Winter Break Fun!

Winter break has been filled with lots of fun times! Here are Nicolae and Cristian enjoying their bikes from Santa...aka Everett Staff.

















These are their first bikes. They have ridden them a couple of times now and will soon be ready to lose the training wheels. These pictures just happen to be pictures of their very first rides on their new bikes.



We also got to take the boys bowling. Another first. Let's just say, it was a great thing that the bumpers were up. Some of their throws reminded me of Fred Flintstone, where the ball ricocheted off the sides 6-8 times before actually hitting the pins.



Skiing was another new experience for the boys. Nicolae did awesome. He loved it and worked hard at it all day long. Cristian was less aggressive and would have been fine sitting in the lodge for the afternoon.



Um...that was so not happening. He ended up getting back out there and finished out the day with Nicolae. Yay Cristian.
I am proud of both the boys. They did a great job for their first day of skiing.

The next day we went skating at Long Barn. It was the first time for Daniel, Cristian and Nicolae. We had such a great time. A cute little rink, spending time with each other,laughing and enjoying each other's company. It was such a special moment. Pictures don't even come close to showing what a wonderful time it was...filled with so much LOVE.
And...look at the cute little skating bars that the boys got to use. They were wonderful. Cristi was tearing up the ice for about 2 hrs. Nicolae ventured from the bar and skated on his own after a bit. He was so adorable skating and dancing.

Here is Bev and Daniel hanging out together on the ice. Actually we all pretty much hung out together. It was not a big rink.

After skating we headed to Pie in the Sky pizza and then to the cabin to clean up.
We got back home Monday evening.

Here are a couple more pictures of Nicolae, Cristian and Daniel on the deck of the cabin.










I used to dream of moments like these with Nicolae and Cristian. Now they have come true. God is so good!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone!
Nicolae and Cristian are doing very well and are enjoying the holiday season. Singing Christmas songs, visiting Santa, decorating the Christmas Tree and reading books about the real reason for Christmas...Jesus. They especially love the book "The Legend of the Candy Cane". It talks about how the red represents the blood of Jesus and how the white is our sins washed away white as snow. It explains how the shape is that of a shepherd's hook and when you turned it over it is a J is for Jesus. It talks about how a little girl and the candy shop owner go from house to house sharing God's promise. They leave candy canes at each house. It is such a beautiful story. Cristian and Nicolae love it. Cristian was so moved by this story. He invited Jesus into his heart. It was so precious. He said, "Jesus please come into my heart, because I want you to be in my heart." Then Nicolae followed up with...Yes Jesus stay in our hearts and thank you too because Maga, Mrs. Kucera and Osita are with you. Yes, of course, I cried.
To all of our friends in Romania... Luminita, Ani, Vali, Carmen, Petre, Marius, Rebecca, Petra, Maria, William, Nannette, Julie, Pastor Florin.Claudia, Claudia, David, Feli, Dana, Laurentiu, Brandusa, Paul and Stephanie, Nicoleta, Bianca, Andrei all of you...we think about you often and miss you so much.
We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas. Merry Christmas/ Craciun Fericit.
Love,
Nicolae, Cristian and Debbie

Cousins together for the first time!

I know that it has been so long since I last emailed. Hopefully, I will be better at keeping you all updated. I certainly have enough pictures, but I can't think of a better picture to begin with than this one.. Here are