God is faithful...

    Luke 2:19 "But Mary treasured up all of these things and pondered them in her heart."

    As Christmas was upon us these past couple of weeks this was the verse that kept resonating through my head regarding God's faithfulness.  What we got to experience on Dec.19th was too tender to share right away; I was treasuring it up in my heart.

    In our last post we were joyfully anticipating talking to Miss Milanija on the phone the day after her birthday. (Dec.12th)  But the in afternoon on the 11th we got an email from Reda saying that the phone call couldn't happen because Milanija had been in the hospital for a couple of days and wouldn't be out anytime soon. She had an aggressive UTI and ended up in the hospital for a week an a half and was off limits to visitors.  We were so disappointed and of course, worried about sweet Milanija's little body. Meanwhile, she still had not yet been told about her family.

   We had been matched since Dec.1st and it was upsetting to know she didn't know yet.  I understand that there was a special plan to tell her for her birthday, and that was very sweet, but that plan got upended.  I had been praying everyday for Jesus to tell her himself, to whisper in her ear that we're coming and we love her; that He loves her.

   When Silva came to the Babies Home (Orphanage) on the afternoon of Dec.19th Milanija was nearly asleep for her nap.  She had just come "home" from the hospital that day, finally.  As soon as Silva came in the room she opened her eyes and said, "You have a secret for me.".  Silva was taken aback and said, "Yes, I do have a secret for you!" and she proceeded to tell her about her family.  Milanija just smiled and went right back to sleep.  Jesus DID tell her!!! She knew!  His faithfulness is dumbfounding.  His loving-kindness and tender grace; unfailing.

    Later that day, in the evening, Reda went to see her and give her birthday gifts.  She told us there's a big photo on the wall in the corridor of the orphanage of us with John-Patrik (Milanija sees us everyday) so Reda took her to it.  "This is your Mama and Tete!  Patrikas is now your broils!"  They practiced saying the English words for a while and then surprised us with a phone call.  It was Saturday morning for us, 10am, (7pm for them) and we were all home... 

   I answered and immediately recognized Reda's voice and then it clicked... "Oh my gosh, REDA!!"  I put it on speaker and we all heard it, a shrimpy little girly voice, "Labas Mama!  Hello Daddy!" and then in Lithuanian, "Come to me!"  Tears happened. (Rich's mostly)   Words cannot describe what was going on in my heart. But I suddenly caught a glimpse of understanding into that verse I wrote above.  "But Mary treasured up all of these things and pondered them in her heart."  ...there's no better way to describe it.

  In addition to that, (as if there needed to be more!) we received 2 very generous donations to our adoption over the holidays!  One from an old dear friend I used to do children's ministry with at the church I grew up in and who happens to be Lithuanian!  (I had no idea!)  And the other, Rich's mom... Thanks Janet!  And thank you, Matthew! 

We are so humbled and thankful for you, God's blessings abound. 

   

Overflowing Joy!

We've had an exciting week and a half and I'm overflowing with Joy! 

Our auction closed raising $455 towards the adoption. We realized we put too many items in the auction... it's a learning curve.  $455 is nothing to shake a stick at though, it helps us get that much closer!

Then on December 1st we learned that we were FINALLY matched with Milanija!  This was the big push because not only does that mean nobody else can adopt her first, it also means that we can communicate directly with her.  We'll be Skyping, talking on the phone, we can send her gifts, pictures, clothes... whatever we want to send to our little girl. 

  A side note: December 1st is (was) my grandma's birthday, her name was Honey.  Honey was very special to me, as many of you know.   Here's the amazing connection, Milanija's name means Honey, as in Sweetheart.  Things like this touch my heart so deeply.  God is so tender.  Her name could've meant anything, but it didn't.  It means something so special to me personally.

This Friday is Milanija's birthday and guess what we get to do!?!  We get to TALK TO HER!!!  I've thought of little less since hearing this.  Our beloved lawyer and friend, Reda, is going to the orphanage for her birthday party and will be calling us with her.  She will have been told she has a family the day before by Silva, our other beloved friend and representative in Lithuania.  They waited a few days extra to tell her about us so that it could be done for her birthday.  They are thoughtful and incredible ladies!  (I would passionately recommend anyone to adopt from Lithuania!)

Our next step with the adoption is receiving a "Proposal" from the Lithuanian Central Authority for Milanija's adoption with all of her extensive social and medical history.... essentially asking, "With all that's wrong with her, are you sure you STILL want her?"  (Not in those words, of course)    We, of course and without delay, will accept said proposal.  Then comes the second portion of the I800 immigration forms.

