Unsung Heroes

So I have been sitting at this screen, typing and re-typing and I just don't know what to say.  The right words are nowhere to be found.  Every once in a while, those people come along.  Those unsung heroes who get none of the credit and glory, but make a mighty difference.  Today, I am thanking some unsung heroes who just put a VERY generous $5,000 donation in to our hands.  This leaves us with $4,900 to raise. In addition, there are several payments waiting for us at Redline.  We haven't received that update yet, but we anticipate it is around another $6-700.....leaving us with just over $4,000 to be raised.

I can't even begin to adequately describe the weight that has been lifted.  We are once again thankful for the Lord's unparalleled timing and provision.  We continue to be so humbled that He would allow us to be a part of this amazing plan for this special boy.  And we are so grateful for this family's sacrificial gift.

I am confident that He will see this work through to completion.  And what a relief it will be for us to come home with our son, not facing the burden of remaining fundraising and debt, but simply free to invest in his healing, growth and preventative care. To apply those funds to orthodontia, medical care, therapies, etc.  God is so good.

Thank you to each of you that have given; be it time, prayer, advice, company, an ear, a shoulder, a laugh, a cry, babysitting, a helping hand, the gift of your talents, money, resources, donations for auctions and fundraisers, constant cheerleading and encouragement, or just being a faithful friend.  Each of you is an unsung hero.  Each of you is part of an amazing legacy for Ruslan.  Each of you will forever be a part of the fiber of our family.  And we are so thankful.

If you feel led to help us close this gap, and return home with forward momentum, tax deductible donations can be made via the link on the right hand side of this blog.  We will never be able to say thank you adequately, but we fully intend to pay it forward in whatever big and small ways we are able.  And we fully intend to let the blessings be reciprocal, and circular, and perpetual....the way blessings should be.  And we will never forget, for all of our days, how much each one of you means to our family, and how you have been a living testament to the amazing things our God can do.  Humbled, grateful, and in awe of His glory.  And, today in particular, grateful for those unsung heroes in our lives. <3

We're Leeeeavin' On a Jet Plane!!!!!!

One week from today, we are leaving for Ukraine.  Leaving to bring our boy home.  We can hardly believe it's here!  We got the call on Monday, and we could hardly believe what we were hearing.  Our SDA appointment was scheduled for Monday, May 21st and we would need to fly out on Friday, May 18th.....for those of you doing the math, that is 11 days notice!!!!!  There were tears (on both our parts!) and much jumping and shrieking and hand waving on my part! 

In the midst of all this excitement, we're still fundraising right up to the bitter end here, as we have a $9,900 gap to close.  But we believe the Lord will finish what He started, and we believe in miracles.  So we are humbly coming before you, asking you to spread the word, and then spread it again.  If you, or anyone you know, feel led to give there is a link on the right side of this blog, and all donations are tax deductible.  And every lit bit adds up.  And we need every penny we can get.  And we are so grateful for the support.

Watch for three more fundraisers as well:     

• our $5 fundraising CD's with a single on it titled "They Found Hope"...written by a firefighter who works with Bill, the lyrics are close to our heart and it is a wonderful momento of this journey.
• Apex BBQ (we're talkin' finger lickin' good stuff that you can pick up at Hope Community Church, or one of his many locations!)
• A fun spa day for the ladies when I get back, and while I am waiting for Ruslan and Bill to get home.  (Ladies, I hope lots of you will join me for that because The Junction is an awesome salon bar- how cool is that- and because I'll be very much in need of some pampering and nerve-calming while I am waiting for the boys to come home!  I'd love to have some fellowship time with the amazing women who have been mentors, cheerleaders, shoulders to cry on, sources of laughter, wisdom and inspiration throughout this journey!)

I'd love to share the awesome story of how our travel date was revealed to us.

I was in my office at work when a gift from two amazing coworkers arrived.  It was a beautiful silver starfish bracelet.  For those of you that have been following our blog, you know the starfish has kind of become a symbol of sorts for us throughout this adoption journey.  (The story where the child is walking on the beach, throwing washed up starfish back in to the ocean, and a man comes along and tells him with the hundreds of starfish on the beach, he'll never be able to make a difference.  The boy picks another starfish up, throws it back in, and says, "I made a difference for that one!".)  So this bracelet truly means so much! While I was tearing up, and thanking the giver, I got a call that someone was waiting to see me up front.  I excused myself, and went up front to find two adorable Bowers children and their Daddy dropping off a very generous donation.  While I was talking to them, LJ (our cheerleader, spiritual grounder, friend and great support through all of this) came running up to tell us we had gotten our SDA date.  She wanted to know if I wanted her to just tell me the date, but I couldn't!!!! I wanted to see/hear it for myself....so I was going crazy!!! Jumping, shrieking, and so excited! Glad my coworkers already know I am crazy, so they didn't think much of me acting like a lunatic!!! 

I was stalking my e-mail after that....waiting and waiting and waiting....and wondering why the e-mail wasn't coming......when I finally thought to check my cell phone! There was a message waiting for me......so I fumbled to enter in my password, and start the message playing.  "This is it, what we have been waiting for....your SDA date is Monday, May 21.......MAY 21 PEOPLE!!!!!!  "We're leeeeeavin'.....on a jet plane...we'll have a new son when we come back again...." (Ok, I know that's not how it goes, but I like that version better!!!)

