Reunited

This kid...

STILL has a thing for Nerf guns...

Is STILL adoringly handsome...

 

Is STILL terrified of roller coasters that go upside down...

 STILL feels the need to throw up "bunny ears" in photos...

and still lives up to this verse!!

How do I know all that?? Because we were able to visit him this week! Can I get a "hip, hip, hooray"?

Why all the old photos you ask?? Well, I'm unable to share any of the dozens and dozens of photos I took this week due to his adoption not being finalized and a post just isn't complete without photos in my opinion. Plus, who can get enough of his joy-filled smile? Certainly not me!!! So old pics it is, but I guarantee he's just as adorable, and just as happy as when we last saw him and still quite a little jokester!

He's being hosted in California by his soon to be adoptive family and since they live just a few hours north of where we'd be spending Christmas, they invited us to come spend the day with them! Dzintars had been asking me via frype (the Latvian version of Facebook) for weeks if we'd be coming to visit him while he was in America. He was so excited when his mom told him we were in fact coming! We were super excited too! When we finally pulled up to their house Brennan started excitedly calling out "Dzintars! Dzintars!" He was just thrilled to be seeing him again.

It was so great to see him again and even better to see him interacting with his family:) I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE (are you getting the point yet) the "P" family! They are just the best of the best! The kind of people I would hope we would have somehow come to know even if we hadn't hosted Dzintars this summer!

It's hard to put into words what this visit meant to me and even harder to explain what it meant to him. I just know it was great to see him and only furthered the deep sense of peace I have when it comes to Dzintars' future. I VIVIDLY recall the day we put him on a plane back to Latvia and the deep sense of sorrow and confusion I felt when I contemplated his future as an orphan in that country.  Especially knowing the way he LONGED for a family! It was beyond difficult to send him back with so much uncertainty and I felt so completely helpless. I wanted to trust that God was in control, but honestly, at that point, I had my doubts.  To see him now, in his home, with his parents and his brothers was just plain amazing! God is so good and I'm so thankful to have a front row seat to the many miracles He has worked since we started on this journey with  Dzintars. The fact that his family lives in California is just icing on the cake!! Remember, he had like 20+ families call the adoption agency and inquire about him (a record I might add) and they were literally from all over the United States. He could have ended up ANYWHERE!  And just because we hosted him, his adoptive family was by no means required to keep in contact with us.  Luckily for us, his parents have chosen to not only include us and update us along the way, but encourage us to keep in touch with him and have gone out of their way to build relationships with us. Talk about BLESSED!

He greeted us with hugs and a handmade card he'd made. He also gave me this sweet little angel charm that I can put on a chain and wear. He was very proud of his gifts and from what his mom told me, very anxious to see us and give them to us. While we were there he "Face timed" his buddies Hosea, Isaiah and Joel with whom he spent a great deal of time with this summer! We laughed, we joked, we tickled and wrestled and jumped on the trampoline and had a knock down, drag out Nerf gun war! In fact, we spent most of our day dodging Nerf bullets and pellets, it was wild! Did I mention Dzintars has five brothers? Add Brennan to that bunch and there were bullets EVERYWHERE! 

He's still unaware that his host family is the family that is adopting him. Well, let me rephrase that...he may suspect but we're not allowed to confirm his suspicions or entertain his questions so we're not 100% sure what he does or does not suspect. He did try and weasel an answer out of me while I was there, and by weasel I mean BEG! I'm told he's also tried this tactic with his social worker from Latvia. Poor kid, I feel his pain, but none of us are willing to jeopardize his adoption so we'll have to keep him wondering for now. I'm anxiously awaiting the day when he will be told! It's going to be epic!

Saying goodbye this time around was SO MUCH EASIER than last time! There were no tears, there was no clinging or begging. There were hugs and "I love you's" and lots of waves.

He knows he's been chosen, he knows he is loved and THAT has made all the difference.

 

We're all anxiously awaiting the day he's officially part of the "P" family! But for now, we're all so glad he was able to have these few weeks here with them!

As I write this post about a child whose future is about to be redeemed through the miracle of adoption, I can't help but think of all that is going on in Russia right now. There are roughly 50 families that were in the process of adopting kids from Russia that now may not be able to bring home their children and another 205 families who had identified a child they intended to adopt. The 50 families in the process of adopting have already traveled to Russia, they have met their kids and promised to return for them and now due to politics that have NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM OR EVEN ADOPTION they won't be bringing their kids home after all. The most heartbreaking part of all of this, these little ones won't have a clue why their mom and dad didn't return for them as promised, they'll simply believe they've been abandoned once again! If you haven't been following this story, please take a moment and read about it here. Russia would like us to believe they are protecting their children, that this ban is due to post adoption deaths of their children but Putin actually signed this adoption ban as part of a retaliation against a measure Obama signed here in America that has nothing to do with these kids. It's just so heartbreaking.

I'm especially saddened for one family in particular. The Johnston family. They recently traveled to Russia to meet their little girl Anastasia. Anastasia is a beautiful 4 year old little girl who happens to be HIV+. Her chances of being adopted in Russia were slim to none, her chances of being adopted in the U.S. weren't that great either due to the  huge stigma here in the U.S. when it comes to HIV/AIDS, people are afraid of what they don't know and they haven't bothered to educate themselves when it comes to the facts of living with HIV. Luckily for Anastasia, her mom Jenni is educated and she works for a fantastic organization called Project Hopeful. Their mission is to educate, encourage, and enable families and individuals to advocate for and adopt children with HIV/AIDS as well as other kids who fall into the category of the most "overlooked children for adoption." Jenni was a HUGE help to me when I asked her to help me find host families for a few of our host kids who were HIV+ and I've followed her journey to Anastasia. They were interviewed on CNN today and their story just breaks my heart. Here's their story...

Please keep Anastasia, the Johnston family and all the other families affected by this senseless ban in your prayers.