The begining of our journey

It has been almost 2 weeks since our precious Viktorija returned to Latvia. We miss her so much!! The first couple of days we shed many tears. But, by day 3 we were ready to get busy with all the mounds of paperwork, meetings, and background checks required for adoption. Mike has worked diligently on getting all the paperwork in order. I've been truly amazed at his fortitude and determination! Being an engineer has taught him to cross every "t" and dot every "I" many times. This will prove quite valuable as we move along in the process.

Thus far we have had part of our home study done, sent in our application paperwork, gotten fingerprinted, and a criminal backgroud check done. Although we've done a lot so far, there will be so much more ahead of us. We each have 10 hours of online training to do, specifically for a Latvian adoption, in addition to everything else.

I've heard from other adoptive parents that this process can be EXTREMELY frustrating. But, honestly, we feel pretty calm. God has placed wonderful, christian people in our path. We feel very confident in the knowledge and efficiency of our home study agency, as well as our adoption liason (agency). Our patience may be tested along the way, but God's timing and plan are perfect. He knows when Viktorija is coming home, and we will accept that.

Our liason, Kelly, spoke with the attorney in Lativa (she handles all of the adptions in Latvia) to ask if Vikotrija has been "cleared" for adoption, and if she wanted to be adopted. Within 5 hours we had a resounding "YES" to both questions!!! Praise the Lord for that! The attorney even got phone numbers from where she is living!! The next step we are working on is making contact with Viktorija via phone. Some coordination will have to take place...they are 7 hours ahead of us, we need a translator to have a 3-way call with us, and we have to make sure she will be at home when we call. I pray that within the next several days we will hear her sweet voice.
We want to tell her ourselves that WE want to make her a permanent part of our family, and that we love her very much.

I just wanted to give an update for those that are wondering what we've been doing since she left. Busy, busy, busy!! Please continue your prayers. We thank you:-)