Bummed!

Good morning! Ever since we learned about the little guy we hope to adopt, we've kicked things into high gear. We thought we might be traveling to meet him in January, so we've hurried up to finish documents for registration. We're almost there, just waiting on our slightly amended home study to come in the mail. Then we'll be off with a slew of documents to be apostilled. Well, we found out last night that the little guy's legal paperwork won't be ready until late April. That basically means that we won't be able to visit him until then. So, we're bummed.

Thankfully, we've learned to wait. Our last adoption gave us a wonderful lesson in patience from the Lord. It was a 2 1/2 year journey from start to finish. He truly blesses those who wait on Him. Our two wonderful boys are living proof of that. We know all this, and yet, we are still weak and have our moments of impatience and frustration. Forgive us, Lord! Despite all the waiting, things still seem to be moving much faster than they did last time. We keep trying to remember that as well. The Lord's timing is good, whatever it may be.

We ask for your prayers as we complete registration paperwork and wait for a few months yet to travel. In the meantime, it's fun to share the joy of other families who are at different stages in their adoptions. Our prayers are with you as well. The Lord bless you all as you prepare to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Christ the Lord!

Love,

Joel, Clarion, Slav & Sergei

Signing papers for registration!

It's a boy????

Ok....Joel was so correct in saying that adoption has it's wonderful, crazy, exhausting surprises. Here's ours....

Yesterday we found out that our two Russian sons have a baby brother in Russia. He is not off the database yet but will be soon. We were asked if we wanted to adopt him. What does this mean?

Well, after seeing his picture and thinking about it for precisely 5 seconds we decided that a little girl is not in the cards for us this time. We have been offered the opportunity of keeping this family together and it's one we jump at with joy.

Where do we go from here? Who knows? We will listen to the advice and follow the direction of our adoption workers. Please pray for us as we endeavor to bring our sons' little brother into our family. Thank you for the prayers already offered on our behalf!!

With hopefulness and joy,

Joel, Clarion, Slav, and Sergei

WOW!!!

Well, just like last time around, our blog kind of sits here during the paperwork process. Sometimes we don't even post when we make it up another step in the whole paperwork adventure. Just to bring you up to date...Last week we received approval from ICPC (Interstate Compact) on our home study. Our home study fees have been paid. Last week we also mailed our I-600A to USCIS before the fees go up on the 23rd. Progress to be sure!

Then today happened! When you're adopting, especially internationally, you try to prepare yourself for what what might happen along the way, but there are almost always surprises (pleasant and unpleasant) along the way that are just impossible to prepare for. One of those surprises came today with a bit of news from our agency. Wow!!! I can't reveal what it is just yet, but I can reveal that it is a very pleasant surprise. In fact, today is a day I will never forget. I'm still trying to process the news I just received. Today is my day off. Poor Clarion has a long day ahead of her with teaching, then parent-teacher conferences. I guarantee that she'll be thinking about this news all day long in the midst of it.

We'll share soon! I promise. Until then we ask for your prayers. The news we received today is a gift from God and will most definitely impact our journey, again in a very pleasant way. In fact, we'll need your prayers now more than ever. More to come soon!

Sincerely,

Joel

Home Study

Today we had our social worker come and visit our home. This is part of the home study process which we are almost done with. We need to proofread the study that she wrote on us and send our medical reports to her and then the home study will be complete.

I am so happy for this weekend and for the chance to think a little bit about the little girl who is in Russia who will be joining our family. Things have been going so well with us and we have been so busy with daily life, the boys, and Nadya that there hasn't been much time to focus on the adoption. This is in stark contrast to the last adoption where we celebrated every document being completed.

This weekend in our work to get most of the documents for our home study done we are really feeling that this adoption is moving along. In about 3 weeks our documents should go to interstate compact. Then we will get our endorsement letter. After that our documents will go to USCIS for about 10 weeks. During this time we will work on registration documents for Vladivostok. It appears we will register in Vlad around early February if we stay on track. Wow!!!! Really?? We might meet this little girl this summer? How very exciting.

So, that is what is going on with the Fritsche adoption. Joel has been busy with church and really helps out by getting the boys and Nadya to and from school and where they need to be after school. I have been busy with teaching 3 grades and getting ready for the end of the first quarter. We have had birthdays and lots of fun activities in the past month. All in all we praise God for His blessings and all the joy He has given us.

Joel, Clarion, Slav, Sergei, and Nadya

Two Years Ago!

Two years ago today, we sat in a Russian court room in Vladivostok with Lana, our interpreter, asking to adopt Slav and Sergei. May the Lord continue to bless us as we journey through another adoption. Things are going smoothly. This week we received our acceptance letter and packet from World Links. We're in the process of signing the agreement documents. Things with our home study are proceeding along nicely. Joel met with our social worker from LCFS yesterday. Clarion will meet with her next week. Soon after she will do the home visit. In the meantime we have lots of other things to do: doctor visits and papers, papers, papers, and of course, writing check after check. But it's all so worth it! Here's a blast from the past, from two years ago to be exact...

A little bit of Russia!

Hello everyone! It is the Fritsches back at the blog. We have now officially started the process of adopting a little girl from Russia. We had a wonderful time in Russia and really look forward to the day when we get to go back.

However, as we wait and work toward going back to Russia, a little bit of Russia has come to us.

We are pleased to announce that Nadia will be living with us for this school year. She is from Russia and has come to us through the FLEX exchange program. Stay tuned for our adventures with Nadia and our adventures in paperwork for our adoption.

Blessings to you all!

Joel, Clarion, Slav, Sergei and Nadia