One Week!

One week from today we will be on our way. ONE WEEK! It's still not real. I don't think it will be until we are on the plane. Jeremy and I keep saying out of the blue, "Do you realize that we are going to be in Russia in a week? RUSSIA, for Pete's sake!" Who would have ever thought?

My sister e-mailed me and said, "If I would have told you last Thanksgiving that in a year you would be headed to Russia to adopt a five-year-old, you would have passed out!" Yeah, she's got that right. Especially if she would have told me that our daughter would have special needs of any kind! Funny that now we can't imagine anything different. Oh, what a year can bring.

Looking back over the past year, it has been the most difficult one of my life, hands down.  But... I wouldn't trade what I've learned about myself, about tolerance, about Christ, and about trusting Him for anything! What a gift this year has been.  And what a gift the next year will be.  It will be another challenging one, but to have someone like Anna in our lives is going to be sweet.  Busy, chaotic and tiring, but SO sweet.  We can't wait!

So, back to the trip. We're obviously very excited to spend lots of time getting to know Anna the week we are there. But we are also really excited to discover some of St. Petersburg.  It is nicknamed the "Venice" of Eastern Europe for its many canals and cathedrals. This first trip will be the only one of the three that will allow us any time to sight see, so we hope to take in some sights between the two visits a day at the orphanage...somehow.  We're also excited to spend time as a couple with no interruptions. We hardly have time to talk to each other these days!



We are almost ready. We've got our plane tickets, Visas, hotel booked, new luggage and warm clothes figured out.  All I have to do now is get things organized here at home.  Oh, and pick up our crispy, new cash from the bank. Did you know that in Eastern Europe, only the hotels will accept anything but cash, and it has to be completely free of any creases, tears or marks...like brand new? Not easy to find..even at banks. So we have to bring a big 'ol chunk of cash with us. Yet another one of those quirky things that you just do because you're told to.  Like having an 8-doctor medical exam there or spending hundreds on gifts for all the orphanage workers.  You just do what you're told!



Our kids are going to spend the first half of the week here at home since they have school Monday and Tuesday.  My parents are coming from about four hours South to spend the first 4 days with them.  Then the second half of the week, Jeremy's parents will take them to their place, which is two hours north, for Thanksgiving weekend, which is where we all would have been had we not been given this week as our date. But we'll take it!



Eli

 I'm dreading leaving  the kids for this long! Especially my little Eli boy. I've been snuggling him as much as he'll let me (which isn't much) trying to soak in his sweet scent and soft skin as long as I can. I know we're only going to be gone a week...but that's sooooo long to leave one that little!  Man, I'm going to miss him. I just hope he doesn't completely wear out our parents. The kid climbs on everything he can, whenever he gets a chance. I'm telling you, I don't even need to work out lately. I get plenty of exercise just chasing him around all day!

OK, off to try and get a little shut-eye.  I've been waking up at 4:30 or 5 every morning for the past week or so. Then the second I wake up, I think, "Oh my gosh! We're going to meet Anna so soon!"  Then I'm wide awake and I can't get back to sleep. It's seriously feeling like that last week or so before delivering a baby, minus the physical stuff.  All the anticipation of wondering what he/she will look like, how everything will go, etc.  I hope the sleepless part gets better after the first trip.  I need my sleep!

Good night.

Full Hearts

In the past two days, we have been the recipients of others' kindness and sacrifice.  This touches us greatly.  We've never experienced something like this, where others are rallying for a cause that is so personal to us. We know that times are tough and busy for many people.  So it means that much more.

A family member has offered to pay for our hotel stay with their Marriott points, which will save us about $800.  That's a lot of money.  "Thank you" hardly explains our gratitude. We have also noticed that our Family Sponsorship Account at Reece's Rainbow has grown.  And on top of that, the Group Fitness Coordinator at the Rec Center where I teach is organizing a silent auction. It will take place the week of Thanksgiving, when people are coming in to burn off their pie and we are on the other side of the world, holding our daughter, Anna.  Wow...I don't even know what to say.

Our thermometer is rising! We thank you.  Anna thanks you.  Our hearts are very full.

Help us Raise $13,000

It's no secret.  International adoption is not cheap!  We knew it would cost way more than we had to adopt Anna.  But we also knew that God is a God of miracles.  In the middle of a recession, Jeremy's Landscape Architecture firm has held on and since we started this process, it has not only held on, but made possible for us to get this far in the process.  We are so, so grateful for this. But we still need to raise 13,000 to finish the adoption. 

We are going to start some fundraising. Will  you help us by spreading the word through Facebook, E-mail or any other way you can think of?  You can attach a link to our family blog since this blog is private right now. 

We're going to start our fundraising efforts with two ways that you can do a little Christmas shopping online!

1) A lady who has a heart for Down Syndrome adoption named Jennifer has so graciously offered to donate ALL of her proceeds from an Usborne Books party to any adopting family who would like to host one.  Is that sweet, or what?  So we all buy books for our kids for Christmas, right?  Why not help rescue a little girl in Eastern Europe at the same time? :)  All you have to do is go to this link and shop your heart away!  The books will come directly to your home.  And she will send me a check when she gets paid for the party.  Also, if you book an online party like the one I'm doing, she'll also donate a large portion of the proceeds from that party!   Usborne books are awesome.  We have a few that we have loved and loved for years.  This party will end on November 18, so hurry!

