Telling the Kids

Oh! how I would have liked to have had a picture of E and JM's faces when we told them of the referral of their brother and sister. Bigger smiles than when we went white water rafting in Colorado this summer! (pictured above) Those smiles ran so deep and wide that it might have just reached Arkhangelsk, Russia.

It seems so much more real with each passing day. I am thinking of A and V and calling them by their new names. We will talk with an international adoption Dr. on Fri to tell us what all of the Russian medical jargon really means. We are hopeful that these are in fact the children the Lord has chosen from the foundation of time to be grafted into our family. My heart is so full, I feel as if it will burst with excitement.

Tomorrow we tell the extended family. It is very special for me because tomorrow is my Dad's birthday and it was 2yrs ago that I first told him of our desire to adopt. We,-just my Dad and I-went to a Ranger's game. When I told him of our desire to adopt he was surprised, but typical of my Dad he was very supportive and I know he was excited about having more grandkids. More go-cart riders and golfers, yipee! I know our families have been waiting 2 longs yrs with us and we are so blessed to have two sets of grandparents and one great-grandmother who can't wait to meet our new son and daughter.

J.Michael-isms

It's a nice day today...I hope I have time to play with the dogs...
..."J.Michael, what is fifty-four times three?"...
...Looks like the dogs are barking at another squirrel...
..."J.Michael, are you paying attention?"...

Then J.Michael, returning to planet earth, hastily said:

"Oh, I'm Playing Attention mom!"

My Child

Not flesh of my flesh
Nor bone of my bone,
But still miraculously my own.
Never forget for a single minute
You didn't grow under my heart-
BUT IN IT!

-Fluer Conkling Heyliger, The Saturday Evening Post, 1952

The Call

Just an ordinary January Friday....raining, cold, working on our daily home projects of school, cleaning, etc. Then the phone rings and everything stops as I hear the words I have longed to hear from our adoption agency..."we have a couple of kids for you to consider, I will be sending information and photos via e-mail". At first I did not even process what she said....I am thinking "oh, she needs a paper re-done or clarification on something" but I was not expecting a referral so soon.

So much races through my mind...trying to keep my cool with E and JM as not to let on just yet so that I can talk to their father. I call D and tell him the news...he quickly wraps up work and heads home...so I wait for him before opening the email so that we may pray over it and see them together for the first time. I have to stay out of the office because otherwise the magnetic pull towards the computer is too overwhelming. I commence cleaning as that keeps me busy.

D gets home, we send E and JM outside to play so we can gather around the computer for our first peak at our possible future children. We of course have so many questions, the children are older than we were expecting a girl, 2 1/2 (3 in May) and a boy, 5 (6 in Sept.) but they are absolutely adorable and have been brought to our doorstep.

The pictures of A are good and we received multiples (although, later we will find out that these are year old pictures). She appears to be in good health...amazingly healthy and those beautiful blue eyes just melt your heart. She is absolutely adorable. From what we could tell in the picture the orphanage looks to be very nice and well maintained. She is in Arkhangel'sk Regional Baby Home, one of the largest baby homes in this region.

The picture of V is not a good quality picture and also appears to be from a long time ago, not sure how long ago though. He has a sweet smile. We received so little information on him but plan to proceed with having both their medicals reviewed by an IA Dr. (International Adoption). We have chosen to go with Texas Children's International Adoption Services , using Dr. Tolle. We have an appointment next Friday. So, we wait some more.

J.Michael-isms

The Shiflet family was sitting around the dinner table one evening and we began to discuss Lunar Eclipses, how fascinating they are, and the astrological significance of them.

J.Michael sat quietly for a while then suddenly asked:

"What's a Looner Kleenex?"

(Get it, Luner Eclipse, Looner Kleenex.)

A New Year of Beginnings

2008 will be a year of new beginnings for the Shiflet Family. We anxiously await news of our little ones from Russia. As I look back at 2007 I think of all the hard work of filling out papers, doctors visits, fingerprinting, notarizing, apostiling, only to find out we did something wrong then have to re-do paperwork and back to notarizing and apostiling. I am not quite sure why what is simple for some is so challenging for others but putting together our dossier and completing the necessary requirements with the government proved to be a scavenger hunt of paper chasing and a test of endurance for us. Well, as difficult a challenge it was for me (I am not much for paperwork especially twice!) I know that all of this paperwork eventually gives birth to our children and that fact and much prayer gave us the encouragement to press on and accept(even laugh at times-what else can you do?) the trials of this journey. 2007 will be remembered as a year of perseverance for us and gratefulness of God's mercies.

As 2007 closed and 2008 opened I began to look forward with excitement at the thought that this year, 2008 will be "the" year. We will really bring our babies home and complete our adoption. We are just waiting now for "the call/e-mail" with pictures and a brief medical history. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness to us in 2007 and we Praise Him for the same in 2008.

