Pre-Trial Has Been Set!!!

We just received word that our pretrial has been set for May 21. Woohoo!! We are thrilled to finally have some word from Russia! Our court date must be on or before June 14 so we will not have much advance notice at all to get tickets and visas and make arrangements to be gone for 3 weeks or more. We are hoping for court by June 4 because our 8 doctor medical that we did on trip 1 expires June 5 and will have to all be redone in Khabarovsk if we don't have court before then. We are going to go ahead and redo our bloodwork here just in case so that we won't be waiting on a lab at the last minute. We are also going to send our passports to the travel agent so she can immediately apply for our visas on May 21 when we get our court date. We've been dying for some news and I am feeling so excited and stressed right now! We were disappointed that the pretrial is not sooner so that we can pin down the exact date and start planning; but we do know that, God willing, by June 14 we will be the proud parents of a little Russian princess!!

Jill and I painted Valerie's room a pretty purple yesterday. I am so pleased with it! Once I hang the curtains and get it all arranged I'll post some pictures.

No News This Week

We had hoped to receive news that our court date had been scheduled last week. No news yet. Maybe next week. May 1 is a holiday in Russia (Spring and Labor Day) so hopefully the judge will want to clear her desk before then and assign us a court date! We're trying hard to be patient. We're still hoping for court in early June. Hoping and Believing!!

What size is this cute foot?

Look at this tiny cute foot! What size do you think it is? We tried clothes on Valerie while we were on trip 1 so we would have a good idea what size to bring for her on trip 2. All the clothes she wore when we were there had Russian tags so we couldn't read the sizes. The 12 month clothes we brought were a little small, the 18 months were a little big so we thought 18 months would probably work for this summer. We had intentions of tracing her foot but we had this bright idea. We're smart like that. We held her cute little tootsie up to a book we brought and it came right up to the last row of writing on the back cover. This would have been a good judge of length if only we hadn't left the book with her because she liked it so much! Aren't we brilliant!? I'm thinking we'll probably take size 4 and 5 and hope one of those fits. If not, we can donate those to the orphanage and buy her some there. Could her feet be as small as a size 3? Hmmmm.....What do you think?

It's All There!

We got an email from Olga saying last Friday the judge had summoned Irina, our AIA coordinator in Khabarovsk, to her chambers because we were missing some documents. But the judge had just overlooked them and Irina was able to quickly show them to her! It's all there. Yeah, Irina!!
We are told we could hear something about a court date this week!!! This weekend, we watched the video of our time with Valerie at the orphanage on trip 1. Come on court date! It can't get here soon enough!
I tried to post another picture today but we have super slooooooww dial up and it throws me off everytime I try to upload it. Maybe someday we can get wireless or something more highspeed out here in the sticks.

Adoption Progress

I actually started this blog to keep people informed about our adoption. We've had so much other stuff going on lately that I've failed to update about our progress. Our last bit of hard earned paperwork was hand delivered to Irina in Khabarovsk last week by another couple with AIA. Our dossier is 100% complete and in the judge's hands. Monday, we were excited to hear that Valerie's release letter had arrived from Moscow. Now the judge has everything she needs. There will be a pretrial where she goes over all our documents and assigns us a court date!! She could (God forbid) request additional documents from us at this time but we are hoping we will hear about a court date soon. We've been told we could travel in early June so that it what we are praying for. I miss that little girl so much. I wonder what she's doing right now, if she's taken her first steps, or cut another tooth. My arms ache to hold her again!
Valerie's bedding and curtains came in this week! It's purple, green, and yellow with flowers and butterflies. I'm so glad that I didn't have them up yet as they would be pretty smoky and smelly now. It is all so cute and I can't wait to get this nasty mess all cleaned up so I can decorate!

Pictures After the Fire

This is just south of our house. The fire was so hot and high that it burned the wooden platform out of the top of the windmill. Doesn't it look like the desert? That used to be a pretty cottonwood and a pine tree in the background.
This is our backyard. A good part of our lawn is actually under there somewhere. Once all the grass was burned there was nothing to hold down the sand so all that sand and ashes blew up into our yard. I have since raked it all out and built a makeshift fence out of feed tubs to keep the sand out (I hope!). We have worked very hard on the yard since we moved out here 4 years ago. Turning pasture into lawn isn't easy! Please pray that it will rain soon to settle the dust and soot and grow something pretty and green out there again. I'm afraid the fire killed our trees. You can kinda see the frame of Blaine's trampoline to the left of the swingset. The pad is totally gone. The fire was so close that the mop on our back porch caught on fire.

