The Sale Must Go On

Lots of people have asked me if we're still going forward with the sale. I am, for several reasons. First of all, it's out there already -- even if I tried to cancel it, I couldn't get the word out to everyone who thinks it's happening. Secondly, we have adoption costs to pay for, even though it looks unlikely right now that our adoption of Anastasia will happen. We still have lots of adoption debt left from Maxim, and anything we can put towards this will be a huge help. And as long as there is a chance, even a tiny chance, that we could still adopt Anastasia, we will keep saving any money raised towards this possibility. So if you have items you still want to donate towards the sale, or can help me on Friday May 14 or Saturday May 15 this will still be helpful.

Let me also take this time to clarify where things stand in regards to Anastasia, and how we are doing.

Since hearing on Thursday that another family was trying to adopt her, we have run the gamut of emotions. Our initial reaction was anger and frustration at the injustice of someone trying to usurp our legal claim to her. It was hard to wait, not understanding what was going on. On Saturday, we learned about the law change that allows the family, legally, to pursue her adoption in spite of our connection to her. This news, while it drained away a lot of the anger that stemmed from thinking something illegal was happening, felt like the end of all our hopes.

I'll try to explain what happened. The State Department of Adoptions (SDA) has on file our petition to adopt Anastasia, and they still consider our claim to her valid. In the past, everyone who wanted to adopt had to go through the SDA; a new law allows nationals to bypass the SDA and go directly to the orphanages. The orphanage director tried to dissuade this family from moving towards adopting Anastasia, but they refused to listen to her and have begun the adoption proceedings. At this time there is NO law that would prevent the adoption. The only chance we have is that they would have a change of heart, or that something else would stop their adoption. I think that the judge presiding over the case does have the right to deny a petition for adoption, if they think the family is unfit to care for the child, or that it is not in the best interest of the child to be adopted by them. To this end, we have written a letter to the judge to inform them of our relationship with Anastasia and reassert our intention to adopt her if allowed. We have also written to the family (including pictures of our family, so they can see the resemblance between Maxim and Anastasia), asking them to reconsider. A representative from the orphanage is allowed to appear at the court on the day the case is decided, so we has also written a letter to the orphanage director asking if she would appear in court on our behalf. We hope we can send these letters in the next few days.

These hopes are very slim hopes, from a worldly perspective. We are not at this point certain that we can get these letters delivered, or that they would even be read. It would be a miraculous work of God to stop this process that is already in motion, but we know that He is capable of doing it, if He so chooses. Our powerful and soverign God can change hearts of stone to hearts of flesh, can turn us who were dead in our trespasses to become alive in Christ, so we know that He can change the hearts of this seemingly heartless couple. He can give our request favor in the eyes of the judge if He chooses. We also know that for His good purposes, He does not always move in the ways we wish, and this is good, even when it feels bad.

At this time, we are waiting on Him. We will do everything that is in our power (which is precious little) and trust that only He can actually make the change. We are praying earnestly that He will move on our behalf, and allow us to bring this precious girl into our family. We won't undo any of our adoption progress until we know for sure that her adoption by this other couple is final. If that happens, we will pray for the grace to accept it. After 3 intensely emotional day, we now feel a deep sense of peace about the situation, and are so thankful for the many prayers that have contributed to this. God is good -- we thank Him for the many many blessings He has already given us, especially the two sweet boys He has entrusted to our care! (This dilemma helps us to realize again how very amazing it is that we have them!) And we trust that whatever comes, He will uphold us with His righteous right hand!

Join us in prayer:

• That our letters would reach the family, judge, and director, and be read.


• That God would even now begin working in hearts to give us favor with those whose decisons impact this situation.


• That we will trust God to resolve this situation according to His will, while we earnestly pray that He would clear the way for us to adopt Anastasia!


• That He will protect our hearts from bitterness and doubt.


• That we will go to Him for comfort, and wait patiently in the days, weeks, even months of uncertainty ahead (this is especially hard, as the outcome will forever change our family. I like to plan ahead, and this will have us living in a state of being "on hold" for potentially a long time.)

Thank you, dear friends and family, for your prayers for our family! Love, Kristin