The First Year...

One year ago today, my dad, Anya and I arrived home from our final trip to Russia. Anya was officially a member of our family & an American citizen. It's hard to imagine our lives without Anya & at the same time it doesn't seem possible that an entire year has gone by.

Jack & I are so proud of our children! Anya has really grown up so much in the last year. She has learned about family life and made so many adjustments and overcome a lot for an 11 year old! She has matured so much emotionally and spiritually that it's hard to even imagine the emotional state of the little girl who came home last year. She is well-adjusted, happy and thriving... some mornings she can be heard singing "God Bless America" in the shower at the top of her lungs.

Faith has been the greatest sister to Anya! She has been very giving, loving, understanding and welcoming. Faith is a very nurturing person and has willingly shared all she has with Anya. I believe God has used this year in Faith's life to develop a lot of character in her. Faith's life has also been enriched by having Anya as a sister. She now has a playmate & best friend at home with her all the time. They work together so well and can accomplish wonderful things as a team!

Caleb has really become a "big boy" this year! He is a chatter box & follows his sisters around wherever they go. He adores them & they think he is adorable (most of the time). I don't think Caleb even remembers life before Anya.

Thank you for being a part of this past year! We are truly blessed and give all glory to God for the development in Anya's life. I think Anya's life can be described best by a song I learned as a child:

"I am a promise, I am a possibility, I am a promise with a capital "P"

I am a great big bundle of potentiality

And I am learning to hear God's voice, and I am trying to make the right choice

I'm a promise to be, anything God wants me to be"

Such a Beautiful Young Lady!

Anya has always been such a beautiful girl, but I just wanted to share with everyone how much more she has come out of her shell and really blossomed since she's been home. It's hard to believe looking at these two pictures that this is the same girl (the pictures were taken a little over a year apart). We are so proud of her and she is very proud of herself. She loves her new haircut! Can you tell by the smile on her face? This is just a quick update - wanted to share how well she's doing. From her picture, you can tell she's doing great inside and out!

Exciting News!

Here's the short story... more details & a new blog to follow!

This summer, our family had the opportunity to get to know 3 girls who came on the hosting program from New Horizons (the same program that brought Anya to us). We began to feel God leading us to adopt again (which was a huge surprise to us!). And after much prayer, great consideration and the counsel of those who know us best, we decided to pursue the adoption of Olga, Katya & Kristina... three precious girls from Ukraine. They are 13, 11 and 10 years old and we will be writing much more about them in the future. This was not a decision we made lightly, but God doesn't always do things exactly the way we would imagine. Jack and I have never been so sure of a decision and so "on the same page" so to speak. Please pray for us as we begin this process and as continue our life-long commitment to all of our children. We feel very blessed to be a part of their lives!

We have been praying about the financial aspect of bringing the girls home and we have total peace that God will provide. We don't know exactly how He will, but we are confident that He is "Jehovah-Jireh" - our provider and that He equips those whom He calls. Below is information on a yard sale we will be participating in to start raising money for the adoptions. We would love donations for our yard sale! If you have anything you could donate, please give us a call and we will come pick it up from you or you can bring it the day of the sale - anything will help! Please let others know we are accepting donations for our yard sale and to come out on the 19th and shop! Please pass our information along and pray for God to multiply our efforts. Thank you for your support! Jack & Stephanie 678-227-8673 or 404-787-8904

Precious In His Sight, Inc. (an orphan ministry) is going to have a huge community yard sale on Saturday, September 19th at Youth Middle School on Hwy 81 South in Loganville. The yard sale is from 7am until people stop coming to shop!

Anyone who would like a space to raise money to adopt or host, can reserve a space for FREE and anyone who would like a space for their own yard sale or for a business or church can rent one for $20. The rental fees for the yard sale spaces will go to the orphan ministry "Precious In His Sight". Everyone can come out and shop and will be ministering to orphans by shopping! For more information, please call Stephanie at 678-227-8673 or email stephanie@inhissight.org.

Finally an Update!

We have finally put together an update letter to let everyone know how things have been going since Anya came home last December. You can go to our blog to view the letter or click on the link below:

Higgins Family Update Letter

Thank you for being a part of our journey and for supporting us!

Love,
The Higgins Family

Our Local Newspaper

This is an article that appeared in our local newspaper today. While it's not completely accurate (Anya came on the hosting program 3 times, but only stayed with our family the 3rd time), it is a positive article about the hosting program and adoption. I'll post the link to the paper as well.

‘I have a mom and dad now’

By Sharon SwanepoelThe Loganville Tribune
Published July 17, 2009WALTON COUNTY — There was no hesitation whatsoever when 11-year-old adoptee Anya Higgins was asked what is different about her life now compared to when she lived in Russia.“I have a mom and a dad now,” she said, the joy written all over her face.As an afterthought, the former Russian orphan added she now gets to ride in a car, something she didn’t do when she lived in the orphanage back in Russia, but was very certain about how much more important having a family was.“I also have a grandmother and a grandfather and a sister and a brother — and I’ve learned about Jesus — isn’t that great,” she added, a big smile again lighting up her face.Jack and Stephanie Higgins, of Covington, adopted Anya after she had visited their home three times as a participant in a cultural exchange program for foreign orphans — first when she was 7, 8 and then 9. By the third time the Higgins family knew they wanted to make Anya a permanent member of their family, eventually bringing her back to their Walton County home for good Dec. 13 when she was 10.“It took 11 months and three trips to Russia but we finally managed it,” Stephanie said. “It was really hard to let her go back to Russia that last time. My daughter, who is now 6, said, ‘My heart is breaking in pieces’ when we had to let her go. “She said she was ready for her sister to come home.”But all that is history now and Anya is settled in her new home, where she is being homeschooled by her mother and learning to adapt to her new life. Anya got to spend a little time last month with some of her old friends from the orphanage at an “American 101” cultural event organized by Crossroads Church of Walton County. Children living in homes of families from the local area for the summer, some in Loganville and Snellville, spent time at the church with chaperones and other children from various foreign countries who could speak their native language. These children, ranging in age from 7 to 16, are on the same Christian cultural exchange program as Anya was when she first met her “forever family.” Officials from the program, New Horizons for Children, hope some of them will be as fortunate as Anya in finding a family that has room in the home and their heart to make them permanent family members. Founder of the program, LeAnn Dakake, herself the adoptive parent of six foreign children as well as two biological children, said 65 to 70 percent of the children do find permanent homes through the program, which now operates in Latvia and the Ukraine as well as Russia. For more information visit www.newhorizonsforchildren.org.

