**Update- LOL I just realized that I never did come back to update as I promised! Mindy never did get sick (to my knowledge) and her trip is over now. She is home with her family now after a lifechanging experience in Africa. God is good!!**
Asking for prayer for one of my best friends Mindy who is on a orphan care missions trip to Ethiopia and Uganda. Her mom just got a twitter message that she's feeling a high fever coming on. Please pray for her health and safety. I'll update when I hear more.
You can check also check out her blog here.
They're Home! :)
My boys are home safe and sound and all that I can say is that it feels good to be a whole family. :)
After a very joyous airport homecoming, Micah fell asleep in the van on the way home... we brought him in, laid him on the chair and this is where has stayed. :) I suppose he'll have to take a tour of his new home in the morning. This is one pooped out little boy.
But all is well, I hope to post more pictures tomorrow. For now, I'm going to sleep GOOD tonight with my family all under one roof. :)
PRAYER WORKS!!
I am SO EXCITED to announce that Micah had a NEGATIVE tb test and that Jake is holding his visa IN his hands, and that they have a flight out first thing in the morning!!!!!!!!!!
For those who want to help us welcome them home at the airport tomorrow, they are coming in at 6:30pm and as was the plan LAST WEEK ;) everyone will meet in baggage claim.
Praise the Lord for the great things He has done!! Thank you to everyone who prayed! (And thanks to my sweet nursing friends who prayed through the night! lol) ;) God is good and He hears the petitions of His children!!!
Now lets pray them home safely!!
For those who want to help us welcome them home at the airport tomorrow, they are coming in at 6:30pm and as was the plan LAST WEEK ;) everyone will meet in baggage claim.
Praise the Lord for the great things He has done!! Thank you to everyone who prayed! (And thanks to my sweet nursing friends who prayed through the night! lol) ;) God is good and He hears the petitions of His children!!!
Now lets pray them home safely!!
PRAYERS NEEDED
Here is what we all need to be agreeing for in prayer together:
~That the scope goes smoothly and the results are NEGATIVE
(its at 8am their time, midnight here)
~That the negative results come QUICKLY
(supposed to be in by noon there, 3am here)
~That they are able to rush over to the Embassy before it closes to get his Visa
(the embassy closes by 2pm, 5am here)
If everything doesn't happen on time, it will be Tuesday before they get it because Monday is a Ukrainian holiday.
Thank you for standing in the gap with us to bring them home so our family can be whole!
(For more info go on over to my adoption blog.)
~That the scope goes smoothly and the results are NEGATIVE
(its at 8am their time, midnight here)
~That the negative results come QUICKLY
(supposed to be in by noon there, 3am here)
~That they are able to rush over to the Embassy before it closes to get his Visa
(the embassy closes by 2pm, 5am here)
If everything doesn't happen on time, it will be Tuesday before they get it because Monday is a Ukrainian holiday.
Thank you for standing in the gap with us to bring them home so our family can be whole!
(For more info go on over to my adoption blog.)
I'm just sayin'...
You know... it would be wrong for me to convey to you that everything in my life is sunshine and roses. (Brace yourself, I'm feeling reflective.) :)
Yes, I am a very blessed woman. I have a beautiful family, we're adopting and expecting a baby, dah duh dah duh dah... I don't have to tell you how blessed I am. I KNOW I'm blessed and I AM thankful. (That was my disclaimer.)
But tonight I'm frustrated. And tired. I MISS my husband and I want him to come home. I don't like watching TV by myself at night after the kids go to bed. I need him here to tell him all the funny things that the girls said that day. I need him to hug me and laugh at me because I'm weird. I need his sense of calm and his wisdom. I want to see my little boy and get to know him more. I want to start life with him here. I want him to be included when I reference "my children". I am concerned about this TB thing. Tonight I read some blogs about TB testing and I don't want him to do that for three days. Now granted, I don't want to be ignorant either, and if he's got active TB (which we HIGHLY doubt), then it needs to be addressed and treated. But if he doesn't, I want them to leave him alone and let him come home to me.
The pipes under my kitchen sink busted last night and flooded my kitchen floors. I backed into Jakes truck last week and dented the bumper of the van we need to sell. I hate dragging the stinky trash cans down to the road on Monday nights. My kids need a break from me and I need a break from them. We've been together every waking minute for the last two weeks. We've survived a fever bug, a separate stomach bug, heat exhaustion, dehydration, sunburn, multiple bug bites, a bee sting, some swollen feet and a few braxton hicks (those last three were me :)). Not to mention 4 days of VBS, a yearly developmental eval and an IFSP meeting (for Abby) and a 22 week OB checkup. I'm pregnant and I'm cranky. Everything smells funny to me and my belly itches really bad. I'm starving but the only thing that tastes good is Root beer and cheese dip.
