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

Citizenship Ceremony

Citizenship is defined as the fact or status of being a citizen of a particular place. It is also defined as the qualities that a person is expected to have as a responsible member of a community.

This past Wednesday, Alona participated in an oath of citizenship ceremony after which she received a certificate officially making her a citizen of the United States. As I looked around the room at the 40+ immigrants who were receiving citizenship and their families, I couldn't help but think of all of the blood, sweat, and tears that went into getting each one of them there.

What made my heart swell, was the fact that there were 3 other Russian speaking teenagers....2 from Ukraine and 1 from Latvia that were adopted last fall. That means that at least 10% of those taking the oath were teenagers, on the the brink of adulthood,  that are now experiencing the love and security of a family for the first time. Not only are they learning to be citizens of a new country, but they are learning about the qualities that a person is expected to have as a responsible member of a family. 

The road to citizenship, whether citizenship of a country or of a family, is not an easy one. The road is full of bumps, detours, roadblocks, and U-turns. Once gaining citizenship, the journey is not over. In fact, it has just begun. There are rules to learn and follow, responsibilities to maintain, and duties to fulfill. 

Alona has learned and unlearned much these first few months home. The road ahead stretches out into the horizon...the possibilities and opportunities she will have as a new citizen in her new family and country are endless. We pray that she will continue to work hard and strive to be the citizen that God has called her to be. 

Oath Ceremony!

Alona with other new citizens

Taking the Oath

Waiting to receive her certificate of citizenship

Alona wit her Aunt Sarah

Proud Parents!

Alona with her Gigi and Boo

Citizen of the United States!!

Walk on Water

A few weeks ago, I woke up from a dead sleep at 3 am. Walk on Water, Walk on Water, Walk on Water kept going through my mind over and over and over again. Ok, Lord.... I think I get it!!

Leading up to that early morning wake up call, I had been praying that the Lord would give me a way to express what He has done for me through our adoption of Alona. My hope was that whatever it was, that it would not only show how much my relationship with Him was strengthened, but that it would also give me a way to help other families who are in the process of hosting and adopting.

So, what does walk on water mean? Well, most of us know the story in the Bible of Peter calling out to Jesus one night while the disciples were in their boat. They saw Jesus walking towards them on the water, and thought he was a ghost. Peter asked Jesus to let him come walk on water with him if he was indeed Jesus. So Jesus called Peter out onto the water, and Peter started to walk on water! After a few steps, he got scared, and started to sink, so Jesus pulled him back up and delivered him safely to the boat. After that, all of the disciples who witnessed these events, started worshiping Jesus, and their faith grew stronger. 

The story of Peter walking on water is not just about him defying odds and doing something that is impossible. It is about God using that impossible, uncomfortable, and scary situation to take Peter's faith deeper than it ever would have gone. It is about taking Peter out of his cozy little boat into a situation that he had no choice but to fully trust in the Lord to get him through.

When I think back on my time in Ukraine, I think of this story. My time spent in Ukraine was when I walked on water. The time that my faith grew stronger than it ever has was when I was left all alone, except for my new daughter whom did not speak my language, for three weeks. I was away from my husband, my 4 precious daughters, my family, my friends, my home, my church, my car, my safety, my routine, my control. I was in a foreign country where I couldn't speak the language, or even read their alphabet! I had no one to rely on OTHER than God! And you know what? I would not trade those 3 weeks for anything in this world. And you know why? Because the Lord revealed himself to me in such a deeper, more meaningful,  more powerful, more all encompassing way than I had EVER experienced Him before. 

The song "Oceans" by Hillsong United best describes how I feel about my experience. The refrain says, " Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders. Let me walk upon the water wherever you would call me. Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander, and my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my Savior."

I have come to realize that the adoption of our daughter was about so much more than bringing our daughter home to give her a loving family and a bright future. It was not just about "saving" her from a life of poverty, despair, and hopelessness. It was about saving ME. It was about delivering me from my cozy little life filled with self reliance instead of total reliance on my Savior. It was about showing me the depths of God's love for ME. It was about seeing what a deeper relationship with the creator of the Universe looks like. How blessed I am!!

The Lord has placed such a desire on my heart to help others see His love in new and more meaningful ways. He has also placed a huge burden on my heart to see orphans and families united together forever. I am thankful for an opportunity to combine these 2 passions together! I have started a fund raiser that I hope will be able to benefit many adoptive or host families. 

I am selling these Mudlove bracelets! The center portion is baked clay made by Africans in order to provide their communities with clean drinking water. They feature the phrase Walk on Water so that whomever wears the bracelet will be reminded to step out in faith to whatever it is the Lord is calling you to do. The Lord does not call us all to the same thing. Maybe He is calling you to adoption. Maybe He is calling you to go on a mission trip to a foreign country. Maybe He is calling you to befriend a coworker that is not so easy to like. Who knows?? My challenge to you is to listen and obey! I know personally, that you will NOT regret listening to and answering the Lord's call. You will be more blessed than you could possibly imagine!!

