be deposited into our FSP once it reads $7070. Donations to our fsp are tax deductible. You can make a donation and help us reach our goal by clicking on this link: <a href="http://www.reecesrainbow.org/sponsorwojcik">www.reecesrainbow.org/sponsorwojcik</a><br />
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The second opportunity to raise money for our adoption is through our TASTEFULLY SIMPLE Fundraiser! All you have to do is place your Tastefully Simple order between now and February 10th and a percentage of all sales will go towards our adoption! Go to <a class="_553k" href="http://tastefullysimple.com/web/kjaco" rel="nofollow" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14.079999923706055px; padding: 1px 0px; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">tastefullysimple.com/web/kjaco</a><span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14.079999923706055px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and enter Jennifer Wojcik at Checkout! </span><br />
<span style="color: #3e454c; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14.079999923706055px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121297325663415742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061751745302823393.post-3033832613907321802014-02-02T15:15:00.003-08:002014-02-02T15:15:56.931-08:00Woo hoo!!!On Thursday (January 30th) we got our travel dates. As I checked my email for what felt like the millionth time I paused and just prayed - please, please, please let our travel dates be there. I opened my email and there they were. An email saying "I hope you can travel quickly!"<br />
We had our hotel and flights booked long before dinner time. So excited we got our dates! I can't wait to go get my babies and get them home so that we can all be together.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121297325663415742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061751745302823393.post-36380468103165305872014-01-28T07:13:00.000-08:002014-01-28T07:13:00.746-08:00Waiting is ToughI'm sure I have said this before, but I have been awful when it comes to blogging this time around. When we adopted Milana in 2010 I blogged about EVERYTHING! I remember taking pictures of our dossier when I sent it off to Ukraine.<br />
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Maybe it's the same as having your first child. You take tons of pictures, you are extra careful, etc. When the next one (or in my case 2) comes along you don't take as many pictures and/or videos and careful has gone out the window because it isn't scary anymore.<br />
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I don't know if it is the same. I just know with Mila I feel like I blogged about anything and everything. This time around I feel like I can't keep up with blogging with work, the kids, and all the adoption stuff. Maybe that is just an excuse, but it is my excuse and I am sticking to it. I will try to be better.<br />
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At this point there isn't much to say. The only thing we are doing now is waiting. And waiting is TOUGH stuff! I am not good at waiting and that is simply because I have ZERO patience. I was doing well for awhile, but now I am just antsy. I just want our travel date to come. I want to know when Chris and I are heading out of the country to pick up our kids and bring them home! I think just knowing when will make things a little easier.<br />
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In the mean time I do have a ton of things to do. Like prepare for the kids arrival. We have a ton of stuff to get still - diapers, highchairs, carseats, etc. We also have to get rooms ready. We have to fundraise for the rest of the adoption as well. So there is enough to stay busy between all of that, work, and the daily things with the kids. Regardless of how much we have to do waiting is still TOUGH!<br />
<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121297325663415742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061751745302823393.post-88940698167507132832013-12-30T13:13:00.005-08:002013-12-30T13:13:59.368-08:00Court Today & Exciting NewsWow! I can not believe our court date <b>FINALLY</b> came. This has been such a long exhausting month. Our car broke down and was beyond repair. So here we are adopting two kiddos and we need a new car. We also had lots of sick - Milana had strep. I had bronchitis.Milana had surgery. (She had her tonsils and adenoids out and new tubes put in). Riley also got in on the sick action. As I said, it has been a long, exhausting month.<br />
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There was also the waiting. The day we found out our court date was amazing - other than that was also the day we found out we needed a new car. So through the sick and the car issues we continued to wait. We woke up this morning expecting an email about court. We waited for what seemed like forever. Finally the amazing Shelley emailed me around 12:30 to tell us our adoption was granted! Oh this was amazing news! Our little ones are finally ours!<br />
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Now we have some more waiting to do, but we are another HUGE step closer to our little ones! We hope to travel in 4-6 weeks to pick them up and bring them home FOREVER!!! We are all beyond excited.<br />
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The day got even better when we found out that Sevenly is once again supporting Reece's Rainbow. This time they are supporting families that meet a certain criteria. WE are lucky enough to be one of those families. Here is the link to this week's sevenly campaign:<br />
