Itinerary for Travel

Everywhere we stay in Lithuania advertises free WiFi.  I am hoping it is true and as long as it is, I plan to update the blog about our events- visiting twins, sightseeing, going to court, the court ruling, and hopefully an eta on our arrival as well as what you really want- pictures of the twins!!

There are only a handful of dates that are set- and I will share those. (I don't mind sharing these dates as a State Trooper lives across the street from me and all my amazing neighbors will be watching my house- so bad guys, you aren't welcome and will be found)

January 1st- leave Richmond for Lithuania- fly from RIC to Dullas, Dullas to Frankfort, Frankfort to Vilnius.  Our connections are fairly tight- super tight in DC and only about 2hrs in Germany.
January 2nd- we land in Vilnius around 1:30pm.  Our in-country rep, Elona, will meet us there and take us to the lawyers office.  We will meet with them- and I hope that we will be coherent.  That evening we will check-in at our hotel (the only hotel we will stay in, actually).  At 8:30pm, my sister, Rebecca, lands in Vilnius!
January 3rd- leave the hotel around 7am and drive to the twins town- it is about a 2.5-3hr drive.  10am we meet the twins for the first time (just writing this gives me goose-bumps!).  If you are awoken at 3am on the 3rd- it's because of this meeting!  Pray that it will be peaceful and full of connections.

We are allowed to meet with the twins every day 10am-noon, and 4:30-6:30pm.  We are going armed with stickers, balloons, crayons, cars, paints, toys to play with them and hopefully during these times will earn their trust and love.

January 7th- Al and I will leave the twins city early in the morning and drive back to Vilnius.  We will meet with the lawyers again.  At 2pm Lithuanian time, we meet with the judge assigned to our case (7am on the 7th, pray for us!).  This is the first time our lawyers have worked with this judge so we have no idea how she typically works- meaning will she waive our 30-day-waiting period?  We hope and pray that she does.  The judge can take up to two weeks to make her decision.  Some families have heard in as little as 20min, some 2 days, some the full 2 weeks.  We simply do not know.

Regardless of the judge, Al and I will head back to the twins city after court.  Rebecca will have stayed there with Adeline and Alden- so prayers for her would probably be a good thing, too!

Once we hear of the judges ruling, we will have 2 courses of action:
If the waiting period IS waived- we will go to the orphanage and be awarded the twins- and I will then be allowed to post pictures of them!!  We will "host" a small going-away party- buy pastries at at the local bakery, and we have brought some little souvenirs for them to "share" with their friends.  We will then head to Vilnius!  Once in Vilnius we will start the paperwork at the US Embassy.  Hopefully this should only take approximately 5 days.  Once we make it to Vilnius we will have a date that we will be coming home by!  I hope that LOTS of people come and welcome the twins at the airport in Richmond!  More on that later....

If the waiting period is NOT waived- we will all come home as soon as we know.  We will return to school/work, and when the 30 days is up, just Al and myself will travel back to get the twins and start the paperwork at the Embassy.  We will still need people to welcome us at the airport!!

Regardless of the day, the flight that we will be taking home has us landing in Richmond at 6:30pm. We hope to see lots of friendly faces at the airport- meet at the bottom of the escalators by the baggage claim.   This will be your only chance to meet the twins for 2-3 weeks.  Experts recommend "cocooning" with your adopted children and limiting their exposure to other people.  They need to learn what a family is- that Al and I will meet their needs, not a steady stream of people.  We have heard from countless people that this is crucial.  So, despite my people-driven personality, we will go into cocoon mode- but at the airport, please come and see our sweeties for yourself!

It's a lot- I know.  Please use these dates to think of us and pray for us.  It's a massive change for us all- but His mercies are new each day.  God knew that the twins would be in our family- and we are excited to see what He has in store for us all!

Packed and Ready to GO!

We are officially packed and ready to GO!  Al is a packing genius- he was able to get everything needed for 6 people and gifts for the orphanage workers, in 4 suitcases!  We also have 2 car seat bags holding 4 booster seats, and a double umbrella stroller.  Our goal- not pay for luggage since it's $100 per bag over 1 bag per person!  Each bag weighs approximately 45-49lbs- the max is 50lbs.  Like I said, Al is a genius!

The next day and a half are packed full of fun with friends, burning serious energy, and embracing the final days as a family of 4.  We have been blessed by friends offering to take kids for playdates and even having us over for dinner.  We are surrounded by a fantastic friend-based-family!

Ready to Go!

This packing picture totally represents our amazing, generous, kind, thoughtful, giving, friends.  2 of the suitcases are loaned from friends.  Just about all of the clothing packed for Annalise is from 1 friend.  2 of the neck pillow are loaned from another friend.  Inside a suitcase is the smallest and cutest portable little potty known to mankind- and that is loaned from another friend.  The car seat bag- another friend loaded us that.  That snazzy orange backpack with 2 thousand little pockets?  Another generous friend!  I could go on and on.  We are so blessed already- and we haven't even left the country!  Asher and Annalise- when you read this years from now, I want you to see how loved you are already- people are sacrificing to help bring you to your forever home!

Besides packing, we have been putting together the final touches for the twins arrival.  Christmas is all packed away- we didn't want to confuse them when they first arrived- look at all these pretty decorations- now they are all going away....  And plus, I won't have time to put anything away!  I don't want them thinking that Christmas lasts until June in America....  Still, we left out the gifts that the twins had received.  It's something exciting to look forward to when they arrive.

