Gotcha day!

Wow, ok I know I have been horrible and have not posted in forever! WE GOT OUR BOY!!! This wk has been flying by and appts and Peyton have been keeping us busy. I cant really think right now about everything and we are tired and have to be up at like 2:30 in the morning for our flight home. This weeks process went extremely well. We are so blessed, so many things that could have been a problem were not, Praise Jesus! Gotcha day was Sept 14th! Here are some pics from this week. I will write more when I can. I really should be in bed!

Love The Wilsons
Erick, Chrissy, Ethan, Jacey, PEYTON, and Taylor

Court Day!

Today was the day, the big day that has been hanging over our heads the past few months. A decision that would affect the rest of this journey and our lives...

Our facilitator came into town early this morning and woke us up... though it wasn't time to get ready yet. We rested some more and then got ready for the day. Then she came and talked to us about how court was going to go and what we needed to say and do. It was a lot of information and we got a little nervous but then Erick and I prayed over it all. Shortly after, it was time to leave. The court is just a block or 2 away from our apt, so we walked there. We waited around in a hallway in the building while Luda delivered some papers. Then she came back and we waited a bit more. The whole time we sat there we would pray off and on individually and one thing the Lord told me was to relax, that we can't mess this up. This is his work, we are just to move in obedience. The Holy Spirit is the one in control. That was a great peace giver. “Salvation is mine says the Lord”. Whatever the Lord wills, will come to pass. We were ready to rest in whatever that answer was and move fwd as we keep following after him.

Then, it was time to enter the court room. It was a cute little room. It was us and Luda, and a prosecutor, social worker, orphanage representative, a court secretary, and 2 witnesses. We waited around for a bit and then the judge entered. He was younger than we expected. Everyone was self introduced and our paperwork was read off while Luda translated on the fly for us. Then it was time to say why we wanted to adopt and answer questions from the judge/prosecutor. Only one of us needed to speak, so Erick spoke on our behalf. He did a great job! The rest of court proceeded, nobody in the court objected to our adoption and maybe like an hour or so later we were dismissed to return back for the judge's decree at 2:30pm (I guess he had lunch plans). So we left and Luda said that we did a great job and was proud of us. Then we went to a nearby cafe and had lunch. It was a cute little cafe but seemed like in the middle of nowhere. We had plenty of time and enjoyed some good food and conversation with Luda, she is so great! Then we walked back to the court right in time. We waited for a bit in the hall and then it was time to go in the room. A few min later the judge arrived, we all stood and he read off his decree. In a nut shell... THE COURT FULLY ACCEPTS YOUR ADOPTION!!! Joy beamed to our faces (Erick started crying a bit) and then the judge said congratulations and left. Then Luda gave us big hugs and that was it!



From there we walked back to the apt for a bit to wait to go to orphanage. That was nice so we could change out of court clothes. Then we left to go see Peyton. The director wanted to meet with Luda a little earlier than visit time so we just sat in on the groupa snack time while they met in the office. It was nice to see all the kids but it was a little awkward waiting there for Luda and the director to come back (it took like an hour) since it was not like a regular visit where we could play. Then they arrived and the director congratulated us, she was very happy and so nice to us. Then she had Luda take pics of the whole groupa together, and some with us in it! What an awesome opportunity to advocate for other orphans!

Then it was time to take Peyton to get his passport photo taken. So we, Luda, our driver, Peyton and an orphanage caregiver all got in the car and took a little drive. Peyton sat on my lap (they don't wear seatbelts here). He was so excited about being in the car. He talked nonstop about everything! We got his pic taken and then took him back. We had about 30 min or so left of visit time and Luda joined us and we all stayed with the groupa visiting outside. The other kids kept trying to come to me and calling me mama and Peyton got so jealous and would push them away. “My mama”, he says. It was nice to get a chance to interact a bit with the others though. More pics were taken and then it was time to leave. The caregivers and Luda all explained to him what was happening and he understands we will be gone for a bit but then return to get him.



It was a very busy day and now we are tired and ready to relax. But of course I had to post this wonderful blog for all you wonderful people out there first! You are part of this miracle, all of your prayers and contributions have played a part in this redemption story. Thank you!

Love
The Wilsons

Greenlight for Court!

Well we got the good news this morning that everything is ready for court Wed! Praise the Lord for his provision! Continue to pray with us over the next couple days for court to go well; for our representation before the court, for the judge to agree to the adoption, for our nerves to be rested and know God has it all in His hands... and of course for Peyton to understand the process and to be ready to come home with us. We are not sure if Peyton will have to be in court or not. He may be old enough to where the judge wants him there and where he has to agree to be adopted. So if this is required, we pray he does not get scared or anything and understands whats is going on and that he clearly shows (through actions, words, and spirit)that he wants us to be his parents.

Things have been going well. Our visits good, but are different from one to the next. Some, Peyton is calm and stays entertained with things well. Others, he is hyper and doesn't stay focused on anything long and pushes boundaries. We are not sure what causes these changes. It may be that sometimes he is on some sort of sedative (like Ritalin or something), or it may be that he had sugar that morning, did or didn't nap, or got in trouble, etc??? We don't know what happens with him while we are away so it is hard to say. We also think that part of the issue may be the other children. When other groupas come out, he seems to get more active. Like he wants to show off or something. They distract him. He wants to play with them but he isn't supposed to. So not getting to do what he wants may make him act out. But who knows, the other day he sat with us at the table almost the entire 2 hours and there was a groupa out with us for maybe half of that time. Yet he stayed calm and focused on things at the table. It will be nice to get him home in our own environment so that we can really be his authority and know what is happening with him 24/7. It is hard “parenting” him under other control and an environment we don't know much about and not being able to communicate.

We had a nice weekend with good visits. Saturday the weather was wonderful and Erick and I took an afternoon stroll into the main part of the city (about a 10+ min walk from our place). There happened to be some sort of race going on, runners and bikers all over the place and streets blocked off and entertainment set up. That was kind of neat to see. We were looking for a place to eat some local food, but we never seemed to find anything on our walk. They have a bunch of outdoor “bars” open that serve drinks and desserts but no meals- in the middle of the day, weird. We finally ended up at the cafe/pizza place we went to the first day here in this city. We thought we would try to order but we ended up leaving cuz we just couldn't figure out the menu AT ALL (we miss being able to communicate). So we walked back home and on the way stopped at the huge outdoor market (which is like a mall outdoors) across from where we are staying. We picked up some “fast food” there, though mine was disgusting. It was supposed to be a hot dog, but was nothing like what I am used to. Erick lucked out with a good sausage kolache. All in all, we had a nice walk on a nice day and saw some of the city and took some pics. Saturday night we watched a movie on Netflix. We got interrupted by a Skype call from the kids, they missed us. We gladly stopped our movie to see those wonderful faces! We are ready to be back home with them (and Peyton too).

Sunday morning we slept in and then walked to the market again for some breakfast (lunch rather). We walked around and it is amazing how many vendors are set up, this “mall” is huge. There is everything from meat markets, dairy markets, fruits and veggies, to clothes, shoes, toys, bikes, bags, kitchen items, on and on... never seen a mall like this before. And it was crowded! Occasionally a car would drive out right down the walkway. Most of it was under a giant tent structure, others just set up outside it or alongside the street. Then there was a series of smaller tents all together that made up more of the mall. But I wonder if they all pack this stuff up every day and then set back up again. Bad weather would even ruin the stuff up under the tent I would think. Anyways, then we went back home and watched last weeks church service online. It is good to have a piece of home to watch and stay connected that way!

We only have 3 visits left with Peyton before court. Then maybe 1 after and then we go home. I will update you after court when I get a chance. Thanks for your prayers!