2) Also, I have been a Mary Kay consultant for a zillion years and I'm thinking with the holidays coming up, everyone wants to look and feel gorgeous, or at least wants healthy skin or knows someone who does!  And I earn 50% profit on every sale.  So I could easily raise a thousand or so with Mary Kay orders this Holiday season.  I just renewed my website, so you can go online to see what's the latest and greatest, and order through the website, or you can e-mail me, send me a Facebook Message, or call me!  Whatever your heart desires.  I ship for free.  I promise, anything you get you will love.  Mary Kay rocks.  And every product has a money-back guarantee, or you can trade it for something else if you don't love it.  The website address is www.marykay.com/heatherfillmore.  If you live near me, please come over if you'd like to try anything.  I'd love to give you a mine-makeover. :)  Oh and you HAVE to try the new perfume, "Thinking of You."  It's a winner.

If you don't want books or Mary Kay and you'd still like to help in some way, there's a way to do that!  All you have to do is go to our Family Sponsorship Page on the Reece's Rainbow website. You can make a tax-deductible donation through PayPal by clicking on the link at the bottom.  Just specify Fillmore Adoption in the comment box.  Or if you're uncomfortable using a credit card online, you can just send a check.  Leave a comment with your e-mail and I'll send you our address. Thank you!  Every dollar will help bring Anna home.  No donation is too small. Just know that we appreciate it more than words can express.

Preparations and Realizations

In just a week and a half, Jeremy and I will board some airplanes that will lead us to Eastern Europe.  We will land in a place we've never been and never imagined we would go.  We'll leave our five sweeties here in the states, under the care of both sets of grandparents, during Thanksgiving time.  We'll experience emotions we've never felt as a beautiful five-year-old girl whom we have never met is brought into a room and told that we are going to be her momma and daddy.  We'll visit her every day for five days, during which time we will grow to love her as our own.  Then we will have to say goodbye to her and won't be able to complete the adoption for a few months.  This is going to be so hard.

We've been in the process of adoption for eight months and I have to say, there was a time I wondered if I would ever feel ready.  A few months ago when we were waiting for word of our travel date, I still had some emotional things to sort through.  I knew this was God's plan, but wasn't sure I was up for the challenge of raising a child with special needs and worried about all the what-ifs.

What has happened since then has been nothing short of a miracle.  To make a make a long, personal story short,  I am now ready.  Not only ready, but excited beyond words!  God knew that I needed that time. Not only me, but the whole family. He has equipped us with a love for this child and a confidence in Him that we never knew was possible.  What once felt a bit overwhelming now feels...perfect.  This was a conversion process, like coming to know a principle of the gospel is true. It has taken me to places I've never been and brought me closer to the Savior than ever before. I will always be grateful for this.

Last night, Jeremy read our family a talk by one of our church's leaders,  President Dieter F. Uchtdorf.  It's called You are My Hands.   The whole talk is so encouraging and reminds us of the blessings that come from loving others and acting as Christ's hands on this earth.  This sentence really stood out to me:

As we extend our hands and hearts toward others in Christlike love, something wonderful happens to us. Our own spirits become healed, more refined, and stronger. We become happier, more peaceful, and more receptive to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit.

Boy, is he ever right. Something wonderful is happening to our family. We are happier, more at peace, and more receptive to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit.  It's definitely not blissful and contention-free around here all the time, but we are feeling these things in a much greater measure. The Lord never falls short of His promises.  This I know. 

Speaking of being stronger, I need to go make dinner. Have a great one!

Bye Bye, Dossier #2.

Thirty-four very important papers left our post office yesterday, headed for the state capitol to be appostilled, which proves to the Russian court that they are real, signed by us and truly notarized.   Each one of these papers cost us $15 to have appostilled, for a grand total of $510.  (ouch.)

Some of these papers were pretty easy to fill out or get from people.  Others, like our mortgage verification, USCIS approval and FBI fingerprint clearance, took some time.  My FBI clearance took four months because I had to go in a 2nd time to have my fingerprints taken and they are incredibly slow.  So handing this big envelope off to the lady at the post office felt similar to loosing about 20 pounds. 

After each document receives its official appostille from the state, it will travel to Tuscon, Arizona to be carefully reviewed by our agency for possible mistakes.  Then it will head on an airplane to St. Pete to be translated by our Russian coordinator.  Right now, the plan is for her to submit it to the court in December.  We're crossing everything we can cross that the courts will allow dossiers to be submitted in December, even though they aren't assigning court dates.  That way our court date will come sooner, like late January, instead of February or March.

Ahhh, it feels good to have that done.  The only paperwork we have left will be gathering a few things for our appointment with the US Embassy in Moscow when we have Anna with us.  I do NOT like paperwork.  I'm so excited to be done with this!

What to Do??

Today I'm off to the notary to have 24 pieces of paper notarized.  We have all the parts of our court dossier ready to send off except the doctor's papers.  We are waiting to learn more about when our agency can submit the dossier before we have the medical papers signed because they are time sensitive...only good for 90 days. Our agency is still trying to figure out if the courts in St. Pete are going to be accepting dossiers this year. We know they have shut down adoptions, but the question is...are they accepting dossiers and scheduling dates for January??  If they aren't, our dossier won't be submitted to the court until mid-January (after the big Russian holiday) which means we probably won't go for court until late February.  The thing is that your kids' medicals can't be more than 90 days old when you go to court. (Jeremy and I have to have exams over there, so it doesn't matter how old ours are.)   So....do we go ahead and go to the doctor for our signatures now and hope we can be submitted, or wait it out to be safe?  Even our agency doesn't know what to do about this.  Hopefully they can get some answers soon.

We had our official travel meeting over the phone with our agency yesterday. We talked about boring stuff like paperwork but also exciting stuff like what to expect at the orphanage. It really brought things to life! We'll be off to meet our Anna in 16 days. WOW! We are getting soooo excited.  We feel like kids before Christmas.  We should make a paper chain. :)

FYI...

News Flash!

We interrupt our preparations to go meet our Russian princess 

with this important public health news:

The Varicella vaccine is NOT a reliable means of preventing Chickenpox!

So now you know.