...if I didn't admit to being uber-excited about our 'forced' trip out of Russia. It strikes me as profoundly funny that only a few days ago I cried myslf silly over the fact that I would have to leave for a bit, and now I am counting the hours till we head north!
Here is some of why I am excited:
Here is some of why I am excited:
and this....
and once I get to Finland, there is this....
and a little of this..
If I didn't know better, I'd think God was doing His darned best to 'woo' me into staying over here permanently. Funny thing is, it's starting to not feel like such a horrible thing. The girls and I have been talking alot about it. If we are unable to secure Anya a way to return with us by December, we will start the planning phase of 'The Big Move.' Nastia is the only one on the fence about it. She 'hates' Russia and is not sure she would survive a move here. We have discussed a myriad of options, and we still don't know what would be best. We all need to make a new start if we are to work well as a family -- not to mention the fact that I need to live somewhere where I can make a living!
Good news, I can still pursue adopting D no matter where we are going. Nadezhda (The Director) thinks it is a perfect match and cried when I told her of my interest. I know there are many of you thinking I am nuts right now, and that's ok. You're entitled to your opinion, but I respectfully ask you to keep it to yourself. God has made it abundantly and commandingly clear that he is meant to be my son. I am only following orders, people. If you don't think the plan is a good one, talk to Him, not me!
And so I'll leave you with a photo of Peterhof in St Pete, which I will be visiting this weekend. Got to go get ready for Nastia's birthday! (Anya and I are sneaking out at 9am to get the cake, flowers and balloons!)
Oh, you will LOVE Peterhof. It is unbelievably beautiful. You could spend a week there and not see it all. Enjoy!
ReplyDelete"You're entitled to your opinion, but I respectfully ask you to keep it to yourself."
ReplyDeleteLove this quote!
Best of luck with the travels and I pray it works out.
Living in Finland certainly doesnt look so bad!!
Magnificent!
ReplyDeleteBy the way -if you need action figures/clothes for daniel, THAT, I can help with!
ReplyDeleteAs I read, I said out loud to you thru the monitor, "I don't think God has to do anything to woo you to stay over there permanently. It's obvious that's where your heart is." My boys said, "Mom, who are you talking to?" I told them I was talking to you, and the 16-yr old said, "Y'know, if you type it in, she may ACTUALLY hear you..."
ReplyDeleteSo I typed it in for encouragement or reinforcement, or to let you know we don't think you're crazy. From all your previous posts, I don't see how you'd be able to live with yourself if you had to come back to America without each of your children.
Grace & peace, sister!
p.s. Finland is QUITE beautiful; we were in that harbor in July! :)
I don't think you're nuts. I think you're fantastic! I am super super excited to hear that you're going to pursue adopting Daniel. We're not in a position to adopt again right now, so I'm living vicariously through you... and I'm having a blast doing it! lol
ReplyDeleteHope you have a wonderful time in Finland. Oh wait.. I'm living through you... so I hope WE have a wonderful time. =)
Leslie
Ahhh! LOve the comments! Vegan PIg lover...thank you:) Rockymomct your post mad me laugh, and yours too Leslie! Wish we could all have coffee together one day:) or blini! Yes, lets all have blini and sour cream together one day:)
ReplyDeleteanything with sour cream and I'm IN! :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you're finding some glimmers of hope!
ReplyDeleteI do, however, flat out refuse to keep my opinion on the matter of Daniel to myself. I'm entitled to my opinion and I'm entitled to share it with whomever I want wherever and whenever I want. :-) Quite frankly, Keri, you are nuts...completely nuts...and I absolutely LOVE you for it! I applaud you a million times over for having the courage to see past fear and trust faith, even when the world screams you should do something else and what you're choosing to do seems to defy all conventional logic and wisdom. I've been in that same position myself. I will forever be grateful I chose faith over fear and adopted my two boys inspite of what everyone else said we should do. They are a challenge, yes, but they are also absolutely worth it and are some of my greatest blessings. They have taught me more about love and hope and courage and healing than anyone else ever could. I am certain you and Daniel will be a blessing to each other and to your girls as well. Congratulations, Mama!!
Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV) "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways, acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths."
If the rest of you can't be supportive of Keri and her decisions and her faith, I second what she said...please keep it to yourself. It hurts more than you can ever know to be criticized for doing what you know in your heart is right and ordained of God.
You go, lady!! And thank you for providing me with the qoutes I needed for our next announcement. Love the one--"Talk to Him, not to me!" I can't wait to see how all God unfolds this . . HE HAS A GOOD PLAN. It will for your good, and for His glory, as one evangelist used to say a lot. He said it over and over again in the week of meetings, but it sure sticks with me now. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI don't think you are nuts. I would've thought you nuts for not adopting him! I posted it a few days ago that I thought you'd adopt him and then I think I deleted it. So that's my little opinion.
ReplyDeleteKeri, I want to be just like you when I grow up! I can't tell you how much I admire what you are doing for your girls and Daniel. May God be with you in your journeys.
ReplyDeleteFran
I think you're nuts, but in the best possible way. I hope adopting Daniel is a smooth process - you've had enough bureaucratic nonsense on both sides of this to last you, and dozens of others, a lifetime.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone gives you grief you can send them my way. I prayed, "Lord, send that child a loving mother." And apparently he was right on in! Praying for you lots!