Love
The Wilsons

Prayers please!

ok prayer warriors, just got word an important doc is missing from Peyton's file... Our facilitator just found out around 5 something this evening and the office she needed to contact about it closed at like 4. Pray hard that they can locate it quickly Mon when the work wk starts back or else we might have to postpone court another 2 wks!!!
Thanks
The Wilsons

Court Date!!!

Ok so we have a court date... Wed Aug 31st @ 11am!!! Pray pray pray! God has blessed this journey here immensely and we ask for this huge step to be triumphed as well! If all goes well, we will fly home Thurs-Fri and return the following weekend. If all goes well on the 2nd trip, we should have him home the weekend after that! So mid Sept! How glorious this would be!

Our visits with Peyton have been going very well. We are blown away by how God is moving in our times together. Recently he began pushing boundaries and testing us. He was a little rowdy Tuesday where we had to take a certain toy away from him. He was not happy about it at all, but didn't overly act out about it. Right after that it was time for us to go and then the next day (yesterday)it was raining and we were going to have to stay inside for the whole 2 hrs, in the little play area with lots of balls, physical therapy stuff, and broken toys. He gets more active when in there for some reason. I was praying for God to make the visit a good one, where Peyton was able to be calmed and less chaotic in there. I prayed that we would be able to hold his interest in things so that he was not running from thing to thing or getting out of hand. God totally made it happen! He was calmer than we had seen him and we had some special moments. He found Erick could play the piano and he wanted him to play. So Erick sat there and wrote a soothing song and Peyton would get memorized by it. It was so cool. The visit went well.

Today we were able to go back outside and it went really well too, again he was a little calmer than normal. We brought him gummybears today. he shared with is class then the caregiver let him take the rest outside with us. He sat there and ate them. This was a great smooth start to our visit. He kept himself busy pretty easily. At one point he raked up leaves into a pile and then cleaned them up. Similarly, he raked up a pile of sand on the ground outside the sandbox and put it back in the box. He is very diligent in his work. He is good at projects.

During the 2nd visit today, after a while he was wanting to do something that would not be very safe and I said no, but he kept trying to get me to help him do it. He got a little upset and had a mini fit, but I picked him up, held him and said gently, no no no, not safe, it's ok. He calmed down. Then soon after he went and started doing what I said no to. I stopped him and he got more upset. He threw more of a fit. But again, I picked him up and went and sat down with him this time. We did the "time in" thing (instead of time-out), where I hold him on my lap in loving discipline, containing him and gently speaking to him about keeping him safe, loving him, and how to behave. He was whining but after a while he was fine. I am soooo thankful I learned of this technique from others!!! Then he got busy playing. Soon after, the Director came over and after a few minutes of trying to understand each other, we realized she wanted Peyton to sit and do some coloring. He came right over and sat down to color. Very obedient! Then after he was done with what she said to do, he was ready to run off again. We were able to get him to stay and do some more on another page though. Then he wanted to go off and play somewhere else. I told him to clean up the mess he already made from playing earlier and he did. Right after, Erick pulled out the video we made b4 we left of the kids and my mom and sis saying hi to him. It caught his attention b4 he could run off and he had to watch it a few times over. He really liked it and waved back at Babushka really excitedly one of the times! Then this led to him being intrigued with the tablet computer. So we showed him angry birds, he got a kick out of that. It took us a while to get him to do it right, but he had fun. He loves the technology we carry around. He always wants to see my phone and push all the buttons on it. At the end of this visit we turned some worship music on and he carried the phone around listening to it. I picked him up and we spun around dancing to the music. He loved this! A little piece of heaven for this mama!

Saturday visits

We went for our morning visit and brought the groupa bananas. They all sat around the table nice and quietly and the caregivers passed out their plates. Peyton kept looking at us smiling. Another little boy waved at us. They waited patiently and then they were told they could eat and there they went. The banana was cut up on the plate, and they ate with their hands very carefully. Peyton ate with his right hand, though he has been coloring with his left. He was the first one finished (he was ready to go play with us), stood up, gently pushed in his chair and asked to wash his hands. He has such manners. After cleaning up, he excitingly went the the room where his train was that we gave him, grabbed my hand and headed for the door. We played outside with him alone for a while. After a while the groupa came out and played in a nearby area. We pulled out a new toy, a bulldozer type of truck hotwheel. He loved it, knew exactly what it was and started playing in the sandbox with it. Then he wanted to show his caregivers, so he ran to where they were and I followed him. As soon as we walked in the area another little boy came up and said hi and gave me a hug, it was so cute. Then another little boy came and grabbed my hand and stood there smiling at me. Then Peyton wanted to go off and play again so I ran after him. Every time we would play with something new he would do this, he wanted to show everyone what he had and say we brought it for him. He loves to run and he is pretty fast. It's so cute, he kind of hops on his toes as he runs. When we brought out the bubbles he played with those for a long time. He liked to blow them in our face. He could even blow one and then catch it back on the stick, you can tell he has had bubble experience.

We had two visits today. We get 2 hours twice a day. They actually go by pretty fast. He loves to find every toy possible and play. He was even trying to move wooden benches and stuff around. The stuff out in the shed they have to play with is very old, most are torn up, broken, missing parts, etc. They also have storage furniture that is falling apart and rusty nails poking out. He pulled out this big wooden box or whatever to try to play with it somehow and it was falling apart and I had to explain to him, no no, ouchy. (I need to learn the word for dangerous, not a toy). So I tucked the box back away under the desks. He has a great imagination and sense of play. Like a typical boy, he is crashing cars, running over monkeys, shooting bears, etc... at one point during the second visit he had a toy mouse (looked like a person with a mouse head) and I had a stuffed little teddybear (they were about the same size). We put them next to each other and I pretended to make the bear talk and then he said something for the mouse to the bear- which was “I love you” (our facilitator happened to be on this visit with us and told us that's what he said), then the animals hugged. I want to think that he was talking to us through the play animals. :) He loves to try to climb up the slide but his shoes are too slippery. So I helped him climb up, then he would roll his train, truck, and a little pony down the slide, then he would go down. He just loved this. He would turn around, stand there and say more, and I would help him back up the slide, give him the toys and the process would repeat. He would laugh throughout the process. He loves to giggle and laugh. Sometimes I would reach over and tickle him a little and he loves that. He was riding the toy horse thing at some point and I was occasionally tickling him, he is extremely ticklish it seems. He would crack up in joy. We got video. Another groupa came out while we were playing and we would want to show them things but then got jealous and mad when they wanted his stuff. He likes the fact that something is actually his, just for him.

When we left, Luda told us that throughout the visit Peyton would keep asking her if she (and us) would take him to the airplane. He is so ready to go home! When she told him we would come back tomorrow, he said "and you will take me to the plane?" She had to say yes but not tomorrow. So sweet.

First pics!

Train ride and 1st Visit

Thursday we got to sleep in and then we packed up our stuff and headed out to the adoption office around 4, again we rode with another couple- one in which we met at dinner the night before. The other families were there at the office waiting around outside as well. While we waited the team filled us in on what the plan was for everyone and we got to know the others a bit. After about an hour or so, they called us in to give our referral. From there, we were taken to the train station with the same couple since we are both going to the same region. We ate lunch/dinner at the McDonald's there before boarding. We boarded the train for a 7:30pm departure, it was a 11.5 hr train ride overnight. We chilled for a bit and the the other couple, who was right next door to us, lent us a movie to watch. We watched the movie and then I tried to sleep and Erick worked. Sleep was not happening though. Erick's computer died after a while and he wasn't tired so he played games. We both finally slept, but he awoke after 1.5 hrs and didn't get any more. I had more than that but not sure how much, it was not constant either. We were to arrive at 7am, we were both up at 5am I think. We started the day tired and are extremely tired right now.