<a href="http://www.sevenly.org/campaign/reeces-rainbow/">http://www.sevenly.org/campaign/reeces-rainbow/</a><br />
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Here is a list of the families that will benefit from this campaign:<br />
<a href="http://reecesrainbow.org/category/s14">http://reecesrainbow.org/category/s14</a><br />
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Please consider supporting Sevenly and these families. Adoption is amazing. It truly is! It is also very expensive. It seems things always break when you are adopting. In addition to us having to get a new car we've had to replace our upstairs heat. Our upstairs AC has broken - fortunately we don't need it right now. We've also had a few other things break. You get the picture. It is always something. It is just the way.<br />
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If you are interested. Here is the link to the angel tree kids. Some have found their families and many, many others are still waiting. Maybe your little one is there. Or maybe there is a little one you want to put a little something in their grant fund. I know their future family would really appreciate it!<br />
<a href="http://static.reecesrainbow.org/angeltree2013/">http://static.reecesrainbow.org/angeltree2013/</a><br />
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121297325663415742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061751745302823393.post-9868408504718537772013-11-29T12:55:00.000-08:002013-11-29T12:55:16.191-08:00Counting My BlessingsI was sitting here drinking a cup of tea and enjoying the quiet - well quiet for my house. Chris is napping and Milana is loving life as she is playing upstairs with her sisters in<b> their</b> room. So here I sat sipping my tea and enjoying a piece of my friend Renee's delicious toffee. As I sipped my tea I got thinking about how blessed we have been in our adoption journey. <div>
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I cried out for help a few weeks ago. Within minutes I had one friend start up a Damsel in Defense fundraiser for us. All I did was ask for fundraising ideas and she messaged me right away with this amazing fundraiser! A few minutes later another friend messaged me telling me that her adoption was almost fully funded and asked if I would like the items she was going to auction off. She mailed them to me the next day. Another friend started a chocolate fundraiser for us while she was still in her son's country picking him up. Not even done with her own adoption and here she was helping me with mine!</div>
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I've had a friend bid on the majority of my auction items when there were no other bids. I've had friends donate to our fundraisers, auctions, fsp, etc. I am just so grateful to all of those who have been helping us throughout this incredibly exhausting journey! I hope everyone knows how much I appreciate them for their roll in supporting us!</div>
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We still have such a long way to go. Right now we need about $11,000 to be fully funded. I know we will get there. I would like it to be sooner rather than later, but I know we will eventually get there.</div>
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Just last week as I was starting to stress a bit I had an unexpected surprise. A friend/co-worker started telling me how she wanted to help us raise money for our adoption. I was so caught off guard when she started to tell me all about her idea. Then of course I started to cry! (I'm pretty sure she thought I had lost my mind).</div>
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So today I am counting my blessings. Each and every person who has donated, prayed, listened, sent kind thoughts our way, or shared our story YOU have been a blessing to us!. Thank you for being such a blessing to us on this journey. It can be tiresome. In the end it is so very worth it! It helps to have you all along for the ride with us. Thank you all so much!</div>
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***The quiet did NOT last. As I typed I had children either talking to me or jumping on me. One was trying to climb through the tv. If I was rambling - and I usually am - I blame it on the kids and the dog too. He has now joyed the mayhem :)</div>
Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121297325663415742noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061751745302823393.post-15298827345111230222013-10-29T06:28:00.000-07:002013-10-29T06:28:01.883-07:00This Is The Post Where I Beg For HelpFirst, I really have to thank everyone who prayed for things to start moving. Yesterday we got our I800 approval! This was a complete surprise to me because I called USCIS last week and our paperwork hadn't even made it to our Officer's desk after having been in the building for almost 3 weeks. So thank you! This was HUGE!!<br />
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I'm still a little confused about all that needs to happen next. Right now I am waiting on some information from the National Visa Center. We have to have our Article 5 Interview and then I believe Court. There is so much to keep track of!<br />
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What I do know is that we still have quite a bit of money to raise. I'm not good at all at asking for help. (If you don't believe me ask Chris. He will tell you). I was once told that if I don't ask for help, no one will know that I need it. So...with that said here goes...<br />
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We could really use your help! We still have the rest of our agency fees that we have to pay as well as all of our hotel, food, travel, some medical stuff, etc for our 2nd trip. Please continue to pray for our family - that we raise the rest of the funds we need (and fast) and that things continue to move quickly so that we can get our children home where they belong!<br />
