Tonight as we settle down, we are praying for our dear friends, Kimberly and Tony Merida. In just a few minutes they will be setting out to visit a sibling group in Ukraine as they continue their adoption journey. We are praying that God will go before them and grant them extraordinary discernment in the decisions that lay ahead. We are also praying that they will be met with a spirit of truth and openness by all those that they will deal with along the way.
As I contemplate the journey that they have ahead, I would ask that all who know and love them hold them up in prayer and support them. Part of that support is going to be in giving them the space and freedom to find their children and to become a family. We all are anxious to be part of their journey and to share in their progress, but we have to remember to take it slow. They will have much to adjust to and much to accomplish in the coming days. That need for adjustment will be compounded by every new member of their new forever family.
We are so thankful that God has led our path to intersect with Tony and Kimberly so many times in so many ways!!! Godspeed as to journey today. You are our dear friends and some of our favorite siblings in God's family!!!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Friday, April 3, 2009
Thrilled for Friends
We've been home 4 weeks today, and life is good. Last night included a trip to the emergency room for Nicholas. A bump on the head, but all is well. But, enough about us...
This morning, we got fantastic news. Our dear friends Tony and Kimberly got news about their appointment at the SDA. They have an appointment this coming Wednesday!!!!!! Yep, that's right. They are scrambling to get things together to fly out on Sunday. This takes me back to our adoption of Erick. We traveled with 3 days notice, so we know it can be done. God is good and He is enough. Please pray that they will be ready and for peace and rest in the coming days.
We'll keep you posted!!!!
Rick
This morning, we got fantastic news. Our dear friends Tony and Kimberly got news about their appointment at the SDA. They have an appointment this coming Wednesday!!!!!! Yep, that's right. They are scrambling to get things together to fly out on Sunday. This takes me back to our adoption of Erick. We traveled with 3 days notice, so we know it can be done. God is good and He is enough. Please pray that they will be ready and for peace and rest in the coming days.
We'll keep you posted!!!!
Rick
Friday, March 20, 2009
Two weeks down....
As of bedtime tonight, we've been home two weeks!!! How time flies when you're having fun. We have been very busy, but everything is going well. Nicholas seems to be adjusting well. He's really settled in and seems to be getting more comfortable by the day.
He and Erick are doing much better together. They have their moments, but more and more, we can see them accepting each other and acting like brothers. I think they are also figuring out how to gang up on us! Oh well, we knew it was bound to happen. I guess that;s just one more thing to be thankful for:)!
Part of our busy week was a trip to the doctor with Nicholas for a checkup. That was an experience. Our pediatrician, Dr. Greg Parvin, was great. Greg and Denise have been friends since elementary school and their families go way back. He really made Nicholas feel at ease right up until he told us that Nicholas needed one vaccination and some blood tests. The only way we had to prepare Nicholas for what was coming was to use Denise's iPhone to translate what was about to happen. First, I found the translation for vaccnation and played it for him. He got the picture and was not a happy camper. We got through that and headed for the lab. Again, I played the phrase for draw blood, and it got worse. He screamed like bloody murder (pun acknowledged). Once it was over and we went back to wait, I got the iPhone out to translate "all done." When I put the phone up to his ear again, he pushed it away and started screaming again. Poor baby! Though it was't funny at the time, his reaction has gotten funnier as the days have passed. We still have one more medical test to go...but the iPhone doesn't seem to have a translation for "stool sample," and for the life of me, I haven't figured out the charades signals to explain it :)!
Today, we did some running around including a trip by the church. We wanted to take him in and show him around on a day when things were quiet before bringing him on a Sunday. It doesn't get much quieter than 3 P.M. on the Friday of Spring Break week!!! Assuming all continues to go well, we are planning for everyone to be at church on Sunday. We can't wait to get him acclamated to Temple.
Well, that's about it for now. Once again, I want to say thanks to the many people who have done so many kind things for us in the days since we have been home. We have been fed and provided for by so many and we are grateful. We love you all.