We arrived and split from the other couple, as we were going on to a different city. Luda and our driver took us an hour away to do some paperwork, then took us a little ways further for more paperwork, then we went to the orphanage which was not far from there. I was impressed when we first walked through the entry way outside. There is lots of playground type stuff in the courtyard. One little boy was out there and we stared at us as we walked by. We went in the building and straight to the directors office. A lot of Russian was spoken and some translated to us. She and the doctor told us all about Peyton. There was lots of discussion. And lots of agreeing on our part. Then the caregiver brought Peyton in. He smiled when he saw us; he has the biggest, cutest, sweetest smile (just like all my kids). He is little and has darker hair than we thought he would and it is cut very short. The director talked with him and had him do some drawing and answer some casual conversation type of questions. He acted out some animals, apparently he recently was in a little skit or something. It was so cute!!! She talked to him about us and then we gave him a toy Thomas the train. He smiled at it. He came and got it from me and then said thank you and walked away a bit. He talked with his caregiver and she pointed out things and so did he. She showed him how to play with it and rolled it on the desk in front of us for him. Then he came over and played with it for a second. Then he walked away again. He stood there and she asked if he would like to keep meeting with us and he smiled excitedly, said yes and looked at us then bashfully put his head down with the smile still beaming. He would do that a lot... So stinkin cute! Every time he would look at us he would smile. It was his lunch time so he had to go and we were not allowed time for pics. We can take them the next visit.

We talked more with the director and then we left to be shown his groupa, which is the group of kids he belongs to and where they are in the orphanage. They were eating lunch and we walked in and Peyton lit up with a big smile again! They were all so cute sitting around the little table. It as kind of dark in there so it was not very easy to see. We said bye to the kids and then we were shown where to come and go for our visits and we waited outside for Luda to finish talking. The director liked us and is getting the process started for us.

We left and went back to one of the offices we had gone to before for paperwork, we finally got some food (1pm) while Luda did business. Then we finally got to go to the apt we are staying in. Erick is taking a nap and I am writing this blog. We are about to be picked up to go back for our second visit! And yes, we will have internet!

Will post again after this visit

Love
The Wilsons

Adoption Appointment

Well today was our appt in which we saw Peyton's file, or rather sat there as Yulia translated a few key parts of the file to us, and we signed off saying we saw it and agree to continue pursuing Peyton. I thought the appt was going to be more to it than that, but we were in and out in like 4 min, no questions or anything. We got some minor info on his birth family and found out how long he has been an orphan. We really wanted to get some more info on all the the "why's" in our head, but maybe we can get that later? I am hoping we get to keep that file once adoption final? We saw a pic of him from when he was like 1 years old or so, it was a close up of his face. He was a cute baby but I would not have recognized it as him. He had his brown eyes even back then, ;) And we saw a pic of him from when he was like maybe 3. This was full body, he was standing in a hallway against a wall, smiling. He always seems happy in his pics. You could definitely tell it was him in that pic, but he did look a little bit different than all the 4 yr old pics we have.

On the way to the appt our driver Niko also had to pick up another couple, this was a family we have met through RR and found each other on FB. They are from TX, which is neat and they also know some people we know through our church. Small world! it was nice to meet others. Well, picking them up took 30 min instead of like 5 because their phone malfunctioned and their doorbell wasn't working so we couldn't get ahold of them to let them know we were there. Finally, Niko was able to get to them and we were off to the appt. We got there a couple min late but it was okay. Yulia was there waiting for us and we went straight in the side of the building and waited on the stairs to be called for our turn. The other family still had a little wait for their appt so they sat in a waiting area. Within maybe 5 min we were called up to the room and we sat down on a couch and a file and our dossier papers were all placed in front of us and a lot of Russian talking was going on. The lady asked for our passports, verified them as us, and then proceeded to open up Peyton's file and list things off it in which Yulia translated. Then, we signed a paper and left the office and sat in waiting area while the other family had their appt.

Leaving the appt we almost got in another car accident cuz someone was backing out of a parking space and not paying attention. The rules of the road here are lacking to say the least. It really makes you pay attention though cuz you expect crazy moves all around you.

Our referral to go visit Peyton will be ready tomorrow afternoon and then we will take the train overnight. I think it is a 14 hr ride! After arriving in region we will then be driven to his city, which I think might be a 2 hour drive away??? So another day of travel is ahead of us!

Thank you so much for all your prayers, we are truly feeling and seeing them!

Love
The Wilsons

1st days of travel

All flights went well. We didn't sleep on any of them though so we got very tired by the end of the trip. I read a book on the 1st plane ride and so did Erick. I watched 3 movies on the 2nd plane- Erick watched 2. One of the movies we watched simultaneously together. The seats were very crowded; closer together than we were expecting. Erick tried to work but it was too hard due to lack of space so after a while he put his computer away. I tried sleeping a little but never did. On the last plane we both tried sleeping because we were extremely tired but it didn't really work out.

In our DC layover there was a Fuddruckers in the airport, so we ate that b4 getting on the plane. Glad we did cuz the in flight meal was not all that.

We had long layover in Munich, that took forever! Our gate changed two times in those 4 hrs and we were confused on how to get to our gate because their signs were not really directing you right. We were soooo tired at that point but didn't want to fall asleep. One thing we noticed here was that there were Camel ads everywhere. The ads would say smoking can kill you and then you would turn around and see smoking areas and smoking booths. I took pics of them. We went to exchange some money to get a mocha style coffee but it was like $10 each. So we found a little shop and Erick got a coke and I got a little bottled iced coffee mochiatto, which turned out pretty good- those cost us like $10 all together!!! We were bored for our 4 hr layover, and the wifi wasn't free, so we could not get online. Erick played angry birds for a bit, I tried but I was too tired to play. Finally I tried to read my Kindle, but when I got it out is was dead! I hadn't even used it yet! When we were about to board the plane a group of kids in some special group got lined up to board. They were so cute in their matching shirts (which we later found out said HOPE). Not sure where they were coming from or what they were all doing, but it was neat to see a bunch of kids from Peyton's country; made us think of Peyton.

We landed in our destination and walked out of the plane then onto a bus that drove us to the terminal. We went through passport check and then got our bags. As soon as we stepped out into the waiting area we saw our driver, Eugene, with our "Wilsons" sign and he whisked us away to the car. On the way to the apt he would point out different things in the city. We almost got in a accident at one point cuz some car ran a red light.

We got to the apt which is cute. It has a washer, toilet, tub, little kitchen, living area and bedroom. As soon as we got in we turned around and went right back out so Eugene could show us how to walk to the food, grocery, money exchange, etc. Rush rush rush! That was a long walk downhill (and we were so tired). The walk back was a workout. We returned and he left and we searched how to turn on the AC, we were sweaty. We got settled a little and were really ready to go to bed. We set up computers and such so we could charge all our stuff that died. Then we realized we had nothing to drink and you are not supposed to drink the water. So we contemplated going back out to buy some but it looked like it might rain and it was getting dark and we were not sure how late things were open. Finally we ended up going out but as soon as we did it started raining. We went down a ways and then decided just to go home and boil some water and stick it in the fridge if we need it. Erick signed on SKYPE when we got back and posted on FB. My computer wouldn't connect wirelessly to his and I was tired so I just went to bed, it was I think 8pm. Like an hour later he came to bed and I was still awake. He was out in 2 min and I was still awake. I was definitely being attacked in my mind. I just was worried about everything and got scared. I kept praying and letting it all go but I just couldn't sleep. After 4 hrs of laying there I took some melatonin and I think I was asleep within 45-60 min!