J.Michael-isms

The Shiflet family went to Six Flags one day several years ago with another family who had a son J.Michael's age. This friend said that he wasn't too keen on all these roller-coasters, and was content to just watch. Well, J.Michael just couldn't believe it! He turned to him and said:

"We came here to ride rides, not to not ride rides!!!"

Merry Christmas

Newborns

The new daddy yawned. "What a night!" was his thought.
He hadn't yet grasped what this long day had brought.
Strong back ... two hard hands ...
What were they for this task?
Was He sure of this plan?
Did He know whom He'd asked?

The child-mama smiled tiredly - her baby boy cuddled
close ... and a tear slowly trailed down her face.
She'd not known of this love when she vowed to obey.
Now she prayed for a lifetime of grace.

The Son lay in her arms - secure in their love.
A small whimper, a wiggle, a sigh ...
Arms and hands of perfection outstretched and relaxed.
What was there to make his mother cry?

The soft night embraced them - the new family stilled
and found slumber their hard-earned reward.
Bright stars kept their watch on a threesome newborn ... Joseph, Mary, and their baby, the Lord.

by Denise Sherrod,
a home school mom

This was sent to me on Christmas Day and was so beautiful I had to share it.

Merry Christmas to my little ones where ever you are right now, Lord willing next Christmas we will have you home and celebrating your first Christmas with us, your new family, we love you.~Mom and Dad

J.Michael-isms

One day when the Shiflet family was out on their morning walk, Mom made the comment "J.Michael, your hair sure has grown! You just got a haircut too and it's already grown out again!"

And J.Michael replied:

"I know! It's because I'm sweating so much,

that my hair is getting watered, so it grows faster!"

Why Russia?

Often, I am asked the question "Why Russia?" I remember when my husband and I began thinking about adopting and asking ourselves this question too. As we prayed about what country the answer was simply...we believe Russia is where our Sovereign Lord is leading our family to bring home the children He has chosen for our family. Just as the Lord directs missionaries to minister to a particular people group, we believe the Lord has lead us to Russia to unite us with our children.

In the four - almost five - years since David and I began talking of adopting from Russia, we have researched and read more about the rich history of Russia. From the beautiful, old cities that display the wealth from the time of the czars, to the devastating consequences of socialism that still plague this great nation, Russia fascinates us. (picture-St Petersburg Russia circa. 1905-1915)

Russia's orphanages continue to be filled with abandoned children by birth mothers and families who cannot care for them. These children are classified as social orphans. For many birth mothers, giving up their child(ren) to an orphange is hope for a better life for their child through adoption. In the region of Arkangelsk alone, there are 67 orphanges housing children. This is one of over 90 regions in Russia that have orphanges. For ophaned children, the hope of adoption into a family gives them the perseverance to endure, waiting for their family to come for them. For many, especially older children who are not adopted, orphanage life ends in a difficult and lonely life on the streets with little hope of breaking the cycle with their own children.

The more we research, the more our hearts break for the orphans of Russia. Our Russian-born children have already connected us with this country in such a way that our family will never think of "Russia" without thoughts of the many souls waiting in orphanges hoping a family will come for them.

J.Michael-isms

My Brother, J.Michael is pretty good about coming up with funny "J.Michael-isms," that are witty sayings that he invents. I thought it would it be a good idea to share these by posting one every Saturday, so other people can have a chance to enjoy "J.Michael-isms" as much as we do...Well here's the first one, but there's many more to come!!!

One day when the Shiflet family was sitting at the breakfast table Emily walked in, and Mom (Gina) commented on how much Emily had grown since the night before and Emily replied "yes, I do feel a great deal taller."

And J.Michael said;

"How I know that I've grown; is when I wake up in the morn'in and the ground seems farther away"

Entering the Blog World

Okay, we have been talking about starting a blog since the beginning of 2007. Now that 2007 is almost over, I am diving in and starting our blog! So, where do I start? Well, I guess I will start with what is current and possibly later post some "where we were a year ago" thoughts later.

This Christmas season finds me filled with thoughts of "lasts" and excitment of the future of "firsts" as our family will most surely grow from 4 to 6 in 2008. I can't help but think about our children in Russia and pray they are warm enough, healthy, safe and somehow comforted that we are doing all we can to come quickly for them.

Although we do not know anything about them (other than they will be from Russia), in my heart it seems I have always known them. I think that must be part of the miracle of adoption...the Lord has knit them in my heart to love them without seeing them, just as He did with my biological children when they were in the womb.

This week we found out that we will not be registered in a region right away as we had thought, but in hopes of our paperwork not sitting in a region without a match, our agency will make a referral, then register us in that region. This will hopefully reduce our wait. We did receive a timeline. Our longest wait should be mid-April to mid-May for our referral. This is very exciting as now we are certain that by summer 2008 we will be parents again to two Russian born children we have dreamed of for so long. Praise the Lord in His perfect timing.