I remember with JP our agent, Cathy, made a personal phone call to me making SURE that we were walking into this with our eyes wide open and not romanticizing the idea of adoption.  This is wise to do because it's easy to imagine all the wonderful things we'll be doing and showing these kiddos.  I think she (and maybe some of you) was concerned because Rich and I were being so positive, as we are with this adoption.  Here's the thing, we FULLY understand what a huge and heavy choice we've made... if we don't start out being so positive and confident in God's path for us we would surely crash and burn 2 months into it.  Especially having a year under our belt, I'm here to tell you that there are some very hard days, some mildly hard days, and then there are those days when I've entertained the idea of a glass of wine at 10am. (not really.)  BUT with those days come amazing days!  Breakthroughs in development, realizations of progress, and blessed connection.  There is balance and more so even leaning towards goodness.

For anyone who questions our sanity... Never once have we ever second guessed our choice. Not even on the hardest days.  This isn't like the possibility of buyer's remorse or regretting a bad couch.  These are people.  Small, innocent, vulnerable people.  Please do not mistake our JOY for naiveté. We do not take this lightly.  Be joyful and faithful with us!

We're MATCHED!!!

Our sweet little Miss Milanija May is coming home soon!!

Our total still to raise is now $11,224

YAY!!!

THE AUCTION IS OFFICALLY CLOSED.
All of the highest bids please email me your contact info and I will disperse it to the appropriate people to get you your winnings!
megtheisen@gmail.com

Thanks everyone!! 

I'll post the total amount raised shortly!

Tie Tacks - Late entry for the guys!

Tie Tacks

Made by Heather Carter

1" squares - Choose 1 or more!
"Wise Men Still Seek Him", "There is Power in the Name of Jesus", Ironman, Batman, Captain America 

Could also be used as lapel pins 

Suggested starting bid: $5 ea

Space-scape Painting - Late entry

Space-scape Painting

Painted by Hannah Johnson

14" x 22"

Suggested starting bid: $15

Space-scapes Painting - Late entry

Beautiful Space-Scapes Painting

Painted by Hannah Johnson

22" x 28"

Suggested starting bid: $20

Handmade Necklaces - Late entry

Late Entry!

Handmade Necklaces

Made by Heather Carter

1" x 1", made from Scrabble pieces

20" chain  -  Choose 1 or several! (great for stocking stuffers!)

~ more pictures coming ~

    

Suggested starting bid: $7 ea.

Bird Themed Collection

Bird Themed Collection

16oz Candle (Lilac scented), pad of paper, bird magnets

Donated by San Michele on A street - New & Vintage

$40 Value

Suggested starting bid: $30
www.monsanmichele.com



Bird Earrings

Bird Earrings

Donated by San Michele on A street - New & Vintage

$22 value

Suggested starting bid: $20
www.monsanmichele.com

Bird Dish

Bird Dish

Approx. 5"

Donated by San Michele on A street - New & Vintage

$18 Value

Suggested starting bid: $15
www.monsanmichele.com

Apologia Physical Science

Apologia Physical Science

Text book, student guide, & tests books

Suggested starting bid: $25

LORD OF THE RINGS

LORD OF THE RINGS Reading Guide for Books 1,2, and 3

Progeny Press

*Excellent for reading comprehension*

Grades 9- 12

Suggested starting bid: $10

Rouladen

Fancy Dinner for 4 - 8 people (Locals only)

(please specify if you have more or less in your family)

Rouladen
Dinner would include Entre, salad, bread, and dessert

Made with love by Kathy & Mark Robinson!

Suggested starting bid:$50

Chicken Tetrazzini

Dinner for 4 - 8 people! (Locals only)

(please specify if you have more or less in your family)

Chicken Tetrazzini
Dinner would include Entre, salad, bread, and dessert

Made with love by Mark & Kathy Robinson!

Suggested starting bid: $30

Jambalaya

Dinner for 4-8 people! (Locals only)

 (please specify if you have more or less in your family)
Jambalaya
Dinner would include entre, salad, bread, and dessert

Made with love by Kathy & Mark Robinson!