The Loganville Tribune

Parentalrights.org -- Obama Administration Pushes CRC Ratification

Parentalrights.org -- Obama Administration Pushes CRC Ratification

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6 months!

It's been a long time since I've posted - we've been busy and as Anya has learned "time goes very quickly when your life is fun". Today is 6 months to the day since we brought Anya home from the airport for good (it was even a Saturday). I am trying to put together a very detailed update with pictures and hope to have it up soon. There have been a lot of laughs, a lot of tears, and a lot of changes (from everyone). Anya has really done an amazing job settling into her life here and Jack and I comment all the time that we cannot imagine life without her and it seems she's always been with us. She even asked me yesterday if my heart feels happy like her heart. I said yes and asked her to tell me how her heart feels. She said "inside my heart feels like 'yes! I am so happy - I have a family' - I'm so happy, Mom. Does your heart know I feel this way?". I will be writing about a lot of her thoughts and anecdotes in my update, but I didn't want this day to pass without letting everyone know how well things are going and to thank you all for your prayers, your support and the love you have given Anya and our family. God has been so good and we pray that Anya's life will be a reflection of His glory.

Please spread the word!

I have posted a new video on Anya's blog - please share it with anyone God lays on your heart. Jack and I are so passionate about God's heart for orphaned children... thank you for allowing us to share with you! You can go to our blog to see the video or click here: Please watch this video!



Today and tomorrow are exciting days for Anya! Tomorrow is Anya's birthday and today we are having her party. Close friends and family will be coming and she is so excited! She wanted a "Barbie" party, so she is going to be a princess today! She will be dressing up and wearing a tiara and everything. She has been so excited about today that she literally couldn't sleep last night. I was up late decorating a Barbie cake and she called for me. When I went to her room, she said "Mom, please help me. I can't go to sleep. I am praying and praying and I still can't sleep." This might be the first time she has had such anticipation and excitement! She finally fell asleep sometime late last night on the floor in her room cuddle next to her baby dolls. She doesn't exactly know what to do with herself or what to expect. She has never before had a birthday cake let alone a party. This is all very new! Although she will be 11 years old tomorrow, she says that this is her 4th birthday because this is only the 4th year she knew when her birthday was. Her birth parents had never told her that she had a birthday and when she was about to be 8 years old, her teacher at the orphanage told her she had a birthday coming up and that it was March 8th. I hope today proves to be as wonderful as she imagines... she has asked us to "hide" and jump out and yell surprise when she walks in the door. Then, she has practiced what she wants to say, "Hello everybody! I'm princess Anya. Thank you for coming." I will try to get this on video and post it tonight.

Orphan Conference

My parents, a friend of ours, Jack & I are all planning to attend an orphan ministry workshop organized by Hope for Orphans (a ministry of Family Life). I thougth I would post this information in case anyone else was interested in attending. I think it's going to be great conference! You can register on the website or if you have questions, just give me a call at 678-227-8673. I’m really excited to go & hear from other people who share our heart for orphan ministry! There is a link below with more information. Please pass this along to anyone or any church you think might be interested! Thank you!!!

Saturday February 21, 2009
Location:
Biltmore Baptist Church
35 Clayton Road
Arden, NC
(near Asheville, North Carolina)
Time:
9:00 A.M. - 4:30 P.M.

Click here for more information!

Anya's Adjustment

Anya is really adjusting very well emotionally & physically to being in our home. She definitely feels a part of the family now and calls this "my house" and her room "my room", etc. Every once in a while we have a moment where she questions things, but I just try to talk honestly and give her the answers I have and say "I don't know" to the things I don't understand or have answers to. This week she has been writing letters to friends, teachers, caregivers and to her biological grandmother (we think we have found her address). She is very excited about sending mail to everyone & pictures that we printed the other day. She has written in her letters all sorts of things like "I love to play with my sister, my little brother is very fun, my mom is going to make a Barbie cake for my birthday, I'm doing good in school" and she writes it all in Russian and then tells me the translation (her English is amazing!). We continue to call Russia about once a week. We call the orphanage and talk to caregivers, friends and anyone else who answers the phone and then we also call Anya's teacher at home. It has been a great way for Anya to stay connected and really has helped ease her transition, I think. Tuesday, Anya went with me to speak to a group about the hosting program. She was nervous at first, but really wanted to tell them about her two friends, Nastya and Little Nastya. She showed pictures and asked the families to consider hosting one of her friends and explained that they need to be adopted. People asked questions and she did a great job answering! I was so proud of her. Please pray that God will continue to give Anya boldness to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. It was her choice to go and talk and I'm so glad that she did. She is a much better advocate for orphans than I could ever be! I keep praying that Anya will come to fully understand what Christ has done for her and she will receive Him and allow His love to transform her life. I know He has a plan for her life and I believe she will have a wonderful ministry to other orphaned children.