Proverbs 25:25.says:

"Like cold water to a weary soul, is good news from a distant land"

To that end, I'm thrilled to report that the prayers of our friends Lisa & Darren were answered today!

After staying up most of the night waiting for news on the outcome of their hearing in Siberian court today, I literally jumped for joy when at approx. 8:30 a.m., this status report from Lisa showed up:

"For this child I prayed, and the LORD granted me the petition I asked of Him" @4:10 am I became the proud mother of Samuel Ian Vladislav Wokurka. To God be the glory, great things He has done!

A court hearing that they thought would last 3 or 4 days was over in one, and finally - FINALLY, the child they've held in their hearts for all these years became their son legally. I know the joy they feel, and am so very, very happy for them! Paperwork, including issuance of new birth certificate, Russian passport, etc. will take another 6 - 8 weeks, and hopefully by Christmas they will be reunited with the precious 6 and 3 years old sons back home in South Carolina.   

We may be 1/2 a world apart, but we wanted to commemorate the day, so decided to make dinner a celebration. Skip's blessing before we ate was adorable: Dear God, thank-you for this day, thank you for this food, and thank you for the judge saying Vlad could come home from Russia...."  Discussion at the table of course centered around our own adoption journeys, and brought back some priceless memories.  Following dinner we celebrated with a hand written banner, party hats, horns and a De-li-cious chocolate cake. I used a photo editing program to come up with  the sketch of the new family of 5 by blending a picture of Darren, Lisa, Aidan & Asher, with one of Samuel from several months back.

Thanks to all the family members & friends who kept this family in their prayers. I know it meant alot to the them, and to us!  Although their journey is coming to an end, a whole new chapter in their lives is about to unfold, and I'm so happy we can share in it all!

Russian recipes!

My friends being in Russia for their court hearing, combined with a post containing a similar recipe on Nicole's Blog, I dug up this recipe I came up during our last trip to Russia. In Russia the cheese I used was "Knight" cheese, but at home I use cheddar/harvati. I also like to add thinly sliced squash, when available!  I"m cutting and pasting the post I did with the recipe while still in Russia:

When we were at Angarsk Hills 3 weeks ago, I had a dish that consisted of chicken topped with mayonnaise, bacon bits, chopped tomatoes, mushrooms (promptly removed, thank you) and cheese. It was DE-licious. I dreamt about it afterwards! How sick is that? I tried to duplicate it but it was nas-TEE!


Anyway, with little else to do sometimes, I experimented and came up with my latest obsession. I eat it every 2 days! I’m calling it Russian vegetable medley.I peel a potato, then with a peeler, slice it up thin. I do the same with carrot (the carrots here are huge, so I only need one). Add a thinly sliced small onion, ½ of a red, green or yellow pepper, then add a thinly sliced tomato. I suppose if you’re one of those sick people who actually like mushrooms, you could throw some of those in. Mix them all up in a bowl. Now for the bacon flavor, I had fried some bacon the other day and saved the fat. I use just a little to grease the casserole dish, then toss in the vegetables. Next I mix 2 heaping tablespoons of mayonnaise and 2 heaping spoons of sour cream. Spread that on top of the veggies, then add 2/3 cups of shredded cheese. I bake it on who knows what temp (the stove has no temp. control so I am for med-low) til the cheese is brown. Yummy!

Here’s the before picture (before baking that is:

And the finished product:

TRY IT, YOU'LL LOVE IT!

Irkutsk connections

Our friends are in Russia right now, petitioning the court for permission to adopt the little boy they have claimed in their hearts for five years, "V".  The little boy they first met at 3 is now 8, but his heart remains pure, by the Grace of God. When they arrived at the orphanage in a very remote town in Siberia, to reconnect with their son before the court hearing, V ran to them and jumped into their arms when he spotted them! I can imagine the joy they felt, being welcomed so warmly by the little boy they have fought for, for five long years!

On their blog, our friends posted pictures of the area he is living, as well as pictures of  "V" playing with his parents, as well as pictures of the apt. they stayed in while visiting him at the orphanage.  Skip was excited to see the new pictures and took alot of time looking through them. Here are his comments/observations:
SKIP: Is that the same playground WE used to play in?
ME: No, just looks the same.

(Viewing the picture of the single bed in the bedroom )
SKIP: Hey, that's the apt. we stayed in the last two times.
ME: No, just looks the same.

(In response to the kitchen pictures)
SKIP: Yup, that's the kitchen alright! I guess all kitchens in Russia has one of those things that heat water up for tea, huh?
ME; Yep, I think they do!

And finally,

SKIP: "Vlad looks happy that's he's with his mother and father FINALLY (emphasis on FINALLY)
ME: Absolutely buddy, absolutely"

A little bit later

SKIP: I need to remember to pray that the Judge says Vlad can go home with his parents, and have brothers.
ME: That's a great idea...and then (unspoken)That's my boy!
 
We're all praying that this story comes to end soon. Their original court hearing was held yesterday and was postponed because the prosecutor had an emergency en route. They will go back to court tomorrow (9pm EST) to continue the hearing.

Took me awhile

But I found the link on SouthWest Airlines Website!

http://www.southwest.com/about_swa/press/if_prindex.html

10 years ago

my life as I knew it changed in ways I couldn't imagine. Ten years ago today I hit the jackpot...of sorts. Ten years ago today I married the most amazing husband and father. Praise God!

If you needed a license to blog

...they probably would have already revoked my license for 2010 for non-performance, since I've been SO bad about keeping up. I think I have more "I promise to be better posts" this year than I do "real" ones! That being said, "I promise to do better"!. In speaking to my friend Irina this morning, I realized that I didn't even post about our family trip to Disney World yet. It's coming - along with a dozen more. (Stop snorting, I'm serious this time!)  My goal is two "catch-up" posts a day for the next week or so, and in doing so, hopefully, my blogging license will not longer be in danger....