A Warm Jacket

I am so thankful to say we've had a few donations come in. $620 since we started our tax deductible website(praise God!) and $24,380 to go to be able to bring our boy home, for good. 

My husband and I started reading a prayer book and I really find myself in prayer a whole lot more. Would you join me? We know without a doubt this boy is the will of God. That He broke or hearts for him and set him in our family. With that being said, our prayers need to be bold and strong, without weakness, knowing that God is going to finish what He started. That this is impossible to us, but to Him, it's not. He already has it all planned and figured out. We are praying to be connected to the right people at the right time, for the hearts of those who come in contact with our grant applications, our website, our fundraisers, and our story. Praying all these hearts WILL be stirred in an incredible way. Knowing that the body of christ is going to rise up and redeem another life worth fighting for.   Praying that for even those of us who only have $1 to spare will know that it it counts and it helps and that dollar will be blessed. The more we give of what we don't have, the more God pours down blessing on ourselves. Pray for open hearts and open minds. Pray for Godspeed. We want this only to make sense to Him, so HE can receive all the glory. Pray, pray hard. We are desperate to get this boy home where he is loved and cherished. 

I asked Sergey what he needed, as I was going to mail him a Christmas package. He will never go another holiday or birthday again without knowing he's loved, wanted and cared about. He said "momma, a warm jacket would be good, headphones and some candy. Only if you can. I love you very, very much mom". He needs a jacket. A warm jacket. Tears roll down my cheeks as I read those words. First, I love his heart. Second, it's just killing me to think of this sweet boy freezing, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Kills me. He doesn't deserve this. He's a child of God and we need to get him out of there to make him one less, one less orphan. So I ran out, got him a warm coat, $4.99 headphones and a little bit of candy and off it went. He's already thanked me. A thankful heart...oh how I miss him.

Please pray hard for every aspect of this adoption. God hears every prayer. And if you feel your heart moved by this incredible boy, consider giving this holiday season to an amazing cause...freeing our boy.

Sweet Boy

Last night my husband and I were laying in bed, it's late and we needed to go to sleep. He thought he would check his VK one more time and I'm so glad he did. Alex had sent Sergey a car photo from an event the other week. Sergey loves cars just like dad. Instead of first saying Something about the the cars, he says "daddy I miss you so much. How are things?". I can read right between those words and know he's longing to be WITH his dad at the fun car stuff. I can read the desperation and sadness of him not being here. All my momma heart wants to do is catch the next flight out and go get him. If only things were that simple.

This boy is about to be 17. 17, aging out and with a heart condition. He's been institutionalized for SO long that this kid will just not survive the streets. He is a kind, sweet boy who deserves love and his family back.

His director told us he's only now doing better because he has hope in his heart again because he has a family and his family is coming to get him. I sit here and sometimes think...what on earth am I going to say to him if we can't come up with the money? I try to not let myself go there, but somedays it's hard thinking about the very large amount of money we still need. I see that number and it feels impossible. It IS impossible for us, but I constantly remind myself it IS possible for Him.

Please don't let this boy become another statistic on the street. Would you please find it in your heart to give? NO amount is too small. Every dollar helps write this boy's new future.

www.adopttogether.org/bringsergeyhome

Donation Site

We finally have our tax-deductible donation site set up! Get a year end deduction and please help us bring home our boy!!

Follow this Link:

https://www.adopttogether.org/bringsergeyhome

Please help bring our boy home!

My husband, Alex, and I, Danielle, never imagined 5 years ago this is where we would be today. But God has His own plans, and here we are. This is our story; it may be long but to see just how orchestrated this is by God, we wanted to include every detail.

It was February 13^th , the day Alex and I got married at the city hall in San Francisco. I had always wanted to get married on Valentines, but the year we wanted to get married, Valentines was a Saturday and we wanted to get married at city hall. So, Friday the 13^th in 2009 it was. It is odd explaining to people why we chose that day and it isn’t really what I had wanted. However, it just felt right and we went with it. God knew that this date would be of significant value almost 4 years later. This is just confirmation that God absolutely has our whole lives planned and goes before us. Because 4 years later, we met our son from Ukraine who just so happened to be born on February 13^th. That date in an instance made so much sense.

