Fingerprints....DONE!

It has been a loooooong month of waiting. We got our final copies of our homestudy in the mail on March 22nd. We mailed the I600A (Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition) to USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) on March 23rd. The application was for Darrell, myself, and Josh. Anyone 18 and older living in the household needs to be FBI fingerprinted. A week later we got a letter stating the application was received and forwarded for further processing...which would be in St. Paul, MN. A few days after that we got our fingerprint appointments...but not all of us...Josh's was missing. So I spent lots of time on the phone trying to get to the right person. I was given an email address...wrong one. I was given another email address...PERFECT. The gal I was in contact with was soooo very helpful. The reason Josh did not have an appointment was b/c in the homestudy it stated he is a college student. I explained how he comes home some weekends and will be living here for the summer. This gal got him an appointment but it was for a week after ours. That seemed like forever. She suggested we take Josh with to our appointment and explain what happened and ask if they would do him also. THEY DID! Thank You God!!! Getting up at 3am to make it in PLENTY of time for our 8am appointment in Fargo was so worth it. Oh, and satan was really trying to cause trouble like he always tries to do when something good is happening. He would love more than anything for Isaiah to remain an orphan but he lost...again. All the "little" things he tried throwing our way were thrown right back at him. When we got home I sent an email to the gal who was helping me earlier and told her Josh was able to get fingerprinted and I told her my concern about our file getting "lost" on someone's desk. She reassured me that SHE has our file and she had been checking the system for our prints to come through. So I pray this part of the process goes fast as that means there still is a chance we can travel mid to late June.

There is only ONE more little document we are waiting for...the I-171H which is the USCIS' approval for us to proceed with our international adoption. Now it is time to "hurry up and wait" again.

Fundraiser.

Scroll down to see fundraiser prizes.

Happy 2nd Birthday Isaiah!!

I love birthday celebrations of little ones. Don't get me wrong though...I think ALL birthday's are great. I have no problem getting older and never try to "lie" about my age...haha...as I am so thankful to have been blessed with another year. Life is a gift...it is sure better than the "alternative" unless you are ready to "go". Now for the aches/pains that come with aging...hmmm, we'll save that for another day :)

When our kids had their first few birthday's it was always so exciting...even the days shortly before the Big Day. I would ask them over and over again how old they were while putting up 1 finger or 2 fingers...trying to teach them their new age. Or when they were first starting to talk then I would try to get them to say "happy birthday". The decorations, presents, family, fun, food, and of course the cake. For their first birthday we had no rules. They had their big piece of cake or even their own smaller cake (everyone was different) and they could eat it however they wanted. I normally don't care for food messes but this was one time I let it go and let them have their fun. In fact, some of the kids were very picky at first and didn't want to get dirty so we, the parents, helped them dig in causing part of the mess.

I have no idea how birthday's are celebrated in orphanages...if they even are. I would imagine, however, that in the mental institutions they are not celebrated at all. The thought of that breaks my heart. There are most likely many many orphans who have no idea what a birthday even is. I don't know how your kids are but all of my kids when they were between the ages of 5-10 birthday's were so important...not only just theirs but their friends also. We have one child in that age range right now so we are still hearing about all these birthday parties coming up. There have been times I look over my calendar and someone wrote in a friends birthday coming up. How about the "you are not invited to my birthday party anymore"? Months before the child's own birthday if you were not nice to him you were uninvited to his party. Me, the mom, has been uninvited many times between all the kids. When I reminded them of who makes the cake and gets the party organized they would quickly change their minds. Oh...the simple, innocent, fun, little joys in life that so many innocent children have to miss out on.

Well, Isaiah, this will be the last birthday you spend without a family...God willing. Although you turned 2 years old today we will still celebrate with you when you come home...even if it is 3 or 4 months later. How cool would it be IF you were home in time to celebrate with your older brother Joey on July 22nd!?!?

Fundraiser.

We had some awesome prizes donated to help with a fundraiser in hopes of helping with the travel costs of "Bringing Isaiah Home".

Here's the scoop...

Go click on the "ChipIn!" button over to the right of the screen.

Donate $5.00 to be entered ONE time or $10.00 to be entered THREE times into the prize drawing. All donations are tax deductible!!

Put your name in the "instructions box" on the paypal page so I know whose name to enter.

What are the prizes??

iPod Nano with a $25 iTunes Gift Card (value $175)
Uppercase Living Wall Words (value $150)
Mary Kay Skin Care Gift Basket (value $250)
Handmade Quilt (value: someone's precious time)
Creative Memories Gift Basket (value $100)
GPS Navigation System (value $150)
Samsung Digital Camera (value $100)

All names will be entered into one big basket and there will be 7 winners. You can win more than once but your name also has to be entered more than once. The drawing will be held on May 25th at 10:00 AM.

All prizes will be mailed via USPS if you live farther than I can hand deliver.

Thank you for helping to make a difference in one of God's orphaned children. Isaiah is only one of 147 million of them. Thanks also for your support as we continue to go down this "road less traveled".