And ya know, oh well. Poor me. Life goes on. This is what its like to have 3 kids between the ages of 2 and 5. Its about to get even crazier! This is what I signed up for and really, I don't mind all that much. The point is... I'm just tired.
This doesn't mean that anyone needs to feel sorry for me (please don't!) or come to my rescue. I just needed to vent, and its MY blog. :) And I know my God loves me... swollen feet and all.
Yes, I am a very blessed woman. I have a beautiful family, we're adopting and expecting a baby, dah duh dah duh dah... I don't have to tell you how blessed I am. I KNOW I'm blessed and I AM thankful. (That was my disclaimer.)
But tonight I'm frustrated. And tired. I MISS my husband and I want him to come home. I don't like watching TV by myself at night after the kids go to bed. I need him here to tell him all the funny things that the girls said that day. I need him to hug me and laugh at me because I'm weird. I need his sense of calm and his wisdom. I want to see my little boy and get to know him more. I want to start life with him here. I want him to be included when I reference "my children". I am concerned about this TB thing. Tonight I read some blogs about TB testing and I don't want him to do that for three days. Now granted, I don't want to be ignorant either, and if he's got active TB (which we HIGHLY doubt), then it needs to be addressed and treated. But if he doesn't, I want them to leave him alone and let him come home to me.
The pipes under my kitchen sink busted last night and flooded my kitchen floors. I backed into Jakes truck last week and dented the bumper of the van we need to sell. I hate dragging the stinky trash cans down to the road on Monday nights. My kids need a break from me and I need a break from them. We've been together every waking minute for the last two weeks. We've survived a fever bug, a separate stomach bug, heat exhaustion, dehydration, sunburn, multiple bug bites, a bee sting, some swollen feet and a few braxton hicks (those last three were me :)). Not to mention 4 days of VBS, a yearly developmental eval and an IFSP meeting (for Abby) and a 22 week OB checkup. I'm pregnant and I'm cranky. Everything smells funny to me and my belly itches really bad. I'm starving but the only thing that tastes good is Root beer and cheese dip.
And ya know, oh well. Poor me. Life goes on. This is what its like to have 3 kids between the ages of 2 and 5. Its about to get even crazier! This is what I signed up for and really, I don't mind all that much. The point is... I'm just tired.
This doesn't mean that anyone needs to feel sorry for me (please don't!) or come to my rescue. I just needed to vent, and its MY blog. :) And I know my God loves me... swollen feet and all.
Happy Birthday Emily!!
My little girl is turning 4 today. And she's VERY excited about it. :) I know every parent says this for every birthday but... I can't believe she's already 4. :)
There are no party plans as of yet... still waiting to get a status report from Jake. But we will do something to celebrate when our family is all together.
Happy Birthday Peanut, I love you!!!
Airport
I just wanted to be sure that everyone knows that you are all welcome to come see the newest Spencer member come in at the airport Saturday night!
We are HONORED that so many of you have requested to be there and we would LOVE to see you and have your support! This is every bit the same to us as bringing home a baby from the hospital and it just wouldn't be the same without seeing the faces of our family and friends!!
That being said and given that our situation is a little different than most adoptions (Jake bringing him and me being here with our other kids), we know that you'll all understand that we'd like a few minutes just to introduce the girls to their new brother, get a few minutes of Mommy kisses in, and just have a moment as a family before greeting the world. So the girls and I will be waiting close to the terminal, and we are asking that everyone else wait for us at baggage claim. Also- knowing that they will have been traveling for a long time- have mercy on us if our little boy is either a little wild or sound asleep! (Have mercy on Jake too for that matter! lol) We're VERY excited but also trying to keep realistic expectations that all of the kids are gonna be exhausted and possibly really grumpy!!
As of right now, they are scheduled to arrive at the Nashville Airport at 9:45pm. If there are any changes (up until the last minute) I will update the blog. Also please feel free to spread the word, but we ask that no one post on public blogs or facebook.
Thanks again to everyone for your support!!! I can't WAIT for you to see our little boy! :)
We are HONORED that so many of you have requested to be there and we would LOVE to see you and have your support! This is every bit the same to us as bringing home a baby from the hospital and it just wouldn't be the same without seeing the faces of our family and friends!!
