pure goodness

WARNING: This might be a long post..i obviously have alot on my mind...Ok, tonight our social worker from Fergus Falls, and her mom,who is also a social worker are coming to Bismarck..you ask for what?? Well, listen up..if you live in bis/mandan..come!! It's at 5:00 at Evangel Assembly's teen center..The Element! Food,Fellowship and face painting!! They are hosting a gathering for families who have adopted,currently in the process,or are interested in adoption!! If you have ever thought about it..come, and if you haven't...still come!! If finances are a concern, COME!! God will provide, at the beginning of our process, i was so worried about the financial aspect,we didn't want to go into debt because of this..because we all know how much stress money can cause(or lack of!!). When we started the paperwork, I asked God, and still do, that he will open doors that need to be opened, and if the process wasn't meant to be that he would abruptly close the doors...so there would be no questioning left for me. And guess what, Not that every step has been easy or without difficulty, but he has provided, whenever there has been a payment due..some way it WAS there!! Now that's GOODNESS!! Anyhow, I've also had a few people come up to me and ask,"how are you doing this,how can you love these children as much as your biological children?" Guess what, We already do..We have since we saw their faces. It's similar to when women are pregnant with their second child, and feel as if theres not enough love to go around,or "how can i love my 2nd like i love my 1st?" DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH LOVE TO GO AROUND?? Now, i do realize that adoption is not everyones calling,or desire, but I also believe that your heart can change and grow...sooo, come tonight...you never know how god will work in your heart... love & be loved kristen

wishing & waiting

Well, we are home and grant is doing very well!! I'm actually having to keep him settled...he acts like nothing happened...kids are amazing!! Thanks again to all of you that have prayed for him,sent cards,balloons,treats,etc!! We appreciate all of you very much!! Well, i think our little guy,Will(T) has quite the personality...it seems like his name is mentioned by many, who have been and are in in ET...i think he likes to bite..aaaahhh!!!Too funny..i'm sure if i was the one to have been bit,probably wouldnt be saying that....sorry Brad!! This week we also received a couple of new pics!! Thanks to those who are taking those, it really makes us so happy!! There are wonderful families within our agency(IAN)that have traveled,that have taken video, and pics...how cool...i hope to do the same when we travel!! We are hoping to hear of a court date within the next week or so, and other than that we are just waiting..waiting for court date, waiting to travel..and waiting to finally hug and kiss our little boys...and obviously waiting for them to be home!! So my wish is that we hear of a court date soon,wishing a speedy recovery for grant,wishing that grant and kate still liked to hug and kiss me in front of their friends,and wishing our family was ALL together:) xo kristen

thanks......

So thankful that grants surgery went well today,thanks everyone for all of your well wishes! We are in the hospital through friday, he is resting happily,watching movies,and playing nintendo...and a little sherbet too!!( He had a left pyeloplasty,sp?)left kidney was enlarged,not draining and basically causing problems...so onto the recovery!! We are thankful to have such wonderful family and friends!! on a better note,or should i say, a much more exciting one....kate lost her 1st tooth...that's BIG NEWS!!She spent the night last night at her nana & bompas,because of grants day today, and wow, was she pleased,the tooth fairy even visits there!! And much too generous...such high standards!!!Hope she doesn't think the T.Fairy leaves $5.00 every time..ha!! As i sit here,feeling thankful that this surgery is behind us, i feel lonely for my girl..really don't like being without one of my children...or 3 for that matter..can hardly wait for the day it's the 6 of us!!! What a day that will be!! oh, and we received another pic today....cute, cute ,cute!!!!! xo kristen

fingerprints,food &FUN!!

