Memory Lane Monday- Deja vu?

While the original design of "Memory Land Monday" on this blog was to share adoption memories not previously shared publicly, I couldn't help but recall the following experience as I made the trip to the county courthouse and state capitol this week to have adoption documents county certified and apostilled. While we are still several months away from being "done" with this part of the process, remembering this part of the experience certainly made me excited about the day that we are, finally, DONE!

Monday, August 27, 2007

IT'S DONE!!!

Hallelujah, our dossier is DONE! Well, it has been "done" in the sense that we have had all of the documents for the past three weeks, BUT, we FINALLY got approval from our agency to submit it without Evan's surname in the appointment request letter (For those of you who are in the dark about this "issue," in order to request a specific child from the SDA in Ukraine we must include certain information in our appointment request letter to enable them to locate the child's file. We were hoping to submit the letter with his first AND last names, but the director of the orphanage has been on vacation all month (along with everyone else in Eastern Europe) and we have been unable to get it). Rather than using his first and last names in our request we simply used the information that we had available (first name, birth date, city, orphanage) and are hoping that it will suffice (we will still ask the orphanage director for his surname and pass it on to our facilitator just in case the SDA is unable to locate his file with the information provided, however).

Now that I have confused everyone completely with senseless details, let me tell you about my day! On Friday Richard and I took the last of our documents to be notarized. Unfortunately it was too late in the day to run them by the courthouse to be county certified so I decided to add that to my "to do" list for today. I woke up bright and early this morning, got dressed, woke the kids, fed them, dressed them and finished gathering all of my paperwork. Thanks to my wonderful friend Stacey (seriously Stacey, you are FANTASTIC), I was able to run my countless adoption "errands" this morning WITHOUT my children in tow (they are too young to realize how happy they should be that I didn't drag them along for the ride, but I will be sure to tell them how lucky they were someday!).

I left the house this morning around 9 am. My first stop (other than to gas up the mommy mobile) was the Greene County Courthouse. Ohio is one of several states that requires additional county-level certification of documents. These certifications simply state the the notary who notarized your documents is in fact a notary commissioned in that county. I spent about 25 minutes at the courthouse and then hopped back into the mommy mobile with my newly certified documents and headed for Columbus (just over an hour away). Upon arriving in Columbus I proceeded to drive around for 15-20 minutes looking for a place to park. As luck would have it, I managed to find a metered parking space between my two destinations. . .as luck would NOT have it, I had somehow managed to walk out the door this morning WITHOUT my stash of quarters for the meter!!! After rummaging around in my purse, the cupholders, and the floorboards, I managed to come up with about 30 cents which bought me about 15 minutes. With no other options, I quickly said a prayer that the meter maids would skip over the street I was on and I started to head for the Franklin County Courthouse about 4 blocks away.

The Franklin County "Government Center" is an enormous building and I have to admit, after visiting the Greene County Courthouse earlier this morning (very small, very straightforward), I was slightly overwhelmed. The information I had found on their website had instructed me to go to the 23rd floor so I headed for the elevators. Now, I have to say, I generally enjoy a good elevator ride, but these were like elevators on speed. By the time I reached the 23rd flood (which probably only took about 3 seconds. . .seriously) my head was spinning and I felt like I was going to puke. For a minute I thought I had just stepped off an amusement park ride rather than an elevator. So, when I walked into the office labeled "Clerk of Courts" and was told I would need to go back down to the 3rd floor, I was less than thrilled by the thought of getting back onto the warp-speed elevators. I took a deep breath, stepped onto the elevator and held on for dear life. Eventually, with the help of several very helpful people, I found the correct office and was able to get my last two documents county certified.

Once I was done at the courthouse I headed back to the mommy mobile to see if I could scrounge up any more change (by this time the parking meter had been empty for a good 20 minutes), but alas there was no more change to be found. Again, I said a quick prayer that the meter maids would be on their lunch break and unable to hand out parking tickets and walked the 4 or so blocks to the Secretary of State's Office to have all of my documents apostilled. I have visited the SoS several times now, so this trip was old hat. I was in and out of that building (whose elevators, thank goodness, operate at normal speeds) in less than 15 minutes. Stepping out of that building I felt like a new woman. My paperwork was DONE!!! I could just feel the weight being lifted off my shoulders. Unfortunately I didn't have a lot of time to celebrate as I needed to high tail it back to the mommy mobile before the meter maids came back from lunch. Heaven must've been smiling down on me today because thankfully, my windshield was free of parking tickets when I returned.

I made the drive home and relieved Stacey of her duties (really Stacey I cannot thank you enough. . .just thinking about dragging my children through the streets of downtown Columbus (and taking them on warp-speed elevator rides) makes my head spin. . .you really are FABULOUS) and then collapsed into a pile on my couch and took a few minutes to revel in the elation of having our paperwork DONE!!!

Unfortunately the director of our agency is on vacation this week (a very well deserved vacation I might add) so she won't be able to send our dossier off to Ukraine until next week, but really, I am just glad that it is done. I will be sending it to the agency tomorrow and then I will be throwing myself a little party! For some people, the "waiting" is the most stressful part of the adoption process. While I admit that it is hard to wait, it is probably the LEAST stressful part for me. No, my stress comes from having that paperwork sitting on my desk, knowing that it is still in my hands and that I am still in control of it. Once it is gone, out of my hands, and I have no control over the process, I actually relax a little and it is wonderful!

It feels SO good to be DONE!!!

Progress

We finally took a few steps forward in the adoption process last week! We started the week off by mailing our I-800A application to USCIS (with supporting documents and fees). Although I had looked over the application at least 100 times and had received the green light from our agency (who had also looked over the application for us), I still felt like hyperventilating as I walked out of the UPS store. The application was received and the check has been cashed and now we wait (a skill at which we have become quite proficient), with bated breath, to received our appointment to be fingerprinted (again) and ultimately, our approval (which we hope to receive without any delays).

On Tuesday morning we heard from our facilitator again. She had spoken with the Ministry of Justice who confirmed that the files had not yet been returned, but she instructed our facilitator to have us file a commitment application for our girls anyway. She informed us that the other agency had been contacted yet again with a demand that they return the files immediately. Our facilitator was also told that, if we filed a commitment application for these girls, as soon as they were returned to the Ministry, they would be given directly to our facilitator (rather than being given to another agency first). So, we spent Wednesday filling out paperwork and having it notarized and on Thursday morning, Lukas and Jacob accompanied me to have the documents county certified and apostilled (we had a great time and they were excited to be involved in the process of bringing their sister's home). By noon the documents were on their way to Sofia (scheduled to arrive this Thursday)!