That being said and given that our situation is a little different than most adoptions (Jake bringing him and me being here with our other kids), we know that you'll all understand that we'd like a few minutes just to introduce the girls to their new brother, get a few minutes of Mommy kisses in, and just have a moment as a family before greeting the world. So the girls and I will be waiting close to the terminal, and we are asking that everyone else wait for us at baggage claim. Also- knowing that they will have been traveling for a long time- have mercy on us if our little boy is either a little wild or sound asleep! (Have mercy on Jake too for that matter! lol) We're VERY excited but also trying to keep realistic expectations that all of the kids are gonna be exhausted and possibly really grumpy!!
As of right now, they are scheduled to arrive at the Nashville Airport at 9:45pm. If there are any changes (up until the last minute) I will update the blog. Also please feel free to spread the word, but we ask that no one post on public blogs or facebook.
Thanks again to everyone for your support!!! I can't WAIT for you to see our little boy! :)
They made it!
Well, praise the Lord, Jake and Zack made it to Kiev! The connecting flight ended up being slightly delayed so they were able to rush from one flight to the next! He just emailed me from the train station to say that they made it safely and are getting on the train in a couple hours. :)
But more prayers are still needed- their luggage wasn't as lucky as they were. :( All he said was that its being shipped to them in the next couple of days. And I don't know about Zack, but I know Jake didn't pack any extra clothes in his backpack. So now they need prayers that their bags arrive quickly!!!
God is so good and I love that he answers even the smallest of prayers. They would have been fine even if they didn't make it on time and had to wait another day to go to Odesa, but we prayed... and He honored it. Thanks to everyone who lifted them up! And thank you Lord for answering!
But more prayers are still needed- their luggage wasn't as lucky as they were. :( All he said was that its being shipped to them in the next couple of days. And I don't know about Zack, but I know Jake didn't pack any extra clothes in his backpack. So now they need prayers that their bags arrive quickly!!!
God is so good and I love that he answers even the smallest of prayers. They would have been fine even if they didn't make it on time and had to wait another day to go to Odesa, but we prayed... and He honored it. Thanks to everyone who lifted them up! And thank you Lord for answering!
Please pray
***Update- The website says their flight landed almost an hour ago. Which means they most likely missed the connecting flight. There was only one other flight I saw listed last night that would get them there in time for the train. And I still haven't heard from them. Will let you know what happens. Thanks for the prayers!!!***
Jake's flight from DC was delayed significantly tonight. He and Zack sat ON the plane for 5 1/2 hours waiting to leave for Munich but were grounded due to bad weather. And here's the catch- their first layover in Munich was 5 hours, so as it stands right now, their plane lands the same time their next flight is scheduled to leave. So IF they can make up some time in the air (and thats what we need to be praying for), then they can catch the next flight, make it to Kiev, and get on the overnight train to Odesa by the next morning as planned. If they don't make the next flight, they won't make the train and will have to take the one the following night and won't get to Odesa until Saturday morning. :( And every day matters so that they can do what needs to be done and get home when they planned to.
So please pray if you are reading this in the next 8 hours. :) I will update in the morning when I hear from Jake if they made it or not. And if I don't hear anything... we'll just keep praying anyway!
Jake's flight from DC was delayed significantly tonight. He and Zack sat ON the plane for 5 1/2 hours waiting to leave for Munich but were grounded due to bad weather. And here's the catch- their first layover in Munich was 5 hours, so as it stands right now, their plane lands the same time their next flight is scheduled to leave. So IF they can make up some time in the air (and thats what we need to be praying for), then they can catch the next flight, make it to Kiev, and get on the overnight train to Odesa by the next morning as planned. If they don't make the next flight, they won't make the train and will have to take the one the following night and won't get to Odesa until Saturday morning. :( And every day matters so that they can do what needs to be done and get home when they planned to.
So please pray if you are reading this in the next 8 hours. :) I will update in the morning when I hear from Jake if they made it or not. And if I don't hear anything... we'll just keep praying anyway!
An ultrasound... and a name!!!
First the name! :)
We've decided to name this little girl Mabry Ruth Spencer! This name goes back at least 4 generations on both sides of the family...
