The meaning of our children's names have always been important to Rob and I when making a decision. We choose the names based on the meaning. We also choose a Bible verse that goes a long with the name. Then we pray that verse and meaning for our child. Zoe means "life" from John 1:4-5. Mia Hope means "my hope" from Psalms 71:5. Luci means "light" from Matthew 5:14-16.
"Ricky" means "strong guardian; protector of the poor." Ricky is also my dad's name. My dad is the one who instilled in me at a very young age to love and care for those less fortunate and to be a "guardian" of children who may not have one. He loves children, and children adore him. We could not think of a person who we want to name our son after more than my dad.
We do not have a verse picked out yet, but our prayer for our little "Ricky" is that he will grow into a man that will love and care for the poor. Like our Savior, he will be a protector and guardian of those are in need. Like his "Popsy," he will invest in children.
Officially, according to the Randazzo home, "babybrotherwithdarkskin" has become "Ricky Randazzo." The plan is to keep his Ethiopian name for a middle name.
We told "Popsy" for his Father's Day present. It was very fun. It has been so cute to hear the girls talking about "Ricky." They have already used his name a lot. He has become part of our daily conversation.
Luci has a "night-night song" that she must have sung to her every night before bed. It is a made up song where lots of our family members are mentioned in a very particular order. She has added her "Ricky" verse, and she was very excited the first night she could do it.
We share this with everyone, so that you too can pray for our "Ricky" by name. Pray that God blesses us with the finances to fund the adoption and all our paper work gets approved quickly. Pray for Ricky's birth mother, and the people at the orphanage who will care for him until he is ours. Pray for the country of Ethiopia that it will remain a peaceful and safe place to travel. Most of all pray for Ricky that God will protect him and keep him safe, healthy, and nourished.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
homestudy, a tornado, and immigration...oh my!
Sunday, June 6th was our first scheduled home-study visit. We spend the afternoon cleaning like mad. We beg our girls to be on their best behavior and to not say anything CRAZY. (Which, if you have girls, you know the things that are said can be quite unpredictable.) I feel like we are actually doing alright. The house is looking presentable, supper is over, the kids have been bathed. We are about fifteen minutes until GO time and their are sirens.
I contemplate this for a few seconds. What is that annoying, screaming noise? Can someone please shut it off? I am having a man over in minutes who will decide if we are indeed a good enough family to adopt the child we have our hearts set on.
I snap back to reality to Mia yelling, "Mommy, what are you doing? Get to the basement! We are having a tornado." That explains the sirens in my head...I am not going crazy.
Completely in the zone, I was not the least bit aware of the turbulence going on outside of our house. I grab the weather radio that is still going off because I can not for the life of me figure out how to get it to stop, the two dogs, and my file of paperwork and join my children and husband in the basement.
Our friends without a basement join us within minutes. We get a call from our social worker saying he is stuck under a bridge but is planning to wait out the storm. He will join us as soon as the weather passes. So we wait...
After about forty-five minutes we say "goodbye" to our friends and "hello" to Mr. Pearce. Mr. Pearce turned out to be one of the nicest men we have ever met. My husband and I pretty much decided instantly that we really like him. The entire meeting was extremely laid back and comfortable . The whole visit lasted about two hours, but it actually passed pretty quickly.
When it came time for him to talk to the girls, Mia raises her hand and waits to be called on. When Mr. Pearce asks her if there is something she would like to say, she says,"I just want you to know this whole thing was my idea, and I have wanted a baby brother since I was two."
Mr. Pearce was great with the girls. He asked each one why they thought adopting a baby brother was a good idea. He asked them to show him their rooms and which room would belong to their brother. It was great. They really felt included and important.
The greatest thing Mr. Pearce said all night was to the girls. He said, " I want you girls to think about something. When you adopt your brother, it is very important that you realize it is forever. Your brother will be with you longer than your mom and dad are going to be with you. I am sixty-nine years old, and my sister has been my sister for sixty-nine years, and we still talk everyday. My parents aren't here anymore, but my sister is."
Both Rob and I talked about that later that night. Ever since the girls have been old enough, we pray with them every night. One of the things we pray is that all three of them will grow up to be best friends with Jesus and best friends with each other. It is an awesome thing because now they pray that on their own and in their own words. About a month ago, all three of them started adding "baby brother" to that prayer.
