Location Scouting

The month of May found us going and going and going, so when we saw a weekend approaching with no plans, we literally breathed a sigh of relief. The past few summers have found me shooting a wedding nearly every weekend I didn't have blocked off for other commitments or trips. This summer, however, I am pleasantly enjoying a bit of a reprieve from the hectic wedding season. With an impending international adoption, I knew I would have to space out weddings to accomodate international travel, whenever that might occur. So as Saturday approached, I suggested a little excursion. I needed to scout a couple locations for my June 19th wedding in the beautiful, quaint little town of Versailles, Kentucky and thought Saturday might be an ideal time to accomplish that task.

The first location was a "cottage-y" farm/B&B outside of Versailles. The bride said the owner welcomed me to explore the grounds, even if she wasn't home when I dropped by. Upon our arrival we quickly determined we had the place to ourselves so took our time to explore. (Sidenote: I really miss the farm when summer rolls around, so it was hard for me to leave when our stomachs grumbled to remind us it was lunch time). I found the pastoral scenes very refreshing and thought you might too...

Enjoy a glimpse of this little part of the Bluegrass:

A little garden artwork...

Not really sure what this piece of artwork is called, but I thought it was colorful and dimensional.

This converted tobacco barn has a "hay" mow quite different than what we have in our barns in Illinois... I didn't include the photo which showed all the timbers for drying the leaves.

There were two very friendly Percherons that Els loved, but didn't want to really pet. In her defense, they were rather large...

Ellie loved the fluffy chicken roaming around this barn...

This is as close as I could get to the family of peacocks which also call this home (above)

Those are blossoms all over the ground. What is it about twiggy furniture that invokes thoughts of rest and quiet?

When we first arrived, we thought the owner had spotted us out a window. As I walked around the house, trying to determine exactly which door to try first, I heard a voice calling out, "Hello! Helloooooo!" Ellie thought a talking bird was HILARIOUS! She didn't want to leave and tried to get him to talk back to her.

I think this pretty tree-lined drive will be a cool, shady place for some wedding photos on a hot summer afternoon!

I hope to post photos soon from our subsequent picnic! Thanks for checking in!

PreSchool is Over!

Ellie with her teacher, Ms. K
Oh cool! Presents!

with Mr. Russell, the special ed teacher for her room (she has gotten into a very UN-cooperative stage with the camera!)


Ms. Janie (an aide in the room) did a lot with Ellie from her first days of school nearly two years ago... I think they're special pals

I think Ms. Mildred (the other aide in the classroom) was caught off guard by the intensity of this hug!

Ellie and the bus crew. Next year she moves up to the big kids bus with no monitor! (gulp)!

The Road to Elbasan

We had hoped to be in the air today on our way to Albania, but we are currently waiting on some paperwork to go through here in the US (see previous blog on waiting J). God knew we needed this extra time though. We have been so busy in May, that had we left today, we would have spent much of our time in Albania worried about what we didn’t get done in Wilmore before we left. The road to Elbasan is longer than we anticipated, but God is teaching us along the way.

David’s orphanage is located in Elbasan, Albania, so “The Road to Elbasan” is partly the description of our journey of this second adoption. Also, it is a reference to the story in Luke 24 about the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Our pastor preached on this particular story recently, and again, God spoke to me personally about our adoption. Actually, He began to work on me during the praise and worship at the beginning of the service. With all of the uncertainty of timeline and paperwork, I have been scrambling to work though every possible scenario in my mind. Should we book tickets and just go as soon as we can, so we can meet David in person and hope that the paperwork will move through smoothly. But if the paperwork doesn’t come through, it could force three extra round-trip tickets for us to go back later. Every day we wait to book the tickets however the prices go up. I have been awake in the night thinking through all of this and even rehearsing our time in front of the judge. I have scoured the USCIS website and chat boards of other adoptive parents to try to get an idea of the new processes and timelines. 

These questions and others have been all consuming at times, but God reminded me that he is in control though the simple chorus:

Peace be still. Jehovah God is with you.
Peace be still. Jehovah is Lord.
Peace be still. Jehovah God is with you.
Jehovah is Lord of all.

I have had the confidence that God is working, but I haven’t been acting like it. Cydil and I have done what we can for right now. It is time for me to be still, and rest in the peace that God is working.

I could have gone home renewed then, but there was more for me to learn. The disciples on the road to Emmaus didn’t recognize Jesus when he was walking right next to them and carrying on a conversation. Why? He appeared in a way they weren’t expecting. Since my dad is a doctor, he is often recognized by patients around town, but sometimes he is so far out of context that they doubt it is him. Does a doctor drive a 1948 Ford tractor through town or shop at Odd Lots? It must have been someone who just looked like him! 

