Hello All!
Just a quick post today to give an update on our adoption journey. Our dossier is done (Yay!) and ready to be sent to Bella's country. Once it arrives there, our facilitator will translate it into Russian. After that, it will be ready to be submitted to the department of adoption after which we will be invited over to Bella's country to hopefully receive her referral.
So, in summary, the next step big step the submission of our dossier. The question is when this will actually take place? Bella's country only accepts submissions for younger children on Mondays. And, because last Monday and the next are holidays there, the earliest date for our submission is May 18th. However, there are several families "in line" before us--so, it could be May 25th or even June 1st. Either way, we trust God for his timing in it all!
Bottom line, Bella will be home this summer, Lord willing!
Also, we were so blessed this weekend to receive a generous donation from a family at our church. We were left speechless--which is a rare thing for the Burckhards! It is very humbling and so very hard to be gracious accepting such a gift. Then, yesterday a sweet cousin of mine called and also wanted to make a love gift to our adoption fund. We were overwhelmed once again! What words can we say to let you know how much this means to us! Thank you to all who are partnering with us to save this little girl and give her a "forever family".
Love, Paula & family
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Adoption Update
Hello All!
Just a quick post today to give an update on our adoption journey. Our dossier is done (Yay!) and ready to be sent to Bella's country. Once it arrives there, our facilitator will translate it into Russian. After that, it will be ready to be submitted to the department of adoption after which we will be invited over to Bella's country to hopefully receive her referral.
So, in summary, the next step big step the submission of our dossier. The question is when this will actually take place? Bella's country only accepts submissions for younger children on Mondays. And, because last Monday and the next are holidays there, the earliest date for our submission is May 18th. However, there are several families "in line" before us--so, it could be May 25th or even June 1st. Either way, we trust God for his timing in it all!
Bottom line, Bella will be home this summer, Lord willing!
Also, we were so blessed this weekend to receive a generous donation from a family at our church. We were left speechless--which is a rare thing for the Burckhards! It is very humbling and so very hard to be gracious accepting such a gift. Then, yesterday a sweet cousin of mine called and also wanted to make a love gift to our adoption fund. We were overwhelmed once again! What words can we say to let you know how much this means to us! Thank you to all who are partnering with us to save this little girl and give her a "forever family".
Love, Paula & family
Just a quick post today to give an update on our adoption journey. Our dossier is done (Yay!) and ready to be sent to Bella's country. Once it arrives there, our facilitator will translate it into Russian. After that, it will be ready to be submitted to the department of adoption after which we will be invited over to Bella's country to hopefully receive her referral.
So, in summary, the next step big step the submission of our dossier. The question is when this will actually take place? Bella's country only accepts submissions for younger children on Mondays. And, because last Monday and the next are holidays there, the earliest date for our submission is May 18th. However, there are several families "in line" before us--so, it could be May 25th or even June 1st. Either way, we trust God for his timing in it all!
Bottom line, Bella will be home this summer, Lord willing!
Also, we were so blessed this weekend to receive a generous donation from a family at our church. We were left speechless--which is a rare thing for the Burckhards! It is very humbling and so very hard to be gracious accepting such a gift. Then, yesterday a sweet cousin of mine called and also wanted to make a love gift to our adoption fund. We were overwhelmed once again! What words can we say to let you know how much this means to us! Thank you to all who are partnering with us to save this little girl and give her a "forever family".
Love, Paula & family
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Our Busy Saturday....
Our Saturday started early with Elizabeth competing at the State Music Competition. She played 'Nocturne' by Bassi and got a "star" THE HIGHEST score possible. We are so proud of her! 
Then, we wented to an assisted living center where Grace performed at her spring Dance Recital. She did great!
(This picture was from a different time.) Later on, I was invited to be the guest speaker at a Mother/Daughter Dinner at Bethel Free Lutheran. The dinner and cake was so yummy! I shared about our journey from Grace to Bella and our road to adoption. It was so fun to have my mom, Elizabeth, and Grace there with me. What fun!
While the girls were at the Mother/Daughter Dinner, the boys went to Planet Pizza to play games and such. Here's what Sam thought about his outing...
So all in all, a very busy, yet very fun day! Looking foward to a day of "rest" tomorrow.
Then, we wented to an assisted living center where Grace performed at her spring Dance Recital. She did great!
(This picture was from a different time.) Later on, I was invited to be the guest speaker at a Mother/Daughter Dinner at Bethel Free Lutheran. The dinner and cake was so yummy! I shared about our journey from Grace to Bella and our road to adoption. It was so fun to have my mom, Elizabeth, and Grace there with me. What fun! While the girls were at the Mother/Daughter Dinner, the boys went to Planet Pizza to play games and such. Here's what Sam thought about his outing...
