Letter from Olga

We received our first letter from Olga yesterday!  In her letter she writes, in English, that she misses us, loves us and cannot wait to see us again.  And that all of her friends say hello to us.  :-)  I really never expected Olga to be able to write us, so receiving this letter was such a blessing.

In other news...our Home Study interviews are over.  Our case worker is finishing up her report and we are still waiting to receive our FBI clearance before sending our Home Study to the USCIS.  Hopefully that will all be in and ready to go by the end of the week.

While it seems that we have a lot of time still before this is all over with, in reality we are quickly approaching the time that we will be able to travel to make Olga our daughter legally.  We are still asking for help!  We have received many generous donations, but are hoping to be able to raise more money to help offset the cost of the adoption.  If you would like to make a donation directly to the adoption process, please e-mail me for details at:

SusanPirkey@gmail.com

If you would like to help with the hosting/referral fees, you can either make a donation through Active Giving at:

Chritmas Hosting for Olga

Or send a check to New Horizons for Children at:

New Horizons for Children

3950 Cobb Pkwy Suite 708

Acworth GA 30101

Please include a note with your check to NHFC explaining that the donation is to benefit the Pirkey family.  All donations made to NHFC directly or through Active Giving are tax deductible.  

If you think you or someone you know might be interested in hosting an orphan for four weeks at Christmas, please visit the following link:

Application to view photolisting  

Thank you so much for you support!  

S~

Where will you be six months from now?

I realize that for the most part, most people cannot say exactly what they will be doing and where they will be in their lives six months down the road.  You might have a general idea.  You might be planning a wedding, having a baby or figuring out where you will be vacationing.  But, nobody really knows what circumstances life is going to throw at you.  That was our family six months ago.  We had never even considered hosting an orphan from Eastern Europe (or anywhere else, for that matter!) much less adopting one.  So how did we go from where we were six months ago to where we are now?  If you've been following my blog you probably realize I don't get things said quickly.  You might have to read half of this, take a coffee break and then finish up.  :-)

Some friends of ours, "K" & "C", had met a 15 year old girl through the New Horizons for Children hosting program.  They formed a strong bond with this girl, whom I will reference as "J".  "J" was being hosted by another family for Christmas 2009.  As she was already 15 her time in the orphan system was quickly running out.  Once children turn 16 in many of these Eastern European countries they age out of the system and are no longer eligible for adoption.  "J" would age out of the system in September, 2010.  Unfortunately, "J" did not find her forever family with the family that was hosting her for Christmas, 2009. "K" & "C" became advocates for this girl to try to find a host family for her for the Summer 2010 program.  They were hopeful that they could help locate a family that wanted to adopt "J".  The deadline for hosting signup for the summer 2010 program was approaching and "J" still did not have a host family. This meant that the door to finding a "forever family" in America was closing for her.  While Jeff and I were not ready to make to commitment to adopt, we felt led to host "J" and see where God led us from there.  We registered with NHFC and located "J"'s bio & photo only to see that another family in Texas had signed up to host her the day before.  While we were happy that "J" had a host family, we were disappointed that we would not be the ones to host her.  We signed up to be her "backup family" in the event that the TX family could not fulfill their commitment to host her.  We really thought there was no chance that would happen though, as we learned that the family was already in the home study phase and planned to adopt "J".  This was really great news to hear!  Shortly after we learned that "J" would be adopted by the TX family, we decided that just because the child we had originally intended to host was now unavailable didn't mean we couldn't still bring a child into our home.  That is when we went back to the NHFC website and read through all of the bios of the available children and chose Olga.  

Fast forward a few weeks.  It was less than a week before Olga was supposed to arrive.  I received a call from NHFC.  The family in TX that was hosting/adopting "J" was no longer able to do either.  This was devastating news.  Because "J" would be turning 16 in less than 3 months, it would take a miracle for any family to be able to adopt her before she aged out.  Jeff and I still had the option to host her and we had to make a very difficult decision.  Should we host both girls (they were from different countries and we didn't even know if they shared a common language) and risk losing the opportunity to bond with Olga?  NHFC told me they had another backup family for "J".  This family had originally planned to host a different 15 year old girl from "J"'s country, but the girl had gotten into trouble at her orphanage and was pulled from the hosting program.  I asked NHFC if it would be a bad idea to have the two girls being hosted together, and they said that it very well could cause problems.  People might assume that two girls about the same age with similar life circumstances would welcome having each other around.  That isn't really the case a lot of times.  It was decision making time, and NHFC had asked us to not discuss the issue with anyone, so we really couldn't even ask others for advice.  Jeff and I prayed about it, and talked about it, and prayed about it some more.  In the end, we truly felt that "J" was not our child to host.  It was difficult to do, but I called NHFC back and asked that they contact the second backup family.

