Cowboy Cups

Since announcing our plans to adopt once again on the previous post, Ryan and I have been blown away by the outpouring of encouragement, love, support, and prayers. Thank you to each of you who have reached out to us, and for all of you who have committed to praying for our family, and for our little boy.

Today, I want to share a fun fact about our little guy. When he grows up, he wants to be a cowboy:) How fun is that?!? Why, I'm not sure but he is very serious about this desire. I look forward to the day that we can take him to ride horses, visit the Dixie Stampede, and do other fun cowboy things. But for now, we have settled on getting him fixed up with cowboy gear. 

A few weeks ago, we sent him the essentials...cowboy boots, spurs, and a leather belt with a big belt buckle. I had not planned on the spurs, but he specifically requested spurs...I guess all real cowboys have them.  

Boots and spurs for our Cowboy

When he received these items, he was beyond thrilled. I wish I could share the pictures!! He has a birthday coming up, and I asked what he would like for his birthday. What else would he want but "cowboy clothes" and a cowboy hat:) Those items will be making their way to him shortly. I can't wait to see him all decked out in his gear. 

When Ryan and I decided to pursue adoption, we began to think of ways in which we could fundraise. Fundraising is not my cup of tea, but unfortunately, it's necessary. We feel strongly that we should set aside a portion of any and all funds raised to further our ministry efforts in Ukraine. We do not want to neglect our hearts desire to serve Ukrainian orphans and those in need in their communities. It is our hope and desire that throughout this adoption journey, we will not only raise awareness about adoption, but also about the need of orphan ministry partners to serve children who are not available for adoption, and who have needs that must be provided for right where they are.

So, in honor of our Cowboy, our first fundraiser is selling Cowboy Cups! These cups are amazing!! They are made of silicone, and super flexible. If you have little ones that are prone to dropping things, no worries! These won't break! They hold 16 oz of cold beverages, and come with a travel lid and straw. The cups are totally dishwasher safe, and super durable. Our Cowboy Cups feature an awesome boot design, courtesy of my friend Aubri Duran,  in honor of our Cowboy. The boots have Hebrews 10:24 on them, one of my all time favorite verses, " Let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds". I can't think of a more fitting verse, can you? By purchasing a cup, you are spurring our family on towards loving a sweet orphan boy and helping us bring him home. It is my hope that each time you drink out of your Cowboy Cup, that you will be reminded to pray for our Cowboy.....even after he is home! 

Cowboy Cups!

To order, you can comment here, send me an email: wendilynn.farrell@gmail.com, or reach out to me on FB. Cups are $20/each. Thank you in advance for purchasing, sharing with your friends, and most importantly, praying!! 

And so We Begin Again....

This may come as a surprise to some of you, and to others not at all. BUT... Ryan, the girls, and I are making plans to expand our family once more!! Our adoption journey this time around is going to be similar in some ways to our adoption of Alona, but in other ways it will be entirely different. So before I fill you in on what lies ahead, let me tell you how we came to the decision to adopt again.

When I traveled to Ukraine this past February, it was my full intent to seek out ministry opportunities in country to help orphans and those in need in their communities. The Lord was faithful, and He orchestrated a last minute chance meeting with the christian orphanage my ministry now helps to support. On my last day in country, my travel partner and I stopped by the orphanage to meet the caregivers, and the little ones who were not in school. It was there that one little boy in particular grabbed my attention. This little guy just happened to be home from school that day because he had been sick. As we we were walking around the facility, he ran and grabbed a Hot Wheels coloring sheet he had colored earlier. He proudly handed it to me, and motioned for me to keep it. It is hard to adequately explain with words, but I felt an instant connection with him. We were at the orphanage for maybe 45 minutes, but in that time, the Lord already planted a seed and a stirring in my heart for this little guy. Ryan and I were absolutely not looking to adopt again, and when I left Ukraine the next day, I did not yet feel that the Lord was calling us to adopt. I just knew that there was something special about this little boy, and that I would see him again one day. 