When we were first married we volunteered a lot with both middle school and high school youth groups. We loved working with teenagers and really felt like we were called to work with kids. Alex was in church one Sunday when he heard so clearly God tell him that he needed to help kids. That was it. He didn’t know what to do with it or what he was suppose to do with that calling. For me, it was more slow coming. I had this small seed planted in my heart for children. I’d read blogs of people adopting. I’d see pictures of the faces of orphans and I’d think how amazing that was. I still had a piece of me that really believed adopting was so wonderful, but it was for people who couldn’t have children. I couldn’t deny this small flame in me though that kept feeling like I needed to help children. I didn’t know if it was raising money for terminally ill children, or helping kids in need…I just didn’t know. Alex and I just kept praying, and praying much more specifically for God to use us as He wants, that we will go wherever He leads. One day out of the blue, clear as day, I read a blog post about a teenaged boy from Latvia who desperately needed a family to call his own. Although this particular boy wasn’t to be ours, I just knew right then and there, there was no denying my calling. That tiny seed, that small flame, was now this huge passion in me. It was orphans that God had been preparing our hearts for. Alex came home and I told him all about how I felt, how strongly I felt about this and he said “Let’s go for it!”. It was like a light bulb turned on, for both of us. And this is where our story really begins.

It was the summer of 2012 and we had decided, after much prayer, that Ukraine is where we were being called to help a child. We decided to host a child for Christmas with the intention of adopting so we looked through photo listing after photo listing, pondering their little bios and narrowed down our choices. We finally picked the boy we wanted to host and began preparing for his arrival. Hosting isn’t cheap; we had to pay for airfare, visas, etc and didn’t know where the money would come from. We prayed to God that if this is what He wanted us to do, He would have to provide. And provide He did. We were rear ended in an accident in the summer of 2011. We were so frustrated we hadn’t gotten our settlement yet, but God knew exactly when we would need that money. And it came in right when we needed it for hosting this boy, 18 months later. God is so good. We got a dreaded email that December saying that this child actually couldn’t come anymore for hosting. I was devastated, more so for the child because I knew that this was his only hope of a family. I was ready to give up, I thought I must be wrong about what God wanted us to do. Alex said no…we need to pray. Pray we did. That’s when GOD picked the child HE wanted us to have. We were given pictures and a bio of a 15 year old boy named Sergey who would be able to come last minute. We said okay and cautiously started to get excited. December 20^th, 2012 our lives changed forever. Not only did I go that morning to the doctors and be told I was having a miscarriage, but that night, I met my son at the airport. I knew in an instant this was our boy. I fell hard. We drove home with our fussy 2 year old from San Francisco airport and all he did was try to make her happy and quiet her. He succeeded and they both drifted off into sleep.