Bikes- they are huge in our cup-de-sac.  Kids ride bikes all day long in good weather- and in the rain, too- and we want the twins to be able to participate.  Last Christmas, before we decided to adopt, I gave away Adeline and Alden's little bikes with training wheels.  Now our garage, once again, has little bikes with training wheels ready for the twins!  {Actually they are in the living room they are so cute!}

A hot-wheels themed bike and helmet for our car-loving little boy!

A princess bike and helmet for our littlest princess!

Alden is so over-the-moon excited about having a brother- he has grand plans of all the things he is going to do/teach Asher.  I hope Asher is ready...  One thing he did was to put on display in the playroom, a bunch of his Lego City buildings/vehicles.  He wanted Asher, and Annalise, to see them when they first walk in the front door.  Alden is adamant that seeing this display will help the twins know this is a fun home.  Who knows?  He may be right- and since I do not, this display will remain the first thing the twins will see!

The next post will hopefully be about our journey TO Lithuania!!

Packing and Connections

We are getting super close to leaving!  Airline tickets are all purchased, apartments are books and paid for, rental van is secured, and the packing has begun!  It's so neat to pick out of the closets, outfits that have been given to us, and know that when they are unpacked, they will be put on our new children!  

This week in our weekly email, we sent these pictures to the twins, showing them all the "stuff" we have prepared for them.  We don't have in the picture the snow boots, snow pants, coats, hats, gloves, and scarves we have for them, too!

It's getting more and more real- and the excitement is starting to actually mount!

Through the joys of the internet, I was able to "meet" a sweet lady who was IN Lithuania, adopting 3 precious children of her own, from the same Baby House, and even the same GROUP, as our twins!  She told me that once, Annalise came up to her, calling her "Momma!" Annalise is clearly excited about having a Momma- and that just melts and breaks and overfills my heart!  She did tell me how impressed she was with the Baby House and how loved the kids are.  That also warms my heart!  It is wonderful how God is knitting our family together- and also connecting us with people who have children from the same place.  This family and I plan to have Skype sessions for the children once we return to the States. How sweet for our kids to be able to maintain friendships from their Groupa?  Chances are good that they have known each other for years- and considering they are so young, that's a good chunk!  God is truly amazing!

Happy Half-Birthday/ Open House

 On the twins half-birthday, we hosted an Open House.  It was kinda like a Baby Shower, in that some people brought gifts, but more like an Open House in that people came and went over a span of hours, they checked out the twins bedrooms, and tried some Lithuanian food.  Our friends were amazing- they provided so many yummy things to eat!  It was fun way to celebrate our twins and help prepare for their arrival!  We were blessed with sheets, booster seats, underwear, undershirts, toys and gift cards to help us finish the final preparations for the twins!

Yummy Christmas Bread made by Karen- eaten at Christmas or times when you want to wish prosperity upon someone!

Poppy Seed Cookies- they tasted approximately like cardboard, but according to someone who has been to Lithuania, they were totally authentic....

Cucumbers and Honey- actually a tasty combination!

Some sweet twins enjoying Poppy Seed cookies!

Friends signing the photo mats for the twins- I can't wait to put their sweet pictures in these frames!

Adeline and Alden excited to help the twins open their gifts!  We are SO blessed by our friends!

We Have a Court Date!!

We have a court date!!  This means we have a potential "light at the end of the tunnel"!  January 7th at 2pm we go to court and ask the very nice lady judge to waive the standard 30-day-waiting period and allow us to bring the twins home on this trip!

Our travel schedule is set- we booked airline tickets already!  This is exciting as this journey is getting closer and closer to be "done"!

What does this mean and look like?

January 1st- We leave Richmond- what a fantastic way to start off the New Year!
January 2nd- We arrive in Vilnius, meet with the lawyers and complete some paperwork
January 3rd- We head to the Twins!! 10am we get to meet the twins for the first time!  (just typing this makes me tear up- we are all SO excited, yet it still seems surreal!)
We get to visit with the twins several times each day until January 7th- Al and I will head to Vilnius early that morning.
January 7th- Al and I attend drive the 2 hours from the twins city to court in Vilnius- pray that the Judge makes a quick decision so that we can bring the paperwork back with us! We will head back to the twins city after court.  Rebecca, Adeline and Alden will remain in the twins town and not travel with us to Vilnius.

IF the waiting period is waived we will throw a Going Away Party at the Baby House as soon as the judge makes the decision and the twins are turned over to our care!  The judge can take up to 2 weeks to make a decision although we hear that typically the decision is made within hours of our court  time.

Jaunary 8th-ish- January 18th-ish- we will spend a week or so in Vilnius visiting the US Embassy almost every day for various appointments- physicals, passport meetings, exit meetings- we will leave Lithuania with American birth certificates stating Al and I are their parents, American passports, and 2 of the newest and cutest America citizens!

Starting to Prepare

We don't know when our Court Date is (and yes, I am aware that it is NOT a proper noun, but it is SO important, it IS a proper noun to ME!)- but I still need to DO something- so I am starting to prepare what I can.

Eastern Europe has drastically different views on clothing than I do- and I am attempting to be prepared according to their standards.  Thank goodness for the network of fellow Lithuanian adoptive moms I am privileged to know!  I was going to just pack warm coats and hats for the kids- all 4 of them.  That is not enough.  They all need warm hats, gloves, snow pants and snow boots.  I know, it's going to be cold- a little below freezing- but we aren't going to be spending vast amounts of time just standing in the cold!  There isn't much daylight, so we will be inside as much as possible!!  Still, the expectation is for these kids to be bundled Christmas-Story-Style.  Which is good to know before we leave!

