INTRODUCING OUR DAUGHTER!!! Faith Olha Nuckolls

We can finally announce that we have a new daughter! Faith Olha Nuckolls will join our family in Texas late May.

We went to DAP at the end of April. The next day we received our referral and headed to the small village where she lives in an orphanage for children from ages 3-9.

It was very cold and there was a lot of snow everywhere. The road on the way to the orphanage hadn't even been cleared, only packed down by vehicles driving over it.

Once we arrived we were led to a room with a long table and a small couch. We sat on the couch and waited, very nervously. When they brought Olha in, she looked so scared and shy. The assistant director, Olga, encouraged her to go to us. She really wanted to play with Hudson. She grabbed his hand and said, "my hand is big and his hand is small." She immediately loved Hudson.











To break the ice, I pulled out the iPad and opened an app that has vivid pictures of animals that can be scrolled through. Olha had a blast looking at the pictures and identifying them for us and the nannies.

The orphanage doctor was there with her medical files and explained her conditions. She had surgery last summer for her heart and is doing much better since the surgery. Before she had a hard time breathing and now she can run around and play much more without getting winded.

After the meeting we were taken to the playroom for our first playtime visit. Our facilitator stayed in the playroom with us the first few days and translated. She was very excited to have visitors and the individual attention was very much overstimulating for her. By the end of the visit, all of us were exhausted.

Making a bracelet

Running with windmills

With each visit she became more calm. For some of the late afternoon visits, she seemed exhausted and so we shortened them so she could rest more. We felt like she may be feeling the need to preform for us; maybe even to help us want to adopt her. There is even a possibility she was being told to be a good girl or we might not want her.

I also noticed that she became very nervous when we were around other kids in her groupa and really did not want us to talk to the other children. When we arrived and she was outside with her groupa, we would take her to another play area so that she could relax.

Finally in Daddy's arms

Making funny faces

We were able to visit with the children a bit though and several children did ask if I was their mama. One little girl who was Roma wanted me to pick her up like I did with Olha. She was so sweet and I was broken hearted that she waited in an orphanage, quite possibly since birth, passed over because of her ethnicity. We would love to see her hosted in the US by a Texas family.

Our court date was delayed because someone was on vacation and we waited for almost a month. Court finally did come. We brought Hudson with us with a bag of cookies. I kept his mouth full the entire time and he loved the SDA official and her necklace.

The judge asked a lot of tough questions and vetted us well to satisfy his concerns. There were two jurors who were totally straight faced. I was pretty nervous. He had a lot of concerns like her age being below the age of five and that locals want to adopt young children. Jon responded that is why we are adopting a sick child. We knew, as it had just been read into the record, that she had been abandoned as a baby and was passed over all these years by local families wishing to adopt. The judge asked Jon many questions about our families finances and our family's opinions about our adopting.

One of the questions he had, was why I had chosen to adopt a child with her specific illness. I explained that we had learned of sick children who were not wanted and who waited in orphanages for families for many years, sometimes never adopted because of their special need. I explained that my heart was broken for these children and I wanted to bring one into our family where we could get her medical attention, love her and help her reach her full potential. He was not satisfied and asked again but why this specific need. So, I explained that we live near Texas Children's Hospital which has one of the top pediatric hospitals in the world. We also have excellent insurance to help pay for her care. Again he was not satisfied. I was confused.
I finally just said it is something that cannot be full explained. I believe it is a supernatural desire, placed in my heart by God. It is an unexplainable desire, to want to turn your life upside down to adopt a sick child. I love her so much already, before I even met her. I want give her the world, for her to have every opportunity to be healthy and happy.

He was either satisfied, or tired of asking.

We then went to the foyer to wait as they deliberated, and the SDA official smiled and winked to reassure me. I was pretty nervous. They were very serious as they should be. This is a huge decision for Olha, and they do not know us as our friends and neighbors do.

We were called back in and the judge read the ruling to make us Olha's parents. We were so happy and we all had a big group photo.