While I am excited to finally be moving forward, I think I will remain cautiously optimistic until our facilitator has those files in her hands and the girls are officially placed on hold for our family. In the meantime, I am thanking my Heavenly Father for the progress that we have made and continue to look forward to watching His plan unfold!

Memory Lane Monday

For those of you who frequent my terribly neglected "Motherhood" blog, Memory Lane Monday's will likely sound familiar to you. Over the past few months, I have found that I often find comfort in the memories of our adoption journeys to our son's Joshua and Evan from Uzbekistan and Ukraine. Many of those memories have been recorded in the archives of this blog, but there are many of them that have yet to be publicly shared and so, throughout the course of our current adoption journey, I would like to take the opportunity to share some of those cherished memories with you.

In comparison to our current adoption, our adoptions from Uzbekistan (9 months) and Ukraine (5 months) progressed fairly quickly. As we were going through the process however, time seemed to stand still.

We first saw a picture of our son Joshua in March of 2007. I instantly knew that he was meant to be our son. From that moment on we moved at rapid speed to complete our homestudy and assemble our dossier, which we submitted in June (2007). As soon as we had completed our paperwork, time seemed to stand still. Every day seemed like an eternity and I spent most of the waking hours daydreaming of my beautiful baby boy and the day that I would finally hold him in my arms. That day could not come quickly enough.

(Our first picture of Joshua)

We finally received word in late September that I would be traveling to bring Joshua home in late October. The next month was a whirlwind as I made travel plans, moved my family to a new home and packed my bags for a two week adventure on the other side of the world. I could not wait to meet my son.

The day after we arrived in Uzbekistan, we (my step-father, facilitator and I) traveled by car to Samarkand, where Joshua's orphanage was located. Upon arrival we met with our translator (Sanat), checked into our hotel and then hurried off to meet with the "Mayor" (Hokim) whose signature would finalize our adoption. During my meeting with the Mayor he expressed concern that we had not met Joshua yet and asked that we visit the orphanage before he signed the adoption decree. It was already late in the afternoon and time was running short, so we crowded into the car and rushed to the orphanage. I was so anxious. The moment that I had been waiting for had finally arrived.

That first meeting lasted less that ten minutes. Once we arrived at the orphanage, we were invited into the director's office and a caretaker was sent for Joshua. She brought him into the room a few minutes later and placed him into my arms. He looked right into my eyes and held my gaze. A flood of emotions rushed over me. Love, excitement, fear, trepidation and relief all washed through me as I stared into Joshua's eyes. A moment later he was taken from my arms and we were rushing back across town so that the Mayor could sign the decree declaring Joshua our son. I would not see Joshua again for several more days (for the complete saga, please click here).

A few days later, we were back at the orphanage to pick Joshua up. I was so excited to take him from the orphanage. Walking out of those doors with my baby in hand brought with it a huge sense of relief. He was mine. . .forever. That first night was amazing. The following in an excerpt from a blog post following Joshua's "Gotcha" day:

"It was hard to sleep on Friday night because, after almost 8 months of looking at his picture and wishing I could hold him, love him and smother him with kisses, I was in awe that all I had to do was roll over and there he was, just inches from me! I laid there for hours just watching him sleep peacefully." (click here for the entire post)

(My sweet, sleeping, Uzbek angel the night I took him from the orphanage)

I have since spent many, many more nights watching him sleep peacefully and marveling at how much my Heavenly Father must love me to have blessed me with such an incredible little boy. Every time I watch him sleep I am reminded of the sweetness of this day, of this moment and I look forward to making similar memories with my girls. I know that when that day comes, as I am watching them sleep peacefully beside me, I will know that every stress, frustration and difficulty within this process will have been worth it a thousand times over.

Sunflowers

Did you know that Bulgaria is one of the top producers of sunflower seeds in the world? As you can imagine, to be ranked 11th in the world in production of sunflower seeds, you can find, throughout Bulgaria, vast expanses of sunflower fields. Although I have not witnessed this for myself, the pictures I have seen are absolutely breathtaking.

(A sunflower field in Bulgaria)

Without realizing the connection to Bulgaria, we planted sunflowers in our garden this year and, after being blessed with their beauty (and symbolism) for the past several weeks I have decided that they are my new favorite flower (and that they will always grace my home and garden). As most of you are aware, the sunflower follows the sun from sunrise to sunset, continually seeking its warmth and light. Like the sunflower, we have continually looked towards the "Son," placing our trust and our faith in Him, throughout this adoption process, knowing that it is in our Savior, Jesus Christ that we find our comfort, peace and joy. On the tough days, I simply have to look out my window at the sunflowers, faithfully following the sun, to be reminded in whom I should place my trust.

This week we made a wonderful Bulgarian bread in the shape of a sunflower. It was fairly labor intensive, but it was fun to make and absolutely delicious. I have a feeling that this bread will grace our table for many special occasions.

Bulgarian sunflower bread

We have received the last documents needed to file our I-800A application with USCIS and we will be sending it on it's way first thing tomorrow morning! It is currently taking up to 90 days to process the I-800A application so we are grateful to finally be able to begin the process. We are praying that we will have the girl's files as well as the rest of our dossier documents by the time we receive our approval so that we will be able to submit our dossier immediately.

As of last week, the agency who has been in possession of the girl's files throughout the year, still had not returned them to the Ministry of Justice, despite being contacted multiple times (as of this evening, they were still listed on a US agency's Waiting Children's list, although we are hoping that simply means that they have not had the opportunity to take them down). Our facilitator was unable to get in touch with the Ministry today due to phone troubles, but we are hoping to receive an update on the status of the files tomorrow or Wednesday. Unfortunately, we were informed last week that, despite our desire to make an immediate commitment, two of the girls we have requested must be given to another agency before they will be given to our facilitator (fortunately our facilitator is next in line for "D" and will receive her file as soon as it is returned to the Ministry). We are disappointed that we will not be receiving the files of these two little girls, but we recognize that, if they are meant to be a part of our family, things will work out so that they will be. In the meantime, we have also informed our facilitator that we are open to learning about other children on the current waiting list and recognize the possibility that we have not learned of our other children yet. We are anxiously waiting to learn who will join "D" as the newest member(s) of the Rieben family. So, stayed tuned. . . .the best is yet to come!

When it rains. . . we stomp in the puddles!

It has been a stormy week in the adoption world, but we have our umbrella's out and our goulashes on and are trying our best to hold our heads high in the face of adversity.

On Monday morning we got the final thumbs up on our homestudy and were informed that the letter that needed to accompany the study to USCIS with the I-800A would be in the mail that afternoon. Unfortunately the elation that I felt with that news was short lived. About an hour later I received an update from our Bulgarian agency who explained that she had just spoken with the Ministry of Justice and had learned that, two of our girl's files were still with the original Bulgarian agency who had requested them. Before I go any further I should take moment to explain how the rotation of files is SUPPOSED to work in Bulgaria.

