Flip. Flop.

So two weeks ago it was "YAY! They decided to continue special needs adoptions! You need to be ready to leave at any time!"

One week ago it was "YAY! Lots of families submitted in June like you guys are getting their dates! You weren't in the first batch, but you will be coming soon!"

Yesterday it was, "They are giving appts for families that are adopting kids over 5 yrs old regardless of special needs. THEN, after THOSE families, they will give dates to families adopting kids under 5 but with special needs already on the "list." Henry has arthrogryposis, which IS on the list.

Today, the rumor "du jour" is that the current "interpretation" of the Parliament's order in Henry's country is that only adoptions of children over 5 will be allowed before October 11...

Henry just turned one.

Sigh.

I am feeling numb again.

Deep in the throes of what I have recently named "the wating funk."

A friend asked me if I feel "pregnant"....

well, in a bizarre kind of "I can't make plans to do anything, can't concentrate on anything, feel antsy and edgy" way....

YES - I feel all the yucky last trimester stuff...

without the consolation of knowing my baby is safe and sound under my heart.

For an in-control, make-it-happen, Type A kind of person.... this is maddening....

but maybe that is why God is having me go through it.

To "flip flop" me into a better mommy....a better PERSON...when it all is finally done.

Whenever that may be.

One.

Happy Birthday Henry.

Today you are one year old.

Will you have a party?

Will you smoosh cake and frosting all over yourself like all my other children did?

Will you enjoy tearing paper off a present more than the actual present itself?

Will you get a present.........?

I don't know.

But I do know......

This will be the ONLY birthday where you will be without a mommy and daddy...

And when we get home....

you will have cake and presents and singing and pictures and hugs and kisses until you fall asleep on my shoulder exhausted from the joy and excitement of it all.

Happy First Birthday my baby boy.

We will celebrate soon.

Happy Birthday Brent!

My oldest turns 19 today!! Happy Birthday Brent!!

He is an amazing young man -

a singer (Honors Chorale, Madrigals, Blue Review, etc.), actor (in musicals, comedies and dramas alike), National Honor Society member for 2 years, Tri-M Music Honor Society inductee, Student of the Year in the Special Services department at his high school, a Catechist aide for 1st graders in Religious Ed in our Church this fall, and next year will be attending Junior College aiming to become a Special Ed Teacher for elementary school children!!!

Oh, and he has a learning disability.

He essentially could not read in 6th grade. He was bullied. He was lost.

He wanted so much to please us and his teachers, but the difficulties were becoming too much...

So we made a decision to change schools to a district with acclaimed Special Ed services.

And a miracle of hope and hard work and determination occurred.

My Brent is the hardest working boy you will ever meet.

He is smart and talented.

But more important, he always has a smile for everyone and a heart to help children.

Especially those going through what he once did.

This video http://carringtonscourage.blogspot.com/2011/07/how-can-this-be.html

moved him to tears.

Someday my boy may be on Broadway as the next Dick Van Dyke...

or he may be a teacher helping little ones not feel so sad in school.

Either way I am blessed to be his mom....

and all his younger siblings are lucky to have him to look up to.

So close......

Up in Ely, Minnesota we visited the American Bear Center...Logan (4) loves bears...

especially polar bears...he wants a baby polar bear for a pet....

uhhh, bad idea.

So he snuggled up close to this stuffed polar bear instead.

We are getting closer and closer to snuggling our little Henry....

Several families who were submitted in June (like we were) will be traveling between August 3 and 10 to bring their children home....we are expected to have our travel date assigned very soon....

An extended family meeting was held and logistics were planned, lots of relatives will be rotating in and out to stay with our children who will probably be starting school while we are gone....

Our fundraising thermometer is creeping closer and closer to the goal we need with the extra costs of summer travel....a HUGELY generous donation last week moved us up, but a bit more is needed...

Remember, email me at Dobspc@aol.com and I will send you a handmade bracelet (or 2!) to thank you for your support!!

closer and closer....

are you ready??

are WE ready???

Things are getting serious...

After singing praises all weekend for the great gift of not having to wait MONTHS to bring our little guy home, we now have learned we may only have WEEKS before we need to go get him...

so it is time to buckle down.

We need to raise some serious money as you see from our fundraising thermometer to the right.

The amount needed to adopt Henry is higher than we originally thought at the time we committed for the following reasons:

1) we are traveling during the most expensive season of the year, doubling the price of airline tickets

2) our region allows the waiver of a 10 day waiting period...but of course, for a cost (about $1000 dollars)

3) there are some additional charges in our region that we were told about by a family that just returned from adopting their one year old son (orphanage donation, one day passport expediting fees, Embassy fees, etc.)

SOOOOOO....

if you were thinking of donating and just have not had a chance, NOW is the time!!!

click on the little pic of Henry, it will take you to our family sponsorship page at Reece's Rainbow...

or you can just click on www.reecesrainbow.org/sponsordobrovits

If you email me at Dobspc@aol.com (or just leave a comment below) with your name and address and we will send you a lovely bracelet handmade by my daughters and niece as a thank-you for your support!!

Fianlly, a special give-away item will be up by the end of the week! Check back for your chance to win a BEAUTIFUL gift from our hearts to yours!!

We are seriously thankful for all the support and love from all our friends and family and the on-line adoption community.

AMAZING!!!!!!

Just got an email from the non-profit helping us with Henry's adoption....

the Parliament in his country passed an Act to allow special needs adoptions already in progress to continue during the shutdown!!!!

What does this mean???

We will be given a travel date to bring Henry home in the next few weeks (instead of months)!!!!!

I am awed and humbled at the mercy of God, to move mountains to bring our little guy home sooner!!!

He will be 1 on July 23....

will we meet him close to his birthday????

Thank you Lord. Thank you is all I can say.

Is it worth it??

That's me. With my 2 year old Tessa on my back, on top of a pack of food (or tents or clothes or something else) as we portage our gear and canoes over land to the next lake on our recent camping and canoeing vacation just north of Ely, Minnesota.

What a week!

Some of the details included being stuck in a tent during thunderstorms for an entire day, my 17 yo son needing an ER visit due to fever and a horrible cough after getting off the trail, my 4 yo son getting so many bug bites on his face that his right eye swelled shut and the rest of his face looked ready to burst, and plucking ticks off my 6 yo daughter...

*sigh*

Was it worth it?

Sure, we could have gone somewhere easier and more luxurious, and we may next time ;-)

but YES it was worth it.

Those hours stuck in the rain were amazing bonding time with my children.

They learned patience and fortitude....

and really appreciated dry clothes and food when we returned...

and I got to carry my baby on my back and play endless card games and make memories that we will all laugh about for a lifetime.

And it got me thinking....

Is adopting Henry "worth it"?

This constant ache in my heart as I wait? This saving and scrounging for money to bring him home? All the time and effort of fundraisers and paperwork??

And I answered myself in a heartbeat in my best "Minnesota-n"

Yep. You betcha.