It was sort of like that with Jesus during his last days. Nothing had gone as expected. The disciples were sure that after the triumphal entry Jesus was going to set up His kingdom and restore Israel. But then days later he was dead! They had already heard the good news from the women at the tomb saying that Jesus was alive, but they apparently didn’t believe it because their faces were downcast. “…we had hoped..” How sad is that past tense statement! A loss of hope! Could their disappointment be because they were hoping in the wrong thing? We aren’t too different if we are honest. Sometimes we pray for Jesus the Great Physician and instead he shows up as the Great Comforter and we don’t recognize Him. In those situations, we often are discouraged and say, “We had hoped.” But Jesus was there all along walking with us. 

Thankfully we can often look in the rearview mirror to see Him more clearly. The disciples expressed this when they said, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?" Cydil and I can already see Jesus in our ‘rearview’ mirror in this adoption. From the day we first learned of David Reni, he has been our provider. On top of our great pediatrician who specializes in internationally adopted kids, He provided colleagues of my dad’s who were willing to look at the information we had and help interpret if for us. One even currently has a patient with the same rare condition! A Shriner’s hospital that specializes in orthopedics is located just up the road from us. Faith Powers, a good friend and previous Asbury student who worked with us at WGM is now a social worker at the Shriner’s hospital. Her Master’s research – a study of the psychological adaptation of children with limb deficiencies! We were already in the process of updating our homestudy were able to include the information about Reni before it was filed, saving us money and time of a second update. We were able to get our fingerprints renewed without an appointment last week which will potentially cut weeks off our timeline.

We don’t just want to see Jesus in our rearview mirror though. We believe he is walking beside us through this process and through the mundane of every day as we prepare to bring David home. Would you pray with us that during these next few weeks as we journey on our road to Elbasan that we recognize Jesus daily. It would be easy to get discouraged while we wait for paperwork to come through. We ‘had hoped’ that we would be on our way to Albania today. While in a real sense I am disappointed, Jesus has already used this time to teach me more about him, and I look forward to more of the walk.

Sunday Afternoon on the Kayak

We have been mainly posting about David Reni recently and because a lot of what we are experiencing doesn't lend itself to pictures, our blog has been more 'wordy' than normal. This past Sunday afternoon after church (while Cydil was shooting a wedding), Ellie, our friend Mark and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and take the kayak out on the river. It was great to unplug from life for a while and enjoy God's creation. I hope the pictures from our waterproof point and shoot camera allow you to enjoy a little of it as well.

Ellie thought my hat was hilarious!

If you ever hear Ellie talking about 'going boating' she is talking about this, not some impressive schooner.

Elisona is becoming all legs! That life jacket seemed way too big for her when we got it, but I think this is our last season before investing in a bigger one. (By next summer it should fit David!) :-)

Mark is one of Ellie's favorite 'students'! He is great with her and she loves it when he is available to baby sit. When he comes over she says, "You can go now. Bye bye mommy and daddy!"

I know summer hasn't officially begun, but the mist rising off of the very cold water near the Lake Herrington Dam was a great way to beat the heat.

the state of David's room now...

We couldn't leave you long with those horrible in-between paint job images. Tonight we installed the next stage of wall treatment...some pretty word art we bought at the Kinnell's fundraiser (to help them bring home their two boys from Ethiopia)! Tomorrow we're making a trek to IKEA to buy a dresser and bookcase so the room will be filling up and looking not so bare. And I received confirmation that the curtains were shipped today!

The trip to IKEA is part of an overall day away to celebrate Nathan's birthday (#35). His Mom and Dad are going to meet us for lunch before our shopping trip -- and we haven't told Ellie. I think it will be a fun thing to witness her surprise!

Hopefully the next images will feature his room looking a little less stark and bare!

Enjoy your weekend!

Painting David Reni's Room

Several weekends ago I went away to a women's retreat in Ohio and while I was gone little 'elves' came in and painted David Reni's room. This was actually the only room in our apartment that was never painted when we moved in so it has been long overdue for a paint job.

This week we painted all the trim and now the room awaits the finishing touches... Curtains have been ordered and a trip to IKEA is planned for Saturday! More pictures soon!

Whew...

I've noticed that Nathan has lately taken on the responsibility for posting to our family blog -- and I'm so grateful for that. To say that the last month has been full, would be to put it mildly. I want to remember these days, that they're not a blur, plus give a little update for those of you seeking adoption updates.

