Yay more for us to do!

We got the call today from our Family Coordinator - yay! We also received by email the information we need so that we can start gathering all the documents together for our Dossier. This is a huge step for us, and one we have been anticipating, so we can start doing the work we need to. I am very excited to be able to continue on our journey to bring our babies home. For those unfamiliar with the process - this is the time where I am a very active participant, as opposed to playing the waiting game! (You may notice going forward I am referring to babies until I am told otherwise! I truly pray that is in Gods plan for us.)

Although there is a lot more I feel I should be writing, I am also at a loss for words right now, and so will leave this short. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers, keep them coming.

I am thankful for:

• The Lord - for leading me to you
• Jill - for everything you do for me, I love you
• Josiah, Kallista and Jenna - for being awesome and loving - we do get compliments on how loving our children are
• My children I haven't met yet
• Adoption - and everything it has brought and will bring to us
• Family and their support of me
• Friends and their support through this journey

As I sort out my own thoughts, let me leave with this.... we are yet another day closer to bring our babies home.

Roy

Hoping...

... for the upcoming week to bring us news of being assigned to a family coordinator and a social worker. We held out hope to hear from anyone during the Thanksgiving holiday with no luck. Though we both thought it unlikely-- there was always just a spark that someone would be in touch. 

... to feel like things are starting to happen. It is amazing to me, that though we are in the very beginning stages and have so far to go, that I have an urgency to get this done so we can bring home a new Narunsky or two. I just know that a baby is waiting for my love, a cry is going unheard, and a need is going unattended. I so want to  get my paperwork started-- I want to see progress, I want to have a task to complete that makes me feel I am making steps to getting my future babe(s) home. 

... that someone out there is loving on my babe(s), while I wait to get my arms around them. I weep openly at the fact that our first child-- Josiah-- rarely cried. I can recall that he would cry when his bottle was empty and I made assumptions at the time that his tears were for fear that it would be his last meal. It still hurts my feelings to know that my son did not feel loved. His cries went unheard and unattended for the first ten months of his life and he had learned at such a tender young age that no one would respond. As a result, he did not and does not cry. Josiah still does not cry unless he is badly hurt or at a point of frustration that he feels he has no other choice. As I sit here-- I cannot recall the last time that he shed tears-- it has been that long. My daughters, on a humorous note have no issue with shedding tears. In fact, we have had several teary moments throughout the day. :) I believe in my heart of hearts that Josiah knows that we love him with a love that is so deep that nothing can ever change that. However, no matter how often I tell him or show him, I  live in fear that part of him-- deeply rooted or on a subconscious level questions it. 

... to get some rest tonight.         --Jill

Christmas Fun

I have chosen a way to raise some funds for our adoption. Fifth Avenue Collection sells  stunning jewelry. There is a beautiful neck piece called Christmas Fun. It has a pair of gorgeous earrings to match and all money raised from any purchase made through our direct site will fund our adoption. I am very excited about this fund raising opportunity! It is a win-win. You will have a new necklace to wear and be complimented on it all throughout the holiday season all the while knowing that your purchase is helping us bring our baby/babies home. You can shop through www.fifthavenuecollection.com/jnarunsky and please mention our names at any comment line given to be sure that your purchase is linked to us. 

I do plan to select one item a month but feel free to shop around--- there is definitely something for every taste and Christmas is right around the corner! When shopping through our direct link all proceeds will be dedicated to our adoption.

Singing, Dancing, Cheering!!

Jim and Tiff have a court date!! I am so excited and thrilled and proud to announce on my blog that Jim and Tiff received an exciting call with their court date! January 24th is the big day!! Am so elated that they are going to be able to add that to the list of things to be thankful for when taking stock tomorrow. I am so lucky--- I just sent a box off today of warm pajamas for Jamesy!! How wonderful that I will have another nephew!!

As for us... we wait. We are currently waiting to hear from our family coordinator and our social worker with the next steps-- the list of documents to gather and hopefully a time frame for our home study. Let's get this party started!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all... we are truly thankful for the family we have been blessed with and for the future addition(s) we are making!!

Sooo...

I went back to work after sharing on facebook about our exciting news to adopt and am so thankful for all that are supporting us. We are surrounded by encouragement! It is so great to know that so many people are out there and excited for us-- certainly going to make it easier while we wait to have everyone being so positive around us! 


I picked out some names this weekend and it is so exciting to think that we could be naming another child or two!! We mailed off our acceptance of approval and contract to AWAA along with our first payment and now we get to wait for our next steps... 


In the meantime, we are going to be kept busy by the Thanksgiving holiday and all it brings. I certainly have so much to be thankful for-- this year has been full of wonderful changes for our family. I have been so fortunate this year in so many ways-- it is completely indescribable. 


Looking forward to sharing about our next steps when we know more... Happy Thanksgiving!!


--Jill--

Roy's First Post

Well here goes....my first post on this blog, one that I have waited to do to get the ball rolling for myself.

What an incredible few months this has been for me, and what an outstanding past 10 days. As Jill said earlier, we have contemplated adopting again for a long time. I am thrilled that the time is finally right for us.

I pray that everything goes as smoothly as possible and would love to adopt twins if that is what works out for us. I take comfort - and truthfully, a little stress to, knowing that it is not in my hands, but I know that God has a great plan for us and it will all work out. I only hope that I find the patience that I will need throughout this journey. I am looking forward to days of crazy running around, and yet know that along with that is going to come times of simply waiting for the next step to happen - something that will be totally out of our control.