Then we gave the SDA official and the prosecutor a ride home on the way to the orphanage. Olha was outside playing with her groupa when we pulled up. She ran up to us and hugged us and our facilitator explained to her that we were legally her parents now and we had to go away but would come back soon to get her. She was very happy. It was all I could do not to burst into happy tears. Olha asked for a new pair of shoes, sunglasses, and a purse. I cannot wait to go shopping for her Gotcha day outfit. I just love that she loves all things girly!

We gave her the photobook that had pictures of our family and the house and parks nearby. We also pasted the photo we had snapped of our family including her in the front. The nanny sent her inside to put it away so it wouldn't get harmed outside after we said goodbye. She hugged and kissed us, and Hudson.

Our facilitator drove like a mad-man to the airport hotel, and we flew out early the next morning.

I have so so much more to share, but will have to in more posts later. We will leave on May 12th to go back to Kiev to begin the "paper chase" so we can legally bring Olha home. Gotcha day may be soon after the 12th which has surprised me. I will try to post more on the second trip.

Thank you to everyone involved in helping us bring Olha home. We don't even know who everyone is. We decided not to pull our FSP stats to keep it anonymous. We know that there are many many of you and likely people we have never met before. I received many emails from people who have never met us or Olha, but who love Olha so much!

Many people have said how lucky Olha is. I think we are the lucky ones. We are so blessed to call her daughter. I am so sad for her first four years, but I have seen how much of a blessing she has been to her nannies while she was in the orphanage. I wish things could have been different for her, but I know that God's plan is perfect and He knew and had been working out His plan for us to make the journey to meet her.

My prayer now is for all the other orphans. So many children wait, so many with special needs. My prayer is that God will use our story to stir more hearts and those hearts will respond in obedience to the call. Domestic, international, typical, special needs, adoption, prayer support, financial support, the calling is different for many people and may not make sense to the one called or their family or friends, but it is your calling. Go!

Humbled by Extraordinary Kindness

This evening Michele and I received an extraordinary unexpected gift from a brother and sister in The Lord. It's not the size of the gift which makes it extraordinary, though it was one of the largest gifts we have ever received. It's not the type of gift that makes it extraordinary, though it couldn't be more useful. It's not even the givers of the gift that make it extraordinary, though these could not be more loving wonderful people. It is the hearts which gave the gift which make this gift one of the most extraordinary gifts we have received. So extraordinary was this gift that it led us to tears, resulted in spontaneous prayer throughout dinner, and has left us speechless and in awe of God's glory.
The hearts which gave this gift did so out of worshipful obedience to the call of the Lord on their lives. The hearts which gave this gift did it in such way that they were giving out of their poverty and not wealth. The hearts that gave this extraordinary gift have taught us about the unsurpassing value of suffering for the sake of Christ knowing that our true inheritance awaits us in heaven. These are the hearts of Jesus because they give without expectation of any blessing from anyone other than Christ and for the purpose of directing their family and our family to faith in our great God and Savior.
Tonight we have been taught that prayer above all other things is valuable in times of need. We have been taught that assurance of the call of God on our lives is the only assurance we need to face anything in this life. And we have been taught that generosity to the point of suffering is more desirable than riches and wealth. Our prayer is that we will never be the same. By His grace and for His glory.

Lots of news!

First, we have a travel date!

We will be leaving on March 23rd with two layovers in Boston and Germany.  We will arive on the 24th, and our referral appointment is on the Monday the 25th.  We hope to meet Gianna (and possibly a sister) on the 27th. I will try to provide updates. Obviously, I am a bad blogger...

Second, a final fundraiser!

Angi Walker teaches a yoga class on Sunday nights called Charitable Flow. You can find her class on facebook here: www.facebook.com/AngisSundayDonationYoga

They choose a different charity every month.  They have supported the Garth House, Mickey Mehaffy Children's Advocacy Center, the Humane Society, Child Protective Services providing Christmas to a family, Sweetpups, and now for this month (the month of March) they are supporting Reece's Rainbow and specifically, our family!  In April, they are helping a family with a special needs child who requires heart surgery.  If you enjoy yoga, please consider joining Angi and her friends at Charitable Flow. 