On June 24, 2010 we were excited to welcome an orphan into our homes for a five week hosting program.  Olga arrived on Friday, June 25, 2010 and our lives were changed forever.  On Saturday, June 26, 2010, Jeff looked at me and asked what we needed to do to start the adoption process.  The next five weeks were wonderful and difficult at the same time.  Wonderful because our entire family fell in love with this girl, and she fell in love with us.  Difficult because we were not allowed to discuss our adoption plans with her, and we couldn't even ask Rhys & Maddox about it because we knew they would never be able to keep a secret like that!  And in case anyone wonders how R&M felt about adopting Olga, they asked us if we could adopt her as soon as we had to say our goodbye's at the airport on August 1, 2010.  They are completely on board!    

And that is how we got from where we were six months ago to where we are today.  We went in with the intention of hosting a different child from a different country with no plans to adopt.  And we came out with a mission to bring Olga home forever.

Oh, and in case you are wondering about "J".  She got her miracle.  The second backup family started the adoption process as soon as they got off the phone with NHFC they day we gave her up.  "J" came home with her forever family just shy of her 16th birthday.  Pretty cool, huh?

Some people might look at this entire process as luck and coincidence, but I see God's hands all over it.  And I am so grateful for that.

If you would like to learn more about hosting an orphan from Ukraine, Latvia, Russia or Estonia for Christmas 2010, please visit the New Horizons for Children website.  Before being allowed to view any photos or bios of available children you will have to give NHFC some basic information including your name, phone number and address.  If you are interested in hosting and would like to ask me any questions about my personal experience, just e-mail me and I will be happy to answer your questions.

New Horizons for Children Christmas 2010

S~

Quick update

Not too much new to report except that Jeff and I finally have our medical reports in hand!  It took 2 1/2 weeks due to circumstances beyond our control so I am very happy to finally have them.  (We are both healthy, by the way!)  The final home study visit is Monday, September 27th.  The case worker should be able to finish the written report on our family by the 30th for us to submit to the USCIS.  Then we will start working on our dossier.  We already have quite a few pieces of what we need to complete it.  Hopefully what we have will be satisfactory for the SDA.  Something as minor as a smudged notary would be rejected and delay the process.  We are already about two weeks behind where we would really like to be so hopefully we get this right the first time.

I sent a small gift to Olga yesterday.  I have no idea how long it will take to get to her, but judging from others' experience it should be close to two weeks.  Hopefully she had received the letter we sent several weeks ago! 

Thank you so much to everyone for all of the support.  We sincerely appreciate it.  If you would like to help offset the cost of the upcoming hosting and referral fees, you can make a tax deductible donation in one of two ways.  To make an online donation, visit this link:

Christmas Hosting

Or, send a check along with a letter stating the donation is to benefit the Pirkey family to:

New Horizons for Children

3950 Cobb Pkwy, Suite 708

Acworth GA 30101

If you would like to make a contribution to help offset the adoption cost, please e-mail me directly for details at:

SusanPirkey@gmail.com

Thanks again, and I look forward to being able to post an update about completing the Home Study phase of this process!

S~

Contact Made!

After trying several times this morning to call Olga I was finally able to reach her.  Apparently I was calling during one of her meal times (they said lunch, but it was 2:00 in the afternoon there so I'm not sure).  We were only able to speak for a few minutes, but she seems to be doing well.  She is enjoying her English class that she is now taking, but I could tell that after being back in her country for six weeks she has lost a lot of the English she picked up while she was here this summer.  I had written Olga a letter about two weeks ago and mailed it, but I don't know that she has received it yet because she didn't seem to understand what I was talking about when I asked her about it.  We did not speak of her adoption as she was in a common area of the school and we are not allowed to discuss it without permission.  These rules might seem extreme, but they are in place to protect her and other kids at the orphanage.  She asked me to tell Daddy (he's in California today), Rhys, Maddox, the rest of the family and all her friends here in America that she misses them and loves them.  Even though it was a short conversation it was great to hear her voice.  It is approximately 13 weeks until the Christmas hosting program begins.  (Still holding out hope to get there before Christmas, but I need to assume we are hosting her.)  Cannot wait to see her again!

If you would like to help us with hosting expenses, please visit:

Christmas Hosting for Olga

or send donations directly to:

New Horizons for Children
3950 Cobb Pkwy, Suite 708
Acworth GA 30101

Please make sure you include a note indicating that the donation is to benefit the Pirkey family.

