Houston, we have a court date!

After a long wait since meeting our baby girl in early August, we finally have been assigned a date to be in Russian court in early November!!!  Guess what that means?...Annhaven will be OURS in early December!!!  Please pray for our upcoming trip to Russia.  We will get to visit Annhaven for about 4 days, have Russian medical exams, and stand before a Russian judge for legal custody of this angel baby.....and then leave the country without her one last time.  We come home and wait 30 days.  AND THEN, we travel for the last time to bring her home...

HOME...where she has a light bluish/grey room with a girly crystal chandelier...a white baby bed with soft, minky dot sheets...the sweetest dollie you've ever seen that her 3 big brothers made for her...and many special things hanging on the walls to bring joy......

BUT also, a brand new place that is strange to her - a quiet place compared to an ever noisy orphanage....strange food in light of the "mush" she is used to eating.....no other babies sleeping around her at night.....cars that make her nautious since the only time she's ever ridden in one was on her trip to the orphanage.....sights and sounds that can be scary since she's never left the 4 orphange walls....and where none of her little friends will be.....

We pray you see how much Annhaven needs God's Holy Spirit to speak calmly to her tiny heart....for this trip as we play with her and leave her again, for the next trip when we take her from the orphanage, for the trip home, and then for the beginning of a new life in our family.  WE see it as all good, but we have to remember she will be grieving some losses.  Please, friends and family, pray to our Heavenly Father, the ONE who sees all, and ask Him to give Annhaven His peace that passes all understanding.  We are praying this peace for each of you as well, dear friends. 

On another note.....when we made our first trip to the orphanage, we asked what we could bring back that might be of help, and the workers said "shoes!"  And boy, are they right!  The children wear shoes that are several sizes too small...toes sticking way out and all!  And they look like your great grandfather wore them, too.  So, if you didn't get to help buy clothing for the last trip, and you'd still like to do something, consider buying a pair of shoes for an orphan.  The shoes we take will stay at the orphange for the 1-4 year olds there.  We need boy and girl sizes 3 to whatever size a 4 year old wears..??? I don't remember???  Facebook me if you'd like to help with this. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for continuing to pray for us.  If God has layed a special prayer or scripture verse on your heart to pray for Annhaven, we would love to know about it!  We are keeping a special journal for her and would count it a privelege to have you be part of her life story.  May God bless you for your thoughts toward our family. 

Marcee
for the Watkins