Leah Stirewalt

I noticed my last post was November 11, so I think it’s BEYOND time to let you know…

WE’RE HOME FROM BULGARIA!!!! AND…SO ARE OUR KIDDOS!!!!

Allow us to introduce…Josiah Timothy, Katerina Abigail, and Benjamin Levi!

And…what a wild eight weeks it’s been! Now, that we’re establishing a semblance of a routine, I hope to begin blogging more regularly again. There is so much my heart wants to share.

Here’s a brief glimpse of the major events that have taken place in the last eight weeks:

November 10 – We began our journey from the US back to Bulgaria

November 11 – Arrived in Bulgaria

November 12 – GOTCHA DAY!!! This is the day we picked up our children from the orphanage. 🙂 What a special and unforgettable day that was. I’ll share more about that specific event in a future post. But, for now…here’s the final pic we took of the children with the director in front of their orphanage.

November 21 – Arrived back in the US!

November 26 – Thanksgiving!

December 9 – Appointments at the International Adoption Clinic in Charleston, SC

December 13 – Our oldest son got married!

December 18 – Our middle daughter arrived home after having completed her first semester of college.

December 25 – Christmas!!

January 4 – The older two children started school, and the youngest one started PreK, and I returned to work. Whew!

To say we’ve been a bit busy is quite the understatement. And to think…we thought the paperwork part of this journey would kill us…ha! ha!

The children are doing very well with this huge adjustment. Just think…everything they’ve known in this entire world was left behind in Bulgaria. However, while they’ve lost much…they’ve also gained something they’ve never truly known…a family! And, can you believe…only 4.5 years ago, I was a widowed single mom of one, and now I’m a happily married mom/step-mom/foster mom to nine! Only God can do that!

Thanks for all your love and amazing support through this adoption journey! We look forward to continue sharing highlights of our story…even this side of it…with you as time goes along!

I write this with less than 4 hours of sleep in the last two nights. I sit at my gate in the Paris airport listening to a melting pot of languages flood the air. I’m tired, but my body can’t rest, because my brain won’t allow it to. Simply because…

WE PICK UP OUR CHILDREN TOMORROW!!!!

These are the three little Bulgarian cuties we’ve been waiting so long to introduce to you. They will be orphans no more. Once again…they have a mommy and a daddy to call their own. Most likely, they have little (if any) memory of the ones who gave them physical life. And yet…now they have the chance to make new memories…to grow up in a family…to have hope for a future…and, to prayerfully meet the One who gave them this future.

Most of us have had those moments in our life when we feel like we’re walking in someone else’s dream (or nightmare). Those surreal experiences where we honestly can’t believe we’re living out the moment we find ourselves in at that point in time. I’ve had a few of those in my lifetime, and this certainly makes the top three!

It’s hard to fathom walking into their orphanage tomorrow for the last time and walking out with three new children who now have our last name.

It’s hard to fathom flying back to the United States and going through the non-US Citizen line, as we complete the steps of helping our children to become instantaneous citizens by virtue of adoption.

It’s hard to fathom how I was a single, widowed mom of one daughter only five years ago, and now I’m about to be mom/step-mom/foster mom to NINE children/young adults! Whaaattt???

It’s hard to fathom how we began this adoption knowing it would cost between $40-50K with no means to pay for it on our own and yet never doubted God’s call and His ultimate provision. And…He showed off big time!

It’s hard to fathom how we’re going to handle the challenging days ahead as we learn to parent three little ones who speak no English.

As surreal as this all is to me in this very moment…it’s the life God’s given me, and I can’t wait to see how He continues to reveal His glory throughout my life.

He reached for me when I was drowning in the deepest of “grief waters”, and He rescued me. He’s restored my life beyond my wildest dreams! And…now, He’s begun to do the very same thing for our three newest children!

The wait is almost over…they are coming home!

Our Family Just Got Bigger!

The Wait is Almost Over!