If you would like to help us with adoption costs please e-mail me for details at:

SusanPirkey@gmail.com

Thank you so much for your support!

S~

Waiting and Processes

Our final home study visit was to have been yesterday.  However, the social worker needed to postpone, so we had to reschedule for Monday, September 27.  It was definitely a disappointment that we weren't able to have the visit yesterday, but it was beyond our control.

I thought I would write a little bit about what I know of the travel and adoption process, which I admit isn't a whole heck of a lot!  This will be a "Cliff's Notes" style version of the process.  On the United States side of this process we have to complete our home study and all the little things that go along with it to submit to the United States Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS).  I have no idea exactly what they do with it there, but I'm sure it is really important stuff.  :-)  After it clears through the USCIS we can submit our dossier to Eastern Europe.  Once the dossier arrives it has to be translated.  After that it eventually goes through the SDA (adoption court) to be approved and then, after that, we should receive our invitation to travel.  All of this is the very, very short version of the process and I have left out lots of little steps, but you get the gist.  When we receive our travel invite Jeff and I both fly to the capital where the SDA is located.  I'm not sure how long we will be there, but there are many things to do there before we can travel to the region that Olga lives.  When we arrive in her region, we have an initial court date where a judge will approve our adoption pending a 10 day waiting period.  At that point either Jeff or I can come back home while the other stays to finalize the adoption.  After the 10 day waiting period Olga will be ours.  :-)  There will still be an incredible amount of work to do before coming home, though.  She will have to have a medical physical, we will need to have her birth certificate reissued with our names as her parents, new passport, so on and so forth.  All in all, either Jeff or I will be there 2-3 weeks and the other about 5-6 weeks.  While I cannot wait for the day to come that we can bring Olga home, I will admit that I am a little nervous about being in Eastern Europe in the middle of winter!  We live in the south and the winters here can get too cold for me!  (Yes, that would make me a cold weather wimp, which I admit without shame.)

So this is where we stand with the adoption.  Still waiting on FBI fingerprints to come back, still waiting on our medical reports to be finished, still waiting for the last home study visit to be completed, still waiting to bring Olga home forever!

If you would like to make a financial donation toward Olga's adoption, please contact me via e-mail at:

SusanPirkey@gmail.com

If you would like to make a financial donation toward Olga's hosting for Christmas, either contact me at the e-mail directly above, or visit:

Adopting Olga @ Active Giving

We have received so much support from so many people it has been amazing!  We feel so blessed by the  outpouring of encouragement and prayers that you are sending our way.  Thank You!!!

S~

Daddies and Daughters

Today I had the honor of paying my last respects to a great, great man.  My uncle, George Coleman, died in the early morning hours on Monday, September 6.  He left behind a wonderful family whom he loved with every ounce of his being.  He is survived by his wife, three sons, one daughter and five grandchildren.  He had an amazing relationship with all of his children, but right now I want to talk about his very special relationship with his daughter.

Ginger was his youngest child.  She was the miracle baby that Uncle George and my Aunt Katurah never dreamed they would have.  His relationship with his daughter was one that should set the standard for Daddy/Daughter relationships.  Watching Ginger today say goodbye to her daddy was at once beautiful and painful.  She was truly blessed to have her father even though he was gone too soon.  She understood the love her father had for her.  She soaked it up.  She appreciated it.  She gave it back freely and without hesitation.  He was taken from her much too soon, and without warning.  If she had know that when she spoke to her father that last time that it would be the *last* time, I wonder if she would have said anything differently.  While I don't know what their last conversation was like, I do know that it was filled with the love they had for each other.  I know that she will mourn the loss of her father and their very special relationship for the rest of her life.

I have a friend, Des, who very recently lost her daddy to a long, painful battle with cancer.  She, too, was a "Daddy's Little Girl".  I never had the privilege of meeting her father, but I know he was a special man simply because of the way she turned out.  Because her father was so sick for so long, my friend knew that her time with her dad was quickly running out.  Even though he already knew it, she had the chance to tell him how much she loved him.  She also had to watch him slowly lose his health and strength.  I can't even begin to imagine the pain of having to watch someone I loved so dearly suffering so tremendously.  Honestly, I can't imagine watching someone I *don't* know suffering the way she had to watch her father.  But the love she had for her father carried her through it.  It has only been a few weeks since his death and I know Des is still heartbroken and lost without her daddy.