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Feel free to share our story, pray, donate, whatever you feel you are able to do. We appreciate any and all help we can get!<br />
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If you are able to donate it is tax deductible through this link:<br />
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http://reecesrainbow.org/53171/sponsorwojcik<br />
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Thank you so much!<br />
<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121297325663415742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061751745302823393.post-1678293456857605522013-10-28T08:15:00.000-07:002013-10-28T08:15:02.549-07:00Down Syndrome AwarenessOur family and the Ferguson Family were recently interviewed about our adoptions as part of Down Syndrome Awareness Month. It was exciting to share our adoption stories.Here is the link to the pictures from the interview:<br />
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http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/gallery?section=news/local&id=9282552&photo=1<br />
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Here is the link to the actual inteviews:<br />
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http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=9282366<br />
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121297325663415742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061751745302823393.post-13048557484571007122013-10-26T13:49:00.002-07:002013-10-26T13:49:35.946-07:00An update...sort of<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
It seems like a lifetime has gone by since I met our newest little ones. I can't believe I got to hold them and love on them and then had to leave them and come home. It seems a bit cruel to everyone involved. </div>
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I did enjoy my time with them more than you could imagine, but boy was leaving incredibly difficult! </div>
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The time I had with them wasn't nearly enough. It is hard to get to know someone is such a short time so I can't really say what they will or won't be like when they come home. </div>
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What I do know is that we are all anxiously waiting. </div>
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We are waiting for our I800 approval. It has already been three weeks since we sent it. Hopefully it will be approved quickly. Right now it just feels like everything is moving in slow motion.</div>
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While we wait we are working on some fundraisers. We currently have an auction going on. </div>
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Any fundraising ideas you have would be greatly appreciated! We still have quite a bit of money we need to raise in order to bring our littles home. </div>
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If you are the praying type please say a prayer for our adoption - that things start moving quickly and that we raise all the funds we need quickly.</div>
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Thank you so much!</div>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121297325663415742noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061751745302823393.post-66551339089736016862013-10-07T05:20:00.000-07:002013-10-07T05:20:36.762-07:00Special Guest Blogger - Gillian Marchenko<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAXnrHP97IEP1dZk67-EWKaWlI532WBQXsE4p8hl9V3MKKohrAqqGg8zcG0y_h8KagnoR8cK0Dxamuz9XXb9Tuxuib6_PmwD9s1yHukQ-yzqFpyD9Z8NU_Qlq9Dcss6WEt34jNi3Z26oM/s1600/sunshine+down.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAXnrHP97IEP1dZk67-EWKaWlI532WBQXsE4p8hl9V3MKKohrAqqGg8zcG0y_h8KagnoR8cK0Dxamuz9XXb9Tuxuib6_PmwD9s1yHukQ-yzqFpyD9Z8NU_Qlq9Dcss6WEt34jNi3Z26oM/s320/sunshine+down.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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You guys are in for a special treat today! As part of Down Syndrome Awareness Month I have a VERY special Guest Blogger today. Please enjoy this post by Gillian Marchenko - Author of Sun Shine Down A Memoir.<br />
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It is an amazing book and I highly recommend it to anyone who has a child with Special Needs - biological or adopted. Even if you don't have a child with Special Needs I think you will enjoy it as well. This book is so well written. Gillian is completely honest in her feelings and holds nothing back. I love this about her!<br />
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Enough of me and my rambling.- I'd like to turn this over to Gillian now.<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">It’s supposed to rain later today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">My left arm aches.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">I broke it in two places, two different times in my childhood, and
now sometimes when the weather changes it aches, either up near my shoulder or
in my wrist; the places it broke.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">The <span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">aches</span> remind me of
those times; the agony and pain, the fear of being in an emergency room as a
child, spending the night for the first time in a hospital, getting attention
from classmates and extended family, people signing my cast, ‘Get well soon!’.