Hosting changed our lives. It broke our hearts for what breaks His. Our world vision changed. Our hearts were made softer. We experienced unexplainable joy. We watched a 15 year old boy experience Christmas for the first time. We did so many firsts for him; baking cookies and having a flour-throwing fight, driving to see all the magical Christmas lights, laughing with family, being loved unconditionally, finding a family, opening gifts just for him, ice skating, singing Christmas music, church, being able to eat until he was actually full, having plenty of clothes and shoes, a warm bed every night and so much more. We would always hug and kiss him and tuck him into bed every night and I’d say I loved him in both English and Russian. It took him about 2 weeks to learn his first phrase and say “I love you” at bedtime. He was calling us mom and dad and telling us he loved us in no time. I’d tell him to come to my bed when he woke up in the morning, where my daughter and I watched cartoons in the morning. At first he would just stand by the bed, but over those weeks it morphed into him running and jumping in our bed for cartoons, tickling our daughter, talking about our dreams, how we slept, requesting what he would love for breakfast. It was the perfect way to start our mornings. He helped with everything without being asked. He brought in the groceries, he got our daughter in and out of her carseat, he pushed the stroller, he would drop everything to play with our daughter whenever she wanted. He would snuggle her to sleep and tell her “I love you sister”. They adored eachother. Sergey was family to us. It just felt right, It felt like he belonged. It felt like he had always been there. He was this 15 year old kid who had the most sweet heart, that was so loving, caring, kind, respectful and helpful. In the short month we had him, he knew what it meant to be a part of a family. He learned that God wasn’t so bad afterall and a mustard seed of faith was planted in him. We expressed our want to adopt him with an agency and we put in information to see if he was available for adoption. We found out he was not available. It was the most horrible feeling. Here you have this child who you just know with everything in you that he is yours and your told that he can’t be adopted, atleast not now. We were told they would work on it after the kids got back to Ukraine. We prayed, and cried, and prayed some more on our knees. Our time had to end, sadly. We drove to the San Francisco airport on January 13^th and stayed at a hotel as we had to be at the airport at 4am on the 14^th. We all swam at the hotel and then got all ready for bed in our room. We had two queen beds side by side and our daughter crawled out of our bed and into Sergey’s. She snuggled in as close as she could get and he wrapped his arm around her and they were out. I couldn’t sleep at all that night. All I did was stare at my kids sleeping and thinking about how this was it, I had to say bye in just a few hours. I couldn’t stand it after awhile, the alarm was going to go off in 45 minutes and I was just a mess. I crawled in their bed with them, and put my arms around my kids. Sergey woke up and he heard me balling into my pillow. He sat up and opened his arms and held me as I sobbed into his chest, in the pitch dark room. He looked at me and said “don’t cry mom”. I said “I can’t help it, I love you, you are my son, and I don’t want you to go. I can’t live without you”. That’s when he lost it and I held him as he sobbed into my chest this time. We laid there and cried in each others arms until the alarm went off. We all got ready as quickly as possible, made sure he had everything, me blowing my nose and crying through it all. We all got in the elevator, Sergey and I looked in the mirror on the way down and laughed at our huge swollen, red, eyes. We rode to the airport, and we waited. All the kids had to check in. And then it was time. It was time to say goodbye, or see you soon. It sure felt like bye without knowing the outcome of being able to adopt him. It was the most gut wrenching thing I’ve ever done. I was sending a piece of my heart on a plane to a place where my sweet boy didn’t belong. I couldn’t breath. It was the ugly cry. Alex cried and I can count on one hand the times he has cried in the 10 years I had known him. Sergey was the only child crying, he was sobbing. He looked miserable. He did not want to go. That was probably the hardest day of my life. The grief, was just overwhelming.

Our only way of communication after he returned to Ukraine was over the internet on a site similar to facebook. I told him to write me as soon as he got home. He wrote me that he loved us and wanted to live here, that he wanted us to adopt him. He’d write me as the days passed that he would wake up and realize he wasn’t here and cry. My heart just continued to break. The facilitator who met him at the airport upon returning said that he had made an incredible transformation, that he was a changed kid. She promised she would do everything in her power to get him available. We prayed. We cried. We had people praying all over the place. Churches, friends, family, prayer networks, people we didn’t know. We’d beg on our knees for God to bring our son back home. This was an emergency, with his age, we just didn’t have time. We were told even if everything went right, our chances of him being able to be registered and available for adoption was about 5% . We needed a miracle. A lawyer was sent to his region to do all the paperwork and we waited. And waited some more. All we could do was wait and pray. We got the email that we had all prayed for! Sergey was registered and would be available for adoption in April 2014! We had a whole year to wait, but oh how we praised God. God did the impossible. Glory be to Him.