We have had an incredibly busy week following our homestudy. We have filled out and filed more paperwork than I knew was possible to get done in a week. We have gone to downtown government offices everyday this week. We sat and waited in the immigration office two different days, which is a DELIGHTFUL experience! :)
This morning though, I walked in to FedEx and mailed all of that paperwork. It was a great feeling. I know that we are in a slow process, but we took some big steps this week.
Please pray for us as we continue this process. We truly feel that we have embarked on a spiritual journey this week. We are answering a call that we feel is from the Lord for our family.
I contemplate this for a few seconds. What is that annoying, screaming noise? Can someone please shut it off? I am having a man over in minutes who will decide if we are indeed a good enough family to adopt the child we have our hearts set on.
I snap back to reality to Mia yelling, "Mommy, what are you doing? Get to the basement! We are having a tornado." That explains the sirens in my head...I am not going crazy.
Completely in the zone, I was not the least bit aware of the turbulence going on outside of our house. I grab the weather radio that is still going off because I can not for the life of me figure out how to get it to stop, the two dogs, and my file of paperwork and join my children and husband in the basement.
Our friends without a basement join us within minutes. We get a call from our social worker saying he is stuck under a bridge but is planning to wait out the storm. He will join us as soon as the weather passes. So we wait...
After about forty-five minutes we say "goodbye" to our friends and "hello" to Mr. Pearce. Mr. Pearce turned out to be one of the nicest men we have ever met. My husband and I pretty much decided instantly that we really like him. The entire meeting was extremely laid back and comfortable . The whole visit lasted about two hours, but it actually passed pretty quickly.
When it came time for him to talk to the girls, Mia raises her hand and waits to be called on. When Mr. Pearce asks her if there is something she would like to say, she says,"I just want you to know this whole thing was my idea, and I have wanted a baby brother since I was two."
Mr. Pearce was great with the girls. He asked each one why they thought adopting a baby brother was a good idea. He asked them to show him their rooms and which room would belong to their brother. It was great. They really felt included and important.
The greatest thing Mr. Pearce said all night was to the girls. He said, " I want you girls to think about something. When you adopt your brother, it is very important that you realize it is forever. Your brother will be with you longer than your mom and dad are going to be with you. I am sixty-nine years old, and my sister has been my sister for sixty-nine years, and we still talk everyday. My parents aren't here anymore, but my sister is."
Both Rob and I talked about that later that night. Ever since the girls have been old enough, we pray with them every night. One of the things we pray is that all three of them will grow up to be best friends with Jesus and best friends with each other. It is an awesome thing because now they pray that on their own and in their own words. About a month ago, all three of them started adding "baby brother" to that prayer.
We have had an incredibly busy week following our homestudy. We have filled out and filed more paperwork than I knew was possible to get done in a week. We have gone to downtown government offices everyday this week. We sat and waited in the immigration office two different days, which is a DELIGHTFUL experience! :)
This morning though, I walked in to FedEx and mailed all of that paperwork. It was a great feeling. I know that we are in a slow process, but we took some big steps this week.
Please pray for us as we continue this process. We truly feel that we have embarked on a spiritual journey this week. We are answering a call that we feel is from the Lord for our family.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
So sorry to keep you waiting...
I apologize for the lull in posts. There has not been much to report. We made this huge exciting decision to discover a slow process. What has happened is that we had our initial orientation. During this orientation we did finalize our country choice.
Ladies and gentlemen...Rwanda it is!
Why Rwanda??? Rwanda is a new adoption program that needs families to be willing to charter the unknown. While this may seem sketchy to some, this really excites us. Our prayer is that we can be pioneers of sort, and our experience will spur on others to charter the unknown territory of Rwandan adoption.
On the horizon is a ton of paperwork and various trips to downtown offices to which I have never ventured. Our first home-study visit will take place on June 7th. For now, that is all, folks.
Thanks so much for reading and the interest you have taken in our journey.
Ladies and gentlemen...Rwanda it is!
Why Rwanda??? Rwanda is a new adoption program that needs families to be willing to charter the unknown. While this may seem sketchy to some, this really excites us. Our prayer is that we can be pioneers of sort, and our experience will spur on others to charter the unknown territory of Rwandan adoption.
On the horizon is a ton of paperwork and various trips to downtown offices to which I have never ventured. Our first home-study visit will take place on June 7th. For now, that is all, folks.
Thanks so much for reading and the interest you have taken in our journey.
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