Blessings,
Rick
He and Erick are doing much better together. They have their moments, but more and more, we can see them accepting each other and acting like brothers. I think they are also figuring out how to gang up on us! Oh well, we knew it was bound to happen. I guess that;s just one more thing to be thankful for:)!
Part of our busy week was a trip to the doctor with Nicholas for a checkup. That was an experience. Our pediatrician, Dr. Greg Parvin, was great. Greg and Denise have been friends since elementary school and their families go way back. He really made Nicholas feel at ease right up until he told us that Nicholas needed one vaccination and some blood tests. The only way we had to prepare Nicholas for what was coming was to use Denise's iPhone to translate what was about to happen. First, I found the translation for vaccnation and played it for him. He got the picture and was not a happy camper. We got through that and headed for the lab. Again, I played the phrase for draw blood, and it got worse. He screamed like bloody murder (pun acknowledged). Once it was over and we went back to wait, I got the iPhone out to translate "all done." When I put the phone up to his ear again, he pushed it away and started screaming again. Poor baby! Though it was't funny at the time, his reaction has gotten funnier as the days have passed. We still have one more medical test to go...but the iPhone doesn't seem to have a translation for "stool sample," and for the life of me, I haven't figured out the charades signals to explain it :)!
Today, we did some running around including a trip by the church. We wanted to take him in and show him around on a day when things were quiet before bringing him on a Sunday. It doesn't get much quieter than 3 P.M. on the Friday of Spring Break week!!! Assuming all continues to go well, we are planning for everyone to be at church on Sunday. We can't wait to get him acclamated to Temple.
Well, that's about it for now. Once again, I want to say thanks to the many people who have done so many kind things for us in the days since we have been home. We have been fed and provided for by so many and we are grateful. We love you all.
Blessings,
Rick
Monday, March 9, 2009
It's 8 o' clock and all is well!
Sorry we haven't updated in a couple of days, but as you can imagine, it has been rather hectic. Yesterday was a good day. Denise and I got to go to church for worship as the boys stayed home with her parents. What a blessing! It was so good to be back and experience the presence of God together with our beloved Temple family. Tony preached one of the finest sermons I have ever heard him preach (and that's saying something--as many as I have heard over the years). It will be a tough act to follow, but I am excited about preaching. It's pretty hard to mess up a message on the Cross!!!!
Things seem to be getting better with the boys. Erick is really seeming to get more comfortable with Nicholas, and they are really beginning to enjoy each other. It's good to see. Nicholas has done well. He really is a good natured boy, and I think we are seeing more of his stress-free personality. We haven't seen any of the aggressive child we saw in the orphanage. Not to say that we won't, but so far so good. Our communication seems to be pretty good as well. Denise and I are begining ot recognize more Russian, and we can tell he is understanding us more as well. His first clear English phrase came courtesy of a Madegascar (sp?) Happy Meal Toy. It is, "I'd Like to Move It, Move It!" So appropriate for Gene, Gene the Dancin Machine! He has also added the phrase "double trouble" from our Pop-A-Shot. I am sure that one will be said of him and Erick soon. The one phrase he hasn't mastered yet came while he was rifing in the car a couple of weeks ago. I said he was "chillin' like a villian." That comes out "chicken like a billian." Nobody will take him seriously as a "gangsta" anytime soon.
Nicholas is eating well and sleeping well. He is easy to get to sleep and he has slept all night every night since we got home without incident. Pretty cool.
Denise's parents went home today. We were sad to see them go. They were a big help, and we love having them here. But, today with just the four of us, it seemed like we settled in pretty well. Erick heads back to school tomorrow, and I'll put in my first full day of work after a half day today. My mom returns home from Florida tomorrow as well, so after tomorrow, we'll get down to the business of a routine. Yeah!!!!!!!!!