WILD FIRE!

This is the entrance to our property. At this time last Spring, it was beautiful with thick green grass and lots of colorful wildflowers blooming. We have not had a rain yet this Spring. Last week this area was covered in dry grass. Now it is sand and burned mesquites. There was a fence on each side of the cattle gaurd but all the posts were burned. Luckily our house is still there.

Last Thursday I went to Midland with Nana and Bub. On the way home we drove through a fire that was burning on I-20. As we got closer to my house we realized there was another fire burning in the west. It seemed pretty far off. I unloaded my groceries and went out to look. I climbed up and could see lots of smoke off in the distance. It was very windy so I called Todd. I told him there was a fire and I would call him back if I thought it would get close to the house. I hung up and walked to the back window and was horrified to already see flames in the pasture behind our house! I called Todd back and screamed, "COME HOME NOW!" Blaine and I hooked hoses together and put sprinklers at the edge of the pasture. What happened next is kind of a blur.
I moved my dad's Mule to the front of the house. Melvin Craft was just pulling in so I knew the volunteer fire department was probably on its way. Blaine was crying and I knew I needed to get him to safety so we hopped in the car and drove up to the highway. When we turned to look at the house there was a huge wall of flames and tons of smoke behind it. I didn't think there was any way it could be saved. I realized that I hadn't gotten anything out of the house so I left Blaine with a nice lady on the highway and raced back to the house. I ran inside and began to grab a few things. I got my laptop, several albums and stacks of pictures, our big binder of adoption documents, and our passports. By this time I was beginning to feel panic. Larry, my father in law, ran in and said I needed to get out and asked what else I wanted to take. I grabbed one last framed picture of the 3 of us off the desk and left.
By this time flames were already on both sides of our road as I headed back to the highway. Poor Blaine was so scared and upset. It was incredibly chaotic. Firetrucks were pulling in, firemen were yelling, smoke was everywhere. Soon we couldn't see or breathe and we could feel the heat from the fire that was jumping the highway just to the north of us so we moved down to Larry and Polly Sue's gate. I stood on top of my vehicle and tried to see my house. There was nothing but smoke and flames. The wind was 55 mph. I was so scared for all the firefighters who were now surrounded by fire. I also knew Todd must be there somewhere. I have done lots of praying but I know that I have never prayed so intensely or been so scared in all my life.
Several water trucks were already pulling in as the fire was working it's way to Todd's parent's house.
I desperately wanted to find Todd and thought maybe I could get something out of the house for Polly Sue (who was stuck up the highway at a road block). I left Blaine again with the same sweet lady and ran up the road to the house. It was locked. I looked out toward the corrals and was so relieved to see Todd! He had driven the mule over from our house. He didn't have his keys and mine were in my vehicle on the highway so he told me to take the mule and get my keys to his parent's house and then come back and get some things out for them. I loaded the dogs onto the mule and as I headed back up the road the wind shifted and the air was filled with black smoke. By the time I got back to Blaine who was now sitting in an ambulance because they moved my car further down the highway, we couldn't see a thing. Blaine was screaming, "Let's get out of here Mama! Take me to Nana's house!" I knew there was no way I could leave him again and I couldn't even see Larry and Polly Sue's house anymore. I was terrified that I had taken Todd's ride and that he might pass up a ride with someone else thinking the Mule was still there. Again, some serious praying was going on.
At this point I didn't know if my house was still there and I was pretty sure Larry and Polly Sue's wouldn't make it because they have lots of dry cane behind it that would burn in a minute. I remember seeing a firefighter in the back of the ambulance getting some oxygen. I was feeling panicky on the inside but stayed calm for Blaine on the outside. I told him over and over that we were ok and that's all that mattered. We prayed for Daddy and Papa and all the firefighters and then I decided it was time to get away because Blaine was scared, the dogs were going crazy, and it was just a horrible sight to watch. We drove down several miles to Nana and Bub's house where their phone and my cell phone were ringing like crazy. I was pacing and we kept going out and climbing up on the fence to see the fire. We finally got word that both houses had been saved!! We also heard that Polly Sue had talked to Larry and Todd and they were ok. They had gotten the sprayer truck and were out helping with the fire. I was so relieved!
I have to say that we have an awesome Volunteer Fire Department! I've seen them in action before fighting grassfires, sometimes even on our ranch. But watching them rush into an extremely dangerous situation determined to save our home definitely gives me a whole new appreciation for them. Without them, I would definitely be without a home tonight. This is not their job. They are all volunteers. They do it because they care! We are grateful beyond words.
This fire has caused a lot of work for a lot of people. Several ranches were affected. Miles of fence must be rebuilt. Electric lines and telephone poles were burned to the ground. We have a good bit of soot and smoke damage to clean up in the house as do Todd's parents.
So many people have been so good to us! People have brought food, helped rebuild our fences on the highway, offered materials, and given lots of hugs. We appreciate the prayers Thursday night and since so very much. We know God was watching out for us, our homes, and all those involved. As far as we know there were not any serious injuries. We have a big mess at home but realize we are so blessed to have a home to clean! I'll post more pictures later.

