Share the love..Day 15 (and other good news)

As we are getting closer to our journey home with our daughter we continue to press forward in hopes to make a small difference in the lives of the children left at the orphanage after we walk out the doors holding our daughter!!!! Please consider a donation, there is no donation too small to make a difference in the lives of these children. We will be collecting donations for the orphanage until March 15. Remember all money will go to the orphanage not to our adoption costs. Each $5 donated will enter you in a drawing for 1 of MANY great prizes, many handmade with love by my friends.

In other news, we heard our file was submitted to the court system in Bulgaria late last week!!! One tiny step closer!!!! We are hopeful that we will have a court date soon. Travel is starting to seem so real. Reality hit when we opened the invoice of the last of our adoption fees this afternoon :)

The room is almost ready for the boys to move upstairs. The bright red NC STATE red wall looks amazing. Now we have to assemble the huge bunk bed set!!!

Lastly IAC news
The following referrals were issued in IAC Session 208 which was held on 01/24/12:

1) French dossier from February 2009 referred a female child, aged 4 years and 11 months

2) Italian dossier from April 2009 referred a male child aged 5 years and 7 months

3) French dossier from April 2009 referred a female child aged 5 years and 11 months with features in health status

4) Italian dossier from August 2009 referred a male child aged 5 years and 10 months with features in the NDP and behavior

5) Danish dossier from November 2009 referred a male child aged 1 year and 11 months with features in health status, performed surgery

6) U.S. dossier from March 2010 referred a male child aged 2 years and 2 months with features in health status and family history

7) French dossier from August 2010 referred a male child, aged 10 years with features in the NDP

8) Italian dossier from January 2010 referred a male child aged 8 years and 8 months

9) Italian dossier from August 2011 referred a female child aged 7 years and 10 months with a family history

10) Italian dossier from November 2011 referred a female child aged 8 years and 3 months with a family history

11) Italian dossier from November 2011 referred a male child aged 9 years and 3 months with peculiarities in the intellectual development

12) Italian dossier from December 2011 referred a male child aged 9 years

13) U.S. dossier from January 2012 referred three waiting children (#1387 & #1329 & #1133) with profiles on the MOJ site

14) U.S. dossier from January 2012 referred two waiting children (#624 & #632) with profiles on the MOJ site

15) U.S. dossier from January 2012 referred two waiting children (#1606 & #1607) with profiles on the MOJ site

Share the love....Day11 (land lots more good stuff)

Share the love Day 11
I am overwhelmed and humbled by the love and support from my family, friends, co-workers, and even strangers for the orphanage donations. We continue to press forward in hopes to make a small difference in the lives of the children left at the orphanage after we walk out the doors holding our daughter!!!! Please consider a donation, there is no donation to small to make a difference in the lives of these children :)

IAC news and updates
The following referrals were issued in IAC session 206 held on 01/13/12:
1) U.S. dossier from December 2011 referred a waiting child (#1674) with a profile on the MOJ site

2) French dossier from January 2012 referred a waiting child (# 1351) with a profile on the MOJ site

3) U.S. dossier from January 2012 referred two waiting children (# 1274 & #1343) with profiles on the MOJ site

4) U.S. dossier from January 2012 referred a waiting child (#1158) with a profile on the MOJ site

5) U.S. dossier from January 2012 referred a waiting child (# 842) with a profile on the MOJ site

The following referrals were issued in IAC session 207 held on 01/17/12:
1) U.S. dossier from January 2012 referred four waiting children (# 1296 & #363 & #628 & #1762) with profiles on the MOJ site

2) U.S. dossier from January 2012 referred two waiting children (# 1161 & #197) with profiles on the MOJ site

3) U.S. dossier from January 2012 referred two waiting children (#975 & #635) with profiles on the MOJ site

4) U.S. dossier from January 2012 referred a waiting child (#865) with a profile on the MOJ site

MOJ Staistics
MOJ released the final statistics for international adoptions from Bulgaria in 2011. A total of 287 adoptions were completed, bringing 329 children to other countries. Here's the breakdown of adoptions by receiving country:

Italy 107
USA 65
France 31
Germany 24
Sweden 17
Netherlands 13
Spain 9
Norway 6
Greece 4
Canada 4
Cyprus 3
Switzerland 2
Luxembourg 1
Malta 1

For a more detailed version of this visit http://martiniadoptionroad.blogspot.com/. Viviane does an awesome job breaking down the specifics!!!