Me trying to <span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">itch</span> the inside of my <span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">cast</span> with a <span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">hangar</span>, not being able
to swim for half of a summer because I couldn’t get my arm wet. Being a bit
doped up on the medication to ease the hurt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">My broken arm became my whole world. How could it not be when the
pain was great, instant, and overwhelming?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">At the time there was no
way of knowing that the pain wasn’t going to be my new normal.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">For all I knew I could be in that kind of fear and pain for the rest
of my life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">I went to the hospital and got help. The excruciating pain
eventually turned into a dull ache and then only, a flimsy itch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Life went back to normal. I <span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">was found</span> <span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">splashing</span> around in
the kiddie pool within eight weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">But a dull ache returns
now and then.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">And I am reminded that at times in my life, I’ve been broken.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Recently I went to four
parent-teacher conferences for my kids in two different schools.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">I was prepared to discuss each kid, <i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">I thought</span></i>. But when I sat down with Polly’s teacher
(who has </span><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; padding: 0in;">Down
syndrome</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and stars in my recently published
memoir, <i>Sun Shine Down</i>), I was surprised to read that she hadn’t met her goals.
After a whole year at school Polly still couldn’t figure out classroom procedures.
She struggled with transitions every day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Polly was cute and everyone loved her, but basically she was
still just walking around making messes in class.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">And the dull ache, the
fact that I had a child with a disability started up again.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Polly’s birth shattered me. I teamed up with Jesus and my
husband Sergei to put myself back together, but much like that pesky
jigsaw puzzle you’ve almost completed, a few pieces were lost in the mix, and
now I walk around with empty spaces.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Most of the time the
spaces are used for good.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">I have more compassion for others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">I understand grace better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">I relate to others through my brokenness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">And sometimes it feels right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">But there are other
times when it still breaks my heart that Polly is behind her peers.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">I am OK with </span><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; padding: 0in;">Down syndrome</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">But there will always be days in my life where the rain will come.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">And because I’ve been
broken, I will ache sometimes.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">It doesn’t mean I love my kids less or that I wish my life was
different.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">It just aches.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">And that’s OK, I think.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Author
bio:</span></b></div>
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Gillian
Marchenko is an author and national speaker who lives in Chicago with her
husband Sergei and four daughters. Her book, Sun Shine Down (<a href="http://goo.gl/3hFdH9">http://goo.gl/3hFdH9</a>),
a memoir, published with T. S. Poetry Press in the fall of 2013.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 13.65pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
She writes and
speaks about parenting kids with Down syndrome, faith, depression,
imperfection, and adoption. Her work has appeared in numerous publications,
including Chicago Parent, Thriving Family, Gifted for Leadership, Literary
Mama, Today's Christian Woman, MomSense Magazine, Charlottesville Family, EFCA
Today, and the Tri-City Record.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Gillian says
the world is full of people who seem to have it all together. She speaks for
the rest of us.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Connect with Gillian on her website </span><a href="http://www.gillianmarchenko.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">www.gillianmarchenko.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">,
on Facebook (</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/GillianMarchenkoPage"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">https://www.facebook.com/GillianMarchenkoPage</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">)
