A Rainbow...A Promise of God's Love!!

Anyone who knows our story and who reads our blog for that matter knows our rainbow story. But just in case for some reason you don't...I'll explain...

Some 4 1/2 years ago while we were waiting on Evan, Clay and I seemed to be having a difficult time. We had just, yet again received the news that we wouldn't be traveling the next month or the following month for sure. For the most part, we took pride in how well we generally handled ourselves during the wait. In fact, we often joked with each other and said that we were the strong ones in our family, having to hold everyone else up (and that's okay). Except for my Mama, boy was she a rock to us during that time. There were many times that we both just needed my Mama! I would call her and we would rush over to her house where she would pray with us and hold us....I know...that's another post.

Back to the rainbow... One particular evening, I laid in Clay's arms crying and missing my baby boy. We prayed together and at some point one of us noticed this beautiful rainbow in our backyard, I don't even remember who noticed it first. God spoke to us so clearly through that rainbow! We felt his love and we felt Him make a promise to us through his rainbow, He promised to bring Evan home to us. We were given such a peace that night.

We often looked at that picture, but it was while we were in Russia that it became even more special to us. When I was packing I packed the picture and didn't really even know why until a week or so later. Alex, (our facilitator) had just prepped us for court and told us that the judge was concerned with a document and it was possible that she could postpone our case for a month or so. The stress of court was getting to us and I found that picture...God's promise to us to bring Evan home!! The picture also served as a promise to bring Hannah Schatte home and we hung it in the apartment. We left it there along with a photo album...I've often wondered it is still there. Debbie??? (But we were in the Kandanaza st. apt. not Army st.)

Fast forward to May 6, 2009, 4 years exactly to the day that we brought Evan home and in almost the same spot in our back yard...God places a beautiful rainbow in the sky...A promise of his love! It would have been about the time that we were on our way from NY to ATL, close to landing. Clay's mom called to tell us about it. It was beautiful...this picture does it no justice!! The battery was dead in my big camera and I couldn't get a good shot with my little one.

I went upstairs and got Evan out of bed to show it to him and of course, he knows our rainbow story. When he saw it the first thing that he said was this, "Mom, why did God give us a rainbow, Is it because of my adoption?" I could have cried!! I explained to him that I thought it was exactly that. I believe God placed that rainbow in the sky that night to remind us to trust Him, He promises to take care of us and just like in bringing Evan home when we trust Him and believe Him, everything works out!!

Thank you Lord for everything! Thank you Lord for the rainbow...A promise of Your love!!

Keep Praying...

I couldn't wait to recieve a post from our friends in Irkutsk this morning, but it wasn't what I wanted to read, My heart breaks for them, keep praying!

This is their post...

Monday, September 29, 2008

To be continued..
as if 3.5 years of waiting, and 8 hours of ruthless badgering by both a judge AND prosecuter weren't enough, the court today decided they STILL are not satisfied with our paperwork, and continued the case pending receipt of the new documents. I am way too exhausted to get into details, but will try to describe it more tomorrow. We're looking at it from the point that she didn't say no, so..............Please continue to pray for us...

Activity in Irkutsk...Please be in Prayer.

We are asking everyone we know to be in prayer for the families and children of Irkutsk. Most of you know the situation, but for you newbies, I'll give a quick run down. We adopted Evan in April of 2005 after that there were two adoptions, one in June and one in August 2005. Around that time news broke of the death of Nina Hilt, a 2 year old who had been adopted from Irkutsk who was beaten to death by her mother, Peggy Hilt. As if there wasn't already enough red tape in Irkutsk, with us already having to wait a year between trips, this just added to it. Since then there hasn't been a single adoption by an American family...yes...since August 2004. Article here.

We have several friends who have been waiting over 4 years to bring home their children. While we waited for Evan, at times I didn't think people understood. (These were generally the people who drove us crazy with stupid questions anyway.) We (and all of these families) were with our child for an entire week, then forced to leave without them. It was the hardest thing that as parents we've ever had to do. During our wait for those who didn't seem to understand the pain and magnitude involved, I would explain it to them like this: Imagine that you gave birth to your child and you were only allowed to spend one week with him or her, then you were forced to say good-bye and had no idea when you would return to your child again. Can you imagine the pain? That's what the families of Irkutsk are enduring. We endured it for a solid year and could not imagine that it could ever get any worse...but it did! 4+ years worse!!