The first class was last Sunday and they raised $106. The extra dollar is from a 4 year old girl. Oh my stars, what a sweet girl! I wonder if she knows that Gianna is her same age?

The foundational quote for this class is "We may not all be able to do great things; but we can all do small things with great love" - Mother Teresa

Angi hopes that with word of mouth, their class will become known to others with needs and that they will contact the Charitable Flow class.  I am so impressed with Angi and her class, what a giving and loving group of people they are!! :) 

Please also see Angi's personal website: www.thezengym.org
And the studio website: www.suntreeyoga.com

Third, we have changed our fundraising goal:

If you notice our thermometer at the side of the page (not visible by mobile device), we have lowered our goal to $30k.  Gertie, as you know, has been adopted domestically.  She was in a city very close to Gianna's city and even though they were in different regions (making it much more expensive), adopting both girls was more realistic for us.  It would have been like going from Houston to Lake Charles.  Well maybe a little further, but you get the basic idea.

We are not prepared to adopt two children from seperate regions who aren't so close together, this was a very unusual situation.  We are going to ask at our referral appointment if there are any children recently available, but there may not be.  If not then we will only adopt Gianna. 

We are pretty much burnt out on fundraising and we are SO GRATEFUL for all our friends who have donated and supported us.  What we do not raise, we will borrow through an adoption organization who aid families like ours having a heart for the orphans.

Grace and Peace :)

Homestudy update

It is 6am and I'm on my way to Austin. My mom is driving and Hudson is zonked our in his car seat (the reason for leaving so early)

I am going to get the update for our homestudy apostilled. I will then immediately fedex it to a sweet family in Utah who have agreed to hand carry it to the embassy in Gianna's country.

Some friends have asked what's next since we lost Gertie to domestic adoption and how could this affect out fundraising needs?

Gertie was in a different region than Gianna which would have significantly increased our costs. If there is a child available in Gianna's orphanage who we are approved to adopt, going through the process with that child will be significantly less expensive.

This brings me to why we are updating our homestudy. Gianna's country prefers the special needs we are approved for to be specifically listed on our homestudy. We had not discussed many with our social worker because we thought we were going to be adopting Gertie with Gianna. So we have a small update in hand. I am taking it to Austin because its delayed arrival is causing a slight delay in the process.

What happens now? The Utah family will hand carry our papers to the embassy where they will be translated. (It's only one page so hopefully this will be quick). Once they are translated they will be submitted to Gianna's government. Shortly after submittal someone will check on Gianna. (We only know about Gertie because another family happened to be at her orphanage and their facilitator inquired). Then any files for children (whose special needs we are approved for) who are available in Gianna's orphanage/city will be sent to us.

It is very hard for us to be "up in the air" like this. We want to be good stewards with the money that The Lord has provided, and also be sensitive to whatever direction we might be sent in even if it makes no sense to us. We have considered only adopting Gianna. We do not know how sick she is and attachment would be much easier. We do know that we were not put here on earth to have "easy" lives and are up to the challenge that we are called to because we are called. But what is the calling??

For funds we could easily be fully funded if we adopt two kids from the same orphanage. We have two (possibly three) fundraisers left and they could easily provide what we need. In our very human minds, we can see this working and are pretty comfortable.
If we are called to a different region to adopt, it's a little more scary. It is more time consuming and more costly. Oh and more stressful.
So many children are waiting. Many are facing imminent transfer to adult mental institutions. Thinking about them can be overwhelming. So many beautiful children with so much potential.

Will you pray with us as we make these decisions? We do not have to decide before we leave, but it can be helpful if we do.

Peace,
Michele

Wine Tasting

Please see our snazzy invitation below :)

Jon is planning some fun stuff.  Wine, chocolate and delicious appetizers are a passion of his!  Bring a date or make it a fun night out with friends.