*Suggested starting bid: $30

1 HOUR Massage

1 HOUR Massage
Donated by U Med Spa of Pocatello

Suggested starting bid: $40

Mountain Bike

Mountain Bike (Locals only)
Diamondback Outlook, wheel size 26", 18 speeds, Hi-Ten OS Tubing frame
Perfect condition

Suggested starting bid: $50

God Bless This Home Framed Print

"God Bless This Home" framed print

12 x 22

Suggested starting bid: $20

Deccorative Ironwork

Decorative Ironwork (Locals only)
23" x 10"

Suggested starting bid: $ 25

Large Black Board

Large Black Board

Approx. 51" x 27"

Can Custom Paint the border natural wood color, dark stain (picture), or a paint color

Zsu Zsu Petals by Blue Savanah

This set is called Zsu Zsu's Petals

Donated by Kristin Milloway

 It's 750 yards total--150 yards in each skein.   The base is fingering weight--80% merino, 10% cashmere and 10% nylon.  Retail is $50.  

My shop link is www.bluesavannah.etsy.com.

Watercolor Painting #5

Watercolor Painting
Painted by Karen McClenahan

Starting bid:$10
The coolest part of these paintings is that they're done with her left hand because her MS has made her right hand nearly useless.

Watercolor painting #1

Watercolor Painting

Painted by my mom, Karen McClenahan

Starting bid: $10

The coolest part of these paintings is that they're done with her left hand because her MS has made her right hand nearly useless.

Watercolo Painting #2

Watercolor Painting

Painted by Karen McClenahan

Suggested starting bid: $10

The coolest part of these paintings is that they're done with her left hand because her MS has made her right hand nearly useless.

Watercolor Painting #4

Watercolor Painting

Painted by Karen McClenahan

Starting bid: $10

The coolest part of these paintings is that they're done with her left hand because her MS has made her right hand nearly useless.

Women's Cardigan

Women's Cardigan

Sorry about the blur!