After lots of silence and nothing but declined paperwork, there is currently a lot of activity in Irkutsk.

Now that you've got a little background here's what were asking for...

Family 1: Some dear friends of ours finally received a court date!!!! This is the 1st American family to receive a court date since the last adoption in August 05...so make sure you grasp the magnitude of them being there. They arrived yesterday in Angarsk. They took with them their 5 year old son, who was also adopted from Irkutsk a few months prior to Evan. They will be spending a lot of time with their son in the baby home and will then go before the judge in court next Monday, September 29th. Remember, that Irkutsk is 13 hours ahead so that's the 28th for us. Please be in prayer for this family that they will receive favor with the judge and that the adoption will be granted. You can't even begin to understand how difficult she is, so pray hard!

Family 2: Some more dear friends of ours will have their paperwork submitted before the judge on October 2nd. Please pray that the judge will find favor with their paperwork and not ask for petty changes like she has always done in the past and that she will grant them a court date.

Family 3: Yet, more dear friends of ours will travel to Irkutsk for a week in October for an "in-between" trip to visit and re-bond with their daughter. Please pray that trust will quickly be regained and that they will have a wonderful trip.

There is finally a lot of activity in Irkutsk which we praise God for.

Please leave a comment to let these families (they read our blog daily) know that you will be praying for them.

Happy Birthday Nathan!

This is just a chance for me to ask everyone to remember all of the families who are still waiting to bring their children home from Russia. We have several friends who are still waiting to return to Irkutsk and who have been for a really long time.

Each of the families met their children just after we met Evan in 2004. We felt like we had an unbearable wait for Evan but it was nothing compared to what these families are still going through.This includes one family who's little boy just turned 5. Evan and their son lived together in the baby home.

There are some very important things coming up in the next few weeks and months in Irkutsk that could get the ball rolling again. Please pray for these families and that everything that needs to be done will be and will be done in a timely manner.

Evan asked if we could release balloons for Nathan's birthday to fly over to Russia, like we did while we were waiting for him.

The Nursery and Evan's New Room

When we first started talking about which room would become the babies' room, Evan told us that he needed to sleep upstairs too..."Because somebody had to take care of the babies and sleep by them so they wouldn't be scared" Isn't he going to be the best big brother ever!?!?

We certainly think so. Since he wanted to be upstairs too, we created a new room for him upstairs and his room downstairs will become the playroom.




Evan is so excited and is counting down the days! We made a count down chart on the computer with post-it numbers on it. It hangs on the fridge and every morning Evan rushes straight into the kitchen to remove a numbered post-it note from the chart to see how many days we have left until our babies are born.




Here are a few pictures of Ella and Elijah's Nursery. I wanted some type of mural on the wall but couldn't decide what, but when we decided on the bedding the choice was clear. I had never attempted anything like this before but figured it couldn't hurt to try. I was pretty happy with the way that it turned out. I also painted froggie pictures that match the frogs in their bedding which hang over the mural and say, "Princess Ella" and "Prince Elijah."

While we were waiting for Evan to come home 1 Samuel 1:27 became a very important verse for us. It says, "I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted what I asked of him" The same verse hangs above Ella and Elijah's cribs as well.

Elijah's bed is on the left and Ella's in on the right.

This armoire was in my room as a child and I painted it to match the nursery.

For Evan's room, he wanted "Sports" imagine that! I also wanted to create a fun, big boy room for him. We painted black chalk-board paint on one wall at and below chair-rail height. I wanted it to be a very interactive play space so I didn't want to use wooden chair rail. Evan and I went on a mission to Home Depot in search of something magnetic that would serve as chair rail. We walked around the store with magnets testings all sorts of things. We finally came across lumber ties. They are metal strips, that aparently are used to nail and hold wood together. We painted the metal strips white and nailed it up as a chair rail. Now Evan has a chalk board with a magnetic strip on which he can hang all sorts of things. He loves it!!! We purchased "sport bedding" and I also painted a baseball, glove, and ball on his wall.

