Bring Nina and Katya Home

And so this next chapter begins..... When people ask "how are things" my canned answer is "good, some ups and downs", and on most days this is very true. Some days I am drowning. Let's focus on the good days and the many accomplishments. Nina smiles a lot!!!! I really think this is the best accomplishment! Her smile dances like diamonds. The girls are learning so many things and exceeding my every expectation. We knew Nina had some intellectual issues, but we were not sure of the extent. With the help of our public high school we have a great idea of where she is at. She is in a program at school that will teach her life skills like shopping, making choices, basic hygiene things like that.  She goes off campus with her class every week to either go to a store or a restaurant. She has a friend in her class that she talks about often. I am excited to say she now can do her laundry with a tiny bit of guidance with the washer. Usually I just need to stand there ...

So much more!!! So I fell off the grid when I left for Ukraine. I was updating a private Facebook page with my most personal thoughts and events that were happening there. There is so much I  want to share and I don't know if I should do a series of small posts or one HUGE one. I want to keep updating you and encouraging you to step out in faith. God does not disappoint!!! Our adoption is complete! We are home since January 26, 2019. We are officially a family of 5. Nina and Katya now have their Forever Family.  The words Forever Family have such a different meaning to me now then when this began. I slightly understood what "Forever Family" meant when this journey began in August of 2017, but now I know I had no idea. So let me explain my meaning of "Forever Family"..... A "Forever Family doesn't just affect the immediate family, It affects or ripples down and up. Here is picture taken on March 10, 2019. It includes Our immediate family, Richar...

Now we wait.  What do I mean by that? Well for a little over a year this adoption process has been a series of  us filling out paperwork, taking classes, home study appointments, document collecting, trips to Chicago for special stamps, basically busy work, for months, and months. Well now our documents have passed through our agency on to our translator, and then to Ukraine to our facilitator (who I hear is the BOMB), and now they are with  Ministry of Social Policy (MSP) in Ukraine. They will decide if we adopt Nina and Katya. At this point we have done all we can. Now We Wait and we Pray.  We pray for the judge looking at the paperwork to find no errors. We pray that our approval date would come quickly. We pray we would get our first MSP appointment fast!! Very Fast!! We pray we can raise, save or borrow the remainder of the funds we need.  We pray for a quick wait between MSP and Court. Court is when Us, the judge, our facilitator, our translator and Ni...

So I am applying for a grant from Lifesong for Orphans.  This is one of the questions... The question is, “How has God led you to adopt?”  This question scares me. What if I don’t give the right answer. What if I don’t come close to having an understandable answer. Let me tell you- I can talk better than I can write, but it’s not about me. It is about God and what He has done. So here it goes. In June of 2017 our family of 3, Richard, Terri, and Erynne were just an “average family” with no thought of adopting anyone. At the end of June a friend of ours from church, Michele, was blessed to host two cute girls from Ukraine. The church family was asked to donate clothes or anything to the girls as they had come with only the clothes on their backs. I love kids and I love shopping so I went out and purchased a few items for each of the girls.  I gave my donations to Michele and thought that was it. Boy was I wrong!  Later that same evening during youth group a...

The miracles continue to appear- day after day.  This blog post is a chronicle of their journey, and I am blessed to have a front row seat. Terri, I pray for you to continue to be bold and brave. God has made you strong for such a season as this. Rich, may God bless you financially for your willingness to add two to your family and raise them to adult hood; may you see grandchildren that always tell of the Papa who provided for them. Erynne, may your gentle spirit know how to minister to your new sisters. For all, may our faith increase as we review the Gardner's journey of miracles:  God continues to write a miraculous story in the lives of the Gardner family. Rich, Terri, and Erynne Gardner have been experiencing an increase in their faith over the last ten months as God brings miracle after miracle. This journey involves events and people that God orchestrates as only He can. The Gardners have seen unprecedented events unfold before their eyes ...

“Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain that build it. . .” Psalm 127:1 God has been building a new home for our growing family, and he has been doing it with one brick of blessing after another.  Brick #1:  God found a home for us in Plainfield, Illinois that will fit our family of five. He actually provided a home that is like a dream come true for us! When I think of Joseph from the Old Testament, he exemplifies that God is in the business of making dreams come true; sometimes He makes tangible dreams come true - like a house or car or vacation. But, other dreams are not so measurable. How about the dream of an orphan to have a room of her own and a family that loves her?  Every plan for this house has been provided for by God, and I marvel at His servants who have donated their time, talents, and money.  Brick #2:  God continues to provide the necessary money for this adoption. God  builds one brick at a time, and he recentl...

This is the true story of what happened this week - told in very short sentences: Terri plans to sell her inherited estate. Closing date is December 20th.  Buyer’s lender is terrible, and is fired. New lender “Newbie” is hired.  Closing date is December 29th.  Newbie does not answer calls or emails.  Terri’s attorney gets nervous.  Closing date is now January 5th.  Newbie still does not respond.  In fact, Newbie engages in breach of contract and tries to change the title company on the sneak.  This information is discovered on January 3rd.  Terri’s attorney flies into action: she withdraws so close can occur, new paperwork gets to Terri at 4 pm, it must be overnighted, Terri signs.  Rich gets home early.  Notarized at 5:20. Off to UPS that said they were open until 7:00. Arrive at UPS, but they say “too late.” GOD PROVIDES INTERVENTION!  Enter UPS guy who was running late. He g...

