Introducing Vlad!

We finally have a picture!  These pictures were taken after the boys were given the letter about the adoption.  I am going to let you guess which one immediately said "yes" and was "joyful" about the idea of joining our family.  The other seems to be a little more reserved, and has remained "silent about being adopted" (our lawyer's words).  We don't see this as bad news. The older a child is, the more they will have to process and think about.  Remember also, that Artyom has met Aaron and has received correspondence and gifts from our family.  This is the first time that Vlad has heard anything about us.
This is a huge decision that he has to come to on his own.  We are praying that God will stir his heart to desire to be apart of our family and calm any fears and reservations that he may have.  I wish that we could look into his eyes and communicate the love that we all already feel for him. 
I hope it wasn't the dust....

Jinx is real!

So, I haven't written in a little bit because I have been busy redoing EVERY single piece of paper for our dossier to be prepared and ready.  I don't know if this is normal or just me jinxing myself in an earlier post, but it is starting to get comical.  We e-mailed our lawyer in Ukraine all of our paperwork, just to make sure everything was in order before we put it in the mail.  Good thing!  The list of corrections he sent back was daunting; dates wrong on this, names wrong on that, stamp wrong on the other one....(you get the point).  We have now gotten our fingerprints 3 times!  Honestly, aren't they on file somewhere after 1 time?  Also, that moment in the DPS office years ago when I changed my name and the one many years later at the passport office have both come back to haunt me.  Tara Leigh Alfred and Tara Trent Alfred are not necessarily the same person, and Ukraine will not be the one to be fooled!  Hopefully, we can get all of this in order soon.
On a more exciting note, Our lawyer should be leaving in just a few hours to drive to the orphanage to give the boys the letter that Aaron and I finally wrote.  We did change a couple of things, but it pretty much went like I predicted:  "Wanna be our kids?" 
We sent lots of pictures of the family, dogs, and the house.  I don't know why I stressed so much, but I cleaned forever before taking those pics!  I am pretty sure Artyom and Vlad won't be discussing it and say, "I would like to have a family, but did you see the dust on that coffee table?  We should probably pass"

Oh yeah, we no longer have a pink wall.  Two trips to the paint store and three coats later, we have 1 "flaming red hot" wall!

We have a pink wall

The lady at the paint store assured me that the paint just appeared pink, and that when it was on the wall it would be red.  The lady was wrong.  We have one accent wall in the younger boys' room that needs to be red to match their new bedding.  She told me the color I wanted (flaming hot red) would be too dark.  I would rather a "too dark" wall for the boys than a pink wall.  Pretty sure they would too!  Back to the paint store tomorrow because I haven't secured a "yes" from the boys about the adoption.  If they get wind of a pink wall, we are doomed!

Ummmm.....

We were given the go-ahead today to tell the boys about our plans for their adoption.  Because of their age, we have to ask them if they even want to be adopted.  So as I sit in front of the computer, I have encountered the worst writer's block ever!  How on earth do you start that letter? 

Hi, we were just wondering if you would like to leave the country that you have always known and be apart of our family. 

Love,  A family of strangers and one guy you met once about 1 1/2 years ago.

That doesn't seem to have the appeal that I am looking for.  Back to the drawing board.

That was quick!

After looking back at our homestudy, we realized that the we had been approved for two children ages 4-12.  Since Vlad is most likely 13, we figured that would be a problem.  We called our social worker on Tuesday afternoon, and he said it would be no big deal.  Today (Thursday), we received the revised homestudy in the mail.  We should be able to get that to the USCIS before they process our fingerprints, which we got today.  For once, things are going smoothly (did I just jinx myself?)

The Road We are On

Found this picture on Pinterest.  It was taken of a road in Ukraine by an adoptive parent.  They wrote underneath, "so symbolic of this process".  I totally feel this today.

Decision Made

Monday morning brought crazy interesting news.  Not very many moments have gone by that were not consumed by thoughts of this eighth grade boy and what our role is in his life (or what his role is in our life).  Two verses have played on repeat in my mind trying their best to crowd out all of the other thoughts and fears.  The first verse has been special to our family for a few years and definitely helped lead us to the place we are in right now.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11
God knows the plans he has for us, and he knows the plans he has for Artyom and for Vlad.  We received word from Ukraine that these brothers can not be split up (we didn't feel good with this decision anyway).  So now we were faced with the decision of both or none.  Decision made.  In our hearts, Artyom already belongs to us.  There is no going back on that.  We have had two separate people say to us this week that sometimes God only gives us little bits of His plan at a time, so we aren't totally scared away.  God's plan for this adoption hasn't changed, but the amount of information that we have been allowed to see has. 
So, while I can't change the name of our blog, our mission has changed:  Making Artyom and Vlad Alfreds!
That leads me to the next verse that has kept me going forward.
"Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous?  Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."   Joshua 1:9
An older child adoption seemed daunting enough when I was dealing with a 9-10 year old.  Adding a few more years just multiplies the fears and concerns that continue to swirl in my head.  I looked up "dismay" because I felt that put a nice word on my emotions.  "To destroy courage or resolution of by exciting dread or apprehension"...Exactly the opposite of what I have been commanded to do. 
We will continue on....strong and courageous!

"Hello, Bridge"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there."  That is what we naively said when the social worker approved us for two children during our homestudy, "just in case there is a sibling."  Well guess what, we just walked up to that bridge.  And, in my mind it is one of those shaky bridges made only of rotten wooden slats and rope to hold it up.  We received a message today saying that Artyom's last name has been found out, but we should also know that he has a sibling.  Now, many of you that know me know that I have always wanted a daughter.  So here's my chance, right.  Obviously, it's going to be a sweet, little blond girl that I could put bows on and immediately sign up for gymnastics....WRONG! 
This is the message we received: "One other thing that you should know is that Artyom has an older brother, Vlad, he is in the eighth grade. I am not sure about other siblings."
Four boys! Two of which are teenagers!!  To say that I feel overwhelmed seems like the understatement of the year!!!
We know that God has gone before us in this entire situation.  That's why we are going to try to take all of our thoughts and fears out of the equation.  If you read this blog entry, please take a couple seconds to say a prayer of clarity and peace about whatever decision that God would have us make for our family.
I'll keep ya posted!