We're alive

Sorry for the lack of updates the last couple of days.... we are alive and doing well!!!

Micah is doing awesome and adjusting so much better than we could have anticipated. We were "prepared" for the worst and of course hoping for the best... but I feel the scale has absolutely tipped on the "best" side. :) If anyone is having any trouble adjusting, its Abby... she's not really sure how she feels about him getting all of this attention, but we've been trying our best to balance it and give her lots of the snuggles she needs. Every now and then she'll cop a little attitude with him, but she is a two year old Spencer girl!!!

He's having a hard time adjusting to the time change, which therefore means Jake and I aren't getting much sleep either... kinda feels like there's a new baby in the house... oh wait. :) And he's been a little fussy in the afternoons (which stinks because that's when family has been coming over to visit him), but if anyone is up for a 7am visit, you'll find a very bubbly little boy! lol!

Food has been a bit of a challenge too. When we find something he likes, he can't get enough of it- to the point of over filling up. But its finding something he likes that's the hard part. He's got a LOT of mouth issues (rotten sensitive teeth, chewed up blistery tongue issues, chapped lips, and some seriously funky fish/onion breath that we can't get to go away) but I'm hoping some visits to the pediatrician and dentist will help with all of that.

He's so much more of a baby than I pictured him to be when he came home... he fusses and makes really pitiful frown faces when he needs attention and he really loves to be held (with BOTH arms- he'll put your arms in place if you don't hold him with both, its ADORABLE), to comfort himself he sucks on his tongue making this clicking noise.... and I know that its because he never had a mommy to nurse on or a passy to comfort him and apparently never learned to suck his fingers... so he just sucks his own tongue. It breaks my heart.

Today he had his first ride on the lawn mower with Daddy and LOVED it. He also had his first home haircut- he and Jake both got buzzed. :) He met his cousin Jackson, who much to our surprise was bigger than him (at 20 months younger!) but was a little out of it because he had just gotten up from a nap, but I'm sure it won't be long before they're good buddies.

The girls are still having a hard time adjusting to calling him Micah instead of Pavel. Emily has just resorted to calling him "me and Ashy's brover". But it sounds similar enough to Pasha, I think he's already getting used to Micah. And I think it fits him.

He's such a cutie little boy. I can't believe he's finally home and the journey is over. Tomorrow Jake will start back at work at the church and the real journey will begin. :) Being home with 4 kids between the ages of 2 1/2 and 5. And in 3 1/2 months baby Mabry will be here as well. Its exciting to me. :) I'm honored to be Mommy to each of these incredible kids. And feel like the little boy sleeping around the corner was always mine, but I'm just now getting to take care of him. Please pray for peace, structure and "flow" in our house this week as we all go through a period of adjustment. I'm still prepared for whatever may come, but anticipating an equally "on the best side" coming week.

(PS. I promise to post more pictures soon!!! Stay tuned!!)

They're Home :)

My boys are home safe and sound and all that I can say is that it feels good to be a whole family. :)

After a very joyous airport homecoming, Micah fell asleep in the van on the way home... we brought him in, laid him on the chair and this is where has stayed. :) I suppose he'll have to take a tour of his new home in the morning. This is one pooped out little boy.

But all is well, I hope to post more pictures tomorrow. For now, I'm going to sleep GOOD tonight with my family all under one roof. :)

In one hour

Jake and Micah will be getting on a plane to come HOME. Just had to say that. :)

PRAYER WORKS!!

I am SO EXCITED to announce that Micah had a NEGATIVE tb test and that Jake is holding his visa IN his hands, and that they have a flight out first thing in the morning!!!!!!!!!!

For those who want to help us welcome them home at the airport tomorrow, email me at
spencerchics{at}yahoo{dot}com!

Praise the Lord for the great things He has done!! Thank you to everyone who prayed! (And thanks to my sweet nursing friends who prayed through the night! lol) ;) God is good and He hears the petitions of His children!!!

Now lets pray them home safely!!

PRAYER NEEDED

Ok well thats all the info I'm gonna have for today... its bedtime there so I won't be talking to Jake anymore and won't know anything new until tomorrow morning.

Here is what we all need to be agreeing for in prayer together:

~That the scope goes smoothly and the results are NEGATIVE
(its at 8am their time, midnight here)

~That the negative results come QUICKLY
(supposed to be in by noon there, 3am here)

~That they are able to rush over to the Embassy before it closes to get his Visa
(the embassy closes by 2pm, 5am here)

If everything doesn't happen on time, it will be Tuesday before they get it because Monday is a Ukrainian holiday.