My grandmother's maiden name is Mabry. My great grandparents had two daughters. Then those two daughters each had three girls. Then of those grandkids, most of them were girls. Then here I am, three generations later, pregnant with our fourth daughter. :) My great grandfather's sister had no children and his brother had five girls. So the Mabry name will pass away with that generation. The "all girl" family factor, keeping the name alive some how, and the fact that it makes a stinkin' cute little girls name... we chose Mabry. :)
On the Spencer side (technically the Petsche side... no the Heintschel side :)) Ruth was Jake's great grandmother's first name. And then she gave it to her daughter as a middle name, who named one of her daughters Ruth (Jake's aunt) who then also gave it to her daughter as a middle name. Then Jake's mom almost used it for one of his sisters but took one look at her and said, "No this is Joanna". :) And so now it will be included for one of her grand daughters instead. :)
So today we got one more peek at Mabry Ruth and what a little personality this girl already has! She was squirming and waving and puckering her lips! The ultrasound was done by Kathy at Franklin Women's Center who I've gotten to know better and better over the years. She did every one of my ultrasounds for Emily and Abby and now baby Mabry. She was cracking up and even commented how much this little girl likes to pose! Mabry's heart looked great, that was the real reason for the ultrasound today. They couldn't get a good view last time. Kathy is continuing to look for Ds markers but still has not found any which is great! (But also keeping in mind that we never found any for Abby either :)) She measured lots of bones and fluid and said everything looked just great. And she weighs exactly 1 lb. :)
So here she is again, my beautiful baby...
We've decided to name this little girl Mabry Ruth Spencer! This name goes back at least 4 generations on both sides of the family...
My grandmother's maiden name is Mabry. My great grandparents had two daughters. Then those two daughters each had three girls. Then of those grandkids, most of them were girls. Then here I am, three generations later, pregnant with our fourth daughter. :) My great grandfather's sister had no children and his brother had five girls. So the Mabry name will pass away with that generation. The "all girl" family factor, keeping the name alive some how, and the fact that it makes a stinkin' cute little girls name... we chose Mabry. :)
On the Spencer side (technically the Petsche side... no the Heintschel side :)) Ruth was Jake's great grandmother's first name. And then she gave it to her daughter as a middle name, who named one of her daughters Ruth (Jake's aunt) who then also gave it to her daughter as a middle name. Then Jake's mom almost used it for one of his sisters but took one look at her and said, "No this is Joanna". :) And so now it will be included for one of her grand daughters instead. :)
So today we got one more peek at Mabry Ruth and what a little personality this girl already has! She was squirming and waving and puckering her lips! The ultrasound was done by Kathy at Franklin Women's Center who I've gotten to know better and better over the years. She did every one of my ultrasounds for Emily and Abby and now baby Mabry. She was cracking up and even commented how much this little girl likes to pose! Mabry's heart looked great, that was the real reason for the ultrasound today. They couldn't get a good view last time. Kathy is continuing to look for Ds markers but still has not found any which is great! (But also keeping in mind that we never found any for Abby either :)) She measured lots of bones and fluid and said everything looked just great. And she weighs exactly 1 lb. :)
So here she is again, my beautiful baby...
Eat Mor Chikin
Most of you know our very good friends the Bailey's... they are adopting as well and still need to raise $1900. THIS Thursday night they are having a fundraiser at the Chick-fil-A in Cool Springs!! Chick-fil-A is giving 10% of their proceeds between 5-8pm but they need to have at least 100 people "sign-in" and buy food to get the proceeds. Please come out, have some dinner (don't forget they have a rockin' play place for the kids), and help bring an orphaned baby into the arms of this amazing couple.
They are doing a domestic adoption for the very first baby Bailey and are already on "the list" to be seen by birth parents. This baby could be coming home REALLY soon and they are just thrilled. :) You can go check out their blog at www.astepalongthepath.blogspot.com
They are doing a domestic adoption for the very first baby Bailey and are already on "the list" to be seen by birth parents. This baby could be coming home REALLY soon and they are just thrilled. :) You can go check out their blog at www.astepalongthepath.blogspot.com
Blogging
Because Pavel Micah is officially a Spencer, (WHOO HOO!! :) I love saying that!) I will continue to post adoption updates back on our adoption blog again. I think I'm going to repost everything we wrote during our trip on that blog to share our journey with others... we just had to be super careful not to jeopardize the process while it was all happening.
Thank you sweet friends and family for following our journey this far. I haven't decided yet rather or not to make this blog public again or to leave it private, but I look forward to the day (which is coming SOON) when the adoption blog will be a memory and little Pavel Micah will just be a part of the everyday life of the Spencer family. :) I would be honored for you all to continue to keep up with our family through this, my silly little blog. Now being a mother of four (very soon to be five), I can't guarantee how much I'll update it, but would love to try to keep you informed on whats going on in the lives of these precious treasures the Lord has given me.
