Our family

We had a wonderful week with the twins. They seem to love being in our family and are eager to please. They seem to feel comfortable and at ease here and took naps every day and slept every night. I began to realize towards the end of their visit just how hard it really was going to be to take them back!

We celebrated their 4th birthday on April 22. Gina loved "helping" me make the cake...she actually stood there eating it as I made it :). They both always come into the kitchen and want to help mom fix the food. Gina loves to stand in the bathroom and watch me get ready. She loves dressing up and having her hair fixed and she loves to take baths. She wanted a bath every day she was here so I obliged!
They were excited about getting on the train back to Casa Alba but then they kept asking me if we were going back home. It is really hard to explain to a 4 year old why they can't live at home with their family yet. So, I just explained by saying soon they would not have to go back to Casa Alba they would live with us forever. I put them to bed and then went back to check on them and Gina Grace was standing up in bed crying. I went in and she said, "I want to go with you." If that doesn't rip a mom's heart out I don't know what will! Oh, I felt so bad. I got her semi settled down and had to leave. I heard from one of the workers that she had a hard time falling asleep that night and cried a lot.
We are going to Oradea next week to try and resolve this problem of getting them in our home. Pray that something can be worked out. The twins had a great time getting to know their nana and papa mac. They picked up on some key English phrases such as...yummy yummy for the tummy and bless you and fee fi fo fum :). Please pray that the hearts of the superiors making the decision to keep the twins from our home will be changed. We will meet either Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. We don't know which yet.
On a lighter note. Our little Nater is growing up before our eyes. He is saying words clearly now. Before he hadn't said the end of the word he would say Ma for Mac (our dog) but now he is putting the end on words. He is also having temper tantrums...they are short lived but still I never had a child so stubborn before. He is very stubborn!
Thank you for your prayers.

Easter Sunday Baptism

We sang this right before the batism. The chorus says: I am free, Jesus saved me, he died for me. I will go with him forever I have given him my life because he has saved me.

Another adoption update

I guess it is time for another adoption update since we have heard a little more news. I am becoming increasingly frustrated with what should have been an "easy" adoption. I have lived in Romania for almost 7 years now and it should have long ago seased to amaze that things NEVER go as they should here...but sometimes you just hope and wish and pray that something would be easy. So, the twins are here for a week and we are excited about that. We had a great birthday with them today.
Baron called to talk with our social worker to see if anything had been resolved. She told him that if this were in her county and the adoptive parents were in another county it would be no problem she would have placed the kids with us by now...but we are in the hands of another county. So, we called the twins social worker...she is for them being placed with us too but her superiors have decided that #1 someone must be appointed legal guardian to go to court and say the twins can be adopted and #2 that someone must be in their county...which excludes us and it is also frightening for us to think about a family becoming their legal guardian and then possibly deciding they want to keep them and they would have that right since they are the legal guardians. Also, it is not in the twins best interest to move out from the only home they ever knew into a new family when all this time we have been telling them they are going to move in with us...how confusing would that be for them. I called a contact we have...someone who knows the law and said that since there are no parents the law says they don't need a legal guardian they are adoptable already. She said she would get us an appointment with the department of protective services and she (even though she lives quite far away) would be willing to come and help us in the meeting since she knows the law. She feels we can resolve it by talking to them. This Sunday is Easter and the next Sunday is "little Easter" so next week everyone is on vacation. She is going to work on getting us an appointment for the week of May 6.
So, big prayer request...pray that the powers that be in Bihor county will have an open mind and look at the law as a whole and reconsider the route they are taking with the twins and place them with us.

Thanks

My parents arrived safe and sound Friday night and so did all their luggage! Well...except for my dad's carry on with his breathing machine and all his medicine!! He doesn't remember where he left it. Fortunatley we can just walk into a pharmacy here and get all his medicine without a prescription so we did that today. I want to thank all of you who sent crayons and coloring book and k5 curriculum and craft supplies! What a blessing. I have the crayons and coloring books and m & m's set aside waiting patiently for the day we take the twins home from the children's home. They will have a big party to say good bye to the twins and give all the other orphans some closure and we will give out the gifts then. I am praying that this party happens by May.
I am thankful to God for adopting me into His family and accepting me as I am. I look forward to experiencing this with the twins and loving them and teaching them about Jesus.
The twins will be here for a whole week next week. This will be the longest amount of time we have spent with them. I think it will give us a real taste of what life will be like after they move in!
Please keep praying for speedy placement and for patience in the wait.