I have mostly everything- Asher needs a coat (Adeline's wonderful teacher and friend is giving us one!) and both Asher and Annalise need snow boots.  

What fun!  Now if that Court Date would just come.... 

{side note- there are now 2 new forms that we must fill out, pay handsomely for, notarize, apostille, and rush to Michigan and then to Lithuania, before the Court Date can be issued- we found this out TODAY- good thing Al is a Paperwork Master!  These new forms will be in the mail once we get the form we need from the US govt which should arrive tomorrow- whew!}

i800- Check!

After two weeks, our papers finally arrived in our Immigration Case Manager's hands!  The short story is that she was able to process the paperwork and approve us in ONE DAY! There is a longer story- but that is at the next paragraph....  Our forms are now being uploaded to an Embassy Database- where the US Embassy in Lithuania will then give our approval to Elona, our Lithuanian contact.  She can then submit that form to the Lithuanian government and we will get our court date!

Long Story:  When our Case Manager first opened our documents, she wasn't able to process it!  There were no birth certificates!  We had been given official documents giving all the same info, so we just assumed that it was done differently there.  Nope.  Nothing could happen without the birth certificates.  When Al texted me that, my heart dropped- our hopes for Christmas were totally gone.

Al emailed our Bethany Case Manager to see if she accidentally left out the birth certificates when she emailed us all the official documents....  She called him- the official documents had just arrived from Lithuania- and the birth certificates were in there!!!  She quickly scanned and emailed them to Al!  He then emailed them to our Immigration CM- and she was then able to process our forms!!

Things like this are just a little affirmation about what we are doing.  That we ARE called to bring these two home.  That God's plan is for them to be home with us.

Now we wait again for our court date.  It's so exciting and scary all rolled into one!  We are talking to a travel agent now, doing hotel research, pricing van rentals, eyeing the clothes that are in the closet for each kid.... We are SO close- it's exciting!

Mary Kay Shop-A-Thon!

A very sweet and generous friend, Angie, has offered to donate her proceeds from her Mary Kay sales, for our twins!  Isn't that amazing?  YOU get great make-up and WE get $$ to help us bring our twins home!  It's a win-win!

Here is what you need to know- click on this linkWww.marykay.com/Arrington4u  Make sure add in the notes section "Perreca" or "Bring the Twins Home."  You can save on the shipping if you have it shipped to me- and I will deliver it to you.  If you want it shipped to you, then you pay a minimal shipping fee.

Mary Kay also has some excellent gift sets that would be a perfect for teachers, office assistants, aunts, etc.  Here is another way you can get ahead on your Christmas shopping and help 2 kids get their best Christmas ever- a forever family!

This online "party" will run through Sunday, November 10th at 6pm.  Share this with friends!

Ready - Set - SHOP!

Raffle #3- i9Sports!!

Are you ready for another awesome prize?  How about a season of i9sports?!?  Football, baseball, soccer, basketball, and cheerleading!  The winner will win a FREE season at any location sponsored by Jeff Kraft- thank you Jeff for this amazing donation!  This is good for any one season until the end of 2014.

{Both Adeline and Alden have participated in i9 and I have loved it!  They do an excellent job at teaching the kids how to play the sport- and that is the emphasis, learning/teaching- and they also focus on being good sports.  It's a great program!}

Please visit our GoFundMe site- on the right-hand side, click on our picture!  Buy raffle tickets, and you can also earn 1 free per day if you share this blogpost on FB- please make sure you tag me in it so I can make sure you get credit!

Thank you for being a part of us bringing our twins home!

The A Team

I know, I know.  You shouldn't force kids to dress alike.  Trust me- I lived a good hunk of my life matching my sisters.  Still, I like to think that this is a little different....  Each kid's name begins with A- and so for our first family picture, I want to show unity.  And how cool to look like Super Heroes?!?  A sweet and very talented friend made these shirts for the kids- and I may very well ask her to make shirts for Al and myself =-)

I can't believe that the next picture will be with sweet kiddos INSIDE the shirts!

31 Extravaganza! (aka, Chance to Finish Christmas Shopping)

Black and White Dot Little Carry All Caddy- $12

Small Lime-Green Thermal (lunch box)- $12

Small Zipper Pouch Lotsa Dot- $12

Flat Iron Case Lota Dot- $22

Organizing Ultility Tote, black and white dot- $30

This is your one-stop Christmas shopping spot!  Over $80 of 31 products are yours!  Make just about any teacher/aunt/friend happy, cross them off your Christmas list AND help us bring our twins home!  Buy raffle tickets by clicking on our family photo on the right-hand side and then on the Go Fund Me link!  This raffle will end Sunday, October 27, 2013, at 5pm.  Buy raffle tickets and also earn a FREE ticket (1 per day) for sharing this post on Facebook- please make sure you tag me in the sharing so I can keep track of it!

A huge thank-you goes to my super generous friends, Stephanie Hoppin, Melissa Newsom and Miranda McLaughlin for donating these products!

Ready!  Set!  Go buy tickets and share!

Details

Details.  Anyone who is even thinking about adoption needs to excel at these.  Al has done a wonderful job at keeping all the paperwork running smoothly (which is no small feat), but time and time again in this process, we have seen little God details, and that makes this whole process exciting and reassuring.  Here is one such example.