The chalk board wall is to the left.

We're Having....and their names are...

Over the last couple of weeks I've ran into people or gotten emails from people saying that they keep checking the blog to learn the sex of the babies...I really thought I had posted it before now but I guess not.


So drum roll please...it is A GIRL and A BOY...Ella and Elijah...yeah...we're keeping them all E's !!!!


Both of our precious new babies will be named after their big brother, who will always be my first favorite. I tell him that all the time and now he just says, "I knooow Mom" in such a little-grown up voice.


Our precious baby girl will be Ella Sofiya (The Russian Spelling for Sophia) and our precious baby boy will share the same initials as Evan, which is EDH, and will be Elijah Day.

We went in for an ultrasound last week and as we were finishing up she offered to see if she could get a couple of 3-day pictures. Well, there in tight quarters so it wasn't easy but she did the best she could and it brought tears to my eyes.


This is baby Elijah, you can see his face pretty clear and that he is holding up his arm just under his chin.

(blogger down...will post pix later) Still can't post...sorry.

Baby Ella was a bit more swished. Her picture is a little harder to make out. She looking to left and her face is pressed up against the side. If you look closely, you can see that her nose and her eye. She also has her hand balled up just under her chin.



We've been working super hard, especially Clay in getting the rooms painted and ready. Their room is almost done. I'll post pictures when it's completed. Evan has really enjoyed all of the preparations. Last night we toured the Birthing Center at Rockdale Medical, where we will deliver. At first, Evan wasn't thrilled about going, but quickly got very excited once we arrived. We can't wait to welcome these precious blessing into our homes.

Oh my...what a belly!

Okay...so my dear friend Kerri stays on me about taking pictures so I figured I would upload them here...these are for you Kerri. I Love ya!

I think this was around 14 or so weeks. It's hard to see since

the picture is small but Evan is holding up two fingers.

This one was around 19 weeks...

This one was 24 weeks exactly...

TWO More Ultrasounds, TWO Strong Heartbeats, and TWO Beach Trips!!

On June 13th we saw two strong heartbeats!! Both were beating at 125!! We were so excited, it was so amazing to see their tiny hearts just beating away!!

After our appointment we picked up Evan and headed for St. Simmons beach! We had such a great time. It was so nice to get away...with just the three of us and really focus on Evan and how special he is to us. We had a great time hanging out at the beach. I did just that and nothing more...it was wonderful. I so enjoyed watching Evan and Clay play baseball on the beach, swim, play in the sand. We took Evan to play Putt-Putt which he really enjoyed. We took lots of pictures of course. I'll post a couple of those later. Evan loved to see the "Goodnight House" (lighthouse). How cute is that!?!? Thanks to Mike and Jan...we had a great time using your beautiful beach home!!

Home for a while...then we headed back to the beach with my family to Hilton Head. We are so blessed that we get to tag along with them. Evan and Wes had a lot of fun together and it was great to be able to spend so much time with Wesley. Since he has gotten older...friends are more important than Dee Dee and Clay. HA HA. We miss all of the time that we used to spend with him so we really enjoyed the week!

On June 26th we saw two strong heartbeats again...this time much stronger!! They were at 161 and 162. It was amazing to see the difference in the ultrasounds as they have changed so much since our last appointment. As tiny as they are...at about an inch now...it was amazing to see how their features are starting to form. Dr. Bates pointed out the eyes, nose, and arm. How cool!! We got to see one of them move, which was really cool!! He (or she) was sucking on his arm which you couldn't really see, but then he pulled it out and you could plainly see an arm!! I guess this one will probably be a thumb sucker like his big brother!!

Evan is going to make such a great big brother. He talks about "his babies" all the time and says the sweetest things about them. He told us that he wants them to sleep in his room but we told him that they would probably keep him awake at night and he said "that's fine with me." We later explained to him that they would probably have a room upstairs, so now he wants to have a room upstairs too so that he "can take care of them and keep them safe."