When I think about this journey we are on to make Olga our daughter legally, I really don't think about her birth parents much.  In my mind she is our child and always has been.  I don't know why her birth mother left her at the hospital when she was born.  I don't even know if her birth father knows of Olga's existence.  And up until now, I've not really thought about whether Olga misses the parents she never met.  Does she mourn the loss of a man that she has never laid eyes on?  When she was a little girl did she miss her mother brushing her hair and telling her how much she loves her even though she had never experienced it?  Until she came to live with us this summer  Olga had never been hugged by a mom and dad and told that she is loved.  Can you imagine?  The first time Jeff hugged her and kissed her cheek Olga didn't know what to do.  She literally hid under her covers.  But it became our ritual.  Every night we would tuck Olga into bed, hug her, kiss her cheek and tell her we loved her.  She learned very quickly that she really, really liked being loved.  And in those short five weeks, she developed that special kind of Daddy/Daughter relationship with Jeff that Ginger and Des were so greatly blessed with in their fathers.  I know that she will love Jeff the way Ginger and Des loved their daddies.  I have no idea if Olga has ever dreamed about having a family.  I can only hope and pray that Jeff and I are able to be the kind of parents that Ginger & Des' dads were.  To make the same kind of impact on all of our children would be an incredible achievement.  If we can do that, then I know that any dream Olga has ever had about a family will be far surpassed in reality.

I should also say that Jeff and I both have some pretty amazing parents!  I feel so incredibly fortunate to have my mom and dad!  They are truly wonderful, as is Jeff's mom, Judy.  Between those three, Jeff and I know how incredibly blessed we are!

S~

 



 

2nd Home Study Visit

Our second home study visit was quite a bit longer than the first visit.  Our darling 6 year old was the social butterfly that she always is.  She talked Carla's ear off, showed off her Wonder Woman costume complete with jump rope magic lasso, told her all about Baby Boo Boo's extra special powers (she can do everything but fly, so she has to walk everywhere), gave her a piece of artwork from kindergarten and told her which cookies I made were the best.  Our shy 8 year old hid in his room.  Hopefully he will attempt to talk to her next time.

Carla asked us all about our lives from high school through now.  Jeff's story took about 45 minutes.  Mine took five.  I keep trying to tell myself I've led a simple life and not a boring one, but even I don't believe myself.  :-)  We have our final visit next Friday after the kids get home from school.

Next Tuesday Jeff and I will drop off our paperwork for the local police clearance ('cause, you know, the Federal and State clearances aren't quite enough).  We will get that back the next day.  All the medical results should be back on Thursday, then the home study on Friday.  After that we will just be waiting on our case worker to write up the home study report and for the criminal background/fingerprint checks to come back.  Then we should be able to wrap all that up in a nice little package and send it off to the United States Customs and Immigration Services office.  I have a feeling I am missing something in all of this, but hopefully someone will catch it and let me know!

I'm still walking on air from getting to see Olga's pictures yesterday.  I really, really, really wish I knew if they told her about the adoption or not!  I know...patience.  *sigh*

We are looking forward to the long weekend.  We plan to hit a free Christian concert near us on Saturday, church on Sunday and absolutely *nothing* else planned!!!  We hope everyone has a wonderful Labor Day Weekend.

If you would like to make a tax deductible contribution to help us bring Olga home, please visit the link below:

Adopting Olga @ Active Giving

If you would like to make a contribution directly to us, please e-mail me directly at:

SusanPirkey@gmail.com

Thank you so much for your support!  We really do appreciate it.

S~

Physicals, Part 2

Jeff and I went back to our doctor today for additional blood work and to have our TB skin tests read.  Nothing quite like having no food or coffee in you and then having four vials of blood taken out.  Then it was off to the lab to have the drug screen done.  I can't lift my left arm above shoulder height because of the Tetanus shot.  Meanwhile, Jeff said his doesn't hurt at all.  Not that I want him to be in pain, but I would really like to NOT be in it!  All tests should be back this time next week and then we can send those on to our adoption agency.

The interview team made it to Olga's orphanage today, and I was able to see some pictures!  Today was Day 2 of school for Olga.  I hope it was a great one!  I know that she and others from her group put on a performance for the interview team that included singing and folk dancing.  I still have no idea if they told her about her adoption.

The second home study visit is tomorrow when our bio kids get home from school.  Praying that goes well and they have good days at school so that they aren't in a funk when they get home.  I know they will do great.

I haven't had to do paperwork in a few days now.  While I don't particularly miss the tediousness of it, I now realize that I at least felt like I was accomplishing something when I was doing it.  So now I am anxiously awaiting the next round of the great paper shuffle!

I will post again tomorrow after the home study visit.  Below is a picture the interview team took at the orphanage.

Adopting Olga @ Active Giving

S~

Olga has received the goody bag we sent!