My sister, Rebecca, lives in Austria.  She runs a business that essentially helps business professionals refine and polish their business English.  One of her more recent customers/students/friends, is actually from Lithuania!  Given our recent life-changing events, this was a super cool connection!

It gets better.

It turns out that her friend is from THE town our twins live in.
She has not only been to their Baby House, but has WORKED there! (many years ago, before our twins where there, but still, how amazing?!)
She knows the director of the Baby House and considers her a friend.
She knows this is a great place- that they really work hard at exposing the kids to lots of experience, that they love the kids, that lots of the kids are there only temporarily (foster care).
She will be there, potentially when we will (around Christmas!).
She is happy to be a tour guide/translator for us!

Even when we bring the twins home to the US, we will have a connection to their home town!  We will potentially get to see the best that their town has to offer from someone who knows it and love it.

How incredible is this?!?  I love that God is in the details!

Speedy Paperwork

Today the official paperwork arrived on the twins!  It is really amazing at how quickly this is all falling into place- kinda makes me think that God wants these twins in our home sooner rather than later!

Here is how "fast" this is happening.  We received the email referral on Thursday, October 3rd.  October 10th all paperwork arrived at the Lithuanian lawyer's office- they stated it would take a week to a month for this to happen.  Today, October 16th, all documents arrived, fully translated.  That's SUPER fast to translate all these documents AND get it to Michigan!  What a huge blessing!

We have composed and sent in our official acceptance.

What does this mean?

It means that potentially tomorrow, Friday, October 17th, Asher and Annalise will learn that after 4.5 years, they finally have a family that wants them.  If they don't learn it Friday, they should be told on Monday.

I can't even imagine what their reaction will be.  They have lived in this Baby House their entire lives.  That is all they know.  BUT We have been told that kids are VERY excited to be given a family- that at 4 1/2, they understand what a big deal this is, and it tends to be a rather exciting time for them.  I so wish I could be there, but I can't.  Instead, we will send a care package to them.  It has things that we have been told they enjoy- water colors, a doll, and a coloring book for Annalise; matchbox car, Legos, and a coloring book for Asher.  Also included is a book full of pictures of us for them.  There is also a ton of little plastic key-chain monkeys for them to share with all their friends.  Little things- but things that I hope they treasure and know that are sent with lots of love!  We can now also send weekly emails and pictures via email!

We are SO excited!  Please continue to pray that things go smoothly and quickly.  Pray that we can sell lots of raffle tickets as the final $10,000 is getting super close, super fast!

Care package ready to be mailed!

Raffle Time- Round One- Katie Kraft Photography!

Time is quickly approaching when our twins will be coming home!  Yay!  Friends have been incredibly generous in wanting to be a part of helping to bring them home.  

Now it's YOUR turn to help!  The best part- we BOTH win!

Each week, for the next few weeks, we will raffle off one prize.  This week- a mini photo session with the amazingly talented Katie Kraft!  Next week, a collection of 31 products- think of it as all your one-stop-Christmas shopping for teachers/moms/daughters/girl friends!  The following week, an entire season of i9 sports!

Details about Katie Kraft Photography:
The mini session can either be family or child, will be an outdoor session for 20 minutes, for up to 5 people, will include 5 high resolution images, expires end of 2014. Samples of her photos can be seen at: http://katiekraft.com

How will this work?

DONATE to our adoption fund through our WEPAY account in the right hand sidebar- just click the embedded link that essentially our beautiful faces!

FOR $10 you get 2 entries.

FOR $25 you get 7 entries.                  

FOR $50 you get 15 entries.

 You can also share for 1 FREE ENTRY PER DAY until the raffle closes on Saturday, October 19 2013 at 5pm ET.  

So share on Facebook!  No more than one free entry a day (so that’s a possible 9 free entries for this amazing deal), but you will still get major props from me if you blast it from all of your social media outlets or share on your blog 4 million times a day. 

Referral

It came today!  The best news so far!  A sweet email stating that our request to adopt our twins was granted!

What does this mean?  It means we wait for the official paperwork from Lithuania (birth certificates, proof of orphan-ness, etc).  Once we have that we will send it, along with our form (i800), to the USCIS (which is still open and working since they are paid by fees and not the federal government, whew!).  They will look over the documents and forms and send us another form.  This new form we send to Lithuania and a judge will set a court date.  Once that date is set, we will know when we will get to travel- squeal!

We are boldly praying for Christmas- to have our family of 6 under one roof.  It may be January, but December is most certainly a possibility!

Adoption Services- aka ALMOST matched with the kiddos!

Adoption Services- We are finallllly here!  What does this mean?  It means that the people who get to decide what children we will be allowed to adopt, have all our paperwork.  It may not seem huge given the gazillion steps we have already done, but this is huge.  HUGE!  Hopefully soon- in a week or two- we will have our referral!

An added bonus- when we got the email, on Sunday, that we were at AS, it came with new pictures of Asher and Annalise!  Asher is actually laughing in one picture, which made my Mama's heart SO happy as he has looked rather pensive in the other pictures we have.  Annalise has crazy, beautiful curls, that evidently the orphanage just piles into a waterspout pony tail on the top of her head- so totally adorable!  In the background of these pictures are other kids playing and lots of fun, colorful, clean toys.  This also made my Mama heart happy.

As we drove around today- the song that we have deemed "Asher and Annalise's Song"- Love Never Fails- we heard it 5 times!  FIVE!  Each time we hear it we stop what we are doing and pray for Asher and Annalise- and we are so excited to have been reminded to pray for them so much today.