The Bulgarian Ministry of Justice (the central adoption authority in Bulgaria) maintains a list of 700+ children who are older, special needs or part of a sibling group. All Hague-accredited US adoption agencies must work in partnership with a Bulgarian agency. Bulgarian agencies are allowed to request the files of up to 20 children at a time. Those files are then given to the Bulgarian agencies who have 2 months to try and find families for those children. They do this by sharing the files with their US partner agency (or agencies in some cases). At the end of the 2 month period, they must return the files to the Ministry of Justice who then gives them to the next Bulgarian agency who has requested them.

The Bulgarian agency that originally requested the files of two of the girls is one of the bigger agencies in Bulgaria and they work with several US agencies. Rather than returning the files of the children who they had not found families for at the end of their 2 month period, it appears as though they have simply been rotating those files between their US partner agencies every 2 months (after doing a few minutes of research I was able to find both girls listed on another agency's "Waiting Children's List"). At this time there is no monitoring system that the Ministry of Justice uses to keep track of when files must be returned, they simply trust that the agencies will abide by the rules that they have set, so, until our Bulgarian agency pressed to find out where the girls files were, the Ministry was unaware that the original agency was still in possession of them (and have been since the beginning of the year). Unfortunately, there is also no real penalty for not returning files in a timely manner other than not being able to request new files until the previous files have been returned, so this agency likely felt no pressure to return them. Our agency informed us that the woman at the Ministry who is helping with our case was quite upset that these files had not been returned and informed our agency that she would be contacting the other agency and sternly requesting that the files be returned. How soon that will be, we do not know, but our facilitator has been a strong advocate for our family and for our girls and she follows up with the Ministry every week. And, although I know that the Lord's timing is perfect and I have seen the "wisdom in the wait," it is still hard knowing that we could have had these files MONTHS ago and that our girls would be closer to coming home.

In addition to that news, we were also informed that, the file of the third little girl that we had requested (who is in the same orphanage as "D"), was at the Ministry but is incomplete and cannot be given to any agency until it has been updated and completed. We were also told that, once the file is complete it must go to the first agency that requested it before it will be given to our agency. This was possibly the most difficult news of all because we are ready to commit to this little girl TODAY. If we could do it without her file we would, but we have to wait until it is in the hands of our agency. So the thought of that file being given to another agency, who may or may not be able to find a family for her, is difficult to take. The thought of her sitting in an orphanage without a mommy and daddy to love her for two months longer than is necessary is heartbreaking. We have asked our agency to make one last plea to the Ministry to give us this little girl's file first because we are ready, right now, to make a commitment. We hope and pray for this little girl's sake that those pleas will not fall upon deaf ears.

The icing on the cake (yes, there's more. . .when it rains, it pours!) was learning Monday evening that there is a new Hague requirement for homestudies, effective immediately, which means that we must add an addendum to our homestudy before we can submit it to USCIS with our I-800A. We are hoping that this will be quick and easy (it is just one sentence clarifying our understanding of domestic violence and child abuse) and that we will still be able to send off our I-800A within the next week, but it is a speed bump that hit us hard on an already difficult day.

In the end, no matter how hard it pours, we simply raise our umbrellas of faith and know, without doubt, that our Heavenly Father's plan is perfect, that His timing is perfect, and that, the children who are meant to be with our family will be. Rain brings growth and, although weathering the storms can be difficult, we welcome the opportunity and blessing to be refined by our trials.

Not all things in the adoption world have been bad. In our quest to become more familiar with Bulgarian cusine we experienced this wonderful, rainy day, Bulgarian soup this evening. It definitely hit the spot!

Chicken Yakniya
(Chicken soup with tomatoes, green peppers and rice. . .FABULOUS!)

When life hands you lemons, make Maslenki!

We made the decision to bring our girls home at the end of February. In March, our facilitator submitted the application to the Ministry of Justice requesting the girls' files. In April we completed all of the necessary paperwork, background checks and interviews required for our homestudy update. At the beginning of May we learned that one of our girls was going to be adopted by another family. A few days later we identified and requested the files of two more little girls (in addition to the little girl who was still waiting). In mid-June, after waiting for several months to receive the final copy of our homestudy to submit to USCIS, we learned that several revisions would need to be made before the final copy could be issued. Another month passed with no news to report. On Saturday we finally learned that it is "M" (the older, healthy girl) who had found her forever family and that "D" (7 year-old with mild CP) was still availble (this was our gut feeling). On Tuesday I went to check the mail to find the final copy of our homestudy (along with several dossier documents) tucked inside the mailbox. I did a happy dance. On Wednesday I learned that our placing agency would need to review the homestudy one more time before they could issue the letter that needs to accompany the homestudy to USCIS with our I-800A application (stating that they had supervised the homestudy process). I screamed into my pillow.

More than five months after we started this process we are still waiting to receive our girls' files, still waiting for our final homestudy to be approved, still waiting to submit our I-800A and still waiting to begin our dossier (in comparison, our adoptions from Uzbekistan and Ukraine took 9 months and 5 months from start to finish). To say that this process has not been stressful would be a lie. There have been many days where it would have been easy to just throw in the towel and walk away. But we know that our little girls are waiting for us in Bulgaria and, although it has been difficult, we have decided to use this time that we have been blessed with to prepare ourselves for the girls' arrival.

Although we do not know WHO will be joining our family at this point, we do know that our girls will be older (7+) and that their language, culture, routines, traditions and cuisine will be deeply ingrained. The changes that will take place in our girls' lives when they join our family will be dramatic and, although they will be surrounded by a family who loves them dearly, it will quite likely be very traumatic as well. Imagine spending 7+ years in the same place, with the same people, the same foods, the same routine day in and day out and then suddenly being whisked half-way across the world to a place you have never seen, with people you do not know, speaking a language you cannot understand, with a new routine, unfamiliar foods and unfamiliar attention and affection. We want to make their transition into our family as smooth as we possibly can and so we have begun studying Bulgarian culture, learning the language and we have even begun to learn to make and serve Bulgarian food (I highly recommend the book, "Bulgarian Rhapsody; The Best of Balkan Cuisine," by Linda Joyce Forristal).

Today the kids and I made Maslenki (a jam-filled Bulgarian cookie). They were delightful and I have a strong suspicion that they will quickly become a favorite in our house. Most importantly, these delicious little cookies helped to take our minds off of the waiting and the stress and gave us something amazing to look forward to. . . . sharing love, laughter and scrumptious Bulgarian cookies with our girls' once they are home! So, when life hands you lemons. . . .make Maslenki!