One more thing. Nicholas nad i had a breakthrough today. This afternoon, I turned on a game from the World Baseball Classic. He loved it! I expected that it would just be background noise while the boys played, but he crawled up in my lap and watched for a while, and he even imitated the pitcher and the hitters! Cool. Nevermind that he kept calling it "basketball." At least he's not a soccer only man. He also watched a little NASCAR yesterday. Between those two sporting interests, there's something I can work with :)!
Have a great night,
Rick
Things seem to be getting better with the boys. Erick is really seeming to get more comfortable with Nicholas, and they are really beginning to enjoy each other. It's good to see. Nicholas has done well. He really is a good natured boy, and I think we are seeing more of his stress-free personality. We haven't seen any of the aggressive child we saw in the orphanage. Not to say that we won't, but so far so good. Our communication seems to be pretty good as well. Denise and I are begining ot recognize more Russian, and we can tell he is understanding us more as well. His first clear English phrase came courtesy of a Madegascar (sp?) Happy Meal Toy. It is, "I'd Like to Move It, Move It!" So appropriate for Gene, Gene the Dancin Machine! He has also added the phrase "double trouble" from our Pop-A-Shot. I am sure that one will be said of him and Erick soon. The one phrase he hasn't mastered yet came while he was rifing in the car a couple of weeks ago. I said he was "chillin' like a villian." That comes out "chicken like a billian." Nobody will take him seriously as a "gangsta" anytime soon.
Nicholas is eating well and sleeping well. He is easy to get to sleep and he has slept all night every night since we got home without incident. Pretty cool.
Denise's parents went home today. We were sad to see them go. They were a big help, and we love having them here. But, today with just the four of us, it seemed like we settled in pretty well. Erick heads back to school tomorrow, and I'll put in my first full day of work after a half day today. My mom returns home from Florida tomorrow as well, so after tomorrow, we'll get down to the business of a routine. Yeah!!!!!!!!!
One more thing. Nicholas nad i had a breakthrough today. This afternoon, I turned on a game from the World Baseball Classic. He loved it! I expected that it would just be background noise while the boys played, but he crawled up in my lap and watched for a while, and he even imitated the pitcher and the hitters! Cool. Nevermind that he kept calling it "basketball." At least he's not a soccer only man. He also watched a little NASCAR yesterday. Between those two sporting interests, there's something I can work with :)!
Have a great night,
Rick
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Home Sweet Home...and it's all good.
Sorry we didn't get to update from Memphis last night. Northwest threw us a bit of a curve. The information we had said the flight was departing 30 minutes later than it did. We had time to grab a quick bite to eat (Popeye's Chicken was a hit) and hit the road.
The reception at the airport was awesome. We were so grateful for the friends and family who came out to greet us. I am not really sure what Nicholas thought of it all, but he's got to have a big clue to how many people have been been praying for him and what the Body of Christ is all about. We will take a few weeks before we introduce him to church, but we're ready for him to begin to get the idea of a church family as well as his new family.
After we got home last night. Nicholas was hilarious. He just walked around from room to room taking it all in with a huge grin on his face. At one point, he looked at Denise and said, "Momma, Poppa Dome?" (Momma and Poppa's Home?). She looked back at him with a big smile and told him, "Nicholas Dome!" With a huge grin, he seemed satisfied. Another highlight was a pair of black dress shoes that Nanna and Papaw brought. I think we missed a little on our size estimate and they are really big, but he was so proud of his new shoes. This morning, he had to have them on with his pajamas as soon as he got up. Too funny! Last night, the boys settled into bed about 10 and we all slept until about 6 this morning. It really exceeded our expectations.
This morning has been fun. We introduced him to pop tarts and chocolate milk. They were a big hit! He and Erick have been enjoying Nanna and Papaw, and we're had a great morning just playing together.
We're home and we're grateful. Grateful for a great God and his mercies and for his people.