We woke up today around 8:30am. Checked email, I made an AdvoCare coffecino and Erick had a SPARK. I surfed FB while Erick showered. Then we switched. We got ready for the day and Eugene picked us up for some sight-seeing at 11:30am or so. We drove more into downtown and stopped where the adoption center is and did some souvenir shopping. Then we walked to a little cafe for lunch. It was really good! It was such a nice day out, the breeze sitting outside was wonderful. Then we walked around the city, getting a tour. We now know a lot of the country history. We saw lots of statues, churches, and tourist shops on the sidewalk. We also saw a playground. The tour was very interesting and we took lots of photos. We got back to our Apt by 3:15pm and are chilling now.

Will update again later. Tomorrow is our appt and then hopefully we get the referral the next day, then take a night train to his region and hopefully meet him the next day, Fri!

Last bit!

So we are leaving the country to meet our son in under a week and we are so excited yet VERY busy. We have had a few bumps come out of nowhere recently, things that are big issues and others that are not so big. These have added more stress but we are trying to focus on one thing at a time and just pray pray pray! It is nice to see when an issue gets resolved, Praise Jesus! There is still one major stress hanging in the air we are waiting to be resolved and look fwd to being on the other side of that.

Anyway, we still need just about $2000 more to make our needed funds to finish up the adoption process and get Peyton home!!! If you can put a dent in this, we would be sooooo thankful!!! You can give a donation to us through the chip in on the side of the blog or you can give a tax deductible donation to the Reece's Rainbow Fund link on the side of the blog and they will get that to us. Or you can mail us a check, let us know if you would like to do this and we will get you our info. Another way you can help is buy purchasing AdvoCare products through us. There is a link on the side of the blog as well for info on that. The best way to help in this way is for you to purchase by Tues the 16th. You can also buy a shirt, we still have many left, they are $15. But if you purchase one while we are gone you will not get it till we have a chance to mail it.

We hope to have Peyton home by the end of September (if all goes well) so we will need the funds by then.

Thank you so much for all your love and support.

The Wilsons

We have TICKETS!!!

First off, wow a $500 increase in our Fund! Awesome! PTL! Thank you whoever you are! And many thanks to the other checks that have been coming in the mail! We are so grateful for all the support we are seeing through people, even people we do not know! We are so close to having all the funds needed for the trip. I still need to total it all up (I have been crazy busy this week, and tired) but I will post it soon.

Well, we did it... we booked our flights to go meet our boy! It is sort of surreal. We are extremely excited yet nervous and mind-boggled at the same time. WOOOOHOOOO and AHHHHHHH! We will be getting on a plane and leaving the country to go across the ocean in 2.5 wks!!! The trip will consist of 3 legs, about 18 hrs of travel time. We have never been on the other side of the world! We have never had jet lag. We have never been to an orphanage. We have never had to go to court to prove our ability to parent and be questioned. This will be such a journey. I keep trying to find as many details out as I can about what this experience will be like. I read other blogs and friend others on the same journey. It is so neat to read about what God is doing through adoption in so many people's lives! I have met some great people I hope to stay in touch with. I look fwd to meeting the families we will be in country with and get to hang out a little with too. I know learning from others will help, but I also know every journey is different and we could run into many different things than others did. I hope that our journey is a light to others in many ways. For this is ultimately God's journey that we get to tag along on, and we are sooo blessed to get to be a part! We have seen him moving through this whole process and look fwd to the completion.

We have family watching our other 3 kids while we travel. Please pray for them now and especially during that time. It is a lot for them to take on and our kids have never been away from us for more than a couple days! We have no set idea how long this first trip will be. (In the program details it says like 3 wks. As I have followed others that have just finished the process it seems they have all taken 2-2.5 wks. Then, in our "get ready to go letter", they tell us prepare for 4 wks to have wiggle room just in case. So that is a huge variation in how long this process can take. We have also heard that Peyton's area can be difficult in the adoption process. We have been told to prepare for the long haul in which we would need to recover physically, emotionally, and spiritually between trips. However, we have also talked to someone who was recently there and knows of an adoption from the same orphanage that just took place and it went well; nice and smooth. So again, variation in stories. So we really have no idea what to expect!

I think God is doing this on purpose, so that I just sit back and trust him. Like he is saying it is ok not to know. I am trying too hard to know and prepare for what is coming and he just wants me to just sit back and enjoy the ride whatever it may be and trust that he is in control. At the beginning of the adoption process he told me the same message. I might have written about it in a prior post, can't remember. He spoke to me about just being still and knowing he is God. To relax, have peace, trust, be content with joy, and know his power and love and mission. It was so comforting that day for it came at a time where it was exactly what I needed. Similarly now, the day after we got our travel date (this past Tues), I picked up a devo I had not read in a while and it said similar things; to relax and let God lead me and to know he has everything under control...(ok GOd I get it!) so this I seek to do over these next weeks.

After the first trip we come home and have a 10 day wait. The 10 days is a last option for birth family to come and claim him. Once the 10 days is over, we will be back in country to finish paperwork and pick him up and take him home! That trip has been seen to be 10 days-2 wks. But again, we never know.

Please pray for us!!! Adoption is spiritual warfare and a number of things could happen. We need prayer covering us, Peyton, the orphanage workers, and the courts/govt. Really the whole world and all the orphans in it and any adoptive families to be need to be covered in prayer. Please make them a regular in your prayer times always!

No matter what is in store for us, it is worth it for God's glory! He is the reason we GO, and may our light shine bright every step of the way! May his name be made known in that place!

With love and thanks
The Wilsons

DATE!!!!!

Woot! Got a call at 3:55pm from our stateside helper that our appt is set for Aug 17th!!! We are so excited! Being this late in the day we thought we would not get any news today. Now comes the crazy get ready to travel phase!

Also, our 2.5 yr old went poop on the potty for the first time today!

It is a memorable day for the Wilson household!

Pray with us as we continue this journey! Man, we will be hugging our boy in 3.5 weeks!!!

Love
The Wilsons

Pictures and drums!

Hello everyone... we are still in the waiting to get a date process, but it is right around the corner! We are so excited. Yesterday we actually heard from someone who just got to take a trip to Peyton's orphanage and happened to get a pic of him. This was from June and the most recent pic we have. Getting it was such a blessing and filled me with such life and passion and excitement. I couldn't stop thinking about him, I couldn't focus on other stuff. I just wanted to look at him and be with him. It made my heart smile! Thank you Traci!

Also, my husband has listed his really nice professional drumset on craigslist to help us get the last of our funds to get Peyton! Drums Check it out and pass it around to who you think may want/need to get one. Thanks!

Love
The Wilsons

Open Doors!!!

Praise God for miracles... we just found out yesterday from RR that Peyton's country has decided to continue special needs adoption throughout the time of the closure!!! Can you believe that? We are so excited that the country sees the need for these children and are making a way for them to come home sooner! God is so so good! This means that we should find out our travel date in the coming weeks. Could be this month but most likely will be next month. Please keep praying over this... we know God's timing will be perfect! This news is so surprising and such a blessing! We are giddy!

We still need around $5k to complete the adoption though, so keep praying for that as well and help us get the word out and give if you feel led! Thank you so much for all your love and support!

Love
The Wilsons

Submitted!!!

Sorry forgot to post last week when we found out we were submitted! There was a little miscommunication at first, we did not hear form anyone and we all thought we were not submitted. Then the next day (Friday) we were emailed the correction that we were infact submitted on the 30th!!! So now we just wait on the country to change over and open back up!

Closure!

Well, we found out today that last week an email was sent out that we were somehow left off of. In there was the info that the adoption offices in Peyton's country are closing July 11th for maybe 3 months so they can transfer offices. We can still submit up till that time, but unless we can get there, meet him, and get approved by the 11th, we can not continue the adoption process till they open back up.