Maslenki

3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup lard or butter
4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
Your favorite jam

1. Beat the eggs well and then add the sugar; beat until light and foamy (about 5 minutes). Melt the lard/butter and when slightly cooled (so as not to cook the eggs), slowly add the lard/butter to the egg/sugar mixture. Add vanilla.

2. Combine the dry ingredients. Slowly add the flour mixture to the eggs and lard/butter to create a firm dough. Divide into 3 balls. Roll out each ball until it is 1/4 inch thick. With a small glass or cookie cutter (I used the ring from a baby bottle), cut circles. In half of the circles punch a 3/8 inch hole in the center (I used the cap from a Crayola marker).

3. Bake in an oven preheated to 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Remove and when completely cooled, spread the whole halves with jam (we used homemade strawberry jam). Top with the halves with holes. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

*Maslenki can be stored and enjoyed for up to a month (if they last that long!). The longer they are stored, the softer they become.

Sisters

Originally, we thought that it would be Maren who would be most excited by the thought of adding a few more sisters to the family. While she is, indeed, ecstatic to be losing her status as "the only girl," several of our boys have also recently demonstrated their excitement as well.



Although one of our girls has been matched with another family (we still do not know which one), we both feel strongly that there are still two little girls who are meant to be a part of our family (the other child that we were considering was a little boy with arthrogryposis and, after a lot of discussion and prayer, we both felt strongly that he was not the child the Lord had prepared for us). We have requested the files of two more little girls and are awaiting those files as well as the file of the little girl that is still available. We do not know when we will receive those files, but we know that the Lord's timing is perfect.

The waiting has been difficult (see post below), but the scripture "Be still and know that I am God," (Psalms 46:10) has been running through my mind almost constantly over the past few months. Even though it is so difficult to "be still" and to know that things are outside of our control, I know that our Heavenly Father never rests and that He is working very hard "behind the scenes" to bring His plan for our family to fruition. As always, I am anxious to see what and WHO He has in store for us!

Holding Pattern

I can still vividly remember our last flight home from Ukraine. I had been traveling off and on for over 8 weeks and, as I sat, looking out the window, with a perfectly beautiful little Ukrainian boy on my lap, it seemed almost surreal that this journey was drawing to a close (although I would soon realize that the real journey was only just beginning). I could visualize my family waiting for us at the end of the terminal with wide smiles and outstretched arms and I could picture all five of our children finally together.

I heard the pilot's voice over the loud speaker and I was pulled from my thoughts. My heart began to race as he announced our final descent. We were so close to the finish line.

As the minutes ticked by I began to notice that we were flying in circles. The captain's voice was heard once again, this time announcing that, due to high traffic, we had been asked to delay our descent. We were in a holding pattern.

I looked out my window and I could see the city below. Our final destination. So close, but suddenly so far away. My husband was down there and my children. Our happy ending. Our adventurous beginning. Suddenly the whirlwind of emotions that had been building up inside of me for the past 8 weeks reached the surface and I felt the hot tears finally spill over, soaking my cheeks and the top of my sweet little boy's head.

When the air traffic had cleared and it was safe for us to land, the captain once again announced our final descent. Within minutes we were on the ground. Finally home where we belonged. The reunion was grander than I could have ever imagined. Seeing my family waiting at the end of the terminal, hearing the squeals of joy from my sweet children and feeling my husband's strong arms around me brought indescribable joy. We were home. ALL of us.

Once again, we find ourselves in a holding pattern. Our goal is in sight, but we are waiting for permission to begin our descent to our final destination. The wait has been incredibly difficult. Sometimes it is hard to look out the window and see how close we are, at the same time knowing that we are still a hundred miles away. At the same time, we know that, our view is limited. "Air traffic control" can see the big picture and we know that they will lead us safely to our destination when the way is clear and the time is right.

We are still waiting for our agency to receive the files of the girls we have requested (in addition to the two girls we originally requested (one of whom has been matched with another family (we still do not know which one), we have also requested the files of two additional little girls (both age 7). Our Bulgarian facilitator as well as members of the Ministry of Justice are working very hard in our behalf and we are all hopeful that we will receive the files soon. While the wait has been difficult and emotionally taxing, we know that our Heavenly Father is in control and that He sees the big picture. His timing will be perfect for each and every one of us, our girls included and by His hand, we will safely reach our final destination.

And the winner is. . . . .

TIANA FRAZE!!!

Tiana has been a good friend of ours since our college days and she has been one of our biggest cheerleaders over the past few years. Her love, support and encouragement has lifted us up and carried us through so many of our adventures. We are so excited that we are finally able to give something back! Congratulations Tiana!

To say that we are overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support that we have received over the past few weeks would be an understatement. We are truly humbled by the number of people who have reached out in support of our efforts to bring our girls home and we appreciate each and every one of you more than we can express. For those who have been through the process of adoption, you know just how long and difficult the road to bringing a child home can be. If it were not for the love and support of our amazing family and friends I cannot even begin to imagine how much longer and more difficult the road would seem. We thank each and every one of you from the bottom of our hearts.

Our goal for this giveaway was to raise enough money to file our immigration approval paperwork (I-800A). The total cost to file that paperwork and complete the required fingerprinting is $830. We are humbled to announce that we not only met that goal, but exceeded it, raising $950. Again, we thank each and every one of you who contributed to our adoption fund and who helped to spread the word and we give thanks to our loving Father in Heaven for blessing us with such wonderful and supportive family and friends!

The roller coaster ride begins

As some of you may recall from my previous post, we have been waiting for several months for our Bulgarian agency to receive the files of the girls that we hope to adopt so that we could officially submit our "commitment papers." We heard from the agency director this morning that one of our girls is in the process of being adopted by another family. Unfortunately we will not know which of the girls it is until our agency receives the file of the other girl (her file is currently with another agency as well, but our agency is the next in line to receive it if another family within that agency does not step forward). We knew that this was a possibility and had prepared ourselves for this when welcoming the girls into our hearts, but it was still difficult news to receive.

We are disappointed to know that this little girl will not be joining our family, but we rejoice knowing that she WILL know the love of a forever family. We know that she will be joining the family that the Lord has prepared for her and that the child who is meant to be with our family will be with us as well. Our Heavenly Father's plan is perfect for each and every one of us involved.

There is another child that we are strongly considering. We learned of this child (whose file is currently with our agency) just over a month ago and we were immediately drawn to them, but we knew that we could not walk away from either of our girls. They were already the children of our hearts and we were committed to bringing them home. Now that we know that one of our sweet girls will be joining another family, we feel that the Lord is once again guiding us to this other child.