Number one question these days, "Do you know when you will be traveling?"
A: We have no clue. Complicating (?) everything right now (that we have our referral) is the fact that our initial immigration approval expires May 26. In anticipation of this expiration, we had a home study update started at the end of March, which we were able to ammend when we learned about David and the possibility of adopting in the 'special needs' category. We sent away our completed packet to USCIS over a week ago and need to receive our extension before we can apply for and send away the I-800 (about a two week wait). When that is approved, it triggers a cable to the US embassy in Albania which prints a letter that our Bethany representative can take to the courts to schedule a date. We are trying not to stress or be anxious about our hopeful summer timeline. Thank you for your prayers that our renewal paperwork was in order and doesn't get kicked back!

ELLIE
As you can imagine, Els has been more than excited about the imminent arrival of her brother. Explaining and unknown timeline has been even more challenging.

Yesterday we attended her transition meeting with her teaching team at the Early Learning Village as we all prepare her for Kindergarten in the fall. It was humbling and overwhelming and encouraging all at once. We learned a lot about her behavior at school that we were unaware of (or had limited awareness of). To summarize a 90-minute meeting briefly, it seems that she knows all the stuff a child needs to know before entering Kindergarten, but significant modifications are having to be made to accomodate her learning and behavior. They have been 'pushing' her a lot which has resulted in numerous meltdowns and tantrums (we were shown a chart listing the days of the week and the times of day when the meltdowns occur). A lot of them come as a result from not wanting to do the task they are asking of her (primarily writing or drawing or coloring). More than once they mentioned what a strong will she has! We left the meeting with a better idea of what we need to work with her on this summer to help prepare her for school next year! The team unanimously agreed though that all day kindergarten will be really good for her and her innate need for a solid structure to her day.

After school we ended up taking Ellie to the doctor. She was thrilled (seriously -- she even brought her Fisher-Price syringe to give Nurse Elizabeth a shot). She's had a significant amount of congestion from allergies for the past several weeks and the OTC meds didn't seem to be helping. Finally, she complained that her ear hurt and we felt a low grade fever and had it confirmed that she was developing an ear infection. A couple of hours and meds later, we've got her on better allergy meds that already appear to be working.

WHERE CYDIL'S BEEN THIS MONTH...
I've been blessed this month with an opportunity to photograph patients for Ellie's pediatrician's office. The families I've met have been amazing and the children absolutely precious. Many of them are families made through adoption so that was an immediate connection. I'm posting photos on my photo blog: http://cydilphoto.blogspot.com/ if you are interested in seeing some of our new little friends. I am so grateful for some wonderful friends and Asbury students who have been assisting me with the project (special shout out to my former SASF neighbor, Donna, who recently retired and has the freedom in her schedule to help me at shoots, even when they are sometimes rescheduled, and scheduled again due to rain!). And special thanks of course to Nathan for taking on more "Ellie-care" during this time, lending his genius photoshop skills when I've been stuck, and all-around pinch-hitting.

Finally, in the midst of all this, we are preparing David's room. It is helping make his arrival feel more real. At the same time, our home was already feeling 'cozy' and 'losing' our family room makes it feel even cozier as we try to find places for its contents! Anyone need a love seat? I hope to be posting photos of that soon! I can't wait for it to be done and feel 'settled' again before we leave!

Thanks for reading!

Shriner's Open House

This Sunday there was an open house at the Shriner’s Hospital that we will be frequenting regularly with David when he gets home. It is an amazing facility and the people we met seemed very compassionate for the kids they help. Every part of the hospital is ‘kid friendly’ with jungle and ocean themed x-ray rooms and little Jeeps so the kids can drive themselves to surgery. They make the prosthetics on-site and are able to test multiple options for each patient in the motion detection lab which uses the same motion tracking technology Hollywood and video game designers use for animation. We left the open house thankful that such a high-quality facility is just 40 minutes from our house! Isn't God good!

Ellie enjoyed visiting the hospital, but she did want to make it clear to us, "For my brother, not for me!"

Ellie named the bear on the operating table, David.

A 'real' broken bone! Ellie was fascinated.

They can decorate prosthetics with anything.
(I think something OSU Buckeyes themed might look good.)

Ellie enjoyed the 'Nemo' room which got even cooler to her when she saw some sample x-rays taken in the room.

Ellie thought the statue of Mike from Monster's Inc. was interesting. She begged us to leave the long way just so we could walk by it again and take this picture.