God Bless and Good Luck.

If you have a prayer to spare...

please send one up for Isaiah. We were informed today that he is in the hospital. Alisha, the angel who's been volunteering at Orphanage #19...Isaiah's, went to visit him today and was told by the nannies that he was in the hospital. All they told her is that he had a cough. She doesn't know how long he has been in there but I do know it was after March 20th because I got a video of him from Alisha on that day. The nannies in Isaiah's group (10 groups in the orphanage) do not like it when she comes so she is not always allowed in.

This past month there have been a few families who lost the child they were going to adopt due to another family adopting them. We were told in the beginning that there is the chance of this happening but the chance is very low. This was one of Darrell's first questions..."What are the chances of someone else adopting him?". So with it happening to 3 families within 2 weeks I could not help but to let some worry set in. I kept reminding myself, however, that IF Isaiah was truly meant to come live with our family...to be a Becker...then God will make it happen.

Yesterday Alisha emailed with an update about the nice weather in Ukraine, how the snowsuits have been switched out for heavy coats and hats, how some of the kids have been enjoying the outdoors, AND that there was a couple there looking to adopt a child from Orphanage #19.

Since this has been a fear of mine the first thing I thought of when I got her email today while I was reading the first words..."I'm sorry, so very sorry to tell you Isaiah..." was that he was being adopted by another family. My heart fell to my toes and I instantly went numb. Then I read..."is in the hospital." Hearing "in the hospital" is better than hearing "is no longer your son".

Alisha said that the hospitals there are not like here in America. There you are admitted for very minor things. She herself was sick a while back and they wanted to admit her and her husband needed stitches and they wanted him to spend the night. So I pray that Isaiah is in there because of a minor cold and that they didn't want him in the orphanage spreading germs.

Now the wait is only going to be harder and seem longer especially since Alisha will be leaving the Ukraine on Tuesday to go to Ethiopia where her and her husbands 2 future sons are living. They just got the referrals a few weeks ago...a 4 month old boy and a 14 month old boy. It will be a few months before they are legally theirs.

I will not be getting anymore updates on Isaiah. I will not know when and if he was discharged and if he has something more serious than a common cold...until Michelle http://allabouttheenskats.blogspot.com/ goes to Ukraine to get her THREE kiddos...all who are in the same orphange as Isaiah. One is currently in the hospital being treated for Leukemia.

I'm not sure what God's plan is for me to get this news right before Alisha is leaving Ukraine. He knows all too well how I tend to worry so maybe it is a test. I will do my best to pass this one as I have failed many in the past and that didn't get me anywhere but ...NO WHERE! I will focus on FROG. Fully Rely On God.

Are you on the fence for adoption?

Here is a video of a dad talking to dads who are on the fence. The video certainly is meant for the moms too. Sometimes it is the dads who feel called and they are trying to get their wives on board.

I'm not sure why the words on his shirt are mirror imaged but it actually says "147 Million Orphans"...that is ONE HUNDRED FORTY SEVEN MILLION...how can our God possibly be happy with that?

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and
the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows
in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by
the world." James 1:27

"Taking a child He placed in their midst, and putting
His arms around it He said to them, "Whoever receives
one child such as this in my name, receives me; and
whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who
sent me." Mark 9:36-37

There are many fears when we consider taking a step in faith...for some the steps are small and others they are huge. We are told over and over and over to NOT fear. Fear used to control my life is so many ways. The longer I've been on my own spiritual journey and trying to become the daughter God created me to be many of my fears have dissipated. Thanks to Satan those fears try to sneak back in from time to time but not to the extent they once were and I'm able to let go of them faster. Someone once told me to imagine taking Satan by the back of his neck...walking him to an open door...and giving him a swift kick in the rear end. That immediately puts a smile on my face.

"Greater is He who is in me than he (devil) who is in the world." 1 John 4:4

"No trial has come to you but what is human. God is
faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength;
but with the trial He will also provide a way out, so that
you may be able to bear it." 1 Corinthians 10:13

The Adoption Process...1st Trimester

THE HOME STUDY.

We are working with God's Children Adoption Agency Inc. The agency is out of Fergus Falls, MN but our social worker lives in Moorhead. The adoption home study is a detailed report of our family prepared by the social worker. We, the adoptive family, need to gather a variety of documents and answer many questions on paper and through interviews.