Good things will be happening soon.  I can just feel it!

Chick Fil A

Adoption isn't cheep.  But we aren't letting the cost stop us!  Another fundraiser we were able to was to have a Chick Fil A Night!  It was lots of fun and many people were exposed to the fact that there are millions of children world-wide that need Forever Homes.  And hopefully we will get a little money to put towards the adoption!

Signs we had out by the spinning wheel

The Spinning Wheel- we got 100% of this money!

This part of the restaurant was entirely full of our neighbors, friends & students!

This sums up these two- SO excited to tell people about their brother and sister who they can't wait to meet!

In Translation...

Our documents are being translated.  This is super exciting and also another chance to practice patience.  Hopefully the translated documents will make it to the Adoption Office in Lithuania soon.  By mid-October we should have our official referral in our hands!!  And by the end of October we should know when we will be traveling!

So. Super. Exciting!

And So. Super. Scary.

I can't believe how drastically our lives are about to change forever.  It's scary and exciting all rolled into one.  God is good, though.  We are continually blessed by friends and family- always at the perfect moment and in the most perfect way.

Almost daily we get little confirmations that God is lining things up for our new kiddos- finding out our current eye Dr has a staff member who speaks Lithuanian, finding out there is a family at my school who has 2 children from Lithuania, finding out that there is an elderly Lithuanian lady who just lost her husband and desperately wants a new project (us!).

While we wait, Al and I read and learn all we can about Brain Balance, Out of Sync Children, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum, and all things Lithuanian.  The more informed we are, the better parents we will be for these two- and lots of what we are learning is actually helping us be better parents to Alden and Adeline!

Hopefully we will know something soon about our kiddos!

What's Next?

So- our part is essentially done. Now we sit back and wait.  We are working towards raising some more funds- we need to be ready to pay Lithuania $13,000 in the not-so-distant-future.

We have a rough time-line that is super exciting!

Our Dossier will arrive in Lithuania next week- yay!

In roughly 6 weeks we will receive a referral for, hopefully, our twins.  We will need to submit a letter of acceptance.  At this point we can start sending weekly letters and pictures- via email- to our new kids!  We can even send them a care package!

After we accept the referral we will need to submit another form to US Immigration.  Once we receive clearance from them, a court date in Lithuania is set.  This court date will hopefully be in 2-3months after the referral.  Once we have that date, we will know when we will travel.  The plan is for us, Al and myself, to go to that court date and request that the judge waive the customary waiting period and allow us to bring the children home then.

The chance that our Christmas could be with FOUR kids makes me giddy!  I would love to take Asher and Annalise to the playground where Al and I decided to adopt on THE day we decided to make this leap of faith.  How cool would that be?

Please pray for us!
Pray that our documents arrive safely and are translated quickly.
Pray that we receive our referral quickly- and if the twins are not meant to be in our family that God would give us peace for that.
Pray that we would be able to soak-up these days with just Alden and Adeline.
Pray for Asher and Annalise to be healthy and accepting of us.
Pray for a compassionate judge to waive our waiting period.
Pray for us as we travel- it is ridiculously cold there in the winter.
Pray for my sister, Rebecca, who will meet us in Lithuania and help with Adeline and Alden and even travel back to the states with us.

Dossier Complete- Whew!

There are some rather impressive sounding words that I can now throw around at parties and sound super smart.  These words I previously had no clue what they meant- by definition or for what they stood for.   Since I am a nice person, here they are, so you can understand them when I use them, and so you, too, can sound super snazzy!

Dossier- a compilation of massive amounts of paperwork- criminal background checks from every state you have lived in since you were 18; doctors' reports concerning the health of everyone in your household (pets included); marriage licenses (not more than one, but multiple copies of it); birth certificates; HomeStudy papers; tax returns; this isn't all of it, but you get the gist.  The kicker?  All of these documents can NOT be dated less than 6months ago!  It's a LOT to juggle and Al has been a pro at organizing all this!

Apostille- a fancy seal to verify that your notary is indeed a real notary.  Just about every document above had to have this done.  We are so blessed to live in our state's capitol so Al was able to drop off our pile of documents in the afternoon and pick them up 24hrs later.

Attestation- another document that states that the documents it is attached to, is authentic.

See?  Aren't these cool sounding words?

Want to SEE what is looks like?

Our Dossier was shipped to Michigan, where our agency is headquartered.  There it is checked against the massive checklist required by Lithuania and copied in triplicate form!  Friday, a copy and the originals will be shipped to Lithuania!  There they will be translated and then presented to the office handling Waiting Children.

Imperfect Blessings

Big things have been happening here!  We have been calling Immigration every Monday for the last few weeks to see where we were in regards to being assigned a Case Worker- what has been a two- three week process is now taking 90 days....  Last week, I spoke with a man who told me that if our children were in medical danger, we could apply to be expedited!  Since our twins have some potentially serious issues- brain swelling, strokes, blindness- we contacted the international Doctor we have been working with.  Within 10min of Al sending her an email, she called him!  She was on vacation and did not have the ability to write the letter, but she would do it first thing Monday morning when she was back in her office.  True to her word, around 9am on Monday, she emailed Immigration and us her letter.  We were grateful for this- but had been cautioned that it would probably not work.  

24 hours after receiving the doctors email, we found out we HAD been expedited!  We not only had a Case Worker, she had already reviewed our case, approved us, and had put in the mail our 797!

Yay!!!!!  Our twins health needs, their imperfections, are actually helping them get to us and the medical help they so desperately need!