I already keep thinking, okay already, when is the next thing going to happen! We mailed off our first few papers back to AWAA (our agency) on Friday, and so the next few days are a waiting game again. I already dream of receiving a referral though I know truthfully that is still a ways away. I keep playing scenarios over and over in my mind as to how this will all happen. Yet, I trust that it will all work itself out just the way it is meant to, as it is not in my control. 

I think back to adopting Josiah, and how long it seemed to take during parts of the process and how quick it was overall. I remember having to leave him behind while we had to fly home and wait for our court date to finalize everything. And my heart aches knowing that we are going to have to go through something similar again, yet am blessed in knowing how worth it everything is in the end - I would not trade our experiences for anything in this world, especially remembering the joy when we got to bring him home for the first time.

I think back to the days that Kallista and Jenna were each born, both so tiny and it seems like yesterday that each was so easily held in just on hand! And I look at how big each one of my 3 beautiful children are now and how quickly the time seems to have passed and I know looking back this journey we are beginning is going to seem to pass quickly to. 

I am so excited to be adding to our family, and pray that God blesses us throughout this process and keeps us strong and peaceful during the times that we find ourselves struggling frustrated.

We are one day closer to bring a new Narunsky or two home.....

--Roy--

Everyday I ask myself the million and one questions about this adoption. How long is it going to take before we can get our dossier put together? How long will the home study take? How long will it take before we get a referral? Will we be referred twins like we are hoping? Will they be boys? Will they be girls? Will we be referred a single child? How old will the child/children be? How long before we are able to lay eyes on them? How long will we wait for a court date? How long will we be leaving our child in Ethiopia after our day in court while we wait for an Embassy date? What will they look like? What will they smell like? What will their laughter sound like? What will their cries sound like? Will Josiah, Kallista, and Jenna just fall in love or will it be a process for them? What will it be like to have a fourth, possibly fifth child? I could go on and on with all my questions and thoughts... The one thing I can answer for certain is that none of this is in my control. A scary and comforting reality all at the same time. I am so excited to bring home at least one new baby Narunsky and I am waiting with great anticipation to see how it all unfolds. We are so fortunate to have been able to adopt once and what an honor to be able to do it a second time!


Josiah's adoption was a lifesaver, for me especially. I struggled time and time again to maintain a pregnancy with no success. My doctor, whom I love dearly, suggested adoption which I refused to consider adamantly. I was convinced it would never be an option that I could live with. It was getting closer and closer to Christmas and I was out buying Christmas gifts for my nephew, Ty. I was devastated to think that I was not going to ever have a child. It was such a sad thing to think that I would never buy a Christmas present for my own child. I would never hear a child of my own scream with glee on Christmas morning seeing a beautifully decorated, lit tree with gifts underneath just waiting to be opened. I remember clearly coming home and telling Roy that it was time and I was ready and let's do it. Let's adopt. We were both so excited to get started. We applied to an agency located in Texas on December 21, 2002 and officially adopted Josiah May 12, 2003 bringing him home on May 16, 2003. Our entire process moved very quickly. We worked through our paperwork quickly. We were in process of our home study and had gone shopping to USA Baby to get ourselves even more hyped and excited for our adoption. I picked out the most expensive crib and dresser in the place and it was on back order. Apparently, it was one of the most popular as well. When the sales person told us that we would be waiting about 16 weeks for the arrival we stated it would not be an issue at all since we were adopting and had been warned several times by the agency that the process takes about a year on average. We left happily knowing we had picked out what we wanted and knew that we were one step closer to having a child in our home. The following week on a Friday night we received a call from our adoption agency that they had a referral for us. They would be emailing us a picture of a seven month old little boy that had had a healthy birth. This particular boy was listed as healthy and having blue eyes and gray hair (translation problems). We had been told by so many adoptive parents that the first referral was not one to accept because there was always a glitch. Some kind of information that was left out or a health problem not included, etc... We raced to the computer and stared at the photo of this child... he looked okay, his statistics sounded okay--- what was the glitch? We called the agency and they gave us until the following day to think it over and make our decision before they offered the child to another couple. After a restless night, we got up a bit later than normal the next day and were just getting breakfast and having coffee when the phone rang--- It was USA Baby to tell us that our crib had come in! What an amazing way that we were directed! Of course, we immediately called the agency and accepted our first referral and then it was on... we needed to hurry up and finish our home study so we could go and meet our son for the first time in Smolensk, Russia.


--- Jill

First Post

Well... our journey has begun. Roy and I have contemplated adopting again for several years now. In fact, we probably started thinking about another adoption prior to the completion of our first adoption. We are very excited and honored to be adopting again. Our application to join the Ethiopian adoption program through AWAA has been approved. We submitted our application on November 11, 2010 and anxiously awaited for our approval status. We received our approval status on November 18, 2010. It is official-- let the cheering and screaming begin!! We are going to add another Narunsky to our family.

Roy and I have been blessed with three beautiful children. Josiah, age 8 was adopted from Russia when he was ten months old and the first addition to our family. Kallista, age 6 was added to our family the year following Josiah's adoption. Jenna, age 5 was added to our family the year following Kallista's birth. What a busy, busy time!! We consider ourselves so fortunate to have 3 children in those 2 years-- especially considering the odds we were told we were up against! (All those details will have to be included in a future post.)

So, now it starts. I am extremely unrealistic in thinking that we are going to be able to complete all our paper gathering requirements and our home study in 4-6 weeks so that we can quickly get on a list and bring home the new Narunsky in less than 6 months. I am sure this is not completely unheard of though I am not sure it is going to be our reality. I am going to be learning patience in a new way. :)

For now, I am going to end my first post. Roy and I will both be posting here as we are able. Cannot wait to keep you all updated on our journey and process!      --Jill