Today was a little bit bitter-sweet. It was our last appointment with Dr. Bates and the ACRM (Atlanta Center for Reproductive Medicine) Crew. Seeing them so often for so many weeks in a row, you form a bond with them. We cried a bit as we hugged and said our good-byes. Dr. Bates is one of the nicest Doctors that anyone could ever have. And our nurse, Carla, is just gold in my eyes. She was always so patient with me and my many email questions. She always made us laugh and feel more comfortable in a time and place where that's hard to do. And Nancy, well she just makes you feel at home and are so cared for and loved...I think she pulled for us to have twins from the beginning...since she's a Mom of two twin girls. They gave us two beautiful Silver Spoons in pretty blue and pink boxes with a note that says, "Congratulations and Best Wishes from Atlanta Center of Reproductive Medicine. The Johns Creek Office will always be special to us and we made promises to keep in touch.

Pictures coming soon...

Update from Kirsten

Hey Everyone,Well, our friend Kirsten just returned home from her visit to the baby-home. She took lots of pictures and video of Evan for us. The caretakers allowed her to take Evan into the a private playroom along with her daughter and she was kind enough to do so. Evan is really growing...he is not the baby that we were with last April, he is now such a little boy. He weights 22 pounds and is 29 inches tall. He is saying some Russian words and is on target developmental. The caretakers told Kirsten that "Since Evan's Momma and Poppa have been here his hair and spirits have gotten lighter" We think they may have meant brighter...ha ha Either way she said that it was a good thing. Kirsten said that Evan is very funny, he's kind of all or nothing. When he's playing, he's very animated, smiley, and running all over the place, the class clown. He's into everything, climbing, doing "boy" things. She said that he loves to throw and play with balls. We sent a picture of us with Kirsten to Evan that was taken Christmas. We had Kirsten ask the caretakers if they could tape it to the headboard of his bed so that he could always see us...they did...you can see a it on snapfish. In October, we sent a Tiger outfit to Evan through another family. We were surprised to see Evan wearing the outfit in some of the pictures that Kirsten took. We don't know if it was a coincident of if they saved it for him to wear...either way it was pretty exciting. Kirsten said that Evan is doing great. The children are very much well fed and taken care of. I set up a link on snapfish for you to view the pictures. If you haven't used snapfish before, it will ask you to set up an account...all you have to do is enter your name a make a password...it's free. In the pictures you will also see Kirsten, her mom, and Annicka. The link will follow this email.We are hoping to hear news of travel in the next couple of weeks for April, so keep praying.Brandi

Update from Russia

A very dear friend of ours named Kirsten traveled to Russia with her mom to visit her little girl. Her little girl and Evan are in the same group together and even sit right next to each other at the table for meal times. Just imagine, together in Siberia and together in Georgia. How cool is that?

Each day when Kirsten spent time with her little girl she was nice enough to spend time with Evan as well. She took lots of pictures and video of Evan for us.

Evan is really growing...He is not the baby that we were with last April, he is now such a little boy. He weights 22 pounds and is 29 inches tall. He is saying some Russian words and is on target developmentally. The caretakers told Kirsten that "Since Evan's Momma and Poppa have been here his hair and spirits have gotten lighter" We think they may have meant brighter...ha ha, either way she said that it was a good thing. Kirsten said that Evan is very funny, he's kind of all or nothing. When he's playing, he's very animated, smiley, and running all over the place, the class clown. He's into everything, climbing, doing "boy" things. She said that he loves to throw and play with balls.

We sent a picture of us to Evan that was taken Christmas. We had Kirsten ask the caretakers if they could tape it to the headboard of his bed so that he could always see us...they did!!!
In October, we sent a Tiger outfit to Evan through another family. We were surprised to see Evan wearing the outfit in some of the pictures that Kirsten took. We don't know if it was a coincident or if they saved it for him to wear...either way it was pretty exciting! Kirsten said that Evan is doing great. The children are very much well fed and taken care of.

