Lukas Homecoming - Photobook

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There's Just No Words... See for Yourself :)

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

FIVE DAYS Until Lukas Is In Our Arms for Good!

This morning is one of my last to wake up to an empty crib next to me...  :)

I can't wait to see how he looks when he's sleeping, find out which blanket he prefers, watch him wake up with slow blinks and big yawns.  Just a matter of days now!

Our family leaves this weekend for our third and final adventure to bring Lukas HOME.  All of this long waiting will soon come to an end!  Thanks for "anticipating" along with us...

The house is buzzing with excitement: Mikhail thoroughly enjoying all of the "powerful Big Brother" tasks he is assigned for our preparation, Papa diligently preparing the paperwork for our US Embassy trip to get Lukas' passport and visa, and Mama squeezing in  few more nursery details so everything is just right.

It all reminds me a lot of Christmas- so much rushing around in anxious anticipation; fun, good plans for someone we love so much, and yet has absolutely no clue all that awaits him.  He has NO CLUE how much we love him, want him, and have already incorporated him into our lives!

At the very peak of our anticipation, we ask you to join us in praying for this precious little clueless guy... while we fully understand the safe and loving home he will soon inhabit, Lukas' initial experiences will be foreign and even scary to him.  Despite all the change and all the loss of familiarity, please ask our capable Father to speak peacefully to his little heart and help him to find comfort in our arms.

Here are a few specifics:

• Comfort for Lukas- just imagine as an adult going through all the changes he will encounter (new country, new language, new food, new people, new smells, new experiences like plane and train rides), let alone as a little 22 month old little guy.
• Care for Lukas- that we will know how to treat him if he has any illnesses when we pick him up and that we will have wisdom to feed him the right things as his whole diet is about to change and he has some special dietary needs.
• Peacefulness for Big Brother's heart as he not only adjusts to sharing Mama & Papa, but as he also once again faces so many of his own fears.  I am unspeakably proud of my little Warrior.
• For our safety in the weather, especially my bouncy little Mikhail navigating on ice, and as we carry Lukas in our arms- the day we pick him up from the orphanage the forecast calls for "snow, sleet, and freezing rain."
• That the language barrier not be a hindrance in communicating our love to Lukas, and that when language is necessary, we would remember the right Russian words!
• That we would be a light for Christ where ever we go, and that we would love well those God has brought into our lives through both boys' adoptions.  Our Russian facilitators hold our well being in their hands while we are in their country, and they have been phenomenal.  Such special people...

Thank you for prayers, friends. :)

I have been obsessed with Psalm 121 the last few weeks.  One of the most powerful mental pictures I keep having is this scene of us carrying Lukas out of the doors of the orphanage, never to return again as an orphan.  Then, a short time later, Lukas walking into our home as a Fortner, a beloved, chosen child and forever member of our family.  "The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in..."

Psalm 121

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;

From where shall my help come?

My help comes from the Lord,

Who made heaven and earth.

He will not allow your foot to slip;

He who keeps you will not slumber.

Behold, He who keeps Israel

Will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;

The Lord is your shade on your right hand.

The sun will not smite you by day nor the moon by night.

The Lord will protect you from all evil;

He will keep your soul.

The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in

From this time forth and forever.

LUKAS, HERE WE COME!

Home for now, but leaving again SOON!

As promised, God has done it, and Lukas' adoption is nearly complete!  I say nearly because we are still missing one crucial element... Lukas!

We just returned from our second trip to Russia for Lukas' court hearing.  The judge was very staunch and official as he questioned us about finances and preparation for another child, but in a lovely God-moment, his mood changed about half way through his questioning.  Of course we had no clue what he was talking about at first, but we recognized the car noises he made in his story. :)  We found out later through our interpreter he was recalling times when his own two sons played together when  they were young and made so much noise "it nearly drove him crazy."  After his story he promptly turned to me and asked, "Are you ready for two boys?" :)  He also read from our homestudy where Mikhail had told our social worker he was concerned that Lukas would break his toys.  The judge asked, "Are you prepared to handle such matters?"  I think I am, but we will see if Big Brother is! :0

We were able to see sweet Lukas for about two hours the day before court.  He looked great- he had grown, his hair had grown in a bit, and he was copying our words and play noises like crazy.  We had so much fun with him!  Have I mentioned he's ACTIVE?! :)  They showed us the pictures they had already had made for his visa, passport and citizenship documents.  I thought that was pretty sweet that they had done them already since we hadn't even had court yet.  The mood was so much different this time with Lukas, knowing that we would for sure be back soon to BRING HIM HOME him rather than having no clue how long we would wait like on our last trip.  It's still difficult letting go of him and watching your child walk out the door with a nanny to return to his regular routine (for now!), but our hearts were full of hope and peace.

