Hi Everyone,
Well the wait is over, tomorrow July 18 is the day I leave to bring my children home.  I will travel to Germany and then to Bulgaria.  I am so so excited.  On July 15  Sophia turned 16 years old  so being there on the week of her birthday is very special but knowing that before the week ends she will no longer be in the the orphanage is amazing.  When I look back to when we committed to these children,  I never imagined how God would help us bring them home.  What God did was place people (people who love Him and love other human beings) and placed them in our paths to help us along the way.

I worked the past 3 days  and my older kids did an amazing job helping me get the house ready for me to travel.  They did an amazing job that is why I was able to quickly sit and update you.  Thanks kids, love you. The little ones are still sleeping so I will plan my day mostly packing and tying loose ends around the house. Steven will stay with the children while I travel. My oldest daughter and son  will also stay and help daddy.  I will be traveling with my 12 year old and 11 year old girls.  To say that they are happy is not enough....they are beyond excited.  They were adopted when they were 4 (Nideya) and 6 (Madeline) so actually being a part of traveling to bring home their new siblings is something very important to them. Yes, it was a lot of money to buy their tickets but this confirms to them that being adopted is not a second choice it is not by accident, being adopted into a family or being born into a family is a Blessed event. We have shared so many tears remembering how they became our family. Madeline came to us on New Years Eve as an emergency placement.  She remembers being led in with her brother and sister crying and afraid.  They had been driven to our home because of the tragedy happening at her biological family  home and she remembers being afraid no knowing what was going to happen at this new people's house. Nideya had been placed in her 3rd foster home and was to be adopted by them when her foster parents changed their minds.  They did not have any children and as they adoption of Nideya and her brother were coming to a close, they became afraid and changed their minds.  Nideya remembers also being afraid, she was leaving her foster parents home for reasons she did not understand.  These girls have come such a long way. They have grown, built trust, come to love others, us and themselves. They have learned to forgive those who have hurt them. My girls are now being the foundation for these 4 children. I cry just thinking about it.  The girls tickets,  mine, my friend Stephanie (who is also in the middle of an adoption so she was unable to pay hers) and 4 return tickets for the kids were all a little short of 11,000  yes that is Eleven Thousand dollars but it is worth it!  I am so Blessed that one of the mom's who previously adopted emailed me to tell me that her daughter Sabrina had saved up her money and would go to help us bring the kids home.  Sabrina is 17 and she has worked so hard to be able to do this.  I am so Blessed!!     In less then 48 hours we will be at the airport!!

Well I will post pictures of all my luggage when I am packed.  I am still having stroller decisions to make.  I am trying so hard to not bring to much so we do not have to pay extra at the airport...wish me luck.