We are hoping to hear news of travel in the next couple of weeks for April, so keep praying.

update from Siberia

Hey Everyone!We just wanted to update you on Evan. We have a friend who is currently in Siberia, visiting her daughter who lives with Evan. She said that Evan is doing great and we thought that we would share what she is saying about him. We still don¡¦t know when we will travel, but we are hoping to hear any day now. This family lives in Dunwoody, so our children will be together in Siberia and together in Georgia! How cool is that?!She said that he is so funny, the class clown in fact! We have ¡§met¡¨ several wonderful people on the internet who are adopting from the Angarsk Baby Home and they have each taken pictures and/or video of Evan, it has been great getting the monthly pictures or video from someone traveling on their first trip. Apparently this has caused Evan to become very comfortable with the cameras. Our friend, Kirsten who is there now said that when she first got there it was right after meal time so they were all in the potty room sitting on their potties. The potties look like little tiny bowls. She said that she took out her video camera and starting filming her little girl, Anicka. Evan was sitting across the room on his potty and without getting up he scooted himself on his potty across the room and stopped when he got next to Anicka, like okay, here I am go ahead and film me! She said that it was hilarious! The first couple of days the caretakers allowed her to take Anicka into a private playroom to play with her. On Monday, they allowed her to take Evan in the room also. She said that the three of them had a ball playing together and that she chased them both around and around the big New Year¡¦s Tree that was up in the middle of the room, as she chased them, they both laughed and laughed! All of the children have assigned seats for meal time. Anicka and Evan sit right next to each other at the same table. Kirsten said that Tuesday Evan ate all of his food rather quickly and just sat there for a minute. He then looked at Anicka and noticed that she still had food in her bowl and stole a couple of spoonfuls of her food! She said Anicka just looked at him real mean. I guess when he gets home, we will have to teach him that it is not polite to take food off of other people¡¦s plates. ƒºKirsten said that she counted Evan¡¦s teeth and that he has 14 teeth, 4 molars!!! After the first week there the director of the baby home allowed Kirsten to take Anicka out of the baby home and keep her in the apartment with her. So we will have to wait to hear more about Evan when she takes Anicka back. In a way we are kind of glad because we don¡¦t want Evan to miss Kirsten when she leaves. Kirsten said that she is going to talk to the pediatrician when she takes Anicka back and get updated measurements of Evan for us. In December he was 21 pounds and almost 28 inches tall. We¡¦ll keep you posted.
Thanks for letting us share,
Brandi & Clay

Christmas Surprise

Christmas day was a bit difficult for us. It really made us miss Evan. For so many months now, we just knew that on Christmas day we would have a little one running around.

On Christmas day we received a phone call from a lady that we met over the internet, telling us to check our email. She adopted a little boy from Irkutsk in September.

She had one of her contacts in Irkutsk take pictures of Evan for us. It was the greatest Christmas present we received. The email contained a very touching message that read;

Dear Momma and Poppa,
I know that we can't be together this Christmas but I wanted you to know I love you very, very, very, much. Next year we will celebrate together, but for now, just know that I am healthy, happy, and excited that soon you'll come back for me and we'll be a forever family.

I attached some pictures so you can see how big I've gotten! I had a little help from some of our friends.

Love and Kisses,
Denis

This certainly lifted our spirits!!!

Wait Patiently Wait

Wait patiently wait,
God never is late;
Thy budding plans are in Thy Father's holding,
And onlh wait HIs grand dividne unfolding.
Then wait, wait
Patiently wait.

Trust, hopefully trust,
That God will adjust
Thy tangled life; and from its dark concealings,
Will bring His will, in all its bright revealings.
Then trust, trust,
Hopefully trust.

Rest, peacefully rest
On Thy Saviours' breast'
Breathe in His ear they sacred high ambition,
And He will bring it forth in blest fruition.
Then rest, rest,
Peacefully rest!
Mercy A. Gladwin

Oh No!

We have been so excited and on the edge of our seats knowing that we are next. Every time the phone rings, our stomachs get butterflies hoping it is "The Call." Whoever is not near the phone is asking the other one, "Who is it, Who is it?"

But so far, it hasn't been "the call." It was instead a call we feared. A couple of weeks ago, December 3rd, our social worker called and told us that the judge did not see that she would have time to see any adoption cases in the month of January and would not do any until Februrary. "Apparently" she has more important things to do.