Made by Elie Fig



Suggested starting bid: $25

Mystery of History

Mystery of History Book 1

Suggested starting bid: $10

Most Wonderful Writing Lessons Ever

The Most Wonderful Writing Lessons Ever

Grades 2 -4

Suggested starting bid: $5

Wrinting Strands Level 4

Writing Strands Level 4

Suggested starting bid: $5 

Writing Strands Level 3

Writing Strands Level 3

Suggested starting bid: $5

Writing Strands Level 2

Writing Stands Level 2

Suggested Starting bid: $5

Saxon Algebra 2

Saxon Algebra 2

Text Book and Solutions manual

Suggested starting bid: $ 15

Saxon 7/6 Homeschool edition

~~~ GENTLY USED HOME SCHOOL BOOKS ~~~

Saxon 7/6 Homeschool edition

Includes Text Book, Solutions Manual, and Tests and Worksheets book

Like New

Suggested starting bid: $20



Scnesy Gift Basket

Scensy Gift Basket

Donated by Jody Price, Scensy consultant

Beautiful Butterfly Warmer, tea towel, 3 choices of scents

(Sorry about direction)

Suggested starting bid: $30

Pressed Flowers

Framed & Matted Pressed Flowers

Made by Tiz Lum

Square 14 x 14 frame

Suggested starting bid: $15

Crocheted Blanket

Thick Crocheted Blanket

Double bed sized

Handmade by Jody Hapgood

Suggested starting bid: $30

Hand Made Quilt

Handmade Quilt

Queen-sized, tied, high quality fabrics

Made with love by Jody Hapgood

Suggested starting bid: $50

Spring Decor: Potted Flower

Spring Décor: Potted Flower

15" x 7"

Donated by Wood Creations

Suggested starting bid: $20

Hello Summer!

Summer Décor: Front door hanging

13.5" x 21"

Donated by Wood Creations
$30 value

Suggested starting bid: $25

Cranberry Throw

Cranberry Throw Blanket

Suggested starting bid: $15

Trival Pursuit ROLLING STONES edition

Trivial Pursuit Rolling Stones edition

Brand New

$40 Value

Suggested starting bid: $10



Darling Handmade Little Girls' Dress

Darling Handmade little girls' dresses

Mindy will custom make this dress depending on the size you need and the fabric.

Available sizes: 12mo - 4 years

I'd put you in touch with her directly to decide details.

Suggested starting bid: $15

SHETLAND PONY

An ACTUAL Shetland Pony! (Locals only)

"Shadow" is a stud!... no really, he's a stud colt.
He is 2 years old
$400 Value

     

Suggested starting bid: $175

Upcoming Auction and Adoption Update!

As you may have noticed we did a little rearranging & improving on our blog.  (Thanks, Summer!)

We also added a couple of new features; an easier to see donation link to Adopt Together (Right) and an Auction page. (Above)  A raffle is in our near future as well.  We'll also be adding a PayPal button for another donation option. 

                              ~~ NO DONATION IS TOO SMALL - every penny helps. ~~

The Auction Page will be for all of you to visit directly once we get our donated items in place and our start date figured out. 

Our goal for the Auction will be  $ 3 6 6 6.  This is the remainder of our Agency Fees out of the initial  $10,166 due.   Please pray with us that we'll reach this number!!

Update:
   Our dossier is officially registered with the Lithuanian Central Authority!  We should hear back 5 days from Monday if we have been "Matched" with Miss Milanija.  YAY!    (We have been told by our sources in-country that there is no one else pursuing her, this is excellent news!)
   After we're matched our dear friend Silva will go to her and whisper in her ear... "Your mama and tete are coming for you and you have already met them!"  She will know, maybe for the first time, that she is loved. That gives me chills.

Unashamed.

Here's the "skinny" on our funding situation compared to where we were this time just last year.

With John-Patrik's adoption costs we were very fortunate in that the website we found him on (Reece's Rainbow) was specifically designed to raise grants for each of the children they advocate for.  When we found little JP he already had $7523 raised for him.  Plus, once when we were officially matched with John-Patrik they raised nearly $1400 more for the "Family Fund"... totaling about $9000.  Another huge blessing is that we were approached by a young lady in Oklahoma (Kelsie) who decided to start a fundraising organization for special needs adoptions and found us through our blog's link on Reece's Rainbow's website.  She raised $5000 for us; people she'd never met!  Friends, this amazing girl literally shaved her head as a fundraiser for us!   Along with so many incredibly generous people's donations we met our goal.   God, through these amazing people, started us out with most of our financial needs met, leaving us with a relatively small amount to raise over a 13 month period.

...Which brings us to Miss Milanija May's adoption fundraising status.  I'll put it in the most precise way: We have over double the amount we're responsible for - needing to be raised in about half the time (abt. 8 months) with no grants. 

This is our need: $15,740 before we can travel.  (In about 3 - 4 months)  If we end up needing to bring our oldest son, Jake, with us to be our nanny (because we'll need to bring JP with us) it will be $19,640.  We're not sure if we'll need to yet or not, there's still a few things to check on before we'll know. [We did learn that bringing Jake will be necessary, $19,640 IS our new goal.] Thankfully, we were able to get our dossier sent off and I believe we will meet the Nov. 9th deadline. PRAISE GOD! That means we should be able be matched with Milanija ASAP!!  Our I-800a immigration application was also approved for Milanija!!  Things are progressing very quickly, so much faster than John-Patrik's adoption process.

Friends, I am not ashamed to ask for help.  I know that it's within God's power to provide for our needs through His people.  Ephesians 3:20-21 reminds us that... "He is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. AMEN." 

Because of my responsibilities regarding John-Patrik and the boys I am limited in my abilities for both time and energy to do super involved fundraisers.  Any help would be greatly, and I mean GREATLY, appreciated.  The fundraising website we're going through is enabling all donations to be TAX DEDUCTIBLE and can found up and to the right of this post.

Thank you,
Meg and the fam. :)

About Miss Milanija...

    I wanted to share a little more about our sweet Miss Milanija to give you a glimpse into how amazing she is:

You'd never know she was in need or so handicapped by her personality.  She is cheerful, helpful, and happy.  It didn't seem like her circumstances had dimmed her spirit at all.   She is sharp as well caring.   We were told that she has proportional dwarfism as well as the other 2 diagnoses.  She will be 6 in December and she wears a 2T; she's tiny.  She is half the size of the other children her age but twice the size in personality!   She will fit into our family dynamic beautifully; these boys of ours need a little sister to boss them around! :)
     