*Application for Adoption
*Individual Fact Sheets (age 18 and older)
*Statement of Faith (parents only)
*Child Characteristic Form (adopted child)
*Disclosure Form
*Statement of Understanding
*Completed Reference Form (3 references needed)
*Confidentiality Statement
*Consent Form
*Preliminary Questions Worksheet
*Copy of Adult Birth Certificates
*Copy of Certificate of Marriage
*Medical Physical Forms (everyone 13 years of age and older)
*Physician's Statement of Health (for those under age 13)
*Physical Description of Your Home (specify bedroom for adopted child)
*Family Picture
*Signed Authorization Forms (age 18 and older for background checks)
*Completed Fingerprint Cards (age 18 and older for background checks)
*Interview with Pastor/Priest
*Verification of Income
*Verification of Investment Assets
*Verification of Liabilities
*Verification of All Insurances
*Verification that Adoptive Child will be covered by Medical Insurance
*Completion of Adoption Training (6 hours online and 4 hours from a book)
*2-3 Home Study Visits (interviews from social worker about our childhoods, marriage, parenting, faith beliefs, and interview with kids)

As of Feb. 6th all we have left is one more home study visit (interview with the kids and parenting), which we will be doing in Moorhead, and I'm awaiting Joey's statement of health from his pediatrician. Everything else is done (I hope) for the home study...yeah!

THE DOSSIER.

Dossier...pronounced "doss-ee-ay"...is a set of legal documents and adoption papers used in international adoptions. Each country has its own set of required documents for the dossier. The documents need to be notarized by a Notary Public (a public servant appointed by state government to witness the signing of important documents). The notarized documents then have to be apostilled by the State Government (an official certification that the document is a true copy of the original). Not all countries require this, however, Ukraine does. Each Apostille costs $10 (in ND)...the notaries have been free.

Gathering documents for the dossier is considered to be like the 1st trimester of a pregnancy. Usually the 1st trimester of a pregnancy is no fun if "morning sickness" is involved and maybe a lot of praying so you don't miscarry. I am "5 for 5" for NO morning sickness so my 1st trimesters were easy as far as that part goes. Putting together and gathering documents has been a bit frustrating at times. The thought did cross my mind a time or two that maybe this adoption is not God's will for us. Like for instance...we sent our first dossier document "Child Specific Petition" (which had to be notarized...took 3 times before we got it right...and apostilled) to our facilitator in Ukraine on Dec. 24, 2009. This form states that we are specifically asking to adopt "Isaiah". Hopefully then he will not be "given" to any other family. Three weeks later we still had not heard if the CSP arrived in the right hands. I emailed my concerns to my Reece's Rainbow Ukraine assistant. She did not know what could have happened other than the document got lost in the mail. I used USPS to mail it and was unable to get a tracking number as it went internationally. I waited a few more days and decided to redo the CSP...had it notarized and got another apostille for it. This time I thought I would send it FedEx so I could get a tracking number. It cost me $12 and some cents through USPS so I thought a few extra dollars for FedEx to be able to track it would be worth it. I walk up the the counter and tell the gal that I would like to send this letter to Ukraine. She types some stuff into her computer and then tells me what it would cost. After I picked my jaw up off the floor I replied back, "Did you say ONE...HUNDRED...ELEVEN...DOLLARS and 70 cents?" She said yes and went on to say that some countries even cost more. I walked out of the store faster than I walked in. What I wanted to send was one 8 1/2 x 11 size yellow envelope with 2 pieces of paper and 1 staple...that is all. And it would have taken a little over a week to get there. So I started asking God for some insight. What's up here? Did you not ask us to adopt this little boy? Are You sending us a sign that we made a mistake...after all, this was our FIRST dossier document and it wasn't so easy to put together. I will TRUST in You. I WILL TRUST in YOU!!! That was Jan. 19, 2010. My plan was to resend it through USPS with LOTS of prayers in the next day or two. The very next day I received an email that our CSP was in the hands of the person it needed to get to!!! Thank You God!!! Thank you for stopping me from spending that extra $111.70. Thank you for telling me that we are making the right decision and doing Your will. Thank you for reassurance and peace.

Back to the Dossier...these are some of the documents we need to gather...all need to be notarized and apostilled.

*Petition for adoption
*Child Specific Petition (2 documents)
*Home study report
*Agency license
*Social worker's license
*I-171H form
*Employment statement for husband
*Employment statement for wife. In case she is a housewife it should be clarily stated in the home study and a seperate petition from wife is not required.
*Proof of home ownership
*Proof of home mortgage
*Medical certificate for husband
*Medical certificate for wife
*Marriage certificate (2 documents)
*Passport copy for husband (4 documents)
*Passport copy for wife (4 documents)
*State Police clearance for husband
*State Police clearance for wife
*Letter of obligation (2 documents)
*Power of attorney (1 for Yulia, 1 for Serge Zevlever, 1 for Marina and 2 blanks).
*Copy of Doctor's License (1 from each doctor if different)
*Petition for Interpol (2 documents)
*1040 tax form from previous year
*Power of attorney from one spouse to another (2 documents...one each parent) (do not mail with dossier...hand carry)

So this is what has kept me busy for the most part for the past month. Right away in the beginning it all seemed so overwhelming and scary and hard, but the more I read over instructions and got the hang of things and asked questions it got easier and easier. We still have a lot to do before the 1st trimester is over. It has been about 11 weeks since we commited to Isaiah. About 13 weeks is one trimester in pregnancy. Usually the 1st trimester in adoption is much longer depending how fast you work to get all the documents needed. We know we don't want to travel until June (after springs work) so we have some extra time.