8/27/2010

Fingerprints for a Criminal Background Check

by Jory

Today we went down to the police station to get our fingerprints taken for a criminal background check, as one of the requirements for our adoption paperwork. When I told my father-in-law that they were going to take our fingerprints, he asked if they were going to give them back. I replied, "No, they're probably going to keep them to give to somebody in the witness protection program."

Anyway, it was pretty cool. It was all electronic ... they used a scanner/digital camera type thingy ... we just put our hands on the glass, and pressed real hard, and it read our fingerprints and saved them as some electronic file. It was pretty advanced too. If it got a good reading, it put a green border around the picture on the computer screen. All ten of my digits came out good the first time. But Elissa wasn't so lucky ... she had to try two or three times to get it right. I asked her if she had some dark, secret, criminal past that she forgot to mention.

But eventually she got a good reading. The prints were then sent to the FBI and the BCI, and one of the checks had been completed before we even left the building ... sometimes technology is pretty cool (when it works right!) So that was fairly painless ... the next big thing will be a Psychological Evaluation, scheduled for sometime in mid-September with some kind of certified psychotherepist / specialist ... I hope I'll be able to pass that one!

8/20/2010

2 weeks out

It's been 2 weeks since we sent our future son back to Russia. Life is sort of back to normal around here, but this little boy has definitely made an impact on our lives. My daughters continue to yell at each other in Russian. Jory still speaks with a horrible Russian accent (sorry babe, it's bad.) Alex is teaching his little friends common Russian phrases, and me? Well I've had to stop myself from setting a sixth spot at the table more times than I'd like to count.
I wonder what life is like for little Max back in Russia. I noticed the expected high temperature for Severodvinsk today is 53 degrees. In another month they will have ice. I wonder if he has pulled out the hand-me-down Harley Davidson sweatshirt we sent back with him. The orange polar fleece hoodie that was Alex's favorite a few years back. His eyes lit up when I offered to pack it for him. I wonder if it still smells like our house. I heard this morning that his little friend Igor (who also came over last month as an exchange student) cries every night for his family to come and get him. I didn't need to know that.

When he came, they gave us a schedule of what his typical day was like back in Russia. So at any given point in the day I can figure out what he's probably doing. Right now it looks like he's probably finished with dinner - I can only guess what he might have had. Something like fish meal and watery turnip soup. What I wouldn't give to pass him some ketchup for his fish, and some goldfish crackers for his soup. Throw in some apple pie and call it a meal.
I wonder if he still sings the songs he learned at Vacation Bible School. I wonder if he and the other kids that came over use American words in conversation just to annoy the other children who don't know what they mean. I wonder what the orphanage kids think of the silly bandz we sent back. I wonder if he cries at night like Igor.

8/18/2010

Fundraising


This whole notion of fundraising has sort of taken over my life. A few weeks ago the concept of actually raising $35,000 was flat out impossible. As a family we plotted and schemed all the ways we could make it work. I could go back to teaching, Jory could get a second job, we could put the kids on a busy intersection and make them dance... All of our ideas seemed "iffy" at best. We kept coming back to the photography fundraiser I did to raise money for the Max and the other Journeys of Joy kids to come. It worked once, it can work again, right? So although it seemed like an unlikely solution, I put all my efforts back into a photography project. This one is called "Bring Max Home" and although it started out small like the other one did, this one has sort of taken on a life of it's own. A woman here in town (a total stranger, really) heard about my story and passed it on to the local media. Our story was picked up by a local news affiliate, and will air this Friday. During our interview, the reporter mentioned that our time slot has a viewing audience of 30,000. All of a sudden that impossible goal doesn't sound that impossible anymore.
A friend of mine who lives in California was curious about my fundraising efforts and how I got to where I am... I'm a self taught photographer who likes working as low budget as possible. I shoot everything on location (not in a studio) so I never use expensive studio lights or backgrounds. I've never taken a photography class, everything I know I learned from following photographers blogs, and by reading whatever I could find at the library. I shoot with a cannon digital rebel xt. Not the highest quality camera on the market, but if you know how it works, it can be a great tool.
As far as getting myself from "a busy mom with a camera" to "a photographer who raises money for a living" I'm not sure how that happened. I can tell you that I let my faith in Jesus Christ guide my thoughts and actions, and one day I felt that God wanted me to pick up my camera and put it to use for His kingdom. So even though I thought it was a dumb idea, I did what He asked. So my biggest advice is this: Find out what God wants you to do and do it. Even if it sounds dumb. Make yourself available, and get out of the way. God works best when you don't try to interfere. I have to remind myself daily that this is not my project and as long as I "follow directions" I can't screw it up.
So this is what it's all about. A cute little boy who lives near the arctic circle...

8/09/2010

going forward

Little Max has gone back to Russia, he left a week ago today. As I was preparing to have him here, I had two main goals: 1) Introduce him to all sorts of "new" concepts - such as bath tub toys, and watch him learn about "normal" American culture, 2) introduce him to all my wealthy American friends and find the right family to adopt him. I was not prepared for lessons on the universal concepts of love, relationships, and little boy humor. I was not prepared for how difficult it was to send him back to Russia. I honestly felt like I was condemning one of my own children to life in a dirty frozen jail cell.
So in the beginning, I was convinced that there was no way I had the time/energy/money/stamina to deal with a 4th child. I had every excuse in the book. Before he left, I was convicted about how selfish all my excuses were. Yes, my house is small, but it's way better than an orphanage 100 miles from the arctic circle. No, I don't have a lot of money but I do have a lot of love, and that's all he really wants anyway. I already have 2 six year old children, I don't really need a third - why not? he has built in playmates... The truth is this little guy is perfect for our family, he already has a lot of our interests and personality quirks built in. In the end, I realized I didn't want another family to adopt him. So crazy or not, we're going forward.
Adopting from Russia is a long, expensive, headache. We know several families who are already in the process (and a few more who are just starting the process like we are). We thought that going through the process with friends would make the ordeal slightly more enjoyable. Plus we're all adopting from the same orphanage, so our kids will all know each other. Instant community.
The down side of our decision is that we need $35,000 to complete the adoption- which we don't have. But we have several ideas about how to raise money, and we have several friends that are in the same boat, so we can collaborate on our fundraising efforts. So the next year will be full of fundraising and anticipating the return of our son, Max.

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