ReplyDeleteHorray for you and for Daniel. He is a very sweet looking young man. I would love to visit Finland too. We found Kyiv to be gorgeous. We were there on Easter Sunday A.M. on the 6th floor of a tall building in downtown Kyiv, with a view of the city. I will never forget the bells of all the churches ringing.
ReplyDeleteI am soo happy for you and for Daniel getting a mama & sisters!. So you can live in a different country with the girls or does it have to be Russia? I think that that is very exciting to move to another country and start over. Then maybe one day Anya can come to the US. Congragulations!
ReplyDeleteHa! I, too, refuse to refrain from sharing my opinion - YAHOO! What a perfectly wonderful idea. And having the orphanage director on your side, can't hurt a bit.
ReplyDeleteOh, if only I could go and do likewise!
I'm anxiously awaiting our trip. (Living vicariously, too.)
I'm so glad you're pursuing him, and excited to keep following your journey
ReplyDeleteLike Leslie said, I am living vicariously through you, and am SO HAPPY AND EXCITED for you to adopt Daniel. It is MAKING MY DAY. I mean, you had hinted at your desire, but to hear you make an official proclamation--I think I hear angels rejoicing.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you're nuts at all. Sometimes you just know what you are called to do.
ReplyDeleteKeri,
ReplyDeleteDaniel is beautiful. His eyes just speak volumes. I don't know how anyone could think you shouldn't do this. Will it be hard? Yes! But life is hard! I am so proud of you. One of my sons is from St Pete and you will just adore it. Truly a wonderful city. It will be a much needed break for all of you. You will recharge your batteries. I also think you are %100 correct to start over in another city if you stay in Russia. I wonder could you do something for some of the US adoption agencies in St Pete or Moscow? My agency has good size operations in both. My final thoughts to you are that I comletely agree that these decision are not up to you. You just have to do them. When I was in Moscow learning our baby to be had a tumor in his kidney of course there are no choices there. You know what you must do. That decision has led me to where I am today and I feel that decision is pivitol to my life. To have done anything else I would have been haunted. I too know people here in CT don't "get" what I am doing waiting for the phone to ring to travel to meet my third child from Russia but you know what you are called to do in life. Love and prayers for you and yours.
The trip sounds like it might be just what you all need! Looks beautiful! And Daniel...oh what a sweet face on that boy!
ReplyDeleteUgh! Dont you wish blogger comments worked like facebook, so you could reply directly to a specific comment? I have so much I want to say to each one of you, but boy is it a pain in the but to respond in ONE comment and keep referring back to your comments and then LOSING what I wrote..lol. so, I'l keep it brief:Diana, you cracked me up and your support means the WORLD to me on this decision. Happymom4, Janice, skydancer etc...your words and support make me LIGHT! Brunhildecrow, your comment floored me. I do not DOUBT god heard your request, bc let me tell you, I was scared and on the fance, and then He filled my heart with a POWERFUL passionate indescribable love for daniel overnight that I cnnot possibly adequately describe. It was like he went from " a sweet boy at the orphanage" to " my son that I will dIE for" and that comes nOT from me. So many others of you I wantto respond to, but then this comment box will go on for pages! Sufffice it to say all your comments still do WONDERS to sustain me here. I'm not kidding. THey do.
ReplyDeleteAnd to Toothfryy..i'm a poor reflection of the man I am trying to emulate. I'm honored that you think i"m worthy of emulating, but go read what Jesus of Nazareth did, and be like Him! That's what I wake up and try to do every day. He is my inspiration. I'm in AWE of what He accomplished on earth. And what He's accomplishing now, is simply not fathomable!!!
My daughter Katya is from St. Petersburg. We loved our trips there. We spent a day at Peterhof and it was amazing! Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteThat news about Daniel is what I've been dying to hear. I am thrilled that you're up for taking the plunge again. He is beautiful and meant for you!
ReplyDeletedear keri-
ReplyDeleteif you are nuts, then i truly believe that the world needs more nuts exactly like you. take care.
angela
I knew he was for you the minute you first posted about him.
ReplyDeleteHugs and prayers!
Mary in TX
I am sooooo HAPPY for you, your girls and Daniel!! I wish you all the best!! We were in Helsinki, Finland about 3 years ago to obtain my son's Visa after we adopted him from Estonia. It is beautiful there!!Again we felt the calling to adopt and are now in the process of adopting an older sibling group (girl - 10 and boy - 13)from Estonia. I love the pictures and it brings back so many memories. ;-)
ReplyDeleteBest Wishes,
Michelle
(mom to Michael, Brett. & soon mom to O and A)
Well, of course you have to do it, aside from being nuts - which, let's face it, is one of the things that makes you soooo interesting :-D
ReplyDeleteI'm just as they say, a rarity of extremes, full of all the practical reasons adopting is a crazy idea at this time but perfectly capable of grasping and understand the "of course! it's simply what you must do and it's going to be BLESSED!" on the other side. When I hold both of those positions in life today, I know the right thing to do is put on a goofy grin and just leap off the damn cliff. Some people might stand at the top and shake their heads and you tumble down, but there's also a whole pile of people at the bottom of the cliff applauding and laughing :-)