Blessings,
Rick
The reception at the airport was awesome. We were so grateful for the friends and family who came out to greet us. I am not really sure what Nicholas thought of it all, but he's got to have a big clue to how many people have been been praying for him and what the Body of Christ is all about. We will take a few weeks before we introduce him to church, but we're ready for him to begin to get the idea of a church family as well as his new family.
After we got home last night. Nicholas was hilarious. He just walked around from room to room taking it all in with a huge grin on his face. At one point, he looked at Denise and said, "Momma, Poppa Dome?" (Momma and Poppa's Home?). She looked back at him with a big smile and told him, "Nicholas Dome!" With a huge grin, he seemed satisfied. Another highlight was a pair of black dress shoes that Nanna and Papaw brought. I think we missed a little on our size estimate and they are really big, but he was so proud of his new shoes. This morning, he had to have them on with his pajamas as soon as he got up. Too funny! Last night, the boys settled into bed about 10 and we all slept until about 6 this morning. It really exceeded our expectations.
This morning has been fun. We introduced him to pop tarts and chocolate milk. They were a big hit! He and Erick have been enjoying Nanna and Papaw, and we're had a great morning just playing together.
We're home and we're grateful. Grateful for a great God and his mercies and for his people.
Blessings,
Rick
Friday, March 6, 2009
On the road again....
We are in Amsterdam. No problem getting out of Kyiv (except for the eye rolling and sighing of the passport agent who processed our paperwork...I guess doing his job was a little much to ask so early in the morning :)). The flight was 3 hours and uneventful. The boys are tired, and I am hoping and praying that the next flight (10 hours) is as uneventful. Looks like we are on schedule. We'll try to update again from Memphis. We should be there @ 4:40 and out of customs later...
See you soon,
Rick
See you soon,
Rick
Thursday, March 5, 2009
We're on go for home....
First, let me say that after looking at the post from last night, it looked like Erick wrote it. Sorry about all the typos and junk. I was beyond spell check at that hour and didn't really even notice. Slush, you know I love you like the brother I never had. I have 6-weeks worth of trash talk stored up, and I know I won't get to cut up with you while you are over here teaching...sorry I had to rib you, but I just couldn't resist.
Anyway, we got Nick's visa at about noon, and everything looks good for a 6:45 A.M. departure in the morning. None too soon. The zipper on Nick's new winter coat is shot. Every toy we bought had either broken or the batteries are run down. We have about an hour until the manager from our Ukrainian agency stops for a visit, and then Joel and Mary Ellen are coming over to this side of the river to have dinner with us. We'll have to meet up with Yana sometime to get the copies of our court decree and Nick's birth certificate with the translations to make us legit going through passport control in Kyiv tomorrow. That should polish off the evening, and get us to bedtime. We'll be up at 3 A.M.ish. Then we'll be off to the airport at 4ish. Then....nothing to it. Just 20 hours worth of flights and layovers. Piece of cake. Please pray with us. Assuming no delays, we'll be into Pine Belt International Airport (Ha, ha--at least we won't have to wait long for bags) at 8:15.
That's about it...see you stateside.
Thanks for everything,
Rick
Anyway, we got Nick's visa at about noon, and everything looks good for a 6:45 A.M. departure in the morning. None too soon. The zipper on Nick's new winter coat is shot. Every toy we bought had either broken or the batteries are run down. We have about an hour until the manager from our Ukrainian agency stops for a visit, and then Joel and Mary Ellen are coming over to this side of the river to have dinner with us. We'll have to meet up with Yana sometime to get the copies of our court decree and Nick's birth certificate with the translations to make us legit going through passport control in Kyiv tomorrow. That should polish off the evening, and get us to bedtime. We'll be up at 3 A.M.ish. Then we'll be off to the airport at 4ish. Then....nothing to it. Just 20 hours worth of flights and layovers. Piece of cake. Please pray with us. Assuming no delays, we'll be into Pine Belt International Airport (Ha, ha--at least we won't have to wait long for bags) at 8:15.
That's about it...see you stateside.
Thanks for everything,
Rick
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
