2 Three Year Olds!

Yesterday, little Bradyn turned 3.  There was no party, no cake or balloons.  No presents.  That will be his last birthday that he is alone! 

Today, our sweet baby, Aubryn, turned 3.  We have enjoyed a fun family weekend of celebration and she has a new pink bicycle.  She is a precious gift from God.  We are so blessed to have such a joyful little one.

We are waiting on a signature from the minister of justice and travel dates.  There is no way that we will be going when originally hoped.  But we are praying for the week of May 18.

I still have not heard back from Colton's dr...imagine that!

Time away...now paying for it!

Last weekend, I was blessed to be able to go away with a crazy group of girls for the weekend.  Everything about it was wonderful.  We went to Round Top, TX during Antiques Weekend.  I left Houston Thursday morning and got to spend the whole weekend away.

On Thursday Night, we had fun getting dressed up for the Junk Gypsy prom....there is really no way to explain it...just Google it if you are interested.  The best part of that was our dinner at Royers under the tent! 

There was lots of shopping and fun!  I was blessed so much by the time I was able to spend with friends and also a much needed break from everyday.

 

Well, now I am having to do the payback.  As soon as I got home Sunday, Troy left for a week in Nigeria.  I was expecting him home over the weekend, but his trip was extended and he won't be home until Tuesday...I can deal with that, but things got a little difficult on Friday.

 

We got word that we were verbally approved by IAC for adoption, but some of the paperwork may have to be redone because we added Bradyn in at the last minute. I got word of all this (which will be ok) during a doctors appointment for Colton at Shriners.  The appointment was supposed to be a follow up, which I really almost cancelled.  When we get there, we waited forever, which is not normal at Shriners.  Then a different Dr. walks in, I explained Colton was Dr. Mancias patient and we would like to see him.. no problem, she was great about it.  A few minutes later, Dr. Mancias comes in and says he is trying to pull up mri results from a different hospital, it may take a few more minutes.  Everything is still good.  Then dr. Mancias returns with the whole staff ( 3 other dr. and 4 other therapist/nurses).  A few months ago, they determined the cause of Colton's leg problems was nerve damage that was due to a cyst, but it was most likely not malignant.  Now, after reviewing the mri further, there are some red flags that went up and they are now referring him to a dr. at md Anderson Cancer Center.  I am trying not worry, I don't really think that it is malignant, but I am anxious to hear from this new doctor.  Please pray for my sweet boy.

 

Anyway, this all happening at the same time left me feeling overwhelmed.  I am very ready for Troy to come home and I think I will need some more time away to recover.LOL

 

Quick add on- after I wrote this 3 of us got an awful stomach virus during the night, now I really am ready for Troy to get home!

Traveling Soon

I got word yesterday that one document from our social worker had to be redone.  YUCK!  I should be getting the new document tomorrow.  I do not think we are in a huge rush to get it to Bulgaria...hopefully we can just take it with us.  I also got word that our dossier should be approved by the IAC at this weeks meeting!!!! That is huge!!  I think it means we may our official referral and travel dates this week.  We could be traveling in just a few weeks.

We need funds to pay!   Please help if you can, if you can not donate then please pray that we will get the financial support we need to bring these boys home.

We also need a name for Bradyn.   Any suggestions?

Our kids names our 
Caitlin
Adelin
Payton
Colton
Aubryn

We are adding Steven...will be Stephen

As you can see, we have a theme going...so it must fit in.  Has to end with an n.  We might keep Bradyn and change spelling.  We also need middle names.  I am having a hard time.  Troy has never really gotten into naming children,  this time is no different.  With Aubryn, we did not have her middle name until about an hour before she was born.  We had never even talked about it (the name we choose) before then and I was surprised when I saw how he spelled on her birth certificate)

Also, please pray for me.  This whole adoption thing gets very scary.  I know we were called to bring these boys home.  I know this is God's plan for our family...but sometimes it is scary.

Submitted!!!!

On Thursday April 4, I got an email from our attorney.   Our dossier has been submitted.  Now, we wait on travel dates.  We should be traveling to meet our boys in 5 or 6 weeks!

I also can now officially introduce you to the little guy.  He is known as Bradyn on reece's rainbow.  We are not positive yet what his name will be when he joins our family.  He is one day older than our little Aubryn, so we will have twins!!!

 

This is the first picture we saw of this precious guy.  We have been able to get an updated medical report and more picture.  He is doing great and cant wait to see him!

 

Big Easter Week News!

What a week...we committed to a second boy from Bulgaria. We drove to Austin on Tuesday to get the commitment docs appostiled and Fedexed to Bulgaria. Because he is not in the same orphanage as Stephen, we will have some hurdles to clear with respect to our initial visit as we try to meet the required visits to both boys while minimizing our time away from our kids. We are very excited with this commitment as he is one day older than our baby Aubryn, so she will remain our baby.

How fitting it is that this news should hit during the week of Easter when we celebrate the life, death, and resurrection of our savior who delivered our adoption as sons of the living God. One day, Stephen and ???? will learn and experience the reality and joy of God's adoption.

Our Dossier should be submitted at the end of this week.  Please pray everything processes quickly and we get the signatures we need.   With our kids busy schedules, there are definently weeks that would be difficult for us to be gone.