In the letter they encouraged ppl to try to have things ready so they could be submitted by today. We would have made today's submission if it were not for that paper mistake we had to redo this week. They are still going to submit us next week probably. So for us to not have to wait till the fall, we will have to get submitted Thurs and then get an appt date for that next wk, which would mean having a few days to get ready and travel. Then we would have to fly through the process in country super fast. It would pretty much be a MIRACLE! So the next few wks will either be incredibly insane for us running all over getting ready and traveling... or it will be three months till we go anywhere and know anything. I don't even know if financially we could leave next wk to travel. We have the funds for the 1st trip but not for the 2nd.

We are just praying and knowing God has this. All is for the best and will work out how it is intended to. It is just hard to be so close and now not really know what will happen. Thank you for praying with us!

Love
The Wilsons

hiccup

Ok so our passport copies were all certified and apostilled together... which is not supposed to happen. They need them all separate to send to different places in the country. So we have to have them redone and sent over there ASAP!!! So no submission this week. Must get submitted by next week! Pray!

Chrissy

shirt info

I have not seen any recent shirt orders come in, make sure if you are purchasing online that you use the correct chipin; it says shirts on it. Also remember to note your address and size when you order. And remember, shirts are $15 plus $3 shipping if needed. Thanks

We still have tons of shirts left, so please spread the word!

Chrissy

And It's Off!!!

The dossier is out of our hands and making its way to Eastern Europe! Pray for quick and safe travels! We are so close to meeting our little boy!

Love
The Wilsons

Thanks!

SOOOO exciting to see some new donations! Thank you thank you, whoever yall are!

Love
the Wilsons

News to pray over

Just found out that the area Peyton is in is hard to adopt from and that the last person they had try was unsuccessful. Also, his orphanage director is not very cooperative with adoptions. So please pray over this starting now. We should be mailing dossier Monday! I am thinking we will be in country around the third week or so of July. Pray we get a good judge and that the director has a soft heart for us and Peyton and that they all let us adopt him! Also pray that we don't have to be there forever trying to get it all worked out because we have three kids staying here in the US with my sis and her 3 kids. I know God can move mountains and prayer is powerful, so let's get on it... there seem to be so many up in the air things in this adoption we are pursuing, but we will keep going no matter what. We are going to fight for Peyton as much as we can. Thank you!

Chrissy

i171h arrived!!!!

Hello hello!!! Well we got our i171h (US immigration approval)Wednesday!!!! But then Thurs realized it was for the wrong country... so finally talked to the lady today and got her to fax me a copy of the new corrected one! Too late to do paperwork today but should get to it first thing Monday and then mail dossier!!!

I put a new chip in on the side bar. There is now a place to donate straight to us, a place to donate to Reeces Rainbow for a tax deduction and they will put it into Peyton's fund, and there is a place to buy a shirt and one for coffee purchases.

We are working on some more fundraising ideas. If you want to help but can't monetarily, maybe you can do your own fundraiser in your town for Peyton!!! If a lot of people all over do this, maybe we can reach our goal!

Thanks for your support!

Chrissy and Erick

Help us spread the word

Hey everyone... we still have not heard from USCIS on our approval yet, but it should be any day now. Knowing that it is just around the corner... we totaled up some stuff and we realize that we are still currently about $9,000 short on the expenses it will take to get Peyton home! Can you please help us out by sharing our blog on your facebook pages and such so that friends and family all over can know our need and have a chance to support us if they feel so called? We would be very grateful! Thanks to those of you who have done this already!!! We are praying for God to move big! We have seen how he has been moving already to get us this far. We know that he will make a way to continue to do what he has called us to. Please pray with us! Thank you so much!

Love,
Chrissy and Erick Wilson
Ethan, Jacey, and Taylor too

2nd yard sale...

Ok we had our 2nd yard sale today... went great... we made around $345, not too bad. We still have a garage full of stuff too, CRAZY!!!

We still haven't heard from USCIS on our approval yet :( So we will not be submitting prior to the date of possible country changes... please pray that no change happens this month but that if they do that they will not keep us from getting him as planned and that it doesn't make the process harder or longer or more expensive!

Thanks

Chrissy

Opportunity knocks...

Hello,

I have had a great opportunity come before me and over much prayer we have decided to move fwd with it. We have just signed up to be an Advocare Independent Distributor. We have our own website through the company that people can go to an order products from. www.AdvoCare.com/1106811 However, if you are interested, please contact me first so that we make sure to educate you and figure out what your goals are and what would be best for you!

We are using this first and foremost as a fundraiser for Peyton's adoption. All income made from this business opportunity will go to the cost of the adoption. Once the adoption is funded, some income will go to things such as mission trips and helping others with adoption. The more the business grows, the more we will be able to do for others! We have heard many stories of friends who have used these products as well as of those who have become distributors. The success stories are amazing on both ends! We have seen people fund entire adoptions and mission trips just from this income and we have seen people lose lbs and inches faster than ever. My advisor after one year is now making $80k a year in this business and her family is healthier, feels better, and has much more freedom in all aspects of their life! Please consider getting information and talking to us about purchasing and using product or if you are interested in starting the business venture yourself.

There are all sorts of supplements available and they are thoroughly scientifically researched and this is an established and respectable company that has been around since the 90's. Available supplements are: weight loss, energy, muscle building, snacks, meal replacements, vitamins, probiotics, energy drinks, and more! See the website and contact me for details.

Some things we are really excited about and are promoting are the 24 day challenge, MNS packs, and Spark drinks. Please see the website for details.

The more we sell, the more profit we make. There are even rookie bonuses given out by the company. So if we are very successful in this first month, we can possibly make thousands of dollars right away!!! This would be great for getting Peyton home! So please try something for yourself and spread this information around to those you know who may be interested. You can help yourself as well as help change a little boy's life forever!!!

It is not just for those who may want to lose weight, gain energy, build muscle, get healthy, etc... but it also for those interested in a business opportunity. Please contact me for more information. Education is important! We are new at this and are still learning but I want to introduce you to my advisor who can educate you and tell you their story and others. We have been inspired and I know you will too! Opportunity is knocking, will you open the door?

Thank you to all who have participated in helping get Peyton home thus far! We are incredibly grateful! We are not there yet and need to try everything we can to raise the funds needed in the next month or two.

In love and faith,
Chrissy and Erick Wilson

Fingerprint Appt!

Woohoo!!! We got the letter saying we can get printed! So exciting! We will try to walk in on Fri morning and get them done! From what I have read about others, we may have our approval by next wk sometime??? That would be AWESOME!!!!!! We would totally be able to get the dossier submitted b4 the June date of possible country changes; maybe we can make it by June 9th!!! Pray!!!!! Some people have had it still take a few wks after fingerprints... so who knows. In God's time!

I guess we really need to ramp up the fundraising! We have a ways to go yet!!!
Please purchase a shirt, or coffee, or support Jay (jaywalkingwithgod.blogspot.com)who is helping Peyton, or just donate if you feel led!

Shirts ARE IN!! Come and get them!

Here is a look at the actual shirts now in hand... they are 50/50 poly cotton blend.

You can order on the link on the side bar if you will not see me personally. Make sure to write me and tell me what sizes and give me your address. They are $15 each. Add $3 for shipping if needed. All money goes to the adoption. Thanks! Pass this around to everyone you know!

Chrissy

CSP on it's way!

i have not posted in a while so thought I would do that today... We have gotten the ok on all CSP papers and we had them apostilled yesterday along with almost all the rest of the papers. We still have a few we need to do to finish off the dossier but most of it is ready as well. I am going to run to FedEx in a min to mail off the CSP docs!!! Woohoo! The CSP is the petition to adopt a specific child. So this is what they will turn into the country to get Peyton reserved for us on their end.

We also got a letter from immigration that says they have received our stuff will send us fingerprinting info soon. Hopefully in the next month or so we will see our approval come through.

