Reality check

Ok, so I think the reality of this whole thing is finally starting to set in, and I have to tell you... I am scared to death. Here we are, traveling to a foreign country that we've never set foot in and coming home parents. I couldn't sleep last night because my mind was suddenly bombarded with thoughts of worry and paranoia. You know, things like, maybe I'm not ready to be a mom, and what if our baby hates us for taking him from his home country. etc. I guess I've been reading too many horror stories lately. Jon and I are convinced that this is exactly where God wants us, and despite the few doubting questions that enter my mind, I know without a shadow of a doubt that this is what I want to do. Think about it, these children have been in an orphanage for ATLEAST 8 months with no contact at all from their biological families. A good deal of the children are "mixed breeds" (Eurasian) from teenage mothers which is a huge social stigma in Kaz and if they stay there it basically forces them into 2nd class citizenship. And, the orphanages have limited funding so when the child turns 14, it's to the street because there is no place for them to go. Thinking of this absolutely breaks my heart and just confirms to me that this is where God wants us. Our call is to help where we can, and maybe someday encourage others to open up there homes like we have. I don't know. I suppose I'm having the same doubts that any first time Mother-to-be has. I love my child. I want to raise him in a safe and Christ-centered environment. And I suppose I just need to let God take care of the rest. ;-) That's eaiser said than done, but I am starting to realize that I don't think I can handle this parenting thing on my own. I'm going to need someone there to guide me through and give me wisdom. God has placed so many wonderful people in my life: my wonderful, wonderful husband, our caring parents and brothers/sisters, and all of you who really care about us enough to read our blog (even the ranting posts like this one), follow our adoption journey, and bathe everything in prayer. It means so much and I know that you are the tools that God will use to help me through my new calling as a mother. Thank you all so much for your love and support. Keep on praying our dossier through... it's at the first ministry (1 of 4) and God is moving the process along swiftly. We are so grateful.

Thank you all again,
Love always,
Kristin

The final step!

Hi everyone! We recieved an email last Friday saying that our dossier is on its way to Kaz for the final step of the process! It should arrive within a week or so, and then once it gets there it'll have to go through four different ministries (kinda like our governmental offices) and then we'll recieve an invitation to travel! Our coordinator is thinking that we will probably recieve that invite around the first of the year. We are so excited. In a way the time has flowen since we started this last Feb, but in other ways it cannot go nearly fast enough. ;-)

Jon and I went and register for a few things at Baby's R Us on Sat. You know, the gender/age neutral things we know we'll need like Winnie the Pooh decorations ;-) and rocking chairs and sippy cups and bottles and things like that. We didn't realize how much we're gonna have to wait to get until we know the age of our baby. It's going to be a frantic 2 weeks in between trips. We're gonna have to get so much so quickly. Oh well, God will help us through. And, it was really fun registering. I thourghly enjoyed going around and looking and the super cute baby stuff they have out. And all of the Pooh stuff! It is SO adorable! Pooh must be in right now, cause they have EVERYTHING. We even saw a Pooh humidifier. ;-) How cute is that? Anyway, we really appreciate your prayers through all of this. It's been very trying but at the same time a complete blessing. Thank you all so much!

Love,
Jon and Kristin

Paperwork Back in the States

Our paperwork has been successfully translated. We received notice that our paperwork is back at the attorney's office in D.C. She will send it to the embassy in D.C. and it should be relatively quick going through this process (a week or so). After this, the dossier is sent back to Kazakhstan to go the final four stages of government before they call us to invite us to Kazakhstan.

Kristin and I are both very excited that God has continued opening doors. Pray that God would provide the finances for the final leg of the journey. We still have a lot to talk about and pray about together and we are waiting on God's leading.

Thank you for all of your prayers. Let's continue to pray the paperwork through the embassy and back to Kazakhstan. We don't want to set a timeline for travel, but we know that it will most likely be coming up within the next 2-4 months or so. ;-)

We love you!
Jon and Kristin