Us in front of the Vyatka River in Kirov

While we were in Kirov we stayed an extra day so that the travel would not be so strenuous on us all and to be able to show Mikhail around his birthplace a bit.  God blessed us when we stumbled on a neat little history museum, and we took a bit of a walking tour to St. Griffins Orthodox church, and then walked along the bank of the beautiful Vyatka River that snakes through the region and sustains it in many ways.  Mikhail really enjoyed exploring and we got some great pictures that will be forever treasures.  We didn't plan that the boys would be from the same region, but I am so, so glad they are.

We head out again in two weeks!  We will receive custody of Lukas on October 30, and then we will stay in Moscow for a week or so getting his visa and passport in order.  When his sweet little feet hit American soil, he will immediately become a U.S. citizen. :)

I'm off to pack...again...  :)

He Acts on Behalf of Those Who WAIT ON HIM!

"You did awesome things which we did not expect... For from of old they have not heard nor perceived by ear, neither has the eye seen a God besides You, who acts on behalf of the one who waits for Him."  Isaiah 64:3-4

I have no words!  And this is HIGHLY unusual for me!!!!! ;)  Well, O.K., I guess I have a few...

September 1st came and went this past weekend- the dreaded date that meant we missed having court before the new Russian adoption laws were implemented.  Then, early on the morning of Tuesday, September 4th, we get a call from Tania at Carolina Adoption Services:  because our paperwork was turned in to the courts before September1st, we were grandfathered in and none of the changes or new requirements apply to our adoption of Lukas.  Our court date has been scheduled for September 26, 2012!  In just a few weeks, our little one will legally become Lukas Isaiah Fortner.

This second trip will be another quick one, but we do get to visit Lukas the day before court.  We will also spend an extra day in Kirov so Mikhail can see some of the beautiful places there in his homeland- the Kirov ballet, Vyatka River, and St. Griffins church and monastery.  Funny enough, Mikhail's 8th birthday will be the day we fly home from this trip.  A fitting detail for a little boy currently obsessed with commercial airliners. ;)

Our third trip will be a month later.  Thirty days after court is when we receive custody of Lukas, and we will spend another week or so in Moscow for processing his passport and visa after we pick him up.  We should be back in the States with both boys in tow around the first week in November. What a Thanksgiving we will have!

And so it goes with adoption... we stand around helplessly waiting, while God does His amazing work.  That's how Louie Giglio defines GRACE- "God at work."   So much grace from God around here!

The Courthouse Where Both Our Boys Become Fortners!

Soon, little Lukas- a new name, a new life, a new inheritance... a beautiful picture of what Christ does for each of us when we call Him Savior.  Father, You are so, so good.  I'm joyfully satisfied to wait on You.

Prayer for Our Court Date

We're still in North America, and Lukas is still in Europe.... it's been a month since I first looked into those big, beautiful green eyes.  So gorgeous!

Is it wrong to want your children on the same continent with you?

Well, yes, sometimes I think it may be.

My friend, Lori, grew up as a Missionary Kid in Honduras with her family.  I met Lori in the States where she was attending college and working during the summers- that whole season of life spent miles and miles away from her mom and dad in South America.  When Lori got married, she married a missionary.  Now she and her family serve in Asia, a long, long way from her parents in Honduras.  Lori's parents have scarcely been on the same continent with their daughter since she graduated from high school.   I am in awe of their bravery and selflessness- with Lori, and now with their grandchildren, too.  Thank you, Mr & Mrs. Krause,  for loving your daughter enough to trust her to God, and for living out a brave example of faith for me to follow!

I can and I will trust the timing of Lukas' adoption to my very capable God, and I will choose NOT to "fret or have anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, continue to make my wants (Lukas!) known to God.  And God's peace shall be [mine], that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:8 AMP)

I wondered while waiting for Mikhail if this surrendering of my child before he's even legally mine would be a benefit years down the road when it's time for him to once again be physically separated from me.  Something tells me it will be very hard, then, too. :)  At least I have some time to let God keep growing my faith and surrendering my desires for control to His far superior plans.  I have much to learn!

I would ask you to join us in praying for our Court date to be scheduled soon.  It's looking like a slim chance to have court happen in August at this point, as we were hoping.  Not impossible, though, for God, of course.  If our date is scheduled after September 1 there will some additional requirements asked of us which will likely be a delay.  God knows, and His timing is perfect, and I truly want His timing- but He also tells us to ask.

So, join me in asking? :)

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! :)