Also, just got word the shirts are done at printer! Will go pick them up and post pics ASAP!

Keep praying everything moves fwd and no major hiccups get in the way. Pray for speedy mailing and speedy immigration process. Pray for the country to stay open for this adoption to take place!

Thanks

a longer wait...

today I was going to write with a smile on my face sharing a wonderful new pic I have of Peyton...

However today I write with frustration and low spirit. Just got our USCIS stuff returned to us in the mail. Somehow I sent them the wrong amt of money so they gave everything back. I have no idea how I managed to do that. It is so upsetting. So later today I will go re-overnight this to them. We are now adding another almost 3wks to the timeline!!! This might mess up everything!

I know God has a plan and he knows what is going on. I know his timing is perfect and his will is best. Yet, it is hard living in the unknown when it comes to rescuing your son and the ability to do so might come to an end because of govt workings.

We also had all our dossier papers notarized over the weekend. I just found out today that half of them need to be redone. We also need to now have 3 copies of something that before only needed 2 copies of. So we will be going through paperwork yet again! They also want some of the papers now ASAP, so we need to get them done and apostilled and shipped ASAP.

I am so tired of all this paperwork, so many legalities, it drives a person bonkers.

Pray that this time the USCIS stuff is right and goes through quickly, pray for favor! We are still unsure of what changes might take place in June in his country. Pray it stays open!!!!! We most likely will no longer be able to submit in June, more like July at the earliest. So instead of the summer, we will prolly not get him till the Fall :(

Anyway, i will go ahead and share the pic...




so ready to hug this precious boy!!!

Chrissy

USCIS here we come!!!

OK so we finally got it in the mail, overnighted to receive by 10am!!! Step 1 complete... here goes step 2!

Step 1: Home study
Step 2: USCIS approval
Step 3: Dossier submission
Step 4: Travel to country to adopt Peyton- Country Approval
Step 5: Bring Peyton Home!

We were hoping this step would only be like 6 wks, but we have heard that USCIS currently has a 2 MONTH BACKLOG!!! Blah!!! So who knows what will happen. Pray that they get us in the system fast to get fingerprints and a case worker ASAP. We have requested an expedited approval due to the country's possible changes which I mentioned previously... More info on that has recently come out as well... The country is still accepting things as normal until mid June. Then at that point it is not clear if they will shut things down for a while or not. Nothing may happen or closing may happen, who knows. Which means if we don't get USCIS approval fast enough to get our dossier finished and shipped, translated, and submitted by mid June, we might not be getting Peyton anytime soon!!! Please pray for a quick approval and for no closure of adoptions in his country!!! I had mapped out our timeline and it looked like we might be able to submit by June 8th, but this is if USCIS does it's thing within 6 wks time.

We have Peyton's orphanage address now and we have been given permission to send him a package. They did not give any rules as to what we could send or not (besides perishables of course). So we are thinking of what to put in there and will try to get that shipped off soon so that he knows we are trying to get there and to give him some hope of that!

Thanks for your continued prayers and support!

Yard Sale #1 done

Hello everyone! This morning we had our first yard sale. We will be needing to do another one. This past week was just really crazy and we didn't have the ability to get everything as ready as we had hoped and did not advertise much. Some friends who were donating items also got caught up this week with different things and we were running out of room in our garage for things, so we still have that stuff to get from all them to sell. My toddler was also sick all week and needing special attn today. Also, the weather yesterday and today was cold and rainy. We still had the sale, since it was only 10-20% chance today, but of course it rained off and on all morning and it was like 40-50 degrees out!!! It hampered the sale a little, but we still had a decent turn out considering everything... and we made $400!

We still have a garage FULL of stuff and will be getting that other stuff from friends soon as well, so we will be having another sale... Maybe in a couple weeks, otherwise sometime in May or June.

Thanks to all who helped us out, donated to us, or bought things. We are very appreciative!

Photo Package Give Away!

Enter a Photo Package Give Away!!!

To Help Raise Funds To Bring Home PEYTON!

Winner will get:
photo session
photo CD
20 photo cards & envelopes
photo candle
one 8x10
two 5x7's
four 4x6's
(this package is a $150 value- courtesy of Christensen Photography)

$5 per entry- Winner will be drawn on April 30th
enter as many times as you want!!!

Please use the RR Grant Fund on the sidebar of the website when you donate. Then, let me know you donated and how much.

(Photographer will not travel out of the area. If you are out of the area and you want to participate, you must come to the Nashville area to have your pics taken.)

Thank you!

ok wow, we don't know who keeps putting money into Peyton's fund in amts of like $100-$300... but THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! We are also thankful for any other amount anyone else is donating!!! We are humbled to see God move!

The Wilsons

T-Shirts

Ok everyone, here is the shirt design we came up with. We are having them made now.





If you would like to pre-order, let us know. The shirts are $15. There is a special Chip-in to pay for the shirt if you are out of town and will not be able to pick up from us (see the side bar of website). Please include $3 for shipping if you need it mailed to you. Also, message me and make sure to tell me what size you will need and that you ordered and where to send it. Thank you! We might find a better way to do this, but for now this is what I have set up. Thanks again!

Chrissy

Almost Ready

OK, here is an update...

Erick got a letter from his company and they gave the info they agree to give and then wrote a statement saying that it is company policy not to give any more info than that. His boss did some research and found that others have done this and it worked. So hopefully that will fly with the country! Pray!

We have received all docs needed for our HS and will be getting the last couple notarized this weekend. The might be an issue with the bank form getting notarized, so pray that it all works out. Then, the SW should have them all in hand Mon to finish report and we should have the completed HS in our hands sometime next week!!! Then off to USCIS it will go as long as everything is correct and needs no changes! Pray!

Fundraiser options

Hello everyone, here are some of the things we have going now to fundraise. Please share with your friends and family.

1. My Mother in law is giving 10% of her Mary Kay sales from the month of April to our adoption. Contact Lana Wilson Sr. Director, Mary Kay Cosmetics Inc
281-703-2383 cell contact
832-595-1500 home office
www.marykay.com/lwilson4

2. My friend Kathy is giving some of the percentage of sales to our adoption as well from Arbonne International
www.arbonne.com
kathywiehl@gmail.com

3. We still have our Just Love Coffee account- we get $5 for every purchase.
http://www.justlovecoffee.com/WilsonFamilyTN

4. We are always taking donations into our chipin located on the side of the page.

5. We are in the process of making adoption shirts to sell. Info coming soon. Let us know if you would like to order one.

6. We are working on another give-away. Stay tuned!

7. We have a yard sale coming up on April 16th

8. I am going to book a scentsy party in which we will get some profits from, so stay tuned for that too

9. A guy named Jay is raising money for Peyton by his weight loss adventure. Pledge to him and Peyton gets funds! http://jaywalkingwithgod.blogspot.com/

Dropped a ball...

OK, well Erick has not heard back from his company yet regarding writing the letter, so keep praying about that...

on another note, just realized I dropped the ball on something and now we will have to wait longer. I thought we had everything (besides employment letter) done and ready to go. All my references were turning in their letters this week and we were just waiting for the SW to finish up the report. Once we had the letter and the report we could turn everything in to USCIS and get this show moving. We were hoping to do this no later than April 1. I am excited to say that my Social Worker just said she should have her first draft of our HS avail Wed!!! However, this ball dropping will now cause a delay.

The dropped ball involves state background check. Back in mid Feb when we got all our HS stuff, I did not get right on all the things in there. There was so much that was going on with the adoption and life in general that somehow some things got overlooked. Then at the end of Feb I realized I had not done much paperwork stuff in a while and that I needed to make sure to get whatever done that will take a while to process so that we dont end up waiting on something later. Well, at this time I realized we still needed to send in background check stuff and local fingerprint stuff. So I did that March 7th. I faxed in the form and placed it in the done pile. Later that week we had all our physical appts, fingerprints, and notary paperwork stuff going on. Life was so crazy that week that I never gave another thought to if the fax went through.