Now go check out www.bringinghomeboys.blogspot.com, just posted a "doubly" special announcement!!
Thank you sweet friends and family for following our journey this far. I haven't decided yet rather or not to make this blog public again or to leave it private, but I look forward to the day (which is coming SOON) when the adoption blog will be a memory and little Pavel Micah will just be a part of the everyday life of the Spencer family. :) I would be honored for you all to continue to keep up with our family through this, my silly little blog. Now being a mother of four (very soon to be five), I can't guarantee how much I'll update it, but would love to try to keep you informed on whats going on in the lives of these precious treasures the Lord has given me.
Now go check out www.bringinghomeboys.blogspot.com, just posted a "doubly" special announcement!!
Home sweet home
Hi all, just wanted to let you know that we made it home safe and sound last night. We can't thank you all enough for your prayers.
The flights were all fine... there were a couple little hang ups because we switched our return flight from the 6th to the 2nd (and very last minute) but it all worked out fine. And our flight from Charlotte to Nashville was supposed to be way delayed because of some maintanance issues, but it ended up leaving and arriving on time as well.
It was SOOO good to see our babies last night. :) Its wonderful to be home. I just can't express... :) We slept like rocks last night (Jake still is) but I woke up this morning around 6 and couldn't go back to sleep. Don't think its a jetlag issue, I just couldn't stop thinking about all I want to do around here to get ready for my little boy to come home. :) The girls are still sleeping as well so I thought I'd steal away a few minutes to update the blog. Abby is in there making her precious noises now actually...
I have so much in my heart and in my head that I want to share. But for now, we are here, we are safe, and we are blessed. Love to you all...
The flights were all fine... there were a couple little hang ups because we switched our return flight from the 6th to the 2nd (and very last minute) but it all worked out fine. And our flight from Charlotte to Nashville was supposed to be way delayed because of some maintanance issues, but it ended up leaving and arriving on time as well.
It was SOOO good to see our babies last night. :) Its wonderful to be home. I just can't express... :) We slept like rocks last night (Jake still is) but I woke up this morning around 6 and couldn't go back to sleep. Don't think its a jetlag issue, I just couldn't stop thinking about all I want to do around here to get ready for my little boy to come home. :) The girls are still sleeping as well so I thought I'd steal away a few minutes to update the blog. Abby is in there making her precious noises now actually...
I have so much in my heart and in my head that I want to share. But for now, we are here, we are safe, and we are blessed. Love to you all...
Court
We just got back from our court appointment and it went great!!! Pavel Micah Spencer was just declared our son! It went so fast- 10 or 15 minutes maybe. And we were asked just a few questions, the answer to most of which he had right in front of him but was verifying information.
Our interpreter is just awesome, she made the whole thing so much less stressful. We really love her. When it was over, we all hugged and there were lots of translated congratulations. :) We said our goodbye's to Svetlana our facilitator/orphanage lawyer (who has also been GREAT) and she gave Jake some quick information about his return.
I wish I could write more but we only have a couple of hours to pack up, clean up our apartment and run to the market before our driver gets here to take us to the airport. Please pray for our travels, that all of our flights would be safe! We leave Odesa at 7:00 and arrive in Kiev one hour later. Then we're basically staying at the airport until our flight leaves at 6:30 in the morning. Then on to Munich Germany, Charlotte NC, and Nashville!! :)
(Oh and the performance was adorable this morning!! Pavel Micah sat with us and was every bit what you would expect from a 3 year old little boy who's TRYING to be good through an hour and a half performance. :) But I got tons of pictures and video that I'll share when we get home!)
Our interpreter is just awesome, she made the whole thing so much less stressful. We really love her. When it was over, we all hugged and there were lots of translated congratulations. :) We said our goodbye's to Svetlana our facilitator/orphanage lawyer (who has also been GREAT) and she gave Jake some quick information about his return.
I wish I could write more but we only have a couple of hours to pack up, clean up our apartment and run to the market before our driver gets here to take us to the airport. Please pray for our travels, that all of our flights would be safe! We leave Odesa at 7:00 and arrive in Kiev one hour later. Then we're basically staying at the airport until our flight leaves at 6:30 in the morning. Then on to Munich Germany, Charlotte NC, and Nashville!! :)
(Oh and the performance was adorable this morning!! Pavel Micah sat with us and was every bit what you would expect from a 3 year old little boy who's TRYING to be good through an hour and a half performance. :) But I got tons of pictures and video that I'll share when we get home!)
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