Please pray for us as we grieve the "loss" of one of our girls and make a decision concerning this other child. We know that the Lord's hand is guiding this process and that His plan is bigger than our own. As always, we are excited to see where He leads us!

iPod Giveaway

As many of you may know, adoption is expensive. In an effort to raise the funds to bring our girls home from Bulgaria, we will be giving away a blue, 8GB iPod nano.


Here is how it works: For each $5 donation made to our adoption fund, your name will be entered into a drawing that will be held on June 1st (for example, if you make a donation of $10, your name will be entered twice, $25, your name will be entered five times, etc.). For an additional (free) chance to enter, all you have to do is share our blog/giveaway information on your blog, Facebook , Twitter, etc. (please make sure you leave a comment letting us know you have shared this giveaway with others so we are able to enter your name into the drawing). On June 1st, we will draw a winner! To donate, use the ChipIn widget on the sidebar. All donations will go directly into our adoption account.

We appreciate each and every donation that is made to our family's adoption fund. Every dollar goes a long way in helping us to bring our girls home and we are excited to be able to offer something in return! We thank you in advance for supporting our adoption and helping us to complete our family!

Winner will receive a blue, iPod nano, earphones and USB 2.0 adaptor.

Features include:

•	8 GB capacity for 2,000 songs, 7,000 photos, or 8 hours of video
•	Up to 24 hours of music playback or 4 hours of video playback when fully charged
•	2-inch LCD with blue-white LED backlight and 320-by-240-pixel resolution
•	Supported audio formats: AAC, Protected AAC, MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible, Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
•	Supported video formats: H.264, MPEG-4; Supported image file types: JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, PSD (Mac only), and PNG

*Please note: This iPod was acquired through an IT convention attended by my husband and has a small engraving on the back (PCMall.com). It is brand new, unused, in it's original packaging.

How "our" girls came to be. . .

After being immersed in the international adoption process for almost a year, I was ready to be done. Five was a great number, right? I certainly thought so. But as we sat in our small, cold hotel room in a tiny town in Eastern Ukraine, a quiet voice whispered to my heart that our family was not yet complete. I quickly silenced the voice by placing my earphones into my ears and turning on my iPod, letting the music drown out my thoughts. I was just not ready to think about doing this all over again. I had just come home from Uzbekistan four weeks prior and we were two weeks into our first trip to Ukraine. I just needed to focus on the here and now.

As we boarded our flight home from our first trip to Ukraine, I noticed several "older" Ukrainian children with their new adoptive parents. The joy and excitement (mixed with a little fear and trepidation) at the thought of their new lives, surrounded by loving families, was evident and it struck a cord in my heart.

On Christmas Eve (2007), just a few short day after returning home with Evan, we happily dressed the kids in their Christmas pajamas and lined them up on the couch for pictures. . .the first pictures of all five of our children together. I shed a tear or two as the miracle of that moment sank deep into my heart. Once the photo shoot had concluded, we tucked our little people into bed and I headed back to the home office to look at the pictures we had taken. My heart all but stopped as I pulled up the first picture on my computer screen. I very clearly saw 7 children sitting there. I shook my head, blinked and ultimately chalked it up to severe jet lag, but the impression had been made upon my heart and I could no longer tune out that quiet voice that continued to whisper to my heart that our family was not yet complete.


I waited several weeks before I shared these thoughts, impressions and experiences with Richard. I knew that he would think I had completely lost my mind (I thought I had completely lost my mind, so there was very little doubt that Richard would concur). In the mean time, the Spirit continued to remind me that there were still children missing from our family. At the playground, I would quickly count my children. . .1,2, 3, 4,5 and was confused to feel that someone was still missing. One Sunday morning, an elderly lady at church walked up to our pew and took a long, hard look at our family. She then asked us, "When did you adopt two more?" Richard and I looked at each other, confused and then she quickly corrected herself, "Oh, there are only 5, I thought I had counted 7."

The official "adoption talks" began in May/June 2008. Although we both wanted to return to Ukraine, with travel times lengthening, we knew that it was not the right choice for our family this time around. We soon learned that, Bulgaria, whose international adoption program had slowed to a trickle over the past few years, was once again moving. With no age or family size restrictions and travel times and fees that fit our situation, we felt that it was the right program for us. We only wished that the agency we had used for our previous adoptions had a program in Bulgaria.

A few weeks after we began talking about Bulgaria, I learned from our agency director (without mentioning our plans to her) that, About A Child would be partnering with a Bulgarian agency to begin a program in Bulgaria. We knew that the Lord had led us to the place where we would find our "missing piece(s)."

Shortly after we learned about our agency's plans to open a program in Bulgaria, we had to put our plans on hold. Joshua and Evan had been accepted for treatment at Shriners Hospital for Children in Philadelphia and the initial treatment would be rigorous. We knew that we must put their needs first and so our adoption plans were placed on the back burner. We knew that the Lord's timing was perfect, THAT had certainly been made manifest many times throughout the process of bringing Joshua and Evan home and we knew it would be the case this time around as well.

In February, as I was making plans to schedule Joshua's next post placement report with our social worker, I was reminded that our current homestudy would expire in mid-May. An update would be exponentially cheaper and involve far less paperwork. We knew that another adoption was in our future and so we made the decision to update. Shortly after making that decision, I learned of two beautiful little girls who were available for adoption in Bulgaria. The first little girl that stole my heart was "M." She was a beautiful 8 year-old girl, listed with another agency, just waiting for a family to call her own. I then learned that "M" had come to the agency as a referral for another family whose dossier was already in Bulgaria. They had two weeks to decide whether or not they would accept her referral. In the meantime, I learned of another little girl, "D." She was a gorgeous little girl who had just turned 7 years-old. She was born with cerebral palsy, but she was not letting that slow her down. Her amazing smile won me over in an instant and I knew that she was meant to be ours.

A few weeks later, I learned that the family who had been considering "M" had turned down the referral and that she was, once again, available for consideration. As soon as I showed her picture to Richard he said, "She's the one!" The agency that the girls were listed with was nearing the end of their two-month period with their files (in Bulgaria, the Ministry of Justice maintains a list of 700+ children (most who are older, sibling groups or have special needs). Bulgarian agencies can request the files of the children on this list to share with their clients for consideration. Each agency has two months to try to find families for the children whose files they are in possession of, at which point the files are given to the next agency who has requested them). Although the agency that they were currently listed with was wonderful, we were still hopeful that we would be able to use our previous agency (and their Bulgarian counterpart) to bring the girls home.

I contacted the director of the Bulgarian agency working with About A Child and told her about "our" girls. I shared with her the indentifying information that I had and soon learned that she had requested M's file back in mid-November and that she should be one of the next in line to receive it and, in the meantime, she requested D's file as well.