and Twitter (</span><a href="https://twitter.com/GillianMarchenk"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">https://twitter.com/GillianMarchenk</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Amazon link for Sun
Shine Down: </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://goo.gl/3hFdH9"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://goo.gl/3hFdH9</span></a></span></div>
Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121297325663415742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061751745302823393.post-63806321108517009252013-10-06T11:25:00.001-07:002013-10-06T11:25:55.997-07:00Trip 1 - The Trip ThereI can't believe I met my little ones and have been back for a week already! This journey has been so different than our journey to Milana. I didn't bring my laptop with me so I didn't blog once while in Eastern Europe. Although truth be told, I really didn't have a ton of time.<br />
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I left Raleigh on Saturday September 21, 2013. I got to RDU a bit earlier than necessary so that Chris could get the girls to their soccer game. I had a lovely time just relaxing and watching Downton Abby. The flight from Raleigh to London was a bit bumpy here and there. It wasn't too bad otherwise. The airline fed us dinner and breakfast so that was nice.<br />
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When we got to Heathrow we had to hover around in the clouds for awhile until they told us we could land. I only had about an hour and a half to make my flight to B so I was getting a bit nervous. When we landed I booked it to where I needed to go. Everywhere I went I had to wait in a line. I told anyone who would listen (who worked there) I needed to catch my flight. No worries...no one seemed concerned (other than me). I was assured by person after person that I WOULD make my flight. Sadly, they were wrong.<br />
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I finally got where I needed to be only to find out they gave my seat away. Yes, you did read that right. They gave MY seat away. To say I was unhappy was an understatement. I still had about 27 minutes until my flight left. It had only been boarding for about 15 minutes, but they gave it away. So I went to yet another line to stand in to book another flight. After waiting about twenty minutes I finally was able to talk to someone although there were no more direct flights. Fabulous. I was now going to fly from London to Zurich to B.<br />
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I was scrambling like crazy to try to email everyone and anyone I could so that the person picking me up from the airport could be notified and not stuck there waiting. The wifi in Heathrow was pitiful! I was able to send an email, but that was it. After that no more wifi :(<br />
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As soon as I got on the airplane the pilot came on and told us there was a ton of fog in Zurich and that we were going to sit on the plane for about an hour. Seriously?? I almost started crying as I only had about an hour layover in Zurich before my flight left for B. All I kept thinking was "What are the chances of missing TWO flights in ONE day?"<br />
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Fortunately we took off about 30 minutes later. When we got to Zurich I ran as fast as I could to the next terminal. When I got there I was so afraid I had missed my flight. You can imagine my relief when I found out I didn't miss it. It was actually going to be leaving a little late. Phew!!!<br />
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I made it to B a little over 3 hours late. BUT...I made it! I was so relieved when I got off the plane and not only was my luggage there, but my ride to the hotel was there as well!<br />
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It certainly wasn't a dull trip to B. It did leave me wishing I had had some company along the way :)Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121297325663415742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061751745302823393.post-68253620627789259122013-09-21T10:28:00.002-07:002013-09-21T10:28:41.508-07:00Busy, Busy, Busy!I am so behind in my blogging. These last couple weeks have been a whirlwind! All I can say is at least I managed to get in a short Gotcha Day post a couple of weeks ago.<br />
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Just a couple days after celebrating our 3 year Gotcha Day Anniversary with Mila, Chris and I celebrated our 14th anniversary. A few days after that was Mila's 6th birthday. I did take some pics which I will eventually post. They are super cute! A couple days after our girl's birthday was her 3 year anniversary of being home with us and then the following day was Chris's birthday. As I said...it's been a busy couple of weeks.<br />
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I have also been trying to get ready to head out of the country to meet the little ones. (Yay)!!! I really didn't do such a fabulous job of getting ready seeing as though I didn't pack until this morning. I can't believe I am <b>finally</b> leaving to go meet them! I wish they could come home this trip! I know it is going to be so difficult to leave them. I just keep telling myself that we are just one more step closer. Oh....I can't wait to love on them!!!<br />
