Lukas, our smiley little guy!

We just returned from meeting our precious baby boy!  God poured out His good gifts on every single part of the journey, and we can hardly believe it all went so smoothly!  He is GOOD!

Our first meeting with Lukas at the orphanage was delightful. :)  It didn't take him long at all to warm up to us, and within just a few minutes he smiled that gorgeous smile that hardly left him for the rest of our time together.  His big, beautiful eyes are hazel green, and he is bright, alert and active!  After a while of playing with him, he began snuggling in to us and running back to us to be held after he had been down playing.  He was very comfortable with Ken after only a short time, too, and it was an amazing, wonderful sight seeing my sweet man with his newest little guy. :)  Lukas appears to be healthy, appropriately chunky :), and not short on energy!  Our time could not possibly have gone better, and memories were made that will forever be etched in our  minds.  It all feels like a dream...

Mikhail ROCKED! He was the best little traveler we could have possibly hoped for, and he genuinely soaked up every part of the adventure.  From running in circles in Red Square to talking to Papa over the plane's intercom from the cockpit, he had a wonderful time and did not let fear or anything else squelch his joy.  I am a speechless Mama!  Four of the eight nights we were gone we were on a plane or a train and got little to no sleep, so considering the strenuous schedule we had, I am so thankful for God's grace for each of us to enjoy ourselves so much.  Every aspect was covered by God's good sustaining power.

The part I was most concerned about with this trip was for each of our hearts as we had to temporarily say good bye to Lukas until we come to see him for our court date.  Again, God has been so faithful to give us comfort and perfect peace about not having him here.  It's still very difficult to wait, but somehow God has just filled my heart with such peace that we will be returning soon and that he will be O.K. until we do, that I am anxious to return, but not undone.  The pictures and video we captured are nearly constantly being displayed somewhere in our house, and it helps to see that big, amazing grin of his.  If God is big enough to get us this far, is He not big enough to keep my little one safe while we complete the rest of this journey?! :)

We hope to return before the end of August, and so far it's looking promising.  A crucial piece of paperwork we were waiting for was in our stack of mail when we returned home, and it came weeks before we were expecting it.  Even our representative at the agency said, "It appears Someone is looking out for you!"  Yes, "Someone" has His eye on my baby boy, and the plans that were decided for him before the earth was made are unfolding right before our very eyes.  It's a beautiful, beautiful thing.

Thank you all for your prayers.  God is listening! :)

This Side of the Mountain

Adoption can truly be one of those "mountain-top" experiences.  You know, the kind of thing where you are so excited about what's to come that it feels like you're living in some kind of dream-like state, like when you wake up and you have to pinch yourself to make sure you really are about to experience this beautiful thing that's happening in your life.  Of course, all this fairy tale romanticism isn't exactly shared by our little one who is waiting for us.  The children never have a clue what is happening at this point in their adoption; they have no reason to expect anything different is coming.  But we KNOW!  We know our family is about to get bigger and a child's life is about to change forever and nothing in any of our lives will ever be the same!

The Kremlin towers in Moscow

It's good to be back at this place on the mountain top...but I know God doesn't intend for us to stay here. And that's fine.  I'd never really grow, otherwise.  All three of us have been in a pretty intense valley of growing for these past six years, and none of us are the same, by God's grace!  In fact, I'm sure one reason we have needed to do so much growing is to make us ready for this next little one's homecoming.  Still, it's a blessing to be savored being at a place once again where there is so much joy and hope and expectation of what God is doing in our family!  He is so patient!  I can hardly believe that He has said we are ready for this adventure... but I'm so sure He has.


We have been singing this song in our worship services lately and I I think it just perfectly sums up what God has been doing in our family and what He is doing now through this adoption, too.  He is just so good.  It's truly only by His grace that we are where we are today.  As Matt says, "Evermore we’ll be breathing out Your praise..."

NEVER ONCE
by Matt Redman

Standing on this mountaintop
Looking just how far we’ve come
Knowing that for every step
You were with us


Kneeling on this battle ground
Seeing just how much You’ve done
Knowing every victory
Was Your power in us


Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Yes, our hearts can say


Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful


Kneeling on this battle ground
Seeing just how much You’ve done
Knowing every victory
Was Your power in us


Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Yes, our hearts can say


Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
You are faithful, God, You are faithful


Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Never once did we ever walk alone
Carried by Your constant grace
Held within Your perfect peace
Never once, no, we never walk alone


Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful


Every step we are breathing in Your grace
Evermore we’ll be breathing out Your praise
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
You are faithful, God, You are faithful


You are faithful, God, You are faithful
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

We are days away from meeting our little Lukas.  Hold on, little one!  Your faithful God is bringing you your family!

Anticipating....... LUKAS! :)

Funny thing about anticipation... you look forward to something that has not yet happened, so the chances of what you are looking forward to being different than what you originally thought are quite good.  And that's O.K.!  In fact, it's great, because it's a reminder that God is in control and has the ability to move in all kinds of different directions as He wills, and for our good.  God has intervened in our anticipation, and we are so thankful that He did!

"Sini Sabaka" (Blue Dog in Russian). 

So, to that end, and despite the blog title, we are now anticipating "Lukas." And we can hardly contain our excitement!

Last Monday we received a small amount of information about a little boy in Russia who needed a family.  Officially, this is called our referral.  We were instantly in love, and in less than two weeks time we will be holding that little one in our arms and making memories that we will remember for the rest of our lives.  Mikhail will have a little brother... and Mama will have her hands very full. :)

Since we found out about this little one, our activities have been a whirlwind of visas and tickets and details and lists.  Yet in the midst of all the crazy preparation, we don't forgot to stop and think about who it is all for- the one who we have anticipating for so long.  Little Lukas Fortner, so loved already with no clue what awaits him.  It's like time is moving way too fast for all that needs to be done, and at the same time, time just stops when we think of our newest family member.  What will he be like?  Will he like hot sauce on his tacos like Mikhail?  Will he will he hate cucumbers like Papa?  Will he love the rain like Mama?  How will he be his own little guy, with his own little quirks and own little preferences?  Time will tell...

Our family would greatly appreciate your prayers for our trip to meet our baby.  It's an amazing adventure that God is blessing us with, and that's the perspective that will keep us going when things get difficult and we are all over tired.  Mostly, we need prayers for our hearts as we have to leave the country without Lukas.  It will be a long wait for us, waiting to find out when we can return for our court date.  Please ask God to fill us with His peace until the day when we can bring Lukas home to be here with us forever.  Our family ambassador, Sini Sabaka (pictured above), will be able to stay with Lukas until we see him on our next trip. Lucky dog. :)

1 Thessalonians 5:24:-  "Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass."

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