It hurts so bad and makes us so angry! We have been so postive through out most of this and each time, (not to brag) have pumped ourselves back up within a few hours. We have even managed to pump our families up at times. This time is very different. We can't seem to shake the saddness. We know that he is doing great, but could do so much better here with us. He is learning Russian now which will make the transition even harder. He was 9 months old when we saw him last and is now almost 18 months old. When will we travel? We are still next, but does that really mean February? If we travel in February, it will be a year since we first found out that he would be a part of our family. We recieved his video and pictures on February 17th, 2004. Christmas has been very difficult without him! We thought we would get to decorate our tree as a family of three or at least be with him in Russia for Christmas. What we need is a court date, and in the mean time we need strength from our Lord God.

Thank you all for your prayers!

An update from Russia

Our social worker forwarded us an email from Alex, our facilitator in Russia, with an updated picture of Evan Denis, not the best picture but we were pleased to receive it. He is standing in front of a very "Charlie Brown" looking Christmas tree. But hey, it is his first Chirstmas picture and we are very proud to have it. Updated measurements were also included, Evan is really growing. He is now 21 pounds and is almost 29 inches tall. Alex said that the doctors at the baby home said that Denis is the smartest and the cutest child. Yeap, we are pretty proud parents! He also told our SW that he remembered that we were "a very sensitive couple...maybe a video would help the wait," so he is sending one to the US through another family, we can't wait to get it.

Passing Time...

We had not heard anything about Evan or seen any photos since we left. A family that we met was traveling for their first trip to meet their daughter. They took some wonderful pictures of Evan for us and made a beautiful video of him. It felt so good to see him. He had started walking! He was really growing! The pictures were so funny! He had a big green dot on his head, which was medicine for a mosquito bite. We received the pictures in July.

In August, two court dates were set and two families returned to Russia to bring their children home. These were the first court dates since our trip, so this was very exciting. One of the families also took pictures of Evan. To go so long without any photos and then to get some both in July and August, Wow! We had no idea when we would be traveling but now, at least things were moving along.

Summer faded into fall! Another season...means we are getting closer! Our facilitator in Russia emailed us some new pictures of Evan Denis. They were wonderful, he looks so happy! But, man...a fashion nightmare! HA HA Seeing him happy means so much to us.

Another family traveled in October to meet their son, they took some wonderful pictures of Evan for us. We have become close friends to this out of state family which we have never met.

These past few months have been so great to get updated photos. We found out that there had been eight families ahead of us from the beginning, but we were not sure were we fell with that. We were hoping that we would be traveling in October, but we then found out that only one court date had been scheduled for September. Surely, this meant we would travel in November.

September rolled around, hip hip hooray, another month! Another month had come and gone, which meant we were another month closer to Evan Denis. We found out that there were three families ahead of us. This meant that if the judge scheduled the "normal" two for November, and the "normal" two in December that we would be traveling in December. Again, we were so excited! We thought it would be so much fun to spend Christmas in Russia with Evan.

Well, October rolled around! Yeap, another month has passed hip hip hooray! Then, we found out that the judge did schedule the "normal" two in November. That meant that there were now three families ahead of us and two of them had a court date. Only one family in front of us, so hopefully we will both be traveling in December.

We then found out that the judge only scheduled one court date for December. We were a bit upset by it, but tried to focus on the positive...that means that we will be the next family to receive a date. We know God has a plan and ultimately want his will and purpose, but it does get difficult at times.

So hopefully, we will be traveling in January!!! We are praying that we get a court date for January in the month of November. It is November 1st!!!