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121297325663415742noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061751745302823393.post-69052578239438699592013-09-08T11:39:00.001-07:002013-09-08T11:39:30.201-07:003 Year Gotcha Day Anniversary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On September 8, 2010 I picked Milana up from her Orphanage and took her out of that place forever. Unfortunately, our Gotcha Day was a rushed event. When we got to the Orphanage it was nap time. The caretakers had to wake her up and I was told to hurry up and get her ready so that we could go :(<br />
I would have liked to have taken pictures of her with some of the caretakers. I would have like to get one of those nice pictures everyone seems to have where the parents are carrying their little one out of the orphanage forever. I don't have any of those. I am grateful that I have some pictures from that day. This one was taken at the apartment we were staying in when we got back from running around like crazy people. <br />
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Mila was SO tiny. None of the clothes I brought with me fit her. I bought these clothes in country. As you can see - even those were too big. Three years later those shoes are still a little small. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEocnhGFp-183UCags-w9EJf0LDiXT-zfZF5ga62G_zbOpr1WAiY-24o-C202xea-HaNSPql-_gsuZd2_UnqXr7EG4D3I3d4VtypPJCAARW4sFReBv1CNducAbKwXuYBTCdpk8qn_3ynA/s1600/DSCN1778.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" psa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEocnhGFp-183UCags-w9EJf0LDiXT-zfZF5ga62G_zbOpr1WAiY-24o-C202xea-HaNSPql-_gsuZd2_UnqXr7EG4D3I3d4VtypPJCAARW4sFReBv1CNducAbKwXuYBTCdpk8qn_3ynA/s320/DSCN1778.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
This is what Miss Mila looks like today - September 8, 2013. Look at how much she has grown! She is still tiny compared to other children her age, but she has grown SO much! Happy Gotcha Day baby girl :)<br />
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121297325663415742noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061751745302823393.post-88914346881619055542013-08-27T13:19:00.002-07:002013-08-27T13:19:20.834-07:00August 27, 2010<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On this day 3 years ago Chris and I sat in a court room in Ukraine in hopes of officially becoming Milana's parents. The judge talked a lot and asked a lot of questions. He went over our entire dossier while we sat and listened to him speak in a language quite foreign to us. Our facillitator translated and told us when and how to answer when he asked questions of us. </div>
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Before rendering his decision the judge went back to his office. Eventually we were called back and given the good news that he would allow us to be Milana's parents.</div>
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And so began the ten day waiting period....</div>
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Just thought I'd stick a fairly recent picture of Milana on here.</div>
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I really love this picture of her. It shows off her wild and crazy side. Wait..is there another side??</div>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121297325663415742noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061751745302823393.post-14914614273488842092013-08-21T17:53:00.001-07:002013-08-21T17:53:26.673-07:00We Have Travel Dates!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Four weeks ago our dossier was submitted in our children's country. We waited anxiously for travel dates. About a week and a half ago we had heard that we most likely wouldn't get our travel dates until sometime in September because the government was on vacation for the rest of the month. Regardless I continued to check my email in hopes that there might be something. I checked EVERY day SEVERAL times a day. (Wouldn't you)?</div>
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Last Friday life got a little more hectic than usual. Checking emails was not an option. The thought of travel was so far from my mind. Flash forward to yesterday. It was a teacher workday. After spending six hours in trainings my team and I decided to head to Panara for something to eat. As the car turned out of the school parking lot I realized I had tons of emails. I started deleting emails and then screamed. I had a travel date. There in my inbox was an email from Shelley - gosh I love that Shelley. Talk about a wonderful surprise! Our travel dates came when I was least expecting them. I love it!</div>
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So...in a month I will finally get to meet our two newest little ones. If you have adopted before then you know how excited I am! The thought of finally getting to hold them, play with them, snuggle them, love on them is just so amazing. I start to tear up just thinking about getting to meet them. If only I could bring them home at the end of this trip. Sigh :( That is not how things work in their country. I understand that. It stinks a big one though. For now I will just be happy knowing that I get to meet and hold and love on my babies! Feeling so very grateful :)</div>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121297325663415742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061751745302823393.post-43167630407986489702013-08-14T12:59:00.000-07:002013-08-14T12:59:33.499-07:00Family Fun At The Beach<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121297325663415742noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061751745302823393.post-42668756554380572302013-08-02T14:01:00.001-07:002013-08-02T14:02:26.484-07:00Cards For A Cause Fundraiser<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We have been given a wonderful opportunity to fundraise for our adoption. We will be selling these beautiful handcrafted greeting cards in order to help raise money to bring Danny & Riley home. At this time we will only be selling them locally as it is a bit expensive to ship them. If you live in the Raleigh/Durham area and are interested in purchasing one or more of these sets of cards please let me know. </div>