Ups and Downs

Wow! Long time no blog. We have had so much going on here lately. In regard to my last post, we were on quite a roller coaster ride last week trying to complete a few last minute documents regarding licenses from our home study agency. These are the papers AIA requested from our homestudy agency waaaayy back on February 7, but don't get me started on that again! TX puts expiration dates but not issuance dates on licenses for social workers or child placing agency administrators so we needed letters from their licensing boards stating when there licenses were issued. Sounds simple, right? Ha ha ha. I won't bore you with all the details but after many many many emails and calls with me actually begging and crying on the phone, the letters were completed and arrived at our adoption agency in Alaska last Thursday. What a relief! Or at least it was until I got the email from Olga, our director, saying one of the letters was signed incorrectly. Ugh! So after more frantic emailing and phone calls, arrangements were made for the letter to be reissued and signed correctly this time. We just got word that the new document arrived in Alaska today and will be hand delivered in Khabarovsk by another AIA family traveling this week! Hallelujah!!

Todd's dad had a very scary accident week before last. He was injured badly by a bull. He was thrown in the air, hit his head on the fence and then was trampled pretty good. Thank goodness the vet was there to get the bull off of him and call the ambulance. He is still very sore and has a very badly separated shoulder. The surgeon decided not to operate but to try physical therapy first. We hope that will be very successful. It was a bad accident but could have been so much worse. While he is recovering Todd has been doing more of the work on the ranch on top of an already very busy schedule. I wanted to share a neat story with you - Of course in busy times like these, everything seems to tear up or quit working. A windmill had stopped pumping water so after they worked on it all one afternoon, Todd drove back that evening to see if it was pumping. It wasn't. Todd said he was exhausted and frustrated and he just started praying. He said, "Lord, I just don't think I can take much more right now." Right then he looked up and water came pouring out of the pipe. Pretty cool, huh? God doesn't give us more than we can take, but sometimes we feel like he overestimates us a little!!!

My grandfather passed away this week and we had his service this morning. It is a sad time but we just can't help but celebrate. After 91 years, Grandpa Joe became a christian just 3 weeks ago! What a comfort today to know that he is in heaven and in no pain! Praise God!!! This was Blaine's first experience with the death of a family member. He did remarkably well. He was very curious about everything at the funeral home and the cemetery but never seemed scared or overly upset. He said, "The next time I see Grandpa Joe will be when I go to heaven but that won't be for a long time. You'll probably see him before me, Mama."
My cousin Matt and his wife Lyndsey brought their beautiful baby girl with them to the funeral. She's 18 months old and reminds me alot of Valerie. It was such a joy to play with her and watch Blaine interact with her but it made me really really miss Valerie!

The last couple of weeks have been full of ups and downs. Even in the midst of the downs, we have a lot to be thankful for. My next project is Valerie's room. Can you believe we've been home 4 weeks and I haven't started that yet? I'm excited about it though. I'll keep you posted!