We received a wonderful Christmas Gift today!!

i just received a notification from Our Michigan Adoption Agency that they are no longer on the Russian Black List. They sent us the e-mail that states that there are no American Agencies left on their Black List in Yamalo-Nentskiy. This is the region where the problem originated. You can only imagine our relief and excitement with this wonderful news. I didn't realize how much stress that this situation had put on our family. Especially me. As soon as I heard the news and saw the actual document,I felt a huge burden lifted from my shoulders. I can only give the credit for this little miracle to God. We were at his mercy and he blessed us with our petition. We are one step closer to bringing our daughter home. I know you are reading this Rob in Mexico. It is a great day to rejoice!!!! Thank you for being the most supportive and loving husband in the World.

Dossier Two!!!

Today, I made a trip to the Office of the Great Seal in Lansing. I had our new amended homestudy apostilled. I will mail it tomorrow to the CIS for approval. I am hoping for a quick response from Immigration. I have heard it can take up to 90 days for a approval. I am praying it will only take a few weeks as they have everything on file from last year. Everything for Dossier two has been mailed to FTIA and we are just waiting for our Court date. We are still hoping and praying for February. We have our final Doctor's visits scheduled on Jan. 4. I still have to call Morning Star tomorrow and see if they have approval from the American Embassy to release the letter stating they have no outstanding post placements. If not we have a huge problem!! On the fun side, Catherine and I found the cutest pair of little brown ugg type boots for Maura. They just happen to match Catherine's. They will look so cute together. I have a feeling that Maura is going to be a little Diva. I ended buying Maura a two piece snowsuit made by Osh Kosh.(18 Months). It has a little matching hat. It was just too cute to pass up. The best part was it was on sale. It was originally $75.00 and I got it for $22.00. I tried it on my neighbors little boy who is 14 months old and weighs 24 pounds. It fit him perfectly. I also found a little pair of Stride Rite pink boots with snowflakes (size 6)to go with her coat. I am still debating about a diaper bag. I did see a cute Liz Claiborne purse that might work. I don't need a large bag. I am way to old to be carrying around a bag with ducks on it. Besides Rob would never be caught carrying it.LOL.

Steven Curtis Chapman - All I Really Want

Steven Curtis Chapman - All I Really Want

Updated Home Study

I just received our amended Homestudy from Morning Star today. I will be heading to Lansing on Monday to have it apostilled. Once I have it apostilled, I can then send it to the Immigration Office for our approval to adopt a foreign orphan. We still have not heard to much from Morning Star about the Black List issue. They did tell us that the American Embassy checked and they stated that all the post placements are up to date in that region. I asked for a letter confirming this for court, but again I was denied. They said they have to check with the American Embassy first, before they could give a copy of the e-mail. I have a feeling that they are not telling the truth. Why else would they not want to give us a copy of the letter. We have to have this for court as their name is still on the list. I just don't get it.

Still Waiting for a little good news

I have finally heard a little news from our Michigan Adoption Agency. They have asked for help from the American Embassy. The American Embassy will be contacting Russia today. I am hoping they can resolve this issue quickly. The sooner they can have their name removed from the Black List the quicker we can ask for our Court Dates. I spent the last few days working on Maura's Life Book. I have almost finished her first book. I thought I would break it into two. First trip and second trip. I also realized I need to finish a few books for Catherine and Iain. I need to get busy. I wonder where I will find the time. If I'm not working on Adoption paperwork, I'm cleaning or doing laundry. LOL During this last two weeks I have been so stressed, I found myself getting angry with the kids and not wanting to talk to anyone. I took some time the other day and spent time reading my bible. I decided to right down one of my prayers to him.
My Sovereign Lord, You always amaze me. You always bring me to a place of peace to be still and listen to you. There are depths of you that I have yet to discover. You are constantly teaching me how to love and learn from you. I know you hear my prayer,Lord. You know the deepest desires of my heart. I know Lord, that you will bring us to our daughter when it is your time. The waiting is almost unbearable, but your timing is perfect. Thank you for leading us on this journey. Please reunite us with our little girl soon. You call the stars by name and tell the ocean's where to stand, so I know you are holding Maura in the palm of your hand until we can bring her home. Thank you for loving me and thank you for all the blessings you have given us.