One more step done...We are officially done with our immigration fingerprints. We took the kids to school this am,drove 2.5 hrs,had a delicious lunch,fingerprints took 15 min. and drove back home!!! While driving home, we received an email with more photos....how fun, i think i scream each and every time we get new ones...just precious..can't wait till i'm able to share their beautiful faces with you all!! Two more days of school for the kids, and then we can enjoy a 3 day wknd!!! This morning they asked how long we'd be gone today, and i replied,"Not to long after school gets out, then we'll be there to pick you up!" Obviously not what they were wanting to hear!! After all, they were going to Nana & bompas-what's better than that!! They said," oh mom, take your time, don't rush!!"Ha!! Well, come on,who wouldn't want to go to the mall, eat auntie annies,airheads and take pics in a photo booth???Anyhow, they had fun, as usual!! Grant also informed nana, when he's married he wants her(yep,nana) to go with him to adopt his children and bring them home...cute, huh??(but, what about ME??) He's only seven!!! Oh, how we love our nana & bompa!!
love & be loved Kristen

so much love....

have i mentioned how excited i am to get our boys...eeeekkk..i can hardly wait!! As the days go on, i find myself becoming a little less stressed about flying 20 some hrs(i know, scary, that's what i think!!)but a little more impatient, just dreaming about the boys! Each and every morning the kids greet the boys,wish them a happy day(or evening, since they are about 10 hrs. ahead..)blow them kisses, and off to school they go...they asked me this am if the boys know about them?? oh, how i wish they did,but soon, they will!! we are allowed to send a 10-photo pic book to each of them and a personal item...how do we reveal to them that we love them so much?? well, i think we'll have some photos taken of our family, which will include Will and Gabe, yep that's right, the kids will be holding them in 8x10 picture frames...i hope they look at these and know, that already they are OUR family and can feel the love we have for them!!So, tomorrow off for our fingerprints,which will then be expedited, to hopefully get everything rolling a bit faster, so we can get to the boys as soon as we are able...you know, since our family was hit with the flu this wknd, we had time to watch the same movie over and over and over...which was THE LITTLE PRINCESS...what a good movie, and nope it's not about cinderella or sleeping beauty,anyhow, the little girl in the movie had lost her mother and her father was going to war,but oh, how she longed for her momma, and it again,over and over made me think of Will and Gabe, and the loss that they've had to deal with in their short little lives, and again will be experiencing loss when they leave all that they know and the people who are familiar and love them, oh, how i hurt for them, and pray that the transition will go as smooth as possible, and hope they will know from the time we saw their faces, that we were in love and our hearts and arms are wide open for them,ready to love on them,snuggle,listen,
comfort and love them unconditionally...and of course the kids are ready to play!! p.s. one more quick note: grant and kate have show &tell 1x/wk, and have taken the boys a few times now, every time telling me,"mom, i'm the only one with the best show and tell, and nobody else has the same as me!!" How cute!! xo kristen

fingerprints!!

We finally received word of our Federal fingerprints....however, the ONE and only day we could NOT do them was February 16th,due to grant's surgery(well the whole wk. would've been not great!!)and guess what?? They were scheduled that day...aaahhh, but all is ok, we are now going on wed. feb 10th!! ( just in case you're wondering, the nearest immigration office is in fargo,ND-2 1/2 hrs. away.) So, we are well on our way....happy wednesday xo kristen

getting closer.......

How could i forget to mention how wonderful the fundraiser was!!! We are $4,700 closer!! I have to admit, the thought of having a fundraiser, well, made me a bit nervous...but, in the end, am so thankful that our friends and church family would do this for us....simply amazing!! We had a fun-filled day and evening with friends,family,food,and many sweet kiddos!! thanks to all who came...we really appreciate your support and love for our family! pics to come.. kristen

smiles galore:)

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOohhhhhh my goodness.............. we received more pics of our boys tonight, and WOW, they are beyond precious...Grant said he just wants to kiss them up!! Kate takes after her momma, and could stare at them for hours!!! They are smiling, hamming it up for the camera, enjoying every little lick of the suckers they were given, and playing with the other kiddos!! So nice to see those beautiful smiles:)So we were told that Gabe(A), is very helpful with the younger kids, is quiet,very sweet, and SO cute...yep, He is!! Now little man Will(T), well, lets just put it this way, you better cuddle with him, OR ELSE...he likes to bite!!! But, what a smashing, beautiful smile, and dimples!! He definitely likes attention, he'll be in business here then!!! Off to bed...time to dream about my 4 favorite people!!!
love and be loved xo kristen