With a whole year to wait, we decided to host him again just this summer. This time, hosting was for 2 months. Twice the time with our son! We had generous donations and worked our tails off for the rest, selling everything we could think of, having garage sales, and selling premade dinners. God provided yet again and we had the hosting fees in full. June 29^th, we all gathered yet again at the airport. I had the biggest butterflies, we were all beyond excited. Even our daughter could hardly wait. The moment I saw him, we locked eyes and he ran into my arms. I hugged him for what seemed like forever, him crying into my shoulder, me tears rolling down my cheeks. Oh, happy day! Everything took off right where it left off. We got home, and all sat on the ground to talk and rough house. All our daughter wanted to do was sit in Sergey’s lap with her arms around his neck and her little face nuzzled right into his neck. It is an understatement to say that she missed her brother. Sergey still lit up every day when Alex would get home from work. This now, 16 year old kid would still shout “Daddy!” whenever he got home from work. He had two kids running to him for hugs and love. We talked very seriously about him living here, what we would expect of him, what would and would not be allowed. This boy would agree to anything just to be able to have his family forever…he didn’t mind anything, he just wants to be here so bad. He again experienced so many firsts: water park, roller coasters, tons of swimming, river rafting, boating, swimming in the ocean, fireworks, water fights, camping…it was a wonderful summer. It all just felt so comfortable, so right. I asked him why he wants to be adopted and he said “mom, I want a chance at a better life, a new life. I have no chance in Ukraine. You’re my family”. August 14^th came all too soon. We hugged and cried, but this time we all had hope that the next time we saw him, we would be in Ukraine in April to bring him home for good. It still wasn’t easy. Looking at my poor boys eyes swollen and puffy, crying as he hugged our daughter goodbye, watching him walk away, is just never easy. Sending a child you love with all your heart to a land unknown to you, to a place where he goes hungry, doesn’t get to bathe much, without a family, without someone watching over him, without heat and adequate clothing, is just hard. I sobbed into Alex’s chest after I couldn’t see him anymore. I kept telling myself he is coming back, we are going to have him for good.

So, here we are, in November with just a few months left until we can go get our son and bring him home forever. A place where all his needs will always be met, where he will experience love daily, a place to call home, a life that he would never otherwise get to have. He now has a chance at life, he was chosen.

To give a clearer picture of what Sergey would face, here are some statistics: Only 10% of orphans in Ukraine will have any kind of normal, meaningful life. 70% of orphan girls will fall victim into sex slavery, and 70+% of boys will end up criminals and in prison. 1 in 6 commit suicide because life is so bad. Between the ages of 15-16, orphans are put out on the streets to figure out life themselves, unprepared. Many commit crimes just so they can be in prison and have a warm place to sleep at night and food to eat. Few live to see their 23^rd birthday. In an index of “Best Places to Be Born” published this year, with 80 countries being listed, 1 being the best and 80 being the worst, Ukraine falls at number 78 with only Kenya and Nigeria being worse. He has no chance at going to college or having a career and making a life for himself as in Ukraine your labeled as an orphan for the rest of your life. You never get to escape your past.

Adoption is very expensive, it is something we didn’t have saved for. The whopping number is about $35,000 for us. We’ve slowly came up with about $10,000, some of which we’ve already used completing our home study and tons of other paperwork and legal fees. We are still in need of $25,000 to rescue our boy in April. I know so many think “Well, why should we pay for your kid? If you want this child, you need to figure it out!”. It is so hard to explain that it is SO much more than that. We all can’t adopt, but we all can help save a child. While the statistics of the number of orphans is staggering, saving just one makes a difference. It matters to him. He is a life worth saving. If the body of Christ could come together to redeem this boys life, there would be one less orphan in the world in April. You are just as important to this child’s life as we are. You can help write his story too. Please help us bring Sergey home for good, where he belongs. Where he has hope and a future, love and family. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world-James 1:27. With God, all things are possible-Matthew 19:26.

This and That

Just some tidbits I don't want to forget:

Sitting on the couch tonight, S and pumpkin are snuggling together and he pulls blanket over them and wraps his arms around her. They both close their eyes, her cheek on his cheek, he kisses her cheek and they fall asleep in eachothers arms.

Asking S what he wants to be when he grows up. I jokingly say a striper and he very seriously says yes. Oh goodness...what am I in for?

I talked to S seriously about living here. No sex, no alcohol, no smoking, going to school every day, obeying rules, etc. He says "no problem, I ask you mom". I know better than to believe that, but it just shows me that this kid is willing to agree to anything I say in order to just be here, forever. It melts my heart.