Train Ride Home

So, here are our six kids. Zachary is 9, Spencer turns 8 on June 5, Drew turns 5 on July 15, Gheorghe and Gina turn 4 on April 22, and Nate turns 2 on June 12.

Baron drove up and picked up the twins. He brought one of the collge students to help him occupy the kids on the long drive back. We had another good visit with them. It is so hard to tell how difficult it will really be. We won't know how they are going to react until after they move here and realize they aren't going back to Casa Alba. I took them back by train. They did great and I was really pleased. The only thing that is a little scary is how friendly they are with total strangers. We will have to work on this.
I think it is better taking them by train because the trip is chopped up. We have a short train ride to Timisoara then we switch trains and have a 3 1/2 hour ride to Oradea then take a taxi to Marghita. There are faster trains to Oradea but they are very early in the morning. I took the innercity train back so my ride was only 2 1/2 hours. Some trains stop in every village some stop in only bigger villages and some stop in only the big cities. Our next visit will be for a whole week. They will be here for their birthday and Easter.

Vestea Buna (Good News)

I received some "hopeful" news today. Nothing is certain until it is a done deal here so that is why I say "hopeful" and not good news. Baron left last night after church to drive to Marghita to pick up the twins. He went to Casa Alba this morning to pick them up and the social worker was there and said she wanted to talk to him. She had put in the paper work for Lidia, the director of Casa Alba, to be the kids legal guardian so they could proceed to be declared adoptable. Well, the judge told her whoever became the guardian also had to take the kids into their home. He didn't want them moving around from place to place until they were adopted. So, the solution is to re do the paper work and make us...the adoptive parents to be the legal guardians which makes perfect sense to us but many times things that make perfect sense don't happen! So, this is my miracle in the making. We could have them within a month or so...much sooner then if we had to wait for a day in court to have them placed with us in view of adoption. The legal guardianship has to happen first. Pray that the judge accepts this request and that the paper work can be put in quickly. We have to call our social worker here to ask her what we need to do since we are out of the county and the social worker there in Marghita has never done an adoption outside the county so she isn't sure what we need to do.
Just this morning in my devotion time I had told God I would be grateful if He did a miracle but that I would also be content with waiting and learn and grow through the waiting. He is good. He is good even if I have to wait. He is just good always. I don't deserve His goodness.
The twins should be here in the next couple of hours. I will take them back by train on Wed...should be fun :). Then I will return Thursday and my parents arrive Friday. Sorry mom and dad the house will not be spotless when you arrive :). We have put in a request to have them for a week, April 21 until April 28. We are waiting for a respone of approval. They turn 4 on April 22 and Easter is April 27th we would really like to have them here for both those days.
Pray especially for the twins that God would help them through this transition of leaving the only home and the only family they have ever known. We pray that we will gain their trust and love very quickly. It is a big help that they have grown so fond of the boys already. Thank you for your prayers.
We also have found out of some of the things we need to do for the American side of the adoption and it isn't cheap. Please pray that we will trust and not get anxious.

Update

We are looking forward to the twins visiting again next week. April 22 is their 4th birthday and we hope to have them that week as well. My parents arrive next Friday and stay for a month. I will try to keep mom busy with organizing closets and moving stuff around to make room for 2 more kids!
We have contacted someone who is going to help us get a meeting with the director of child protection in the twins county to see if we can help to push things along any quicker. We are going on Monday April 14.
Spring is on its way. After living here for almost 7 years I have finally learned to cut back my own grape vines :). I am a little slow I know. It is really rather easy to do. I can tell I have not exericised much lately though because I am a little sore. I also have started on a multi vitamin...I am aging.
So, not much news. We celebrate Easter here on the 27th of April. We will have a baptism service that day.