No News Yet

I have been speaking with our Agency Morning Star in Michigan for two days straight to no avail. It feels like I am moving in slow motion. Basically our International Agency in Indiana offered to help the Michigan Agency by trying to help them find out why they were on the Black List. FTIA would have to charge them a small fee of around $150.00 to cover the international calls and time to help them find out what needed to be done to resolve the problem. Morning Star flatly stated they would not pay a fee for help. I offered to pay the fee but Morning star felt FTIA should be fixing the problem for them for free. Keep in mind FTIA does not have any connections to the Michigan Agency what so ever. Our coordinator was just trying to help the other Agency out. I was told by Morning Star that it might be better to start over and find another agency in Michigan. I tried to find another agency but could not find one who would take on our adoption mid stream. Besides it would take a long time and cost a lot of extra money. We do not have either. They feel that FTIA should fix the problem for them as they feel they have done nothing wrong.This comment really made me furious. I wish they understood the ramifications of not correcting the problem with Russia. What it means to us is that we can not get a court date to stand before the Judge and be granted Maura's parents. They actually stated it was out of their hands and didn't seem to be bothered about it at all. After crying for 30 minutes on the phone yesterday they would see if they could find out any information out on their own. I even sent them a Russian link that explained how to correct the problem with Russia and the black list. FTIA was very upset about the way we are being treated. They have been more than generous and supportive during our crisis. I offered to pay the fee but our coordinator said absolutely not. It is obvious to FTIA that the other agency does not want their help so I was told they are not going to help them at all. I feel I am stuck in the middle. Without Morning Star's effort in resolving this problem , we are getting farther and farther away from our daughter. My heart is just breaking as I don't see a way to fix it on my own. I wish Rob was home as it is very hard trying to do this on my own. We are still trying to get our Amended home study finished, but I just can't see it helping with our problem. I just feel like we have no where to turn. I feel like we have been abandoned by our Michigan Agency. I guess I need to step back and let God take this one. I need to let him take some of the stress off my shoulders. We are going to try and see if Kemerovo will let our paperwork slide but it is not a guarantee. I am almost finished with the paperwork. I will be sending it to FTIA on Monday. If we get a court date than we might be O.K. If not we will have to find another Agency somewhere and start over. It might take a little longer but Maura is worth the wait. We will have to wait and see.

Bad News seems to follow us!!!

We have been home for almost 2 weeks. I can not tell you how much Rob and I miss our little girl. Not a day goes by that I don't think about her. I miss her smile and her sweet face. I am so grateful that we made a video of our time with Maura. I have enlarged a few of my favorite pictures of Maura and placed them in frames around the house. All we need now is to have her home with us. It was pretty crazy when we got home. Rob had a few days to relax before I dropped him off at the airport on Monday. I miss him terribly. We are hoping that he can switch his flights and be home for Christmas. It has been a few years since he has been able to spend the holidays with us. The kids do not want to put a tree up this year because they felt their Dad is not here to celebrate with them. It just breaks my heart to see them so sad. Rob and I worked very hard when we got home on preparing our Dossier Two for Russia. By Monday it was complete. The only thing we need is our physicals and our amended home study. Here is were our problems begin. As you all know last year we had problems with our old agency being on the Russian Black List. Basically what that means is that the agency is missing paperwork that has not been turned in to the Russian government Until the agency fixes the problem, Russian will not accept any paperwork from them. It took us a while to find a agency who would help us with the new homestudy. I just found out this week that our new agency is on the list. (Morning Star Adoptions in Michigan) I called them right away and she stated she had no idea that their was a problem. She proceeded to tell me that they are only a homestudy agency and not a International Adoption Agency like FTIA. They told me straight out that there is nothing she can do. I was furious. Doesn't she realize that she is keeping our family apart from each other. I can't even begin to tell you how angry and frustrated I am. They knew from the start how the Russian program works. We explained the problem with the last agency and so did Inessa. Inessa is trying to find out what she can do for us, but it is the other agency's responsibility to keep better records. Rob and I still have to reapply for our new CIS paperwork as soon as we get our updated homestudy. They even had the nerve to tell me that if I have to get another agency to do a new homstudy then what is the purpose of redoing the amended homestudy for us. Well money is one of the problems!!!! I am just sick about the whole thing. I need to keep focused right now and see what next week brings. I wish these people would realize that their mistakes can jeopardize a family from being together. Not only that but all the extra stress it puts on us. Please pray for us. It is just so upsetting to our whole family.