Well the other day I realized I never got a confirmation when I sent the fax. So I called yesterday to see if they ever got the forms. They did not!!! I refaxed right away but they still did not get them. For some reason our fax was not being picked up there. So today I mailed off the forms.

When I talked to my SW she says it will take like 2 WEEKS for that to come back!!!! ARGH!!! If I would have checked on it that wk I sent it, we would have it back and could turn everything in to USCIS either end of this wk or sometime next wk (as long as we get employment letter).

This now adds 2 wks to our timeline! We were thinking at normal rate we might get to submit dossier to country in mid June, but now it might be more like July. With the possibility of closure, this is not a good thing!

Please pray over this with us. Pray we get the letter we need and pray the background check gets processed quickly. Also pray that no other glitches come up. I know God knows what he is doing, and all timing will come together for his plan to come to pass. We are not freaking out, but are trusting in God. We are learning to let go and just do what we can when we can and leave it in God's hands.

Get Wrapped up in Him not It!

Okay, so honestly I have been lacking in my quiet time. I am definitely praying and talking with God constantly, but I have not set aside special time to just be with him lately. I miss it in more ways then one. Today I picked up a devotional book I have that I have not been in for a while and I noticed the day I left off on happened to be Peyton's birthday. I sat and read it, and it was great! I remember the day I read it last and how I used it to teach my children. It is so useful to us all... I wanted to share it:

This is from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

(read this as though God was talking to you)

"Let me prepare you for the day that stretches out before you. I know exactly what this day will contain, whereas you have only vague ideas about it. You would like to see a map, showing all the twists and turns of your journey. You'd feel more prepared if you could somehow visualize what is on the road ahead. However, there is a better way to be prepared for whatever you will encounter today: Spend quality time with Me."

"I will not show you what is on the road ahead, but I will thoroughly equip you for the journey. My living Presence is your Companion each step of the way. Stay in continual communication with Me, whispering My Name whenever you need to redirect your thoughts. Thus, you can walk through this day with your focus on Me. My abiding Presence is the best road map available."


Young, S. (2004). Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.

Rays of Hope!

Okay we have some hope and a plan!

After researching the employee handbook, Erick found out that the ppl like the CEO of the company and such can overwrite policies. He can take the request for the needed information to them and see if they will approve giving us what we need. However, everyone involved in these positions are currently on Spring Break this week. So, we are going to pray up from now till Monday when Erick will bring the request for the letter to them and see what happens. So that is one ray of hope! Pray for this and for God to move in the hearts of those he needs to for his will to be done! Pray for favor for Erick at his job and for the enemy's schemes to be defeated.

Also, after talking with my country team helper for a bit, he says that we can always just submit whatever info we can get and see what happens. So we can just submit everything when it is time and pray, pray, pray! They might not care and overlook it completely. Another ray of hope!

Thirdly, after posting to the adoption community, I have heard from another family who has adopted twice from this country and they could not get the needed info either, but they were still able to adopt each time! So just like mentioned above, the country may overlook it; it may not even be an issue. A great ray of hope!

So, as of now we still plan to move fwd on our mission to rescue our son Peyton. We are not convinced he is not ours. We still believe God has called us to redeem him! Please keep praying for us and him. The enemy is trying many things to thwart our plans.

Thanks for the prayers and support and kind encouraging words we have been getting.

Chrissy

PRAYER NEEDED!!!!

Erick went to get his employment verification form for our dossier filled out yesterday at work and they informed him that their policy is to not sign off on the kind of information needed in the letter. WE HAVE TO HAVE THIS INFORMATION IN THE LETTER FROM THEM TO ADOPT!!! So, this is a major snag in the process... if Erick can not get someone there at work to write what is needed, then we can not continue this journey, we don't think there is a way around this. We will have to end the adoption process for Peyton and pray someone steps in to be his family quickly. We need to pray on whether to push this with his job so we can get it done or not. If they will not budge on this, we need to know ASAP because if there will be no way to get around this then the faster we back out of pursuing Peyton, the sooner he can be found by another family.

PLEASE PLEASE PRAY WITH US, we need to know what to do and when to do it

Chrissy

Process updates & Prayer requests

We need some prayer for the adoption process. We found out this week that Peyton's country is thinking about changing up their adoption procedures and if they decide to do that it means closing down adoptions until everything gets fixed into the new system. This could be months or YEARS of kids not being able to go home!!! We need to get the dossier submitted before anything happens and then we can still be on this journey to get him. There is speculation this might happen this summer. Looking at a timeline I have thrown together for how our journey looks, we should be submitting in June and traveling within July-Sept. I am not sure if that is too late. We are being told to get things done ASAP so that we make sure to get submitted.

Tomorrow is our home visit for the home study. So pray for that as well. Our Social Worker thinks she should have our report finalized by the end of the month. So we should be able to turn in our home study and USCIS papers by April 1 hopefully. Then we have to wait on them to approve us to adopt. This usually takes at least 6 wks (so I have heard). They are allowing expediting of people adoption from this country right now due to all this speculation which is good, but I am not sure what that means for how much faster we can expect that approval to move along. Once we get approval we can mail in our dossier to the country but it has to be translated before submitted. I think this takes a couple weeks. Then they can submit it.

The changes the country wants to make are supposed to be good and better for everyone in the long run, but it just messes things up for the kids that are in certain stages of life for the time of the change. Pray that we are able to be submitted before they make any decisions. I can't imagine Peyton having to be there another few years!!! Pray that everything we need to do moves along quickly and smoothly.

Today was kind of hectic... we had a day of running errands and signing papers (all with 3 kids in tow). We had our local fingerprints done which went perfect but then we had county paper signing which the lady did wrong and we will have to go back another day. We also had some notaries done on some docs but a couple were done wrong so we will have to redo those as well. Right now it is okay for that to happen. But later it can mean time delays we can not afford. Pray we don't run into more problems as we continue. We had our physicals this week and should be picking those forms up early next week. The kids have to get some tests done as well, so they will go for those next wk. By the end of next week we should have everything we need done for this stage of the adoption.

Pray also for the fundraising efforts. We will be doing much more in the coming months so be looking for info on those. If our process gets expedited as needed, that is great but it also means raising funds quicker.

Thanks for your prayers and support

Chrissy

We have a WINNER!

Well the week is over and we have drawn a winner.... the lovely tutu outfit goes to...

JOLIE HARRIS!!!! Congratulations! Please contact me with your info and I will pass it to to my friend Allison at Cutie Pie Crafts and you guys can discuss the details.

For those of you who liked the outfit and still want to get one or want to see many of the other awesome things Allison makes, head over to her website... http://cutiepiecraft.weebly.com or friend Cutie Pie Crafts on Facebook.

Thank you so much to all who donated and participated in the give away. We raised close to $100!!!

Check back soon for another give away!

Chrissy

Tutu outfit Give Away!

Hello everyone. We have another fundraiser opportunity. A friend of mine has donated a cute cupcake shirt, tutu, and bow to the lucky winner of a give away we are setting up. The items all together would normally cost $25. She will make you whatever shirt size and tutu color you desire.

It will work like this. For every $3 you donate, you will get your name put in the drawing for this cupcake outfit. This give away will last a week and we will then put all the names together and draw for a winner. You will either donate straight to us if you know us and want to do that or you can donate into the link on the side of the page. There the $ goes through Paypal to Reece's Rainbow as a tax deductible donation and they put it into our adoption grant fund. I can see the total $ go up but I can not see who donates. So make sure if you donate, you contact me to let me know so your name can be put in the drawing. We will pick a winner March 8th.