Thank you for standing in the gap with us to bring them home so our family can be whole!

Scratch that

He did NOT have the scope today, its scheduled for first thing in the morning. They heard back from the CDC too late in the day on Wednesday to do it this morning. But once he has the test, they can get the results by noon and the visa by 2pm. Still not sure about flights...

Please pray...

Update

Jake has internet in his apartment now, but its an internet card, so its very slow and he is paying for minutes, so we're only able to briefly talk.

As far as I know, Micah did have the test this morning, and I'm assuming it all went fine because all that Jake said was that they will be getting his visa tomorrow. But not until 2pm their time and the flight that our travel agent had set was going to leave out at 6:30am.

So right now we're waiting to hear from the travel agent on if she can get a later flight out Friday. We were told yesterday that she couldn't even get a flight on Saturday... so right now I'm doing everything I can from here to figure out this flight stuff and GET THEM HOME already.

We'll do whatever it takes and pay whatever it costs to get them home quickly. So ready for this to be over. I'll update again in a little bit when I have more information.

FINALLY

an update. :) You know, sometimes ya just gotta take matters into your own hands.

Jake emailed me early this morning to say that they had STILL not heard anything from the CDC. And our facilitator Yulia was suggesting that I call from here to try to get something moving. Finally, a job! :) I can do that.

So after an hour and half on the phone talking to lots of different people... multiple emails and phone calls back and forth, here's the scoop:

They want him to do one day of testing. Then they can get on a plane Friday (if they can get a flight out). I'm so bummed for Micah that he has to take this test, but at least its only one day and not three. The test requires withdrawing mucus from his lungs via a tube down his nose. NOT a fun thing.

He's clearly not symptomatic and again, we know he was tested before, so there really is no concern that it will be positive. For more info on TB click here. Even if he has latent TB, he is NOT contagious and CAN come home. He'd just be on some antibiotics for about 9 months.

I hope this all makes sense, I'm a little frazzled from my morning. :) THANK YOU to everyone who's been praying for me and for our family. The saying is SO true "Every adoption is a miracle." More news tomorrow after the testing is over. Until then...

No word yet

There is no word yet on rather or not the CDC is going to accept their request to leave. Though it is evening on Monday there... its still morning here in the states so it's likely they haven't even seen the email yet.

PLEASE PRAY that they will accept the testing that was done at the orphanage and let them leave. Jake said our facilitator was a little more optimistic about it today. She also said the testing will NOT be fun for him (painful even?) so we really hope this will not have to happen. I'll update when I hear something.

7 months ago tonight

my husband called me from a youth leaders conference to say that God had confirmed in his heart what He had already spoken in mine.

7 months ago tonight I emailed Andrea from RR to tell her that we absolutely wanted to be "matched" with Pavel and Oleg.

7 months ago tonight a very excited Andrea emailed back extra pictures of my boys and gave me a rundown of the first few steps.

7 months ago tonight their RR profiles changed to say "My forever family found me"

7 months ago tonight I called my mom and most of my friends in tears of joy that we were really going to do this.

7 months ago tonight the life of a little Ukrainian orphan would change forever and he wouldn't even know it.

TONIGHT he's sleeping safely in his Daddy's arms.

God IS good isn't He?

Happy Fathers Day Jake!

My amazing husband is spending his first Father's Day having a SON with just his boy. :) I'm sure its a difficult day and doesn't so much feel like a Fathers Day at all, but we will celebrate with him when gets home as well... our princesses will do their best to make Daddy feel like a king. :)

I talked to him this morning and he said they are doing fine. Just hanging around Kiev! Due to some good hygiene and skin care, Micah's skin is totally clearing up! Praise the Lord. His face is totally clear and the big rough patch on his elbow is 3/4 of the way gone, Jake said. :) Micah loves showers, walking around town and watching Bugs Bunny. :) And he HATES having his teeth brushed... in fact its been unsuccessful at all so far. But Jake figured out he'll let him wipe the front of his teeth when he cleans his face. Jake bought some toys from the huge toy store around the corner and those have been keeping him busy in the apartment. (Jake also said he likes this apartment the best out of any of the ones he's stayed at there.)

It was fun to see my boys today. I missed them yesterday and was sad all day. :( Micah looks so adorable in the little clothes I sent and looks so happy and content. He smiled almost the whole time we talked today and periodically he would stand up in the booth and and let out a very caveman, very contented "UUHHHG!!!" Jake would hold him close and tell him "Shhh" and Micah would just grin at him. I don't even think Jake notices, but its funny to me how many times Jake kisses Micah in the course of one conversation. :) Watching their relationship is just the most precious thing. What an amazing Daddy. What an amazing boy.

