The Greatest Truth...Our Son

It's the day we had been waiting for...November 9th.  You might be wondering what's so special about November 9th.  That's the day we got the call.  You know, "the call".  The one where your adoption agency says they have a child for you.  That was our November 9th.  We got the call saying that there's a little boy named Maxim in Russia who is ready to be adopted.

It's been a crazy couple of weeks to say the least.  We've been talking with our agency every day, applying for visas, planning our trip, getting our paperwork in order and generally freaking out.  I haven't slept much since that day and I think I'm pretty incoherent most days but I'm more than excited and so is Lenski.  In fact he was so overwhelmed that he had to sit down and put his head between his legs because he was going to either pass out or throw up.  Luckily neither of those happened.

So it's official...we're getting a boy!  His name is Maxim and we plan to keep it that way.  We will be giving him the middle name Veritas which is Latin for Truth.  When you put that together with his first name which means The Greatest you have one powerful reminder of God's love.  Maxim Veritas Llorens...The Greatest Truth.

Please continue to pray for us as we frantically try to get everything in order.  We are still far away from our financial goals so please be praying that God will provide what we need.  Please pray for Maxim as he does not know us yet and this will be a huge trauma in his life to leave what he knows to move to Michigan.  It won't be for another 6 months or so but it still needs covered in prayer.  Please be praying for us as it will be heart breaking to meet him and then leave him.  Please pray that we can get our paperwork together quickly.  And last...please pray for safety when we travel there and back.

Thank you for following our journey!  It's not over yet!  So stay tuned for more exciting news!

Your Christmas Shopping Can Help Bring Our Baby Home

Christmas is a huge retail holiday and I often get frustrated with that.  I'm always looking for ways to make gifts more local, handmade, service oriented or charity oriented.  But not everyone looks at it the same way I do and I understand.  I don't expect anyone to do that.  But what if I told you that your normal Christmas shopping could be charity oriented without changing the actual gifts?  Would that surprise you?  Well, it's true.  Here are some ways you can support our adoption while buying your regular gifts:

1. Shop through our Amazon link.  It's very simple.  Just click on the Amazon link on the right side of the page.  Once you get to Amazon just do your regular shopping.  There's no sign ups or codes to enter.  By clicking through OUR link we automatically get credit for anything you might buy.
2. Buy some coffee through our link.  If you have a coffee drinker in your family or even someone who appreciates gourmet fair trade coffee then this is the site for you.  Just click on our link on the right side of this page.
3. Buy one of our bracelets at Tree Huggers.  This is a great little store where you will find tons of eco-friendly gift ideas and you can add one of our bracelets to your order to support us.  
4. Buy a t-shirt from The Mitten State through our link.  People often buy clothes for people for Christmas so why not make it local and support our adoption in the process.  They have great apparel and the company is right in Comstock Park.  
5. Buy one of our t-shirts!  Ok, so this one may not be at the top of everyone's list but I hated to leave the list at 4 instead of 5.  Plus we still have some L and XL shirts left to sell as well as one M.  So you can feel free to buy one of those directly from us if you'd like.  

So there you have it.  It's simple and supportive and we appreciate you even thinking about it.