We had our first little "tiff". He has a gophone while here and the rules are mom and dad can look through his phone whenever we want, and he has to give phone back every night to us. He had been placing the phone on our bed every night voluntarily. Except last night. I went to get the phone, no problem. Plug it in in our room. He comes back in, and does something quickly on his phone. I quickly realize he signed out of an account. Hiding stuff! This morning he asked for phone and I said absolutely not, no phone today. I said our family is based on love, honesty, trust, respect, etc. I told him he now has parents who love him and care what he does. That we are will watch over him. That hiding things are not okay. By the end of conversation, he was fine...rest of the day has been great. I was pleased with how fast he got over it.

He keeps me going constantly. I tried to take a nap this afternoon with pumpkin, and he barges in first just to sit in our bed and wiggle his legs. Then he leaves and plays soccer inside. Then again, just as I was falling asleep, shakes me, "mom, mom, skateboard, outside? Keys machina, where?". I fall back asleep. Next thing I know "mom, mom, scarlett stink!" I say okay and close my eyes. He comes again, "get up! Mom, get up! Scarlett stink!". I get up...yes, scarlett pooped. S had sprayed Cologne in the entire house. I put the dog outside, doorbell rings. Neighborhood kid asks if we can go swimming. So off we went. No rest for the wicked.

We had two chaperones stay with us this week and I was so nervous he would gravitate towards them and forget we exist. He'd be able to speak to them, relate to them, etc. To my surprise, he didn't want much to do with them and only talked to them if they asked him questions. The chaperones said "s unequivocally wants to be adopted by you, he already considers you his parents, don't even worry about anything". Loved hearing that! It was fun trying Ukrainian food and showing them our area and crazy American life! I got big, long hugs goodbye, I think it was a success!

S is so excited for Cars & Coffee tomorrow with "daddy". Guy time!

I got tickled to death on the couch! He did not know how ticklish I was and held my legs in an underarm lock and tickled my feet to death. I told him to rub my feet and I'd give him his phone. I got tricked into being tortured. Then he said my hair stinks. I said I just washed it, but thanks. He said it smelled like pool. I said I always smell good...he said yes...true. Then said "me too". I said Umm...no, you don't always smell good hunny. He stared at me blankly like "huh?". Gotta love him!

4th of July was awesome! We had our dear friends come over and S really enjoyed hanging out with their family. The kids played basketball, S rode bikes, lit fireworks, water balloon fight...a night to remember. S was initially really scared of the fireworks and would grab my arm but by the end of the night he was helping Dad light them.

We went to my parents house last weekend and when it was time to go home he was NOT happy and pumpkin was crying. I had two unhappy kids. We had SO much fun. So many firsts for S. Water slides, tons of swimming, river rafting, boating/tubing...one of the best weekends ever!

We met up with another family that we met last hosting period and have grown to love so much. We took the kids to the beach, skate park, wharf, and beach again. S actually went swimming in the freezing cold water. I was shocked...he hates being cold. He was probably trying to impress the girl they are hosting ;). It was a great day!

Everything feels so comfortable, so right. It feels like he's always been in our life. He just fits. I love him something fierce.

He's Home For Summer!

We picked up S this last Saturday, June 29th. I am so happy to have my kids all home, under one roof.

S practically ran into my arms with a huge smile, and hugged me so tight. I looked at his face and he had tears coming out of his eyes. On a 16 year old boy. He was so happy to be back with his family. He had been waiting to be with the people who love him dearly.

At home, we all sat down on the ground to rough house and my daughter just wanted to be in his lap, arms wrapped around his neck, and her little face muzzled into the side of his neck while chanting over and over again his name. It made my heart so happy that she very obviously remembered him so well, but yet how much she has missed him. They've been pretty inseparable. He is so amazing with her...I could watch them wrestle and laugh for hours. Have I mentioned how much I love his long goodnight and goodmorning hugs and "I love yous"? Just the best! And the way he still lights up when my husband comes home from work and jumps up to hug him.