So all in all, a very busy, yet very fun day! Looking foward to a day of "rest" tomorrow.
Our Busy Saturday....
Our Saturday started early with Elizabeth competing at the State Music Competition. She played 'Nocturne' by Bassi and got a "star" THE HIGHEST score possible. We are so proud of her!
Then, we wented to an assisted living center where Grace performed at her spring Dance Recital. She did great!
(This picture was from a different time.) Later on, I was invited to be the guest speaker at a Mother/Daughter Dinner at Bethel Free Lutheran. The dinner and cake was so yummy! I shared about our journey from Grace to Bella and our road to adoption. It was so fun to have my mom, Elizabeth, and Grace there with me. What fun!
While the girls were at the Mother/Daughter Dinner, the boys went to Planet Pizza to play games and such. Here's what Sam thought about his outing...
So all in all, a very busy, yet very fun day! Looking foward to a day of "rest" tomorrow.
Then, we wented to an assisted living center where Grace performed at her spring Dance Recital. She did great!
(This picture was from a different time.) Later on, I was invited to be the guest speaker at a Mother/Daughter Dinner at Bethel Free Lutheran. The dinner and cake was so yummy! I shared about our journey from Grace to Bella and our road to adoption. It was so fun to have my mom, Elizabeth, and Grace there with me. What fun! While the girls were at the Mother/Daughter Dinner, the boys went to Planet Pizza to play games and such. Here's what Sam thought about his outing...
So all in all, a very busy, yet very fun day! Looking foward to a day of "rest" tomorrow.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Pantry Challege Check-In
Hi All! I started my self-imposed "Pantry Challenge" last Friday. My plan is to go until next Friday,May 8th. You know what I have learned more than anything? I have not been a good steward of what God has given us--I have been frittering money away. This has become obvious to me when I am aware of how many times I would have usually bought unnecessary items over the last week. This challenge causes me to pause and say "Do I really want to spend $$$ on this or put it in our adoption fund?"
So far, I have saved over $200 in one week! An example--Instead of ordering pizza for Grace's birthday, we used pizza rolls that had been in the freezer (savings $30). I've made a menu from the items that are in my freezer and pantry, and truthfully, will be able to extend my challenge further than next Friday.
Another example, is that I ran out of my salon shampoo. Typically, I would have just gone out and bought another $20 bottle without thinking twice. But, instead, I found some unused shampoo, and although not "salon" quality, my hair is doing just fine!
So, in summary, I have been able to save a little here and there! But the harsh reality is--we spend money without thinking and sometimes in a frivolous manner.
This little experiment, besides helping us save money for the adoption, drives home the fact that we are just stewards of "our" money. AND, our family hasn't been doing a very good job of it as of late. So, this challenge is helping reinforce what we "knew", but were not putting into practice--That it's all God's money, and we are just stewards of it!
Let's see how we do in the upcoming week! Humbly, Paula
So far, I have saved over $200 in one week! An example--Instead of ordering pizza for Grace's birthday, we used pizza rolls that had been in the freezer (savings $30). I've made a menu from the items that are in my freezer and pantry, and truthfully, will be able to extend my challenge further than next Friday.
Another example, is that I ran out of my salon shampoo. Typically, I would have just gone out and bought another $20 bottle without thinking twice. But, instead, I found some unused shampoo, and although not "salon" quality, my hair is doing just fine!
So, in summary, I have been able to save a little here and there! But the harsh reality is--we spend money without thinking and sometimes in a frivolous manner.
This little experiment, besides helping us save money for the adoption, drives home the fact that we are just stewards of "our" money. AND, our family hasn't been doing a very good job of it as of late. So, this challenge is helping reinforce what we "knew", but were not putting into practice--That it's all God's money, and we are just stewards of it!
Let's see how we do in the upcoming week! Humbly, Paula
Pantry Challege Check-In
Hi All! I started my self-imposed "Pantry Challenge" last Friday. My plan is to go until next Friday,May 8th. You know what I have learned more than anything? I have not been a good steward of what God has given us--I have been frittering money away. This has become obvious to me when I am aware of how many times I would have usually bought unnecessary items over the last week. This challenge causes me to pause and say "Do I really want to spend $$$ on this or put it in our adoption fund?"
So far, I have saved over $200 in one week! An example--Instead of ordering pizza for Grace's birthday, we used pizza rolls that had been in the freezer (savings $30). I've made a menu from the items that are in my freezer and pantry, and truthfully, will be able to extend my challenge further than next Friday.
