Farewell Party for Mari-Liis

Tonight we had a farewell party for Mari-Liis. It is hard for us to wrap our brains around the fact that she is leaving tomorrow. She didn't cry tonight because she said she doesn't feel like she is leaving tomorrow. Rachel was a little teary-eyed when Mari-Liis took one of her suitcases out to the van before our guests arrived. I have a feeling that tomorrow and the next couple of days are going to be really difficult for her. Mari-Liis has been like the sister she never had but always wanted. I can only hope that our time for a referral and travel will not be long in coming. We will certainly covet your prayers tomorrow.

The Latest From JCICS

Here is what was reported at www.jcics.org/vietnam.htm today! It seems like it is a positive thing on behalf of the children of Vietnam and the families waiting here in the States.

Joint Council's Child's Right Campaign has been well received, and the letter to Secretary Rice, advocating for a new MOU for Vietnam, is now circulating to all of the congressional offices.

Joint Council is asking families to call their elected officials on Thursday, June 19th and Friday, June 20th, in support of the campaign. Joint Council has previously asked for your support, but the next two days will be crucial in obtaining the support of Congress for this important bill. Joint Council has received overwhelming support for this campaign, and we appreciate your phone calls and e-mails on such short notice.

So once again, please CALL your senators and congressmen and follow up with an email now that the actual letter is circulating and people are more in the know than the first time. It is really going to take perserverence to get this program back where it needs to be. PLEASE call! Every phone call will make a big difference. The calls need to be made tomorrow and Friday.

Email this to anyone you know, everyone can help make a difference!

Church Picnic

Tonight we had our first church picnic of the summer. It was a great night to be out and there was a great turnout. As usual, the food was bountiful and delicious and the fellowship was sweet. I had a chance to connect with some people I haven't been able to talk to for awhile and to get acquainted with some new people that have just recently started attending our church. I was really glad that Mari-Liis was able to go and enjoy herself so much because in two days she will be leaving us. I won't think about that tonight.

At the picnic, I learned about a new game (at least, it is new to me). It is called Ladder Golf. Rachel says she has played it before. It looks like a lot of fun! I didn't play tonight, just watched. Has anyone else ever played this game? I'm thinking I will have to make or buy one of these before the 4th of July. We are planning on having a picnic with our friends at our house.

Grandfather All Dossiers Petition

Hi everyone!

I wanted to draw your attention to this important petition that I
recently signed:

"Grandfather All Dossiers Logged In by July 1st 2008"
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Grandfather_All_Dossiers?e

I am in the process of trying to email as many people as possible about this but in case I don't get to you, here it is.

In short, this is a petition being submitted to the congressional
coalition on adoption chairs to encourage them to use their influence
to convince the department of state to allow all dossiers logged in by
7/1 to be processed and matched.

As you are all probably aware, things are really up in the air with
adoptions in Vietnam. Right now, unless things change this summer,
anyone who does not have a referral by September 1st will have their
dossier returned to their agency. Adoptions will be closing between
the two countries unless a new Memorandum of Agreement can be drafted
and agreed upon. Because we already have our dossier logged-in in
Vietnam, we have a chance of receiving a referral. If this petition
goes through, we would definitely be able to go ahead with adopting a
child from Vietnam even if we do not have a referral by September 1st.

NO DONATION IS REQUIRED TO SUBMIT YOUR SIGNATURE!! The signature is
already recorded by the time you see the donation page. if you choose
to make a donation it will go to support the petition administration
site and WILL NOT go toward any type of adoption related humanitarian
aide. Just FYI.

I really think this is an important cause, and I'd like to encourage
you to add your signature as well. You would be helping us
tremendously. It only takes a minute of your time. If you feel led,
please feel free to forward it to others on your email list that you
feel would be willing to sign.

Hanging Out

As I sit here updating my blog, the girls are hanging out drawing and making paper outfits and giggling. I am so enjoying listening to their interactions. It makes me sad to think that at this time next week, I will no longer be able to hear this interaction because Mari-Liis will be leaving to return to Estonia.

As we sit here, with the windows open, because it is not storming and not hot and humid, we feel the cool air and smell the campfire from our neighbor's fire pit. What a great night!! I thank God for His indescribable blessings upon us!

Driving Lessons

Wow! That's all I can say! On Tuesday Rachel got her permit. Now, she wants to drive everywhere! It is quite an experience, I have to tell you. It is really testing my patience and my teaching abilities. Thank goodness she has to drive at least 9 months (50 hours). I'm hoping that grandpa and some of her "adopted" dads will help out. They might have some insights to share with her that I am missing. For the most part, she is doing a good job. She does have to work on turning though.

I know it has been a long time since I have posted. A lot of things have happened since we got word that our dossier was received in Vietnam, which has prevented me from finding time to write until now. So, let me go back to the last post and explain. As many of you are aware, at the end of April we got word that USCIS was starting DNA testing on all relinquished children. Then, shortly after that, we received word that adoptions from Vietnam would be ceasing as of September 1, 2008. Any family that did not have a referral by then would have their dossier returned to the agency. I figured we would be okay but was told that our likelihood of getting a referral before then was slim.

Then, on my wedding anniversary date, we found that we had water in our basement. Even though we knew we were in what would be considered a flood plain, others who have built out here told us they have never had any flooding because they build 4 feet in the ground and 4 feet above. So, that's what we did! But with all the snow this winter and rain this summer, the water table was so high that the water seeped in. Four of our neighbors also have the same problem. At present, we are still waiting for the water to go down in our basement. It was almost dry Memorial Day weekend and then Sunday night we had 3-4" in a short amount of time and we were back to where we started. At least our basement wasn't finished. My brother-in-law who is an engineer had an idea of how to clear up this problem so that it doesn't happen again. I can only hope that it works and isn't too expensive.

In the midst of all this drama, we had the anniversary of my husband's death, the ending of the school year with some drama at the middle school, and the start of Driver's Ed. for Rachel and the Summer Reading program for me. But praise God it is finally summer and I can spend time trying to solve some of the many problems that have arisen here lately.

Next week Mari-Liis will be leaving us. We are sad to see her go. She has become a special part of our family and will always have a special place in our hearts. Rachel is already making plans to travel to Estonia her senior year (well, the summer afterwards) to visit her.

Please continue to pray for the situation between the United States and Vietnam to be worked out so that adoptions can continue. There are so many great things that the agencies do over there besides facilitating adoptions. It would be a tragedy for those to cease as well as children have to remain in orphanages longer.