When I finally calmed down and got back to my desk, but before I had a chance to spread the word about our date, my phone rang.  An awesome woman called to say that she had just felt led to call and pray for me.  And she did. Right there over the phone.  And if that isn't some amazing timing, I don't know what is!

On May 18th, we'll be on an airplane bound for Ukraine.  On June 12th, I'll come home to spend the last few weeks with my son as an only child, and on June 29th, Bill and Ruslan will be home.  And our family will be complete.  Praise God, and the awesome story He has for Ruslan.  So humbled we get to be a part of it.  And so terribly-awfully-beyond measure-never can explain it-from the core of our beings-from the bottom of our hearts thankful to the so many of you that have been rallying to help us bring our boy home.

The to-do lists are crazy, the energy is high, my heart is just swollen with blessings these two broken people never imagined they'd have, and I just can't wait to get on that plane and bring our son home.  For good. Where he belongs. Where he was always supposed to be.  Where he can start healing, and hoping.  Where he can learn about his worth, about a God who loves him, and that with God...truly....all things are possible. 

Anticipation......

"Anticipation, or being enthusiastic, is an emotion involving pleasure, excitement, and sometimes anxiety in considering some expected or longed-for good event."

That pretty much sums it up.  We are waiting (and waiting!) for our travel date, and we just can't believe it is so close!!! It seems like minutes are hours, and hours are days.  We are checking e-mail...looking for missed calls, and waiting on the edge of our seat to hear what our travel date is.  Latest updates say we should hear about a date by May 15th or so, and likely travel in late May/early June. 

We have $10,646 left to raise, and we are beyond grateful and so humbled by the community that has rallied to support us, and bring Ruslan home.  In this final stretch, it would be great if you could share our blog with friends and family and help us close the gap.

Ruslan's bedroom furniture was gifted to us yesterday, so that is one more thing off our to do list.  We'll be painting his room on Friday night, and then putting away the books, stuffed animals, toys, clothes, pajamas, school supplies, bedding, and more that people have been so generous to provide.  It is so exciting to see it all come together.  I walk in that room, his room, and I can just imagine his joy when he comes home to a room all his own. When he finally has belongings he can call his own, and a place to keep them.  When he can sleep in a bedroom by himself, and have his own space to read, study, listen to music, daydream, play, think and just be. 

There are just no words.  We are truly in awe.  Our faith has been grown and stretched beyond measure, and we are so excited to share this story of God's love, His faithfulness and His provision.  What an affirmation for Ruslan...that God cared about him, and loved him, and protected him....that God chose him....chose us...that none of this was an accident.

Tonight, I am thankful to Amanda Shumaker of Redline United....for believing in this little boy....for following the stirring in her heart to include him in the hosting program even when it would have been easier, more prudent, more accepted, more popular to pass him up in favor of a child deemed more "marketable" or more likely to be adopted.  I am thankful that she stood her ground, pushed for him to be included, and saw something in him worth fighting for.  I am thankful that through many twists and turns, he was the little boy that ended up in our car on the way home from RDU just 9 months ago.

I am thankful to Laura Johnson, who encouraged us to listen to the stirring the Holy Spirit placed in our hearts for this boy....to be bold for the Lord, even in the face of adversity, doubt, and seemingly hopeless financial obstacles.  Who listened patiently through the tears, laughter, triumphs and trials.  Who remained calm, focused and steadfast even as we faltered and questioned and let our emotions get in the way.  Who pointed us back to God (Bog, in Russian!) when we needed that grounding, and who was never afraid to speak truth in love.

I am thankful to my husband, my best friend, who has been my biggest ally in this crazy, awesome, emotional journey.  I am thankful for how hard you work, how well you love your family, how you are a loving and involved father to Mason already and how that will just spread to include Ruslan, and I am so glad they both have an amazing Godly man to look up to. It is no exaggeration to say that God truly blessed the broken road that led me straight to you...and I feel like the luckiest woman in the world!

I am thankful beyond measure to the so, so many of you (too many to name individually!) who have poured out your hearts, time, money, resources, wisdom and more.  I wouldn't have believed community like this possible if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.  And I don't quite know how to say thank you adequately for the gift of a child.  Each of you will forever be a huge part of our family, and a huge part of Ruslan's history.  There are simply no words or gestures to adequately express the heartfelt gratitude, the joy, and the awe that we feel.  We'll start by saying it as simply as we can...thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

And more than anything, I am thankful to a God who knows better than I know, sees more than I see, and was loving this little boy long before I ever even knew he existed.  I am thankful for His perfect plan, and humbled that I get to be a part of it. 

I have seen God move in some amazing and unexpected ways through this ministry.  If you'd like to learn more, volunteer, get involved, host or adopt (or know someone who wants to) or are just curious to learn more, I encourage you to check out http://www.redlineunited.org/.  It just might change your life, and/or the life of an orphan forever.

As for me, I'll be (not so) patiently waiting for that travel date, and I'll be sure to update once we have it!