Going the Distance

You're welcome, those of you who have requested more cute pictures :) Really, it was hard to narrow it down to these 4, the boys are so incredibly photogenic. And for all you football fans out there, please notice Maxim studying intently for the upcoming draft -- yup, that's one of Ted's draft mags he's using to pass the time on the pot!

So now, let me tell you all the terrifyingly thrilling news: Maxim has a baby sister. Her name is Anastasia, she's one year old (as of November) and she lives in the same orphanage he did. Because we have adopted her biological brother, we get preference to adopt her -- only a biological relative of hers could "trump" our claim to her; no other foreigners, or even Ukrainians, can adopt her if we wish to. We've already begun the process that will allow us to return in about a year and a half to adopt her, Lord willing. It's funny, when we came over here, we prayed that God would give us contentment with the referral for the child He would give us, regardless of their gender, even though we all really wanted a little girl. And Maxim is so amazing, we love him dearly for the sweet person he is in and of himself -- but he is also the link to the little girl we've always wanted. We wouldn't have dreamed of trying to do another adoption, but we feel compelled to try for this little girl, Maxim's sister, and feel God has graciously given us this blessing. We can't even begin to express the excitement, hope, and fears we are experiencing due to this wholly unexpected opportunity. I've cut a little section out of Ted's epilogue from the upcoming adoption book:

The idea of coming back here both freaks me out and thrills me. This trip has been, in many ways, easier than the first. The adoption was smoother, and one would expect, it will be again with little Anastasia because the first step (her referral) is out of the way. In other ways it’s been tougher, mainly due to the fact that we’ve grown soft and spoiled by our suburban lives. I miss my comfy couch. My bed. My playstation. My carpet.

The potential challenges in Anastasia’s adoption are many, namely, cost. We’ve gone into a significant amount of debt – but do-able debt – to get the boys, and hadn’t planned on adding a third $40,000 adoption into our budget. But when we were asked about Anastasia, we said “yes” after praying about it for a night. The Lord has provided for all of our needs, financially, even through some very lean writing years, and we know he’ll be faithful to supply our needs in her case. But for the first time since a one-year stint as Campus Crusade missionaries a decade ago, we’ll be raising money. This freaks us out, to say the least, namely because we just don’t like asking people for things, but also because there were things about it (fundraising) that didn’t sit well the first time. We’re trusting God to smooth over the rough edges in this area.

Also scary is the fact that she’ll be without us, in an orphanage, for at least another year. Please pray for her health, safety, and spiritual development during that year. We’re sad to not be able to experience that year with her, but sadder still that it will be a year before we can begin to tell her the good news of Jesus Christ.

So there it is, in a nutshell (or bombshell.) What started out to be the end of our adoptions is actually the beginning of another -- assuming many, many things work in our favor. There is a lot of uncertainty, still, the greatest of which is how on earth we are going to come up with this kind of money, again. Plus, it's terrifying to think that somehow it won't work out - her biological mother will come back, or she'll just disappear somehow between now and then. So sharing this is a significant emotional step. It's hard to make public something so uncertain.

We've got several showers and parties on the horizon once we return to Lansing, and some of those, I suppose, will include the option to contribute to Anastasia's adoption in lieu of a gift. So celebrate Maxim with us (he's a miracle, in and of himself!), and pray about Anastasia with us. This has been a wild ride, and we thank you for being a part of it.

We hope to see you all soon!

love, Kristin