Once we receive the 797, our huge packet of papers, aka The Dossier, will be dropped off downtown to be appostilled!  We hope to have it all on it's way to Lithuania by mid-week next week (it has to be mailed to Michigan first and THEY mail it to Lithuania).

We are thrilled with this and are greatly excited!

Now to pray that it doesn't take too long to translate all our documents into Lithuanian and for Lithuania to decide if we may indeed, have the twins!

Sweet Asher and Annalise- it's my prayer that we have you home for Christmas {a Mom can hope and pray, right??}

Waiting...

We are still waiting to be assigned a Case Manager at Immigration.  We were told that once you mailed in your hefty application (along with all the documentation), were fingerprinted, you would have your 797 usually within 2 weeks.  That is not the case any longer- it only took a month of waiting and several phone calls to find this out.  NOW, Immigration takes 40-70 days from receipt of your application, to even assign you a Case Manager.  We will hit day 40 on Monday.  So we will continue to wait and inquire weekly about our status.  Al is going out-of-town next week, so we will probably have lots of important things happen.   Wonderful if that is the case!  From those who have traveled this Adoption Road ahead of us, we hear that these kinds of things are perfectly normal and actually not that bad.  So, we will continue to wait....

Dress

Our house is covered- and I mean covered- with pictures of Adeline and Alden.  Each phase of their life is fully documented, framed and proudly displayed!  This was all warm and fuzzy until we decided to adopt older kids who more than likely, will have no baby or toddler pictures.

Deciding which pictures to eventually take down has been something I have been wrestling with.  I want Adeline and Alden to still be seen, but I also don't want Asher and Annalise to feel jilted.  It's going to be a fine line- and I'm just not that athletic.  Good thing God is in the details!

In Adeline's room there is a picture of her in THIS dress.  She is one years old.  Surrounding the picture  is a white mat where friends and family wrote words of encouragement to her.  

I am SO thrilled to have found the exact same dress for Annalise during one of my sifts through the local Goodwill!  I can't wait to take Annalise's picture in it, surround it by a white mat, and have friends and family write words of encouragement to her.

It's not much- an adorable dress, a picture, and a mat filled with words- but I can't wait to see it all together!  Something that my two daughters will share.

Hope

 At the beginning of our Adoption Journey, I saw this necklace and bought it.  Al and I both agreed that "hope" was the driving force behind our choice to adopt- needing to share the Hope of Jesus and the Hope that He gives us continually.  Al even had a bracelet made that said "hope."  Something simple yet it stands for something more profound.

Tonight, we found out that our little girls' name means Hope.

When the Lithuanian lady shared that with me, it was all I could do to not cry!  Our God is SO big, He gave Al and I both the same word to encourage us, and it is the name of the little girl we want to be a part of our family!

{side note, the little boys name does not mean anything cool- it just a super popular name today in Lithuania- still, we love him and can't wait for him to be a part of our family}

While we continue to wait for Uncle Sam to approve us and send us our final form- we will rest in this comfort that God is in our details!

Biometrics

One big step that we had to take was having our biometrics done.  Biometrics is fancy for (and rather pricey) fingerprints.  We sent in the application to the USCIS (see picture below) requesting permission to adopt- and on Saturday we got our appointment to have our biometrics done!!  What's neat is that you don't have to wait for your appointment- you can go right away and shave a few weeks off the process!!

Monday morning, Al and I left the house at 5.45am and drove to Norfolk.  We were 2nd in line at 7.40am.  By 8.15, we were back in the car headed back home!  It was perfect timing because Al's parents were here- so they took Adeline and Alden to swim team, and then our good friend, Karen, she came and stayed with the kiddos so Al's parents could leave for NY.

This is the last major paper that we need- our approval from USCIS- to send in the dossier for Asher and Annalise!  Hopefully we will get our next sets of initials and numbers- I 797!

I800A

We are no into initial territory and we couldn't be more excited!!  Initials means official documents.  Initials means oodles more paperwork.  Initials means more money.  Bottom-line- Initials means we are getting closer to bringing Asher and Annalise HOME!

Monday we received word that our Homestudy was DONE!  Yay!!  We just needed to wait for our copies to be mailed to us from Michigan.  

Friday, our copies arrived- and Al got them from the mailman!  It was all we needed to submit our I800A- a rather lengthy and pricey document where we ask the US government if we may please adopt from Lithuania.  Al has had the I800A ready to go for several week, we were just waiting for the Homestudy to mail in with it!

Friday afternoon I was at the pool with Adeline and Alden attempting to wear them out.  Al came to the pool with a folder of papers in his hand and a HUGE grin! I just knew what that meant!!  I jumped out of the pool and hurriedly dried off!  We weren't wasting any time- I signed my portion of the I800A right there at the pool and Al took them directly to the UPS store to have them mailed to Texas!!  They should arrive on Tuesday!!

Now we wait.  We wait for an email to tell us that our file has arrived.  Then we wait for an agent to contact us.  Then we wait for an appointment to have our fingerprints taken in Norfolk- which we can go early for!  Please pray that our agent isn't going on vacation, is prompt, and wants to help us get Asher and Annalise home as quickly as possible!

Once we have approval of our I800A- and are mailed our approval- another set of numbers and initials- we can submit our dossier-  where we actually apply to Lithuania for Asher and Annalise! 

We are one step closer!!

Truck Loads of Happy News!