First boy coloring page to ever hang on our fridge;)

Over the course of the next few months I corresponded with the caregivers of this orphanage, and received updates and pictures of all the kids. I often thought of this little boy, but never inquired about him specifically, because I didn't want to show partiality...especially since adoption was still not our radar. I started planning a return trip to Ukraine with a team of amazing people for June of this year, and as departure time grew closer, I began to get more and more excited about seeing this little guy. I thought it was probably just my imagination that we had a special connection, but was very much looking forward to spending time with him again. 

As our car pulled up to the orphanage that bright June morning, I could hardly contain my excitement as I saw all the children outside waiting for us. As I got out of the car, my special friend ran up to me and gave me a big hug. He started trying to tell me something in Russian, and I gathered that he had something he wanted to give me. He ran inside, and came back out with the most precious drawing. He had drawn a picture of the 2 of us holding hands. Talk about melting your heart!!  From that moment on, I knew we were in trouble;) Again, the focus of the trip was to strengthen relationships with caregivers in Ukraine, and continue to support them in their work. Yet with each passing day, it became increasingly obvious to me that the Lord might be calling our family to travel the road of adoption once more. Our time in Ukraine was so sweet, and so special, and the Lord used that time to deepen the bond I had with this child. 

Picture that my sweet little guy drew for me

Back home, Ryan could totally tell that my heart was forever changed. The dialogue about adoption started immediately, and although Ryan could not fully understand the connection and longing I had for this child, he agreed to pray over the possibility of adopting once more. Over the course of the last couple of months, Ryan has faithfully prayed that the Lord would let His will be known. I tried not to be a pesky wife, and let him come to his own decision not based on guilt on being worn down...although this was hard;) Ryan FINALLY felt that he too believed God was calling us to this child. 

We have debated on when to "go public" with our decision to purse adoption. This adoption is not a "sure thing". Unfortunately, there are quite a few hurdles to overcome. We thought maybe we should wait until we were further into the process to share this news with others. But then we decided that we did not want to let fear of this adoption not working out stop us. We feel that we need to step out in faith believing that God's will WILL be done, and that He will see this adoption through. It's like a pregnancy. Many people wait to tell others that they are pregnant until the 1st trimester is over. They do this because the chance of miscarrying their baby decreases greatly after the 1st trimester, and they want to wait to share their happy news until the chances of giving birth to a healthy baby is more of a sure thing. Ryan and I did this with our 4th pregnancy. We decided to wait to tell the word that we were expecting again until the 1st trimester was over. Unfortunately, I miscarried. It was such a dark, lonely time in our lives. And I found that I WANTED people to know about the baby. That by telling people that I was a mother to a little one in Heaven, it validated this baby's life. I learned that sharing the ups and downs of personal things like pregnancy and miscarriage with others, makes the hurt more bearable. Letting others in and allowing them to cover you in prayer during not just good times, but bad times as well, makes your burdens a little more easy to carry. And it is from the lesson we learned then, that we decided to go ahead and share with you our hopes and desires to adopt our son. 

Couldn't love this little guy more!!

So where are we now? Unfortunately, I can't share all of the details in a public forum. Sorry!! We have to allow due process to take its course, and do not want to hinder the process in anyway. I can tell you that this adoption will not be lightening fast. We are looking at over a year before we will be able to bring him home...at best. This journey will be long. It will be hard. It will be wrought with emotions. And we want to share the good, the bad, and the ugly with you. We covet your prayers, we cherish your support, and we promise to share as much as we can along this journey with you as we possibly can.  

The Lord has been so gracious to speak to me through Scripture throughout this process already, and I want to share with you a passage that I read this week. 