“This is not the way that I would do it.” Have you ever thought this when God was bringing you through a trial? Have you ever been stunned into worshipful awe when you saw how the details came to a perfect conclusion that only God could orchestrate? This.is.me.  I reflect that just 12 months ago I was dealing with the grief of losing both my aunt and uncle within six months of each other. I loved and cared for them, and I carried out their wishes. Just one year ago, I was readying their home to be rented, and clearing out the estate. I rented the home to a single-mom, and she signed a two-year lease. Done deal. God had different plans!! As I began to pray about the provision of the $50,000 to adopt Nina and Katya, God began to provide in strange and amazing ways. Gofundme (but it takes 10% of the profit), neighborhood collections, and even the pasta dinner. What a dinner it was!! The pasta dinner was a startling provision of more than $5,000. God accomplished thi...

Waiting. Is. So. Hard. I am realizing that sometimes there is much good in what is hard. Right now, I am working so hard, yet I find myself waiting. I wait on paperwork, fingerprints, and others’ decisions. I wait to hear from or about the girls. I wait to see how God will bring the money in. Sometimes, I wrestle while I wait. Oh, not a physical wrestling, but a mental wrestling match- usually on my knees. One match in particular, I kept telling God, “I don’t understand, and I have nothing else to say.” Over and over for four hours this was my mindset.  But, guess what?  I have been humbled to realize that often when I am waiting, the answer is on the way or already done. I wake in the morning to find my prayer is answered in the middle of the night! I think of the phrase, “back to His dear loving arms would I flee when I remember that Jesus loves me!”  I wrestle, but my Saviour has it all in control, and I am right where he wants me- in His arms....

Silent victories! This sounds like an an oxymoron. These last few weeks have had some quiet, but intense times as we make preparations for Nina and Katya. My anniversary passed last week on the beautiful fall day of September 30th. Rich was at a men's retreat and was concerned that I know he didn't forget. He sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers with an equally beautiful card. These silent flowers remind me of our love and dedication in our home. These same characteristics anchor our home as we have passed some non-financial milestones.  Our meeting with the adoption agency went so well, despite the stress of getting there- Rich got off at noon and off we went. We passed our health exams, references are answering phone questions and written questions. All of these are silent, but golden moments. Donations for the silent auction are coming in- so important.  A wonderful surprise is the $2,000 Ukrainian stipend that will be put towards our adoption! Another Ukra...

 How can a journey be both glorious and challenging in only three-and-a-half weeks? My heart has been overwhelmed, my brain has been blown away, and at times I have been a basket case of nerves. All of it from the peaks and valleys of this incredible journey to bring our girls home!   The valleys:  the home study fee would be larger, the sheer amount of money that we are trying to raise, and realizing that Nina is unhappy being away from her sister at "college."  Questions flood me daily:  can I sponsor for Christmas?  How will we make it through a seven hour home study? Do people judge me?     These valley times have a golden thread though!  Sometimes, I find myself on my knees - a good place and position to be in. "God, I got nothing more to say than what I have already said so I will just keep repeating myself."  He hears. He loves. He comforts. I rest.   The peaks: here is where I feel that I coast downhill, li...

I'm not even sure where to begin. Nina and Katya came into our lives in June of 2017. My daughter Erynne met the girls at our church's youth group on a Sunday evening, and hit it off right away. I knew the needs of the girls for basic clothes, shoes and other things from Michele Reynolds a friend from church. So Erynne and I went out and bought a few things the girls needed. It was when I delivered the clothes to the girls and they thanked me that I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God wanted our family to adopt these girls.  Erynne had already mentioned it to me but I wasn't really sure that we could help. So I started praying for God to make it clear to me if adopting them could be an option. Nina and Katya quickly won my heart and I had to talk to Richard about what God revealed to me. Richard was skeptical at first. Not sure how Nina and Katya would fit into our home. There were also money concerns, upfront costs and long term cost. We were both praying earnest...

Nina and Katya, ages 15 and 13, are two sweet sisters who have spent the last 9 years living in an orphanage in Ukraine.   They finally have a chance at a forever family in the United States!   Rich and (me)Terri Gardner and our 16 year old daughter, Erynne have opened our hearts to Nina and Katya and now, we want to open our home too.  We want to adopt Nina and Katya!!   Michele Reynolds hosted  Nina and Katya during the summer of 2017 in her home through a hosting program called Guglielmo's Hope.   They came to the U.S. with only the clothes on their backs and a desire in their hearts for a permanent American family.  She knew that she would be unable to adopt them, but it was her hope and prayer that someone in the U.S. would choose to adopt them.  She loved these girls so much and knew that they would be a blessing to another family who was willing to take a step of faith.   At age 15, Nina was so close to aging out of adop...