If you plan to go, please contact me at michelenuckolls at yahoo dot com and I will send you the address :)

You can pay by contributing to our fund with our donation button to the right of this post (not visible on mobile devices).  You can also make a check out to Reece's Rainbow (tax deductible) and bring it to the event.

Bittersweet news.

It is with heavy hearts that we announce that Gertie has been adopted by a family in her country.  We are very happy for her, though it is bittersweet for us.

I got a voicemail this morning and was very concerned as to why Nancy was calling me.  Couldn't she give us the address (to ship our final paperwork) by email?  Why is she calling??? 

When I finally was able to call back she gave me the news.  It is surprising that they adopted a sick child when usually locals prefer healthy children. 

I am not surprised.

I have had the wonderful opportunity to speak with another adoptive mom who met Gertie last summer.  She reported to me that Gertie is a wonderfully loving child.  We were considering giving her the middle name of Joy.  This friend said that Joy is the perfect description of her personality.  

There is no doubt in my mind that Gertie's new family was charmed by her beautiful smile and contagious joy!  What a blessing she will be to them.  This little girl, I was told, wanted a family very badly, and now she has one.  The family she deserves.  The family that God called out to be hers.  I am grateful that she does not have to wait any longer.

Some of our friends may be wondering how this happened??  We knew when we committed to the girls, that we had no legal hold on them until our first court appointment, we meet them, and then we sign the necessary paperwork committing to adopt them.  These children do not have time to wait around for us while we are in process.  Gertie no doubt has already gotten much needed medical attention that she would have had to wait many more months for us to provide.

Still, it is hard.  I have a million questions.  Who is this family?  Will the provide her the grace she needs to bloom and be whoever she is inside.  Will they tell her about Jesus?  Will they respect her beliefs?  Will they love her unconditionally?

Here is what I do know:  God provided Gertie a family.  He knew she was waiting and He guided them to each other.  I will trust the Lord that He knows the plans that he has for her, to give her a hope and a future.
We are not her family, but God used Gertie to lead us to the possibility of adopting more than one child.  That is still our plan. 

Friends, please pray for us as we are move forward.

Love,
Michele and Jon

BBC Friends!

Thank you so much for all your support in our adoption of Gertie and Gianna. Many of you have bought lactation cookies, sponsored Jon in the Houston Marathon (which will happen this Sunday!!), and joined our 5k. I am so humbled and thankful to be a part of a group of women who are so supportive!

We are getting close to having all our paperwork submitted which will likely happen mid February. That will put us leaving sometime in March to meet the girls for the very first time!

In the meantime we have a few more fundraisers you might enjoy taking part in for February: 

Wine Tasting Party! with a silent auction 

On the Saturday before Valentines Day, treat your honey to an evening of wine, chocolate and appetizers. Saturday February 9th @ 7pm at a private residence in Beaumont
Tickets are $25 per person or $40 per couple.
For more information contact Michele at 281-795-6522 or michelenuckolls at yahoo dot com

*If you would like to make a donation for the silent auction we would be so thankful. Please let me know 281-795-6522

Skate-A-Thon: Fun for the whole family! 

The flyer is on the right.  I will have tickets at the next BBC meeting if you would like to purchase then!
Please see our FB page for giveaway.  If you tag yourself in our flyer, you could win 4 free tickets! 
http://www.facebook.com/nuckollsandwich

Also, this is a pay as you are able policy.  If you cannot swing $10 per family member, pay what you can and come join the fun!  It will be a LOT of fun, you certainly don't want to miss out, and we don't want to miss you!!

The facebook invite for this event is here:
http://www.facebook.com/events/593364024012934/
Feel free to invite all your friends.
If you would like to sell tickets at your school, place of worship or community, please let me know.  

For skaters who would like to get sponsors for skating, you can find the sponsorship forms here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/119472673

Skaters who raise over $200 will be mailed a "superhero for orphans" shirt!

We would like to have some fun door prizes (especially for kids).  If you have an idea or a donation, please let me know.

Finally, if you missed sign up for our 5k this month, have no fear, you can still participate!
See our invite for details: http://www.facebook.com/events/221927597943036/