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The cards are just $30 for a box of 30 cards. Box 1 contains 30 handmade all occasion, individually designed and embellished greeting cards and coordinating envelopes in a keepsake box. Box 2 contains 30 handcrafted and novelty cards for kids, with matching envelopes and funky stickers. These cards come in a convenient magnetic storage box. </div>
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Feel free to share this information with your friends and family. The more boxes we sell the more money we raise to bring our little ones home!</div>
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Thank you so much for your support :)</div>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121297325663415742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061751745302823393.post-71269939658114148982013-07-29T15:53:00.001-07:002013-07-29T15:53:35.120-07:00Winner of our 2nd American Girl Doll FundraiserOnce again I would like to thank everyone for your support! Thank you to everyone who donated and/or shared our American Girl Doll Fundraiser. <br />
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And now for the winner. The winner is.............Sally P. Congratulations Sally :)Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121297325663415742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061751745302823393.post-74938641653685642652013-07-25T04:36:00.002-07:002013-07-25T04:36:53.310-07:00Back By Popular Demand - American Girl Doll Fundraiser Take 2It seems that this was quite the popular fundriaser. After drawing a winner yesterday I received a couple of donations marked specifically for this Fundraiser. I started emailing people and they asked if I was doing another and if so to hold onto their donation for the next one. This morning I woke up to a couple more donations. So....I guess this IS the next one. No sense putting it off.<br />
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Once again, as soon as we get 20 donations of $20 we will draw a winner. Donations can be made through paypal to <a href="mailto:djennifer2@yahoo.com">djennifer2@yahoo.com</a>. This is helping us bring our two angels home - Danny and Riley. <br />
<a href="http://www.reecesrainbow.org/sponsorwojcik">www.reecesrainbow.org/sponsorwojcik</a><br />
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As always we thank you for all of your support! Good luck to everyone :)Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121297325663415742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061751745302823393.post-69088494372934920152013-07-24T16:48:00.001-07:002013-07-24T16:48:51.564-07:00Today Was A Good DayToday was such an amazing day. It started when I checked my email at about 6:20 this morning and saw that I had an email from Shelley telling me that our dossier had been approved yesterday and we had gotten our verbal referral. Now all we are waiting for is a signature from the Minister so that we can get our travel dates. <br />
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I can't begin to tell you how excited I am about this - how excited we all are. I am a ball of nerves just thinking about meeting our two little ones. I can NOT wait!!! Oh...to get to hold them and hug them and just love on them!!! It's going to be difficult waiting for that signature! I hope and pray that we don't have to wait too much longer to get to go meet them!<br />
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The other reason today was such a good day was that I got a fabulous package in the mail. This fabulous package contained a jar of dark chocolate toffee and a jar of white chocolate tofee. It is SO delicious!!! If you have ever tried Renee Tam's Smitten goodies you will know why I was so excited. If you have not tried them....well you should! Talk about delicious!!!<br />
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Hope everyone had as good of a day as I did! Thanks for all of your love and support!Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121297325663415742noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7061751745302823393.post-7375703955970726342013-07-24T16:41:00.002-07:002013-07-24T16:41:44.092-07:00Thank you and The Winner....I just want to say thank you to everyone who has donated and shared our fundraisers. I really appreciate all that you do to support our family on this journey! You are all fabulous :)<br />
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I'm guessing you are all interested in finding out who won the American Girl Doll. The winner is....Adrienne Kerwin. Congratulations Adrienne and thank you for supporting us!<br />
Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07121297325663415742noreply@blogger.com0