   When we met Milanija she did not have a walker or a wheelchair.  The orphanage just could not afford it.   They are on a very tight budget, even rationing out diapers. (each child is allowed 5 diapers a day, for example).  Keep in mind, this little one has Spina Bifida and Hip Dysplasia.  She was literally dragging herself around with her upper body.  It broke our hearts watching her having to do this, but she never skipped a beat.  In fact, she was faster than all of the other "able-bodied" children in their room of  8.  Nothing slowed her down, she would whip around that floor like it was her domain.  ...because it was and, she knew it!

   This creative, "out-of-the-box" little thinker figured out a way to get around a bit easier though.  Milanija found a broken dolly stroller someone had long ago donated and used it as a walker, bless her heart.  We are not the only ones to see this unique amazingness in her.  Periodically, different groups of people in Vilnius will visit or volunteer in the orphanage.  At some point during one of these times she captured the attention of someone who ended up including her in a T.V. special and a subsequent fundraiser for a wheelchair for her.  Now she finally has a wheelchair of her very own that will come back with us. I think she calls it her "wheels". 

   Over the past several months Rich and I have been looking at our house through the eyes of a wheelchair-sporting Sassafras.  Some changes are obvious; next year we'll need hard floors throughout the top floor for sure.  We'll need some kind of step-stool for the bathroom sink and maybe the kitchen too.   But other changes to the house we'll figure out once she's here, I guess.  Unless one of you have any wisdom you'd like to impart? 

• Changes that were worth the cost? 
• Changes that seemed worth it at the time but, in reality, didn't really help at all?

I'd love to hear your insight!

Donation Link is LIVE!!!

Hi there!

Just a short post to let everyone know that the great folks at adopttogether.org have approved our profile, and we are accepting donations through them, as well as in the usual fashion (through snail mail or paypal). We decided to go with adopttogether.org rather than gofundme or another crowdfunding site because their fees are lower, and it makes your donations TAX DEDUCTIBLE because adopttogether.org is a 501(c)3 corporation. You can see the link on the right side of the screen, or by clicking HERE!

Every penny matters, every penny helps. We are selling off some of our stuff too, so keep a watch here as we'll be posting craigslist ads (for the locals) and some eBay auctions (for the locals, or the not so locals) in order to help us raise more funds.

Again, thanks to everyone for following us as we journey a second time through the adoption process, and for supporting us in prayer and giving.

God bless!
Rich (for Meg)

Welcome back!

Hello there!

If you're here to walk this journey with us again; welcome back!  But, in case you are unfamiliar with who we are and what we're doing, here is a brief recap of the last year in the Theisen family:

    We are Rich and Meg Theisen.  We have 6 sons, ages 19 - 5.    By God's prompting and encouragement, we began a journey to adopt a special needs little boy from Lithuania (our 5 year old).  It took 13 months from beginning to end; relatively short, in terms of International adoption.  (But a long time when you're waiting...)   Our little guy's name is John-Patrik, he has Down's Syndrome and Autism and is pretty amazing.  His adoption was final on Dec. 4th, 2014; 9 days after arriving in Lithuania and meeting him for the first time.

    You are now up to speed! 

    Little did we know that when we arrived there, nearly one year ago this November, that we'd actually be starting a second adoption journey.  It was literally the furthest thing from our minds.  As we visited the orphanage we quickly got to know the other children.  They were all very friendly and clung to us for attention.  There was one little girl in particular, however, that completely stole our hearts.  Everyday we'd leave and be in tears on the way back to our apartment thinking about this little girl's state; racking our brain trying to figure out what we could do for her.  It took a few days before we finally looked the obvious in the face: We would be coming back to Lithuania to get little Miss Milanija (Milan-ee-ya) as soon as we could.   She also has special needs though the opposite of John-Patrik's.  She has Spina Bifida and Hip Dysplasia, but cognitively she is as sharp as a tack.  She has a wheelchair (finally!), hence our recent purchase of a huge 15 passenger van named Moby.  As you could imagine, it was very hard to leave her behind when we came back home with John-Patrik.

    Apparently, an immediate second adoption takes significantly less time than the initial adoption.  It is estimated that, barring any unforeseen difficulties, we are due to travel just after the beginning of the new year.  WOW.  That would be an 8 - 9 month international adoption. WHATEVER!   We still haven't quite wrapped our heads around it, and here it is September already!

   We have kept much quieter about this adoption in comparison to John-Patrik's because there are currently 3 other international adoptions going on in our church and we didn't want to over-tax our already generous church members or "steal anyone's thunder" so to speak.  However, Milanija's adoption, we realized, will be completed before the other 3 will be traveling and we need to raise our funds NOW.  God is faithful, just as He was with providing for John-Patrik's adoption costs through many unexpected resources, including many of you; He will be faithful for this adoption as well.  

So... we need help!  We are now, officially, in a bind for fundraising.  We've got to raise $4000 within the next 3 WEEKS or less.  ...Unlike our first adoption, we have a Nov. 9th deadline to get our dossier on the Lithuanian Central Authority's desk. (We just learned of this deadline last week)   We thought we had the funding all planned out but then some things ended up being different than last time, our plans got turned upside down, and now here we are. 
...I heard a funny saying last night on a show that perfectly summarized our position:
"If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans."  UGH.

We need your help as soon as possible.  We're setting up a link to AdoptTogether (A fundraising website) that will enable any donation to be tax deductible. It will be up and running directly.