So how does my fundraiser work? Well, Ryan and I paid for the first 50 bracelets in full. We wanted to help other families going through the adoption and hosting process, and thought finding a way to make our money multiply would make more sense than giving a one time donation to a family. Every bracelet that is sold, will go directly to another family. We are hoping to select a new family to give the proceeds to with each new order of 50 bracelets that we order. The bracelets are $10, and cost $2 to ship. We currently have royal blue, pink, turquoise, and brown band colors available. We only have 10 bracelets left of the 50 we got in yesterday!! We will be ordering our next 50 tomorrow!!

If you would like to order a bracelet, or 2, or 10....please email me at wendilynn.farrell@gmail.com. And if you, or someone you know, would like to be considered for our fundraisers, please let me know!!

So what do you think? Are you ready to Walk on Water and help change the life of an orphan in the process? 

Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Colossians 2:7

Fall/Christmas

Wow, it's been a while since I have updated our blog!! So, what have we been up to? Oh, just about EVERYTHING!! Fall-Christmas is my favorite time of year, and I get so excited about all of the fun activities, food, and crafts that come along with this time of year. The girls, Ryan, and I have been staying super busy and having a blast!

Our biggest event over these last few weeks, was packing up and heading to North Carolina for Thanksgiving. Ryan's sister Katie and her family live out there as well as several of Alona's dear friends from Ukraine. We wanted Alona to be reunited with these sweet friends, and thought Thanksgiving would be the perfect time to go! What is typically a 13 hour road trip (not factoring in stops) ended up being a 17 hour road trip (not including stops) for our crew!! Our little ones were huge troopers and did an AMAZING job on the LOOONG drive. We planned in advance, and packed a busy bag for each of them to keep them occupied, along with lots of snacks, and a whole  bag of dum dums to resort to when all other things failed:)

One of the many things in the girls busy bags...pom poms and containers to sort them!

 Road trippin!!

 The girls were slightly excited about getting to stay in a hotel:)

 Precious cargo

Snow through the NC mountains!

We had such a wonderful time being with our friends and family in NC, and it was totally worth the long drive. Getting to witness Alona's sweet reunions with her friends was priceless. When you think about all of these sweet kids, and where they came from, and where they are now...it is truly remarkable. Who would have thought that they would see each other again...much less with new families and in the US!! Truly, miraculous.

Alona and her BFF Liza 

Alona with her dear friends (siblings!) Vitalik and Lera

Cousins!! (We brought the girls, the Williams have the boys:))

Back at home, we have been busy, busy with all the holiday parties and school activities for my Kindergartener and Preschooler. Alona has stayed busy going to the dentist:) Last week-end, we headed to Branson, MO for a week-end getaway. We stayed in a cozy 2 bedroom cabin and treated the girls to a ride on the Polar Express. We got our girls, Alona included, matching Christmas pjs this year, as we do every year. As I was getting the little ones ready in their jammies for the Polar Express, Alona excitedly asked me if she was to put on her Christmas PJ's. I just loved seeing how excited she was about it! All of our girls loved the Polar Express, and Alona said that her favorite part of the trip was seeing Santa:) It has been so neat seeing her reactions to all of our holiday events and traditions. To think that just this time last year, we had no clue that we had another daughter in this world, and that Alona thought she would never have a family, just makes me wanna cry like a baby!! How awesome our God is, that He had such an incredible plan for our family that we could never, ever have imagined. 

Avalea's preschool Thaksgiving Feast

Alona filling and Operation Christmas Child box for an orphan....so sweet!!

Round 2 of getting cavities filled

Aislynn was Pocahontas for Book Character Day at school...and won 3rd place overall in K for her costume!

My Little Pilgrims

Getting ready to see the off Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast!

Avalea with her gingerbread house

The big girls with their dough art creations

Sledding on a very icy week-end!

Pajama Day in prek!

Arabella in her Christmas gear

My little Adalaise posing in her Christmas attire as well:)

Welcome basket at our Branson cabin

Lots of snow in Branson!

Lincoln Logs!!

Farrell girls ready for the Polar Express

Our family all ready for the train ride:)

Santa!!

Candy cane treats for Avalea's prek Christmas party

Avalea's class!

Girls working hard on painting our wrapping paper

Aislynn wearing her Grinch dress at school

Pretty wrapped presents with the girls handiwork:)

Aislynn's class party!!

Sweet keepsakes from Aislynn and Avalea

PJ day in K!

My 3 princesses....life's a ball in the Farrell House!!

One other new and exciting that we are about to embark on, is Alona starting school! We feel incredibly blessed that we are going to be able to ease her into full time school, by starting her out taking 2 classes this coming semester. She is going to audit and ESL and an art/computer class starting in January to hopefully prepare her for full time school starting this fall. We feel that she will benefit greatly from being around kids her own age and that she will flourish in this small school setting. To be honest with you, I am totally not a teacher!! It has been a huge struggle to find the balance of home schooling Alona with giving my 4 little ones the time and energy they need through out the day. We will still home school Alona this coming semester as she audits her 2 classes, but look forward to her being in school next fall. She is nervous about starting school, and understandably so. But she is also excited. We cannot wait to see how she grows through this process. 

As we gear up for Christmas next week, we want to wish each and everyone of you a very Merry Christmas! 

Avalea (4)

Arabella (3)

Aislynn (5)

Adalaise ( 18 months)

Alona (16)

Me and Ryan (the old folks;))

Sweet sisters

Psalm 136:4," Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles. His faithful love endures forever."