Please pray for a good report tomorrow. We're really hoping the CDC accepts this email from the Doctors there and that they'll give them special consideration and let them leave. If not, the testing begins tomorrow. While one more week there isn't the end of the world... our family is SO ready to be together.

A few more days :(

Well, there was a little hang up... well I guess kind of a big hang up...

We found out while we were there for the first trip that Micah's mom was TB positive... Micah is NOT, but to my understanding of the way Ukraine does things, the medical files will say that the child has whatever the mother had (regardless of if they really do or not). So because his file says that he is TB positive, the CDC is not allowing them to come home until he has been tested there. Its basically 3 days of testing. The doctors have written a thorough email to the CDC requesting special permission for him to leave, but everyone is telling Jake that will probably not fly. If it does, they would accept it on Monday and they could fly home then. If not, they'll start the testing and he can come home Thursday.

Either way, it won't be tomorrow for SURE. :( Zack will be coming back because he has to work Monday though.

Oh and after sitting for 3 hours at the medical place, they got back in the car and Micah threw up all over Jake and all over their drivers car. :( He didn't say for sure... but if you've ever ridden around in Kiev... I'm guessing he got carsick.

All in all, Jake sounded in good spirits. At this point it was almost comical to him... so many things have gone wrong on this trip! Thankfully nothing major, but just enough to make this a pretty crazy adventure.

GOTCHA DAY!!

Our sweet boy is free! Forever! Praise be to God!!!

Jake picked him up from the orphanage today and went through all of the "release procedures"... they're all back at the apartment now. We were able to talk on Skype today... what a strange thing to introduce your children to one another through Skype! He was laughing at the laptop and thought it was really fun! I was wondering how the girls would react actually seeing daddy holding this little boy, but they were thrilled and it was wonderful! He and Abby kept blowing kisses at one another! Can I just tell you that I don't think my heart could BE any more full!!!

Jake got to the orphanage at 11:00am, so Micah had one last meal there for lunch. At which point they explained to Jake that he doesn't eat solid foods... which really throws us for a loop! We saw him eat some pretty mushy food while he was there but would never have figured that his group being 3 and 4 year olds would ONLY eat mush (basically).

Once he was back at the apartment, he tried giving him a sippy cup and he didn't know what to do with it (which wasn't much of a surprise). He drank the whole thing once they took the stopper out, but as of our conversation, he couldn't drink it with it in.

He took a nap with Jake just fine. I thought that was so sweet. :) So now they are waiting to get on the overnight train tonight. That ought to be interesting. :) I'm hoping he's able to update me tomorrow once in Kiev, but I'm not sure if they'll have internet or not. I might not hear from them again until Saturday when they are in Germany. Please continue to lift them up!

For those who were thinking about meeting us at the airport Saturday to welcome them home, please email me for details at spencerchics{at}yahoo{dot}com.

TWO DAYS UNTIL MY BOYS ARE HOME!!

In other news....

So long as we can convince our other kids... we've decided to go with Micah. :) (You can read about my inner debate by clicking here. :)) It'll be hard at first I think to get used to calling him that, but ultimately thats what we want to call him. And now is definitely the time if we are going to start calling him something else... so Micah it is. For the girls' sake, we will probably say Pavel Micah to get them used to it. And for him, Jake said he will be calling him Pasha Micah to get HIM used to it. :) And if you see me somewhere and you call him Pavel to me... don't feel bad, I'll be doing it for a little while too! But I do love the name Micah. I will always think of my verse (Micah 4:9). And I think Micah and Mabry sound so stinkin' cute together!!!

Good news/ bad news

First the bad. Jake got REALLY sick. :( He was throwing up all night last night and couldn't keep anything down. He said he's got body aches and stuff too so I'm still not sure if its something he ate or a bug. After a long night of throwing up and no sleep, the driver had to pick him up at 7:30am to run around doing more paperwork... for 4 hours. :( Bless his heart I feel so bad for him. But as of this evening he was keeping down Sprite and was gonna try some toast or a banana. Please pray that it was just something he ate and that no one around him (mostly Zack and Pavel!) don't get sick.

The good news is that they got their bags! Yay! Finally! I'm sure its got to feel so good to have their own stuff again. :)

The plan is still for them to get our boy on Thursday (Gotcha day!!) and head to Kiev for some appointments there and come home Saturday. I'm counting down the days.....