We have been waiting for several months to receive the files and we are still waiting. In the meantime, we have completed our homestudy update, have officially signed on with our agency and will be filing our I-800A (request for immigration approval to adopt an orphan from a Hague Convention country) as soon as we have received a copy of our homestudy. We know that, if it is the Lord's will, we will be able to bring "our" girls home and we know that the timing will be perfect. His plan is so much bigger (and better) than ours. We are reminded of that each and every day as we step back in awe and take in all that He has blessed us with.

So, while we are still waiting to know whether or not we will be able to bring our girls home, we DO know that we are on the right path and that it is the right time and we are doing everything that is in our power to move forward in every way that we can. The rest is up to the Lord and we are excited to see what He has in store for us!

Back on the front lines. . .

I am very excited to announce that the "Trenches of Adoption" are once again open for business! We are heading back to the front lines to welcome TWO more beautiful children into our home and family.

We began the process of updating our current homestudy at the end of February and officially signed on with our agency last week. Our newest additions will be joining us from Bulgaria. Although we are still awaiting official confirmation concerning their availability, we are hoping to adopt two, beautiful "little" girls, ages 7 and 8 years old (the youngest with mild cerebral palsy) who are currently listed on the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice's Waiting Children's list. We are excited at the prospect of evening out the estrogen in our home and cannot wait to share more details of our journey with you!

Crossing over. . .

The transition to the "Trenches of Motherhood" is now complete! For up to date news on our family, please join us on my new family blog (and for more in depth information on Joshua and Evan and their treatments, therapies, surgeries and accomplishment, you can join us "here"). This chapter of our lives is by no means complete, but in the immediate future, this blog will be reserved for adoption-related thoughts and information and will be a place where I will continue to advocate for children still waiting for their forever families as well as the families who are working to bring children into their families through the gift of adoption.

This post will remain at the top so that all who are interested in staying up to date with our family will know where to find us, so be sure to scroll down for new posts.

What will YOU do?

Early this week, I learned of the passing of two beautiful little girls in Ukraine, Margarita and Katerina. These little girls were living in the institution that Evan would've been transferred to when he turned four. It really hit home. This could've been my little boy. They died of the flu. They suffered alone, without a mother to hold, nurture and love them. They died alone, without ever knowing the love of a family. My heart is heavy with the suffering that they knew during their short journey's on this earth. But my heart rejoices that they no longer suffer and that they are no longer alone, that they are now in the arms of a loving Father in Heaven.

Earlier today I received this article regarding children in institutions in Bulgaria. My heart breaks to think of these precious children, children like Joshua and Evan, children with limitless potential, suffering, without the love of a family, in these institutions.

These children cannot speak for themselves. They cannot call out to tell us of their suffering, of their pain, of their hunger, of their loneliness. They cannot, so we must do it for them. We must be a voice for these children.

For the next two days on Reece's Rainbow (February 14th-15th) the pictures of all of the waiting children in Bulgaria will be viewable by the general public in an attempt to raise grant money for them and help bring them home to loving families (you can ALWAYS donate, but this is a concentrated effort to get these children home as quickly as possible). Won't you please consider donating to the grant funds of these precious children?

In closing, I'd like to share with you a poem written by Meredith Cornish in memory of Margarita and Katerina.

While we were. . . .

While we were eating...
... they were hungry

While we were playing...
... they were restrained

While we were tucking our kids into bed...
... they were alone

While we turned up the heat...
... they laid in the icy cold

While we wrapped our children in blanket sleepers...
... they laid in their own excrement

While we sang songs and listened to music...
... they listened to the screams and cries of those around them

While we rocked our babies...
... they silently rocked themselves

While we hugged our kids...
... they scratched at their own faces and pulled their own hair for stimulation

While we cried over scraped knees...
... they moaned in their loneliness

While we brushed our daughters' beautiful hair...
... they had their heads shaven to stave off the lice

While we fought off the flu with love and nourishment...
... they got the flu and went Home.

No longer suffering... but so many more still are.

Margarita

Katarina

Ukraine Revisited- December 18, 2007

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Back to Kiev!

*Yet again, another post by Richard*

I talked with Val's mom this morning at 5:30 AM our time since I couldn't sleep... here's the latest! They picked up Evan yesterday afternoon, after getting his passport, court decree and birth certificate completed in Donetsk. Since their baggage (which I'll discuss later) was not in Artemovsk, they had to buy Evan's outfit off of the orphanage, and they ended up getting a pink snow suit and pink hat.... poor little guy. They also had to buy diapers and miecellaneous other items that Val had packed for Evan but obviously did not have. They went and got some food and then rushed over to the train station where they literally ran to the train, and ran to their car (since the train stops for only two minutes.) I don't think they slept much on the train ride, but apparently it went OK, because they are now happily in a large apartment in Kiev, with hot water, showers, and all the other conveniences of a home away from home. They have already done the medical review and when I talked to Liz they were in the process of translating the paperwork for submission to the embassy. This being said, if all goes well they will be done with the embassy tomorrow morning... and that means that if everything goes well they *may* be able to change their flights and come home earlier, or they'll be able to enjoy two days of downtime resting up for the flight back Saturday morning. If the flight plans *can* be changed I'll let everyone know.

So about the baggage... Of the three checked bags, only two have made it to Kiev, and the other one should arrive late today. I don't know how the bags got so "lost" - maybe "the others" took them... har har... Lost joke.

Back home on the farm things are going well. The kids are handling things OK, but I can tell they're yearning for a return to normalcy in their lives. Sometimes I just have to chuckle at how they'll have these outbursts of irrational thought... I'm sure some of it is from being a toddler, but some is probably from the stress of things being so crazy around here. But the laundry is done, the dishes are clean, and the kids are well fed, so I would say we're doing just fine.

Christmas preparations are wrapping up (har, har... it's a pun, get it?) and my "family gifts" have been purchased. I also got some stuff for Val, and she's all mad because she says I'm too hard to buy things for. I told her to just get me a roll of toilet paper. The kids gifts continue to pour in, which I find funny considering the fact that Val said she wasn't going to get many gifts for the kids this year. I think the UPS guy is getting sick of hauling boxes to our house everyday. There are gifts for the kids in our bedroom, the garage and in various closets throughout the house - I think I have some wrapping to do.

Well, time for me to go make some money. Work is going well, by the way.

If you have specific questions or anything, give me a call or an email. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers, and keep the comments pouring in.

Желаю тебе счастливого Рождества!

Richard-

Ukraine Revisited- December 17, 2007

Today is Evan's "Gotcha Day." It was one year ago today that our adoption decree officially took effect and Evan left Orphanage 13 in Artemovsk, Donetsk, Ukraine forever! It has been an incredible year and we are grateful each and every day for the gift of Evan! Happy "Gotcha Day" sweet boy! We love you!