Advocating for a Sweet girl that needs a family:
Maria is seven years old and a favorite at her small orphanage. She is wheelchair-bound due to spina bifida and also under the care of a nephrologist because of some kidney and bladder issues. Maria is described by all who know her as a kind, inquisitive, and bright girl. She speaks two languages fluently, one of them English, and eagerly completes her homework each day.

For more information visit http://martiniadoptionroad.blogspot.com/

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!!!

Share the love..Day 8 (and some AWESOME news)

Thanks to all who have donated to the orphanage diaper fund. Every dollar makes a huge difference for the children. Please consider donating for the orphans in Bulgaria even 1 dollar will help provide much needed diapers for these sweet babies.

Not that the prizes are the driving factor for all the donations we will be giving away a few things. Here is a run down of what we have so far. I thank my many talented and loving friends for all the handmade awesomeness!!
1. Handmade hair clips and hangers
2. Handmade greeting cards
3. Handmade ear ring holder (4)
4. Movie tickets for 2
5. photo tote bags
6. gift basket (2) made by a friend
7. 2 Bulgarian adoption books
8. Restaurant gift card (2)
Each $5 dollar donation will enter you to win. Also if you share the fund raiser on your blog or FB you will also get an entry (just have to message me that you shared)!! We are committed to making a difference :)

Now for the AWESOME news!!! Our file was FINALLY signed by the MOJ. That means we should soon get a court day which is last major hurdle before we hop on a plane and bring that sweet girl home to her family. There are still a few wild cards before we can really celebrate.

IF everything goes exactly according to plan!!!!!! We are hoping for May travel!!!!

COMPLETE-Approved 12/9/11
1. Our I800-A renewal has to be approved
(this is a general immigration form from US immigration)
our current clearance expired in November

COMPLETE- Approved
2. I800 form has to approved-
(this is an immigration form specific to T. for US immigration)

COMPLETE-Approval sent on 12/16 /11
3. The I800 approval is forwarded to US Embassy in Bulgaria-time frame 10 days

COMPLETE- ISSUED 12/27; PLAN to submit Article to MOJ this week!!!!
4. The US Embassy in Bulgaria will issue an Article 5- time frame 4-6 weeks

COMPLETE signed by MOJ 2/21
5. Once the Article 5 is released the case will go to the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice for additional signatures and approvals- time frame 4-6 weeks

6. From the MOJ the file will move to the Bulgarian court system and a court date will be issued-time frame 4-6 weeks

7. Court

8. After court a few documents have to be prepared before pick-up trip is scheduled- 1-2 weeks

9. PICK-trip scheduled!!!!!!!

Share the love....Day 5 (and room updates)

I have such amazing friends and family :) Please consider donating for the orphanage diaper fund, even 1 dollar will help provide much needed diapers.

Not that the prizes are the driving factor for all the donations we will be giving away a few things. Here is a run down of what we have so far. I thank my many talented and loving friends for all the handmade awesomeness!!
1. Handmade hair clips and hangers
2. Handmade greeting cards
3. Handmade ear ring holder (4)
4. Movie tickets for 2
5. photo tote bags
6. gift basket (2) made by a friend
7. 2 Bulgarian adoption books
8. Restaurant gift card (2)
Each $5 dollar donation will enter you to win. Also if you share the fund raiser on your blog or FB you will also get an entry (just have to message me that you shared)!! We are committed to making a difference :)

Meanwhile while our family and friends are helping our diaper donation grow we (Howie and my Dad are hard at work getting the upstairs ready!!!) Once the boys are moved up we can finish the girl's room downstairs.

Starting to prime over the icky wallpaper

Walls are ready to receive some NC STATE red paint (1 wall only)

The bathroom is a different story. We (Howie and my Dad) had to remove the wallpaper due to the moisture we were not able to paint over it. Well there was a second equally lovely wallpaper hiding underneath!!!! It has been a time sucking mess.

Hopefully the painting will start next weekend! I am also hoping to buy a mattress this week as well!! Getting closer, now if we can just get our file into the court system!!!!

Happy Sunday :)

Share the love......Day 3

Donations are coming in to help raise money for diapers for the orphanage!!! I have such amazing friends and family :) Please consider, even 1 dollar will help provide much needed diapers.