Please pass this around to whoever you think might be interested! Thanks!

Chrissy

journeys collide...

OK just got a random comment from a family who we don't know and who God has placed on their heart to help Peyton. Check this out, it is so awesome to see God move. Help Jay on his journey and you will also be helping us! http://jaywalkingwithgod.blogspot.com/2011/02/really-big-idea.html
This will be great to see how God provides for two families at once! I love how we can serve each other and all benefit and ultimately God's kingdom gets the glory!

an update

Hello everyone... wow how cool that we have some money donated already! Thank you thank you! So yes, we have the donate box up and available now. We also have the grab button so anyone can help share Peyton on their blog or whatever to try to help us bring him home.

We have finally connected with our social worker and will meet for the first time on Thursday evening. We are also scheduling our medicals, getting our passports, and looking through the mounds of paperwork we have received for our Dossier and home study.

We will be planning a yard sale soon and will take any help or donations for that as well. Details to come. We also still have our Just Love Coffee fundraiser going. So buy some if you want it!

Please keep praying with us and sharing with others!

Introducing Peyton!

Hello everyone... we would like you to meet Peyton! Aint he just too stinkin cute??? You see him reaching out to you? hehe. The 2 pics in the orange are from spring of 2010 and the other set of pics are most likely from when he was 2-3 yrs old. We just got word that we have been officially matched to him! This means we can pursue adopting him specifically and share about him. We are so excited to share our boy with you! We are still waiting on connecting with our social worker to start our home study. So we still need to be approved through that. Please keep praying that the process goes well! Thank you for all who have prayed and helped up to this point!

Love
Chrissy and Erick

Just Love Coffee!

We have our first fundraiser set up. If you like coffee, know someone who does, or just want to get some other things they have for sale... then go here
http://www.justlovecoffee.com/WilsonFamilyTN
and we get $5 for every purchase!

You can also still donate to our chip-in. See the donate section on the right column of the blog.

Thanks!

Chrissy

Almost There!

Hello again... well last week I asked the organization this little boy is listed with if we could go ahead and get the application. I wanted to have it and look it over to see if there was anything on it that was not listed anywhere else. I wanted to make sure we were preparing correctly. Well, in getting the application, she put our boy on hold for us!!! How exciting but wow it makes me nervous for him. I did not know that getting the application meant putting everything into motion to commit to him. We DO WANT TO COMMIT!!!! YES YES! However we need the money to do so.

Well, we have the money needed for the organization but we are still lacking about $1500 for the home study; which we have to be under contract with a home study agency when we turn in the papers to the organization. So we turned in the application to the HS agency Tuesday. We hope to hear from them soon. They will want their payment upfront for us to move fwd with them though. We have until Wednesday to turn everything in to the org!!! AHHHHH!

I so want to get everything started so that we are that much closer to bringing him home from the place he is in. Praying the next week goes well! Yet I know God is in control and everything will work as he desires and under his timing. Learning to let go! If it is truly his will, then nothing can stop it... the words of my son Ethan today... "God is king of everything, anything in competition w him wont get in his way!"

Please pray with us, share our journey, and help if you can

The Wilsons

DONATE by clicking the button on the side of the page!

URGENT REQUEST!

Hello Friends, Family, and Strangers out there…

As most of you might have heard already, we feel led to adopt a boy from Eastern Europe. We have talked about adoption throughout our marriage and finally wanted to start preparing for it this year. Well, as I (Chrissy) was doing research on the process and seeing how everything worked, I was also looking at waiting children in the countries in which we were feeling led to adopt. I have always browsed pictures online of the boys needing families, but a week and a half ago one boy just grabbed my heart. It was like he was chosen for me. Had to be a God thing! I could not stop thinking about him and I just kept praying and I was moved to tears many times. Over the course of the past week, that boy has grown more and more on my heart as well as Erick’s. We have had many discussions over adoption and him specifically the last few days. We have been praying for the ability to start the application process, we just have not had everything we needed to get started.

Well, we just found out that the institution he was moved to recently might be one that is a very horrible place. http://covenantbuilders.blogspot.com/2010/11/sad-reality.html and here http://bit.ly/guSQ5S

We are not sure if this is the kind of institution he was moved to or not, but it is likely that it is. They move boys around ages 4-6 to institutions like these if they are not perfectly healthy. It is not that they try to hurt the boys there, they are just extremely poor and the conditions are really bad. It is not healthy: physically, mentally, or spiritually. Many children, (85%), do not make it past their first year in one of those places. We were shocked with this information and crushed to find out orphan boys (probably our boy) have to live like that, and want more than ever to go rescue this boy from wherever he is and soon. We feel the call to GO! Every day he is there is more damaging. He needs a mommy and a daddy to love him and tuck him in at night. To hug and kiss him. To teach him and take care of him. We can’t shake the love for this kid that has grown in us. So we are stepping out in faith that God will provide everything that is needed to move forward so we can get our son. I was going to post some pics right here, but we are not allowed to do that until we are matched with him. I will share when I can! But believe me, he is PRECIOUS and you will love him! He use to be in the baby orphanage where he got pretty decent care. A lady I found online that had met him there last year said that he was fun, active, smiling, curious and “all boy”. He is listed as a child with “special needs”, but we are keeping that information confidential. I pray that his smiling fun spirit is not quenched in the place he now resides.

He is not matched to us right now. This is what we are writing to you about. We want to apply so that we can commit to him and be matched to him so that we can go through the process of approval and be his parents and bring him home. We might be his only chance to find a family!!! I know he has been an orphan for at least two years, but most likely his whole life (I will find out more info on him once matched). If he is now in one of these horrible institutions I mentioned above, then we will actually be saving his life!!! To start the application process we need the initial funds to pay for the home study and commitment fees. The amount we still need right now for this is about $3,700. More will be needed later, step by step. The whole entire adoption will cost around $25,000. This includes travel costs. If anyone feels like donating any of the initial cost to us so that we can get started, we would greatly appreciate it!!! The sooner we can apply, the better.

Once we have our home study underway, we can set up different fundraiser options to help support the adoption as well as continue to take donations. We will be having a yard sale to raise funds once the winter passes. We will also look into all the grants we can find and apply to them. The government also gives a $13,000+ tax refund for the year you adopt. So a lot of the cost comes back to us the following April. The whole process really doesn’t make that much sense. I don’t get why it is so hard and expensive to rescue a child.

The whole home study and approval process can take like 2-6 months. Once it is time to go get him, we will have to make two separate trips to the country where he is. The first will be about 2-3 wks long and then we come back home for about 3 wks and wait. Then, we will return to get him and that trip is 2-3 wks long as well (should be shorter than the1st). Then from that trip, he comes home with us. So, for the time we are gone during these trips, we will need family/friends to commit to watching/caring for our three kids. The dates for these trips will not be known till close to the time. So whoever can help us will have to be flexible. I know that makes it hard to plan, but that is how it works. If we can get started next month, then we might be traveling over the summer. Yet it might be more like the fall. The program he is set up under takes an avg of 7 months! That is pretty quick for an adoption… but for him it will be 7 very loooong months!

There are a lot of other things involved in the process but they are not important for this letter. If you would like to know more, please ask. We will tell you what we can and of course throughout this blog more info will be revealed and updated. Be sure to sign up to get those emailed to you!

Anyway, if you know me well, you know I just hate asking for things. I do not like asking for help, especially for money. It is really hard for me to do. So, please think over this and pray! Please see if you can help us/him in any way. We truly feel he is our son and just as if it were any of our other 3 kids over there suffering, we would do absolutely anything to go and save them. We are determined to find a way to bring him home! Will you help us?

With much love, hope, and gratitude,

Chrissy and Erick Wilson