May 15, 2013 we submitted a letter of intent to Lithuania, stating how much we wanted Asher and Annalise.  Yesterday, we heard back; "We are so happy that their documents are almost ready and we are waiting eagerly when the family will be able to submit them to Lithuania."

We can't WAIT to know that you are ours, Asher and Annalise!

As if that wasn't enough good news, hours later, we found out that our Home Study was officially done!  Whooo-hoo!  Once we receive our official copy we can submit our i800a!  This is our first step towards the immigration process!  In a nutshell, it is a form requesting permission to adopt an international child from the US government.  Hopefully this will only take about a month.

Once that is accepted we can send to Lithuania our dossier- the huge document that has just about every breath we have ever taken documented in triplicate form.  But the best part of that is, is THAT is how we can know that Asher and Annalise are OURS.

Prayers are greatly appreciated.  Pray that our HomeStudy doesn't get lost in the mail- we have had multiple experience with mail ending up in the wrong mail box.  Pray that our i800a is assigned to an agent who is organized and not going on vacation any time soon.  Pray that we have peace while we have to wait on others to do their jobs.

Team Work

It's been nothing short of amazing.  Friends have come to us, wanting to help bring Asher and Annalise home!  Here are a few pics of three events we have had- and the funds have been earmarked for their airline tickets home and immunizations that they must have in order to be given an US passport and Visa.  The immunizations are more than a little pricey at the Embassy Clinic, but we will do whatever it takes to get them home!

31- 31 is a company that sells bags of all kinds.  I love their stuff, and was completely honored when a friend offered to give me a portion of the proceeds from a 31 party!  We would be given money to go towards the immunizations AND we would get free products.  How wonderful!?

Friends busy shopping- lots of others shopped on-line, too!

Yummy cake-pops made for the party

Snacks- notice the Lithuanian Flag in peppers!

A few weeks ago we had a MASSIVE yard sale at Goddard.  Mr. Stephen was amazing- he not only allowed us to use the parking lot- but helped from 7am-4pm.  When it started to rain, he allowed us to move all our treasures into the gym.  Mrs. Sarah and Mrs. Theresa helped us starting at 5:15am- what amazing friends!  Many who came to the sale couldn't get over how much "stuff" we had and were excited to not only score some treasures but also to be a part of bringing Asher and Annalise home!

MarMar and PopPop came from NY and were a HUGE help!  They watched the kids and brought them to the sale in the morning.  They helped organize, sell stuff, manned the food and t-shirts.  They were a huge help!

1/2 of the Gym

T-shirts- these came and have been mostly all sold!  We love them- they are soft, pretty and share a sweet message!  These have also been a big part of bringing you home!

What a blessing to have all these people in our lives- who love Asher and Annalise and can't wait to have them in our arms!

Fingerprints

Already we have clearly seen how God has been working to prepare "things" for Asher and Annalise.  Today, I was privileged to actually see a few more of those special fingerprints.

Ever since meeting with the international doctor, we realized how beneficial it would be to have someone who spoke Lithuanian with us, as both Asher and Annalise will be needing some surgery rather quickly after arriving in The States.  Hospitals are scary- hospitals that in a different country are even scarier- and add to that you have no clue what is going on and cannot understand anyone?  That just breaks my heart!  We had a few ideas of how to try and find someone- but that is where God comes in....

I walked into Goddard to drop off Adeline and Alden this morning.  Miss Sarah- the amazing lady who designed the adoption t-shirts and who tirelessly served at the yard sale- she handed me an envelope with money inside.  It was from a nanny of a child who attends Goddard.  She is from Belarus/Lithuania (and we think) speaks Lithuanian!  She heard of our story to adopt Asher and Annalise and wanted to help get two children from her country, here.  How cool is that??  Wouldn't it be neat if she could, and was willing to, interpret for us?  She is a grandma-ish lady I'm told- how comforting is a grandma?!?  The family she nannies for has been given our information- and we hope she is going to contact us!

As I am getting this news, the wife of the Goddard director comes out of her office.  She had an idea for me.  She had just finished reading a book called Izzy's Fire, and one of the book's subjects actually lives here in Richmond.  Why is that neat?  The book is the story of a Lithuanian Jewish family's survival during the holocaust!  That survivor lives here in Richmond and actually runs the Holocaust Museum and I have actually MET him!  Guess where I am taking a week long class in a few weeks- The Holocaust Museum!  What's even crazier- I actually read Izzy's Fire to my class last year- and I even remember, now, looking up on a map where Lithuania is!  Maybe, just maybe, Jay (super old but still amazing), the survivor, will know of other local Lithuanians.  In the book, they mention spending time with family and what a tight-knit community they have here in Richmond.  Wouldn't it be neat if there were some people there who could talk to Asher and Annalise?  Teach me to cook some Lithuanian foods? Share about the culture?  Keep the Lithuanian language alive for Asher and Annalise?  Someone else that Asher and Annalise can share their roots with?

There is one final possibility for Lithuanian language help- there is a large teaching hospital downtown.  There is a multitude of international students studying there- in the fields of medicine and endless other fields as well.  There is a distinct possibility that there is a student there who speaks Lithuanian and who would be willing to help us ease the fears of our two new kiddos.  How cool is that?

The hand of God is clear here- multiple possibilities for Lithuanian contacts, right here in little old Richmond!!

As if this wasn't enough- the fact that we may have access to Lithuanian culture greatly helps increase the chances that a judge will waive the 40 day waiting period.

God is Good- I am honored and humbled that I get to see some of his fingerprints!!