Not that the prizes are the driving factor for all the donations we will be giving away a few things. Here is a run down of what we have so far. I thank my many talented and loving friends for all the handmade awesomeness!!
1. Handmade hair clips and hangers
2. Handmade greeting cards
3. Handmade ear ring holder (4)
4. Movie tickets for 2
5. photo tote bags
6. gift basket (2) made by a friend
7. 2 Bulgarian adoption books
8. Restaurant gift card (2)
Each $5 dollar donation will enter you to win. Also if you share the fund raiser on your blog or FB you will also get an entry (just have to message me that you shared)!! We are committed to making a difference :)

In other news.....our file is STILL on the desk of an MOJ official. Yes it has been 7 weeks since our Article 5 was issued and we are getting ANXIOUS!!!! We have also gotten word that the kids are warm in the orphanage despite the horrible winter in Bulgaria. We miss her so very much and the wait seems to get harder each day.

We just got word Audrey was accepted into "Weekday Kindergarten" at a local church for next fall. She is a few weeks too young to attend the charter school the boys attend. We decided a small (12 kids) half day program would be perfect for her. She is smart yet very shy so we hope this environment will help her grow and mature so she will be ready for "BIG KINDERGARTEN" the next year.

Please keep Ryan in your thoughts as he will be having an MRI Monday for a knee problem. The doctor has released him from total rest and he is back to normal activity, including soccer until after the MRI. We hope to avoid knee surgery, he is only 8!!! The 6 weeks of rest did not change his xray and had a very negative impact on his behavior at school and at home.

Lastly, I am working hard this month to improve my gym performance and reduce my body fat (NOT WEIGHT). The goal is to see how diet affects performance. Not sure if anybody is interested in the detail but I will track my progress. Starting 142 pounds, 24.9% body fat, waist 29 inches, hips 38 1/2 inch, thigh, 21 inches, chest 35 1/2 inches, bicep, 11 1/2 inches. Baseline workout 205 pound dead lift and 17 minutes 5 seconds on benchmark workout. The "contest" lasts 49 days and my goal is to eat more protein (100g daily), more veggies and fruits, no milk, no sugar (SO NOT FAIR with Valentine cany)!!!!

Well that is all for now :)
Please think about sharing the love and a huge thanks to those that have shared their love

Share Your Love......

With The Orphans of Bulgaria!!!!! Now through 3/15/12

"Adopting one child won't change the world; but for that child, the world will change”

The world will change for our sweet girl but there are so many children left behind without a loving family and many basic needs of life. It is our mission to try to leave the orphanage where our daughter spent the first 2 ½ years of her life with a little extra necessities, specifically diapers!!! Many days the kids are only using 3 diapers per day!!!!!

When we return to Bulgaria we would like to donate diapers to the orphanage. It is important that we purchase them in Bulgaria due to the bulky nature of the diapers and cost to ship. They are also cheaper to purchase in Bulgaria than the states. All donations are greatly appreciated and very much needed. Our daughter has 16 children in her "group".

For each $5 dollars donated your name will be entered in a drawing for 1 of many fabulous prizes many homemade by my special talented friends. Here is a sneak peek and some of the great prizes.

Photo Tote Bag
2 Bulgarian Adoption Books

Beautiful handmade greeting cards

Adorable hair clips for the sweet girl in your life Restruant gift card (chillis, On the Border, Macaroni Grill, Maggianos)

Restrauant Gift card (Texad Roadhouse)

Beautiful gift basket stuffed with lots of goodies!!!

Beautiful gift basket stuffed with lots of goodies!!!

Several more prizes will be added in the next few days!!!

Please use the pay pal link at the top of the blog or message to arrange other payment methods!!!

Thanks, each and every dollar will make a difference :)

2 months...

Since we last saw her sweet sweet face!!!!

Each day gets harder and harder as her pictures flash daily on our digital picture frame. I know she will have a lifetime with us but each day seems harder than the last without her.

Our case is "officially delayed", waiting on a signature before a court date can be issued!!! Our Article 5 was issued late December and here it is Feb and we are still waiting for a signature. Delay is certain in IA adoptions. With that said, the certainty of delay does not make it any easier to deal with. Anxiously waiting for good news from our agency!!!!