" But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you"

Psalm 33:18-22

Our trust is in the Lord. We believe in faith that the Lord will bring our son home to us one day. We know without a doubt that He put this love in our hearts for this child, and we will not stop fighting for him until he is with his family. Thank you in advance for your prayers and support as we embark on this new adoption journey. 

" If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer" 

Matthew 21:22

Long over due Update

It has been over a year since I have posted an update on this blog, so I thought in honor of Alona's 18th birthday in 2 days, I would dust it off and give an update of how she is doing. During our adoption process, we were so blessed by the outpouring of support, love, and interest from every corner of the US and beyond, and it was never our intention to leave all of our devoted blog followers high and dry with no updates once we brought Alona home. Life kind of got in the way, however, and Ryan and I quickly discovered that bringing a foreign language speaking teen into our home full of preschoolers was something we weren't quite prepared for!!Trying to accurately put into words what our day to day life was like those first few weeks, months, and year proved impossible, and so this blog quickly got moved to the "not a priority" list. 

A dear friend of mine and fellow adoptive Mom told me not long after Alona came home, that the 2 year mark was when things really started to feel "normal" after she brought her 2 adopted children home. I remember thinking, "2 years?!?!? I can't wait TWO YEARS for things to feel normal again!!!"  But now that we are approaching the 2 year mark, I can say that it has been the same for us. We have been on this road to normalcy since she came home. And although it is hard to gauge progress when you are living it each day, I can honestly say that I believe we are arriving at the normal gate after a 2 year journey. 

Since coming home 22 months ago, Alona has blossomed into a well adjusted, happy, outgoing, confident teen. She made a 3.5 cumulative GPA this past school year...amazing!! Alona has been on 2 mission trips with her youth group, the most recent one to NYC, where she was able to utilize her Russian. One day, her team was in Central Park, and Alona met a Russian woman and her 3 year old daughter. Alona was able to play with the 3 year old while other team members led the mother to Christ. How awesome is that?!? Alona was baptized by her Papa on Memorial Day week-end, along with her little sister Avalea. What a special day that was for our family! We have been to the mountains, beach, lake and countless other places. Our family recently moved states, and Alona is experiencing the way families stick together and support each other through good times and difficult ones. Alona's 4 little sisters ADORE her, and she is absolutely amazing with them. It really is hard to remember life before she joined our family! 

Adoption is hard. No matter how prepared you think you are, or how easy the transition and adjustment period seems to those outside of your family, it is still super hard. You face challenges daily that you could never have prepared for. Not every adoption turns out to be the redemptive story that we all hope and believe it will be. I have witnessed first hand the immense struggles of dear friends of mine as they try to love and nurture their deeply wounded children. They give of themselves, and do all that they can, and yet it still does not seem to be enough to begin the healing process in their children. In light of that, I want to be sure that each of you reading know, that Ryan and I cannot take credit for how well Alona has done. There have been times during the last 22 months where I have thought, " I am such a monster! Why am I getting so frustrated about something this small?!?". We are human. We have failed at times. We have lost our temper, overreacted, thought what the heck have we done, and wondered if our home would ever feel like our "safe place" again. We have to give credit where it is due, and it is all due to our Heavenly Father. I know without a shadow of a doubt, that the Lord purposed Alona to be in our family since the beginning of time. That He had big plans for her to use her story, her talents, her sweet disposition for His glory. We are so extremely thankful that the Lord called us to be her parents.

 Because of Alona, we have been able to minister to other Ukrainian orphans and form relationships with amazing Ukrainian men and women who devote their lives to the care of orphans. For Alona's 18th birthday present, we are gifting her with a plane ticket to join me on my next mission trip to Ukraine, this coming December. I am so excited for her to have the opportunity to return to Ukraine for the first time, and minister to children who are walking the path she once walked. The Lord is continuing to mold and shape our ministry efforts in Ukraine, as well as our hearts for what He might be calling us to do next.  Stay tuned for more on that ;)                                                                                                                                                    

"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" Ephesians 2: 10