Another example, is that I ran out of my salon shampoo. Typically, I would have just gone out and bought another $20 bottle without thinking twice. But, instead, I found some unused shampoo, and although not "salon" quality, my hair is doing just fine!
So, in summary, I have been able to save a little here and there! But the harsh reality is--we spend money without thinking and sometimes in a frivolous manner.
This little experiment, besides helping us save money for the adoption, drives home the fact that we are just stewards of "our" money. AND, our family hasn't been doing a very good job of it as of late. So, this challenge is helping reinforce what we "knew", but were not putting into practice--That it's all God's money, and we are just stewards of it!
Let's see how we do in the upcoming week! Humbly, Paula
So far, I have saved over $200 in one week! An example--Instead of ordering pizza for Grace's birthday, we used pizza rolls that had been in the freezer (savings $30). I've made a menu from the items that are in my freezer and pantry, and truthfully, will be able to extend my challenge further than next Friday.
Another example, is that I ran out of my salon shampoo. Typically, I would have just gone out and bought another $20 bottle without thinking twice. But, instead, I found some unused shampoo, and although not "salon" quality, my hair is doing just fine!
So, in summary, I have been able to save a little here and there! But the harsh reality is--we spend money without thinking and sometimes in a frivolous manner.
This little experiment, besides helping us save money for the adoption, drives home the fact that we are just stewards of "our" money. AND, our family hasn't been doing a very good job of it as of late. So, this challenge is helping reinforce what we "knew", but were not putting into practice--That it's all God's money, and we are just stewards of it!
Let's see how we do in the upcoming week! Humbly, Paula
Thursday, April 30, 2009
"Thank You" Post
Whew! What a wild couple of weeks we've had! Finally, the dossier is at About A Child and almost ready to be shipped to Bella's country! Next week is a holiday week in her country, so most likely nothing will happen with our dossier until the following week.
In the meantime, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude to:
Our Family & Friends......for your support and prayers
Our Church......Trinity Evangelical Free Church and our small group for keeping us in their prayers
Those who've generously given to our adoption fund: Stephanie, Michelle & Clint, Ron, Bonnie, Cathy, Lucille, Jen, Lila
About A Child....Amanda (& Victoria) are beyond wonderful, helpful, & patient with my endless emails and questions!
Reece's Rainbow....Andrea & Meredith who demonstrate God's love by sacrificially helping families bring their adopted child(ren) home
The wonderful people on Reece's Rainbow Yahoo groups...for encouragement, support and many laughs (espcially during our Yuku chats)
Catholic Charities of ND....Lisa for expertly & efficiently writing our Home Study
Our wonderful notary.....Jean Ternes
Kevin's Assistant....Shannon for copying, faxing, and preparing FedEx envelopes for me
ND Secretary of State....Char who was so helpful in reviewing our notaries and getting our documents apostilled
Our St. Paul Field Office & Senator Conrad's Office....for expediting our adoption approval
Our Loving Father....who has called us to this adoption and will see us through to the end!
We couldn't have made it this far without the wonderful people God has used throughout this process. We have seen His hand in many miraculous ways and has often used you, His People, to accomplish His purposes.
So, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts....The Burckhards
In the meantime, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude to:
Our Family & Friends......for your support and prayers
Our Church......Trinity Evangelical Free Church and our small group for keeping us in their prayers
Those who've generously given to our adoption fund: Stephanie, Michelle & Clint, Ron, Bonnie, Cathy, Lucille, Jen, Lila
About A Child....Amanda (& Victoria) are beyond wonderful, helpful, & patient with my endless emails and questions!
Reece's Rainbow....Andrea & Meredith who demonstrate God's love by sacrificially helping families bring their adopted child(ren) home
The wonderful people on Reece's Rainbow Yahoo groups...for encouragement, support and many laughs (espcially during our Yuku chats)
Catholic Charities of ND....Lisa for expertly & efficiently writing our Home Study
Our wonderful notary.....Jean Ternes
Kevin's Assistant....Shannon for copying, faxing, and preparing FedEx envelopes for me
ND Secretary of State....Char who was so helpful in reviewing our notaries and getting our documents apostilled
Our St. Paul Field Office & Senator Conrad's Office....for expediting our adoption approval
Our Loving Father....who has called us to this adoption and will see us through to the end!
We couldn't have made it this far without the wonderful people God has used throughout this process. We have seen His hand in many miraculous ways and has often used you, His People, to accomplish His purposes.
So, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts....The Burckhards
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