Update on Jake

Just talked with Jake again. He said they are doing well... but they still don't have their luggage and won't now until Tuesday. So they had to go buy some clothes and a few more toiletries.

They had a good visit with Pavel Micah today. Here are some pics and a video. Oh how I miss my boy!!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Going Public

Now that our little boy is officially a Spencer and safe in his daddy's arms, there are a few thing that we can now share on this blog that we were previously keeping under wraps for the "safety" of our adoption, so to speak.

One- our little boy is in Ukraine! A lot of you probably already knew that, but it wasn't something we could make public knowledge... we opted to share his name and picture instead of his country.

Two- I hope you're sitting down... Pavel is going to be a big brother! I am 22 weeks pregnant with our fourth, yes FOURTH, little girl. :) So for those who have been following our journey for a while, you'll remember that we first commited to adopting two little boys... Pavel and a sweet little guy named Oleg. And when Oleg was transfered to live with a Ukrainian priest, we were completely heartbroken. And a little confused because we really felt that God had spoken to us that He was bringing two children into our family. But just a couple short weeks later I started feeling VERY sick and thats when we found out that we were adding two children after all, but one was coming from my belly. :) Completely a surprise!! That's also why we "dropped" the subject of adopting a second child in Oleg's place. We knew at that point that it would simply be too much for us at this time. But Spencer baby #5 is doing well and is very healthy. :) We've decided to name her Mabry Ruth (Mabry is my grandmother's maiden name, and Ruth goes back 3 or 4 generations on Jake's side of the family).

Three- we were updating my private blog a little just while we were gone on our first trip. But now that everything is done, I'm going to copy and "postdate" those posts to this blog. Though we couldn't let the whole world know the details at the time, I feel its only right that all of our journey updates be in one place now. So feel free to go back and look over previous (but new) posts about our first trip to Ukraine!

Their first full day

I just talked with Jake (what in the world did we do before Skype!?) and all is well. He and Zack made it down to their region- he saw Pavel all day today. :) They ran around doing some paperwork for his passport and stuff. Jake said he loved the car ride. :) When they first got him from the orphanage it was the middle of his naptime, so they had to wake him up and bring him down to Jake... he said he smiled so big to see him but that he was really out of it. That his eyes were kinda half mass but he would look over at Jake and be so happy. At one point in the car, he started to fall asleep again so he climbed up in Jakes lap (remember, no car seats there... I think that would have been really hard for me to deal with!!) and laid his head on Jake's shoulder and closed his eyes. I'm so glad they have each other again!!!

Their luggage should be on its way soon. It was apparently never really lost, but just didn't make the connecting flight that Jake and Zack made it to, so it came on a later flight that arrived after their train had left. But through many phone calls between facilitators and interpreters, somehow their address was given and it should arrive at their apartment as soon as today or tomorrow. Please keep praying it arrives quickly!

They all decided that because of the running around that needs to be done, that it would be best for Pavel to stay at the orphanage on his normal routine until Thursday. (And of course he'll be visiting him as much as he can until then.) Then Thursday night they'll head back to the capital for all the stuff that needs to be done before they get on the plane Saturday... to come home!!

I'm missing my little boy SO much. Way more than I anticipated actually. But knowing he's with his daddy now helps a lot. And I'm missing my hubby too. :) Its weird that all the girls in our family are on one continent and the boys are on another. Please keep lifting us up to the One who's watching ALL of us until we are all together again.

They made it!

Well, praise the Lord, Jake and Zack made it to their destination! The connecting flight ended up being slightly delayed so they were able to rush from one flight to the next! He just emailed me from the train station to say that they made it safely and are getting on the train in a couple hours. :)

But more prayers are still needed- their luggage wasn't as lucky as they were. :( All he said was that its being shipped to them in the next couple of days. And I don't know about Zack, but I know Jake didn't pack any extra clothes in his backpack. So now they need prayers that their bags arrive quickly!!!

God is so good and I love that he answers even the smallest of prayers. They would have been fine even if they didn't make it on time and had to wait another day to go to the region, but we prayed... and He honored it. Thanks to everyone who lifted them up! And thank you Lord for answering!

Please pray

***Update- The website says their flight landed almost an hour ago. Which means they most likely missed the connecting flight. There was only one other flight I saw listed last night that would get them there in time for the train. And I still haven't heard from them. Will let you know what happens. Thanks for the prayers!!!***

Jake's flight from the US was delayed significantly tonight. He and Zack sat ON the plane for 5 1/2 hours waiting to leave for Europe but were grounded due to bad weather. And here's the catch- their first layover in Europe was 5 hours, so as it stands right now, their plane lands the same time their next flight is scheduled to leave. So IF they can make up some time in the air (and thats what we need to be praying for), then they can catch the next flight, make it to Pavel's country, and get on the overnight train to the region by the next morning as planned. If they don't make the next flight, they won't make the train and will have to take the one the following night and won't get to the region until Saturday morning. :( And every day matters so that they can do what needs to be done and get home when they planned to.