update

Hello everyone,I hope all is well with everyone. I just wanted to let everyone know that we received a video of Evan yesterday! It is awesome! The same family that took the photos of Evan for us, videoed him. We are so thankful for this family and all that they have done for us. I pray that God will truly bless them.In the video, we got to see Evan Denis have lots of fun. In the beginning Kirsten gives him the toy that we sent him and shows him pictures of us from our first trip and from the birthday party that we had for him. She tells him about his birthday party and shows him pictures of us and tells him that we sent him balloons. He is very still and quiet, acting like he is not so sure about the strangers that are around him. Then when his caretaker is called in, she plays with him. Once she starts playing with him, he laughs and laughs! She gives him a massage and starts singing nursery rhymes to him. A couple of times, he acts like he is teasing her and again laughs. She tickles him and he loves it. We also got to see him walk around, which he is doing very well. We wrote him a little note and Kirsten surprised us and had it translated for us, at the end of the video the caretaker reads it to Evan and waves his hand good bye. After the video is over, Kirsten recorded the sweetest song. The song is set to still shots from the video. It is wonderful! I have got to find out the name of the song, I guess it might be "You cannot lose my love" It starts out as "you will lose your baby teeth...you will lose a lot of things...but you cannot lose my love." It will quickly bring tears to your eyes! It is so beautiful!This video helps us really realize just how much time has passed and reminds us how far we have gone and that the journey is well underway. Thank you, Lord! Time has been flying by. Can you believe that it has already been 4 months ago yesterday, since we left for Russia? We continue to pray each day that we will get a court date soon but ultimately want and pray for God's will in the situation and know that his timing is the right time.God has blessed us so much! We are so thankful for Kirsten and Vince and for this video. Please say a special pray for these wonderful people and for their beautiful daughter, Anicka. Kirsten, I love you and appreciate you so much more than you will ever know!Love, Brandi

July Update

Hello everyone,
I hope all is well with everyone. I just wanted to let everyone know that we received a video of Evan yesterday! It is awesome! The same family that took the photos of Evan for us, videoed him. We are so thankful for this family and all that they have done for us. I pray that God will truly bless them.

This is the first time that we have heard anything about Evan since we returned home in April. In the video, we got to see Evan Denis having lots of fun. In the beginning Kirsten gives him the toy that we sent him and shows him pictures of us from our first trip and from the birthday party that we had for him. She tells him about his birthday party and shows him pictures of us and tells him that we sent him balloons. He is very still and quiet, acting like he is not so sure about the strangers that are around him. Then when his caretaker is called in, she plays with him. Once she starts playing with him, he laughs and laughs! She gives him a massage and starts singing nursery rhymes to him. A couple of times, he acts like he is teasing her and again laughs. She tickles him and he loves it. We also got to see him walk around, which he is doing very well. We wrote him a little note and Kirsten surprised us and had it translated for us, at the end of the video the caretaker reads it to Evan and waves his hand good bye. After the video is over, Kirsten recorded the sweetest song. The song is set to still shots from the video. It is wonderful! I have got to find out the name of the song, I guess it might be "You cannot lose my love" It starts out as "you will lose your baby teeth...you will lose a lot of things...but you cannot lose my love." It will quickly bring tears to your eyes! It is so beautiful!This video helps us really realize just how much time has passed and reminds us how far we have gone and that the journey is well underway. Thank you, Lord! Time has been flying by. Can you believe that it has already been 4 months ago yesterday, since we left for Russia? We continue to pray each day that we will get a court date soon but ultimately want and pray for God's will in the situation and know that his timing is the right time.God has blessed us so much! We are so thankful for Kirsten and Vince and for this video. Please say a special pray for these wonderful people and for their beautiful daughter, Anicka. Kirsten, I love you and appreciate you so much more than you will ever know!Love, Brandi

Evan's 1st (1st) Birthday Party - Passing Time

The months were passing by and into the summer, it was hard to believe that we had been home over two months now. Evan's birthday was coming up and we wanted to celebrate. Even though he was not home with us, we figured that we did indeed have a birth to celebrate. We had a good time. Our family came over and we grilled hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner. Wesley helped us bake a cake for Evan and decorated it. We will celebrate Evan's first birthday with him one day as well, so we called this his 1st (1st) birthday party. After we ate dinner, we released over 70 balloons that were filled with love, hugs, and kisses to "fly over to Russia" for Evan's birthday. It was so beautiful and so very touching!

Time continued to fly on by us. We planned a trip to Jamaica, just to get away for a while. Then school started back. God has working and time was passing by.

Back Home - The Waiting Begins...

We arrived home safe and sound and were greeted at the airport by our mothers and Wesley on Easter Sunday, April 11th, also our 6th wedding anniversary. Not a very happy anniversary, but it felt so good to see our family. It also felt good to show everyone our 350+ pictures and clips of our hours of video. We stopped by Pizza Hut on the way home and bought a large Pepperoni pizza and quickly scarfed it down as soon as we got home. We knew that we would need God to help us stay strong through the wait and we hoped it would go quickly.