Monday, December 17, 2007

Alive & Well in Donetsk!!! (Post By Richard)

*Richard Here*

Sorry to disappoint everyone, no post from Val today, so you're stuck reading my continual blubbering.

I talked to Val early this morning (our time.) The "Luxury Bus" ride went ok, despite a relative lack of luxury. The ended up in Donetsk at 6am, and waited at a McDonalds while their translator did paperwork in Artemovsk and then drove to Donetsk to do the passport. So far they're tired and I'm sure sick of traveling, but all has gone well. Apparently their baggage has been located and should be secured for them by this evening.

If all goes according to plan, they're going to pick up Evan this afternoon and then head back to Kiev by plane, train, automobile, camel, moped, scooter, or whatever method of transportation seems to be in style at this time.

Regarding Evan - when they went to take his passport picture he started crying and asked for his "Papa," so I can rest assured that A) he still remembers me and B) I'd better have some cookies ready for him when he gets home.

In other news, Captain Awesome and I are holding down the fort pretty well. I spent the day yesterday catching up on laundry and cleaning the house. The kids miss mommy and keep asking when she's going to get home. Josh as usual is a great baby and rarely fusses. He watched the entire Browns/Bills game with me yesterday, so he's on his way to becoming a manly-man.

The kids are getting trunky from being in the house, so we'll have to get them out soon to do something fun.

Val does not have reliable access to the internet at this time, so if you want updates, email me or call me on my cell. I'll post here as I learn more as well.

Ho ho ho.

R-

Ukraine Revisited- December 14-16, 2007

Friday, December 14, 2007

One more time. . . .

I am leaving again for Ukraine tomorrow afternoon. While I am very, very excited to be bringing Evan home, I have to admit, the thought of traveling half-way across the world again makes me a bit nauseous! It has been a great week, but a long one.

After we arrived home, we enjoyed a very laid back day with the kids, but since then, we have been running at full speed ahead! Jacob came down with a nasty little stomach virus on Monday night. Thankfully it was just a 24-hour bug and everyone else in the house was spared! We put up our Christmas tree and had cookies and hot cocoa on Monday night and went to see the lights at a local park on Wednesday evening. Every other night this week I have spent my evenings running all over town trying to get my Christmas shopping done and get ready for Evan to come home. It has been quite a whirlwind, but I am so glad that I have had this week to prepare as there just was not much time to do everything between Uzbekistan and Ukraine. My body hates me for all that I have put it through and I have spent most of the week sick, but knowing that there is an end in sight has definitely kept me going.

We are right in the path of a nasty winter storm that is supposed to hit us tomorrow morning/afternoon, so I am a bit nervous that our flight out of Dayton may be delayed or canceled (causing us to miss our connecting flight at Dulles. . . hmmm, that sounds eerily familiar). Even if we get set back a bit, the way things are looking, we will likely still be able to make it home by next weekend, but any extra prayers for an uneventful flight over would be greatly appreciated!

If all goes smoothly with our flights, we are scheduled to arrive in Kiev on Sunday afternoon. From Kiev, we will take the overnight train to Kramators'k. Masha will pick us up at the train station early Monday morning and we will go to Artemovsk and Donetsk to pick up the decree, birth certificate and passport and, if all goes as Masha expects, we will pick Evan up late Monday afternoon and either take the overnight train back to Kiev on Monday or take an early morning flight on Tuesday. If we get back to Kiev early enough, we may be able to take Evan to his medical exam and submit all of our paperwork to the Embassy by Tuesday afternoon which could mean that we will be able to head home as early as Thursday evening or Friday morning. Our flights are booked for next Saturday morning, so even if we aren't able to leave until then, we should still make it home in time for Christmas!

I am hoping to update the blog as we go, so stay tuned!

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Oh, the weather outside is frightful!

Four hours until our flight takes off and it is snowing like crazy outside! I think the chance of our flight leaving on schedule is probably slim, but I am trying my best to make snow cones out of this snow storm. My first snow cone. . .at least I am still at home and not sitting in the airport. Second snow cone. . .If our flight is delayed/canceled and we miss our connection in Dulles (there is only 1.5 hours between our flights), maybe we will get lucky and won't have to fly through Moscow. Not that I have anything against Moscow, but if we get delayed there. . say, overnight maybe, we cannot leave the airport because we do not have transit visas! So, flying through another country that does not require a visa would definitely make me feel a bit better about any delays. Why did I choose a flight that flies through Moscow in the first place? Well, the price difference was significant and, after spending a lot of money on flights between Uzbekistan and Ukraine, I needed to economize as much as possible, so Moscow it is!

Everything has worked according to the Lord's plan up to this point so I have no reason to doubt that it will change. If we get delayed because of the storm then there is a reason for it and we will simply roll with the punches. It is actually much less stressful knowing that someone else is pulling the strings and that I just need to trust (not to say that trusting is easy, but the Lord always provides). So, if any of you could spare a few prayers, please pray that the Lord's will be done and that, eventually, we will make it back to Ukraine so that I can cover my sweet boy in hugs and kisses and bring him home to his family forever!

Stay tuned. . .the best is yet to come!

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Alive and well in Kiev!

Well, I've got to say, I still cannot believe that we made it. Our flight out of Dayton took off a few minutes late because the plane needed to be de-iced, but it did take off and almost on time. We got to Dulles about 30 minutes before our flight to Moscow was scheduled to take off. We were unable to get our boarding passes for our flight to Moscow in Dayton, so we had absolutely no idea where we needed to go. Luckily we found the gate quickly and were able to get there just in time for boarding. The flight ended up taking off an hour late which put us in Moscow an hour late. By the time we got off the plane we had 10 minutes before our flight to Kiev was scheduled to take off. Talk about a rush! Unfortunately, when we arrived in Kiev, we learned that our checked luggage had not followed us there, so we are without most of our belongings. Thankfully, both my mom and I packed enough stuff to get by for a few days in our carryon bags, so we should be okay until we get back to Kiev to claim our bags on Tuesday or Wednesday. I am a bit bummed that the bag full of orphanage donations, gifts to the orphanage workers and various things I was carrying for people will not be going with me to Artemovsk, but (for those of your who I am carrying things for) I have been promised that it will make it to Masha so that she can distribute the various items. I am sad that I will not be there to give things out myself, but as long as everything makes it to where it needs to go, I will be happy.