So please pray if you are reading this in the next 8 hours. :) I will update in the morning when I hear from Jake if they made it or not. And if I don't hear anything... we'll just keep praying anyway!

One of my favorite pics

I just had to share this. Of the 4 bzillion pictures of have of Jake and Pavel together, this has got to be one of my favorites. I hate that you can't see Jake's face but the look on Pavel's says it all. :) One of those "you feel SO good" hugs. And he would hold Jake like this for like 5 minutes!

This is what tells me that these two are going to JUST fine together next week. :) Don't forget to pray for Jake and Zack in the morning. They fly out at 8:30am. Thank you!!

Going back...

Jake leaves Wednesday to head back to eastern Europe. Our good friend/previous youth kid :) Zack Boone is going with him. They will leave out early Wednesday morning, arrive Thursday and take a train down to Pavel's region overnight and get there Friday. Please pray for all of their travels: that they arrive safely, that their baggage arrives in the same place and that the jetlag going back isn't too bad. Our 10 days of appeals is up on Thursday so come this Friday... he's OURS!! For those who don't know, the day that adopted kids come out of the orphanage is dubbed "Gotcha Day". I'm not sure exactly if Friday will be "Gotcha Day" or not, but just the fact that its THIS close kind of makes me lose my breath!

I'm SO ready for our little boy to be home! If all goes well and as planned, they should get back to Nashville on Saturday the 20th... the day before Fathers Day! Wouldn't that be cool? :) I've been finishing up his room today and we decided a while back that he and Abby would definitely share. So she's actually moving in to her new room tonight even though her new roommate isn't there yet. :) I need to take pictures and post some... the room is looking so sweet. The room is painted yellow- Pavel Micah's bedding is blue with elephants and Abby's is pink with birds. If you browse the baby aisles at Target much, you'll see it there. :)

I've washed all of his laundry and I'm picking which clothes to send with Jake. I still can't decide if he's a 2T or 3T so I'm sending both. (I know you guys think I'm hilarious, but these things matter!!) He LOVES hats, so I need to make a trip to Old Navy tomorrow to see if they have any... I only found 1 in his size at Target. He was also pretty obsessed with Jake's backpack, so I bought him the cutest little backpack to carry around his stuff that's blue with green trim and has a little airplane on the front! Its adorable!! I am absolutely in heaven buying all this boy stuff. Little boy Elmo underwear just have to be the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life!

I'm not sure how much time Jake will have to post... actually, he probably won't at all. :) But I'll post every time I hear from him. Two weeks from today our family will be TOGETHER!!! Aaahh!!

Happy Birthday!!!

(Four months old)

(Almost four years old)

Today, our sweet boy is turning 4 years old! Oh how I wish I could be there today to hug him, hold him, and sing happy birthday to my son. And I can see his little face looking up at me, squinting a little smile, and saying "Ugg" as only he can do. :)

I also have an announcement to make. I think it is no small coincidence but rather a gift from the Lord... as of last night, our goal of $24,000 for this adoption was reached!!!! What an incredible birthday gift that each and every person who contributed gave to our little boy. I am completely overwhelmed!

He is four years old today. On the day he was born, he was Borisov Pavel Viacheslovovich. Today he is Pavel Micah Spencer. On the day he was born, he was unwanted. Today he has a family who loves him deeply. His birth father was ashamed. His adoptive father couldn't be more proud. His birth mother left him at the hospital. His adoptive mother is yearning to bring him home. His birth parents told his extended family that he died. His new extended family pulled together to raise TWENTY FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS so that he could live.

Happy birthday buddy. You are loved more than you will ever know.

Abundance

Jake and I were talking about it and have decided to set up an account for Pavel Micah and anything above and beyond that is donated, we will set aside for him. Be it for additional therapy, classes, medical expences, or even just to save for adulthood. But we felt we should let you all know that this is what we've decided to do with it.

I know I've said it before, but my gratefulness is beyond words. I am truly humbled. The overwhelming support fincancially and prayerfully literally brought us to where we are today. I knew at the beginning of this that God would provide but what a lesson I've learned in what that REALLY means. There really are no words... But we can only pray that God will bless each and every one of you back ten fold. Thank you for being His hands.