Everyone Needs a Little 31

31 is a great company that sells bags- all kinds of bag- purses, totes, organizing bags, laundry bags- all very cute and stylish!  I love their stuff and have a good bit of it.

Imagine how honored and excited I was when a friend, who sells 31, offered to have a party in Asher and Annalise's honor and that a portion of the proceeds would go toward THEM?!

Not everyone can come to my house, I fully understand that.  But thanks to technology, you CAN still shop and help!


Go to www.mythirtyone.com/191930 (Stephanie Hoppin's page)
Click "Place an Order"Click on "Bringing home the twins"


June 15th I will be opening our home and hosting a party- and I hope lots of people come- simply because having lots of friends over is lots of fun!  Picking out spiffy bags is fun.  Celebrating Asher and Annalise is always fun!

Please shop- pick up a new purse, order a tote for the pool or your groceries, snag a small pouch for organizing your things....  It's going to make you super stylish AND help our twins!

Portraits in the Park

Here is yet another example of how God is working to bring Asher and Annalise "home."  This amazingly talented photographer heard of our story- of needing these two special needs orphans to come "home" and she wanted to help.  We don't know her- but she feels compelled to use her gift to help us bring you home!

I can't wait to see the amazing pics that she captures!  Thank you, Megan, for your generosity!!

Half Crazy

Dear Asher and Annalise,

Your Dad is amazing.  He loves you and your brother and sister.  He loves me.  He loves His Savior.

His love for you has caused him to do something crazy.  Technically, only half crazy.

He has signed-up to run The Rock and Roll Half Marathon.  He is going to run the race for YOU!  He is going to get sponsors- with the proceeds going to bringing you HOME!

There is a ticker on the side of this blog where people can sponsor your Dad as he runs this race.  There are different values of donations- all with the people getting something.  It may be their name added to a book we are creating for you, it may be an adoption shirt, it may be a postcard from Lithuania!  There are lots of different things we are doing to encourage people to support your Dad as he runs 13.1 miles.

13.1 miles!  That's crazy!!  And it's all for you.  He loves you THAT much!

We can't wait to have you both HOME!

Love Always,
Mom (and the rest of your family, too)

Happy Birthday!

At this point, we hope we know who you are.  We have submitted our letter of intent to Lithuania.  And we wait for our homestudy to make it's way through the three levels of review.  While we wait, you get older- and this week, you celebrated birthday.

It pained my heart to not have your sweet little chubby faces to kiss and watch you blow out candles.  Instead, your oh-so-generous brother and sister, Alden and Adeline, did just that for you.  We picked out a cake for you, put candles in it, sang to you and then blew out the candles.  We did talk about the HUGE party we will have for you next year- when you ARE here and can be fully celebrated!!

For now, our prayer is that you both felt extra-special on your birthday- and that you even knew it was your birthday.

We love you two!  We hope that your fourth year ends up being the best year of your life!!

What Love Looks Like

Love looks like lots of different things to different people at different times.  

Right now, for us, love looks like a house full of other people's treasures and memories.  Lots of treasures and memories.  So many in fact, that there wasn't much room for US!  Why did we have so much "stuff" in our house?  If you remember, we announced we would have a yard sale to help raise money to help bring you, Asher and Annalise, home. Our friends, whom already love you, acted.  They put their love for you into action full-force!  They cleaned out their attics, friends chose treasured toys to donate, they got their friends to clean out their sheds and attics!  We had SO many donations that we ran out of room to store it all!  What an amazing "problem" to have!!  The solution?  Have TWO yard sales!!  This weekend, Memorial Day, was the perfect time to have this.  Your Dad and I woke-up at 4:45 am and started setting up tables down our driveway.  Friends had donated tons of tables for us to use!  Mr. M came by at 6 and helped.  By 7:15am- yes, it took 2 hours- we had the tables full and our first customer.  By 1pm, we had sold over $1,000 worth of donated treasures.  We sold about 1/2 of the treasures donated.  At least we could walk in our living room and use the playroom.  The sunroom and garage are packed- organized and ready to go for the originally scheduled yard sale!

It was been so neat to see how excited people are to be a part of your lives- how much you are both loved and so greatly anticipated!

Here are the pictures of love- and once you get to know me, your proud Momma, you will understand how much love I have for you.  I do NOT like clutter, I like everything in it's place, I love everything organized.  Having our house look like this should have been hard for me- but I was thrilled to have our house so physically FULL of Love!

Look at all those treasures!!

A tradition in my family was Dunkin Donuts on the mornings of yard sales- and our good friends the W's helped keep that alive!  You are going to love A and H- they are super fun and spunky girls.

DONUTS!

This is only one step- but we are so excited to take it- it is one step closer to you two!!

T-Shirts!!

We are super excited to announce our adoption shirt design!  Please email me, Lisa (lperreca76@yahoo.com), to place your order!  We will be taking preorders until May 28 and then it will be first come first served!  

Colors:  Adults- Gray and Light Blue,  Children's- Pink and Blue

Sizes:  Adults- XS-3XL, Children's- 4-12

Costs: Adults- $20, Children's- $15, $3 extra for 1-3XL

Payment: Mail a check, hand us cash, or we can swipe your credit card- we can also mail you your shirts for $2.50 extra

Text on Shirt:

Brother  Family  Grandma  Acceptance  Sister  Caring  Laughter  Hugs  Memories  Father  Faith  Mother  Dreams   Chosen Adoption  Love  Aunt  Joyful  Forgiveness  Grandpa  Kind  Uncle  Giving  Cousin  Hope  Patience