We will be traveling by "luxury bus" (aka a tour bus) to Donetsk this evening and are scheduled to arrive early tomorrow morning. The bus was definitely not my first choice, but all of the train and plane tickets were booked and it came down to a bus or a car and the bus won out! I have been reassured by my facilitator that it will be a "comfortable ride" and that "we should be able to sleep," and I am really hoping that is the case because I am exhausted. Masha will pick us up at the bus station in the morning and then we will get to work on the decree, birth certificate and passport and hopefully pick Evan up tomorrow afternoon.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. It was definitely on the wings of prayer that we made it here as scheduled today, of that there is no doubt!

Ukraine Revisited- December 6, 2007

A year ago today, a judge granted our petition to adopt Evan and what an amazing year it has been with our incredible little boy!

Thursday, December 6, 2007

The Rieben's are now a family of 7!

We had our court appointment this morning and, as you can see by the title of this post, things went well! Richard and I were up and ready by 8 am this morning and Masha came by the hotel to pick us up around 8:30. Masha's car had been having some problems so it was at the mechanic's and she had asked a friend to drive her to Artemovsk. Unfortunately her friend's car was not big enough to transport all of us to the courthouse (Richard and I, Masha, the social worker and the orphanage lawyer) so we had to do shifts. Eventually we all made it. . . . just in time to spend the next 45 minutes waiting for the prosecutor to show up. After calling the prosecutor for the third time, he finally decided to send his assistant.

The assistant prosecutor arrived around 10 am (an hour after our court appointment) and spent a few minutes running around talking to various people and gathering paperwork. As we stood and watched the prosecutor running to and fro, Masha said what we were all thinking. . . ."That woman has a mustache!" I'm not sure if it was the timing of the comment or nerves, but at that moment maturity slipped away from me and I could not suppress my laughter!

Eventually we made it into the courtroom. A "jury" (two random women who had been sitting in the hall) was invited to join us in the courtroom and the judge read through our application (which was basically a condensed version of our homestudy). She then directed questions at Richard. She asked him if we understood Evan's medical condition and if we were prepared to support him. She asked him if our children understood what was going on and how we thought they would react to having a new brother with special needs. She then turned the floor over to the jury for questioning and they asked Richard why we had decided to adopt. Next up for questioning was the prosecutor who asked Richard if we had researched Evan's medical condition to which he responded that we had. She then asked Richard if he had ever been in drug rehad or been under psychological care (I guess that she thought he must be insane or on drugs to be adopting a child with special needs with young triplets at home)???? Masha told us after court that when the prosecutor asked this question that it had taken everything in her to suppress her laughter and that she was afraid she was going to "ruin everything" by laughing. Richard responded to this question with a simple, "Who? Me!? No!"

Once Richard had been grilled, it was my turn. The judge asked me if I felt I would be able to give all of my children the time and attention that they need once Evan is home, since he will need a lot of time and attention. She then asked me if I was prepared to handle his medical needs to which I responded in the affirmative. She asked the jury and the prosecutor if they had any questions for me. They did not. She then asked the social worker, orphanage lawyer and the prosecutor if they were in support of our adoption. . .they were. She then granted our petition! She told us that the adoption would become final after 10 days and that we could take legal custody of Evan at that time! So. . .on December 17th I will return to Artemovsk and take legal custody of our son! I cannot wait!

After court we checked out of our hotel and went to the orphanage to share the news with Evan and say good bye. It was a bittersweet moment! We were elated that our adoption had been granted, but sad to say good bye to our sweet little man. It has only been a few hours since we left Artemovsk and I already miss him so much!

We left Artemovsk and drove to Kramatorsk where we had the request for Evan's passport signed and notarized. Our plan was to take the overnight train from Kramatorsk to Kiev, but unforunately, we were not able to get tickets (very long story, don't want to bore you with all of the details). So, we are currently in a hotel in Kramatorsk. We will be taking a cab to Donetsk at 3 am and flying from Dontesk to Kiev at 5 am tomorrow morning! Once in Kiev, Richard will go to the Embassy to sign some paperwork and then we will spend our last night together in Ukraine before heading home on Saturday morning.

It has been a wonderful journey and once again, we have seen the hand of the Lord at every turn! Another testament to me that, if you allow the Lord to lead you, He will take you amazing places!

So my friends, I am happy to report that the Rieben Family of 6 is now officially, the Rieben Family of 7. . .and boy does it feel good!

Ukraine Revisited- December 4, 2007

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita

Several people have inquired about Evan's condition recently and I realized how long it had been since I had mentioned anything about it specifically. For those of you who don't know, Evan was born with a rare birth defect known as Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita. This condition occurs in approximately 1 in 3,000 births and effects the joints, muscles and connective tissues in the body, the most significant impact being in the joints. Arthrogryposis can effect a single joint, all of the joints or somewhere in between. All of Evan's joints, with the exception of his jaw and possibly his spine, are effected. His feet, knees, hips, wrists, hands, elbows and shoulder joints are all "contracted" leaving him with limited mobility. At this time he is unable to sit unsupported and has no use of his arms or legs. He can move his arms and legs, ran rotate, can sit with support and we have seen him roll while in his bed. He will likely require surgery for his feet, knees, hips, elbows and possibly his shoulders. He will need intense physical and occupational therapies as well as possible bracing and casting for his legs. In just the short time that we have been with him, we have already seen a huge improvement in his strength (for example, he tired very quickly when we would sit him up during our first few visits. . now he can sit with support for a while without tiring). Obviously we will not know the full extent of his condition until we are back in the US and he has had a chance to be evaluated by specialists, but we do have a good idea of what is involved and what the coming months and years may bring. The biggest question mark lies with his hands and whether or not he will ever be able to use them. He has already found ways around not having use of his hands. . .for example, if you lay a cookie next to him, he will scoot himself over to it and use his mouth and his tongue to pick it up and eat it (anything for the cookie!). He also uses his mouth in place of his hands to "touch" things. For example, he likes to "feel" the zipper and string on my sweater by putting them in his mouth. He also likes to "touch" my hair by doing the same thing!

Like Josh, I feel like there really will be no limits to what Evan can do if he puts his mind to something. When I look at both of my boys, I do not see disability. I do not see children who "can't." I see children who just have to do things differently. Different is good. Different inspires. Different teaches. I see two beautiful little boys who have the potential to do anything and everything they want in this world and I feel so lucky to be a part of their lives, so privileged to be able to watch in amazement all of the wonderful things that they do!

Here are a few pictures from our visit this morning:

I just can't get enough of this little boy! I am going to miss him so much when we leave to go home later this week! Speaking of cute little boys, I also found a few pictures of Josh that we had left on our camera and thought I would share them.


And while I am at it, I can't forget the three little hooligans who gave us the desire to add more children to our family in the first place:

Having these five little people in my life is evidence of the Lord's love for me! What a privilege it is to have each one of them in my life! I can't wait until I am able to post pictures of all 5 of them together. . . .