Today, S was playing with my daughter in the play room(entertaining her) and next thing I know, they are laying side by side, she's twiddling his eyelashes, leg wrapped around his waist, his arm around her, both crashed out. Gosh, I love them.

S brought a cold with him and he is pretty miserable right now. I am praying he gets better quickly and that we all stay well.

S is taller. He has leg hair. A 6 pack, ripped body. Broader shoulders. A deeper voice. And his face looks older. He's changed so much in 5.5 months and I feel like I am missing out on so much. He's so handsome, he's really becoming a teenager. I need this boy to be home for good, to teach him and mold him into a Jesus-loving, good man who makes good choices. A good husband. And father. April can't come soon enough.

We get almost 7 weeks with our boy, verses the 3 we had over winter and I couldn't be happier...a happy momma heart. I just love knowing he's home, that I can mother him from home, and not from a helpless place, across a pond.

I will love and cherish every minute of every day with this kid for the next several weeks. Even the rough times, because atleast he's HOME.

Blessed

So much has happened these last couple weeks. It gives me chills to think of how good our God is, what an amazing God I serve. Just when I need to be lifted up when I am starting to sink, God shows up and picks me up. Love that! Here's some tidbits from the last couple weeks that I am so grateful for:

S will be here June 29th to August 14th! Almost 7 weeks with my babe! Woohoo!

We were short $1700 to host S. Two families, who did not know eachother came forward so we would not be without our son this summer. One gave us $1,000, the other $700. Exactly what we needed, on the same day. God is good.

I was contacted from someone who owes me money from 3 years ago, telling me they are sending me what they owe me the first week of June.wow!

My husband and I were debating between visiting a family friend last weekend or on June 8th. We prayed about it because our money was stretched thin for this last week before pay day. We decided to go and gosh, it was a God given weekend!! We went to church on Sunday, where our friend attends. We were so warmly welcomed. After the service, our friend said "Hurry, I think the couples group today is on orphan ministry!" We rushed over, and indeed, they were going to be talking about orphan care. We watched an awesome video(need to figure out the name!) that made me cry pretty hard. I realized I had just met the president of Christian Alliance For Orphans. Pretty cool...that is a HUGE organization that almost all of us adoptive mommas know of. We then broke up into small groups and cried some more. We learned one of the couples that was there had recently had God place a calling to adopt from Ukraine on their hearts. It was just all so meant to be. We met some pretty great people, started new relationships, have more people praying, and more support in our journey.

We were filling out grant applications for our adoption and realized a lot of them asked how your church has supported your adoption. So I took the leap and emailed our pastor. We got a positive reply and are praying this is just the very beginning for our church and orphan ministry. Please keep this in your prayers!

We are doing another dinner fundraiser where we deliver meals this Friday and we have even more sales than the last time!

I have literally seen God moving in my parents lately which has been something we've prayed for. I see their hearts opening to adoption and orphan care and it just touches my heart and brings me to tears.

I have cried so much this last week, mainly from being blown away by my God. Sometimes I think things are impossible, that God couldn't possibly do this or that. But just as soon as I start to feel that way, He knows, and He picks me up off the floor and tells me "Danielle, I have laid this journey on your heart, I've told you to do this, and I am not going to have you start and not see you through to the end. No. I will see you until the very end of this, when you've brought my child home." Fundraising, coming up with so much money, just is overwhelming at times. Sometimes I feel alone, defeated, beat down. These couple weeks have given me the push I need to go full speed ahead again. To keep putting one foot infront of the other, as God has called us to do. No one ever said adoption would be easy. No one ever said following Jesus would be easy. Quite the contrary. It is in stepping out in our faith that we've found our deepest relationship with Him that we've ever had. We are often left gripping onto strings. Strings that God gives us to hold on and keep pressing on to serve Him. I wouldn't have it any other way, because caring for the fatherless has blessed us in ways we just can't put into words. Love, love, love the God we serve and just feeling so thankful for these huge blessings lately.

*Most recent picture of my boy that we were sent from Ukraine!

~Danielle