Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Here We Go Again:):):)

2 weeks ago, my two oldest boys and I were praying about Ukraine. Ricky and I had been praying about it over the past few weeks, waiting on the Lord for direction. We were not sure, and felt like we could not move forward until we had heard His voice.

Back to the prayer...So David, Noah and I prayed very specifically that night. We asked God that if it was GO time, that God would give us 100 dollars specifically for our adoption! I thought this was a lofty request, as most people did not know we were asking the Lord about the adoption in prayer. So we left it at that, and went about life.

After our marriage small group about 4 days later, we came home to find the kids asleep and in bed. Our babysitter, Sarah, is amazing:) So our babysitter was about to leave our home, when she asked me if we could talk. She said that she and her fiancé had been having a hard time finding a home church. I naturally thought she was going to ask about coming to visit our church.  But then she said that they had been setting aside their tithes. Sarah said that she told her fiancé all about our family, as she adores the kids and our heart for adoption. She said they wanted to bless a family with the money, but that they were not sure who to bless. So Sarah and her fiancé were in prayer for a time, and they finally decided that they wanted to bless our family with the money. I was absolutely blown away. Sarah is a wonderful Christian, but I thought this was for sure a big step for a young lady.

When she told me, my heart jumped. I selfishly thought this may be the answer to prayer, but I didn't want to have expectations at the same time! So I told her that we had been specifically asking the Lord for a sum. I asked her how much the donation was for. And then she absolutely knocked me out of the water. Fifteen hundred dollars. FIFTEEN HUNDRED DOLLARS. I started laughing, and crying. God didn't just meet our request. He superseded it 15 times! At this point, I was dancing inside. I thought, "For real, God, are you for real?"

I ran into the room and told Ricky, and we were both dumbfounded yet again by this God of extravagance. The Bible says that God does beyond what we ask or think. And honestly, in this world of God's heart for the orphan, I have seen it over and over again. He is faithful, and His timing is perfect.

So, one small step at a time, we are moving forward towards our 3 children in Ukraine. We would so appreciate your love and prayer as we journey this road. Adoption is a battle, the redeeming of life. God is our King, and we know He gives us the tools to fight. And ultimately, we have the absolute victory. Thank you for being part of our community!

Love,
Ricky and Monica:)

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Courage:)

As I have mentioned before, I really felt like the Lord gave me the word "Courage" as a defining characteristic of this year. I honestly thought it was in regards to adopting our 3 very beautiful children from Ukraine, making our family grow from 5 kids to 8:) And then I found out I was surprisingly pregnant, and I thought for sure courage was something I would need to face the many who thought we had lost our minds!!!!:)

However, this word, "courage", has been a word I have come back to over and over again; yet, it is for a different reason that I expected. This year has been one of many ups and downs, causing me to cry out to the Lord, throw tantrums at times, and learn how to trust Him all over again. We have had to look many fears in the face, and say "NO, I will not be afraid". Our adoption has been delayed 3 times, and although I have had a very wonderful pregnancy, I have heard words like "hysterectomy and placenta previa", "steroids" and "early birth". None of them have at this point proven true. But every time the words came up, I have had one more opportunity to look fear in the face and say NO! I will not worry. I will not fear.

At one point even the adoption looked like it would certainly not happen. This was a fear I had not ever imagined facing. The possibility of losing children we loved. And I constantly had to come back to the word "courage".

Courage when I didn't want to. Courage when I was tired of the battle. Courage when I wasn't sure what the end result would look like. Courage when His will and mine seemed to battle it out.

It has been incredibly humbling, and I see the way the Lord has worked on my heart, my pride, my understanding, and my attitude. And through all of it, He has shown me more of Himself, and who I am in His eyes.

And honestly, I don't have that strength of my own accord. The verse that says His strength is made perfect in my weakness, is absolutely, hands down true. I CANT DO THIS ON MY OWN. And yet over the past few years, He has proven Himself over and over and over and over again. He is faithful. He can and will carry me. He will not leave me, and I will never be abandoned or alone. Every time I look at what He has done so far, I remember.

This is more of a reminder to myself than it is a blog:) I am learning, a constant work in progress. He is my King. He is writing a story that I could never write on my own, and Im starting to recognize that His story is the WAY better version. I want more of Him. I want to see His glory. And no matter the result, HE is good! And He alone can be trusted!

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

A Wild Ride, Full of our God:)

So.......

These last few weeks have been a ride. One that we never anticipated, and really could not have prepared for. But the Lord was preparing us.

It began at the end of April. My very healthy pregnancy thus far was halted with a trip to the hospital. They discovered I had placenta previa. I had an ultrasound 2 weeks before and everything had been normal, so it was definitely a shock. My hubby and I took it hard, because we were supposed to travel together, as a family for this trip. We also knew our home study approved us to travel as a married couple, and not as individuals, and so we were not sure how to proceed.

We prayed and really felt like we needed to just continue taking a day at a time. We still had several weeks before we thought we may travel, so we figured we would see how far my placenta could move as we waited:) Finally, 3 week later, we went in for another ultrasound and it was on the move. Praise God! I was feeling better, and it seemed we would be able to travel together as planned, no problem.

However, just a week later we would find out that our dossier was rejected based on the misplacement of one number. We were devastated. We grieved. We knew having to redo our dossier meant I could not travel. I am due in August, and traveling in July to start the process would put us too close. So here we are again, redoing the one document, plus our approval so that my hubby can travel alone.

When will he travel?Will it be close to the baby? How will it all play out? Will we get the kids home beforehand, or have to start and finish afterwards? There are so many questions rolling around in our heads. We don't have answers. But we do have peace. And we are walking in that peace with God's help.

No doubt He knew what would happen, when we committed to our 3 children, and we found out we were pregnant:) No doubt he knew the previa would come, and the paperwork mistake would happen. He is writing this story. He gave me a verse a few weeks back that I have been thinking about. A verse regarding NEW things.

Isaiah 43:19
Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

A Road in the wilderness! A road through the haze, and mess, and things we cannot see. We have no idea yet how this journey will end. We know that there may be more trials ahead even. But God has been going before us. And we are following Him one step at a time!

With love,
Monica:)



Saturday, February 14, 2015

Update and New Pics of our Kids!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi friends,
Just wanted to give an update on our kids! We are currently less than 3 months away from meeting our sweet kiddos, Lord willing! Our dossier was just notarized, and we plan to apostille next week! The closer we get, the more excited we are to meet our kids. They are BEAUTIFUL!!!!! Our daughter Olya is finally getting to grow her hair!

 Our second oldest son, Yura, has the gift of joy! He is always smiling like this!
 And our oldest treasure, Maxim, is one of the most special boys you will ever meet!
Ukraine is very heavy in battle right now. Our children's region borders the war. Would you cover them in prayer please? The thing we do know...Our God is the DEFENDER of the orphan! He is with them. And He is with us. He loved them and knew them before we did. And I trust Him with their hearts and lives!

We will be there soon sweet ones! Your brothers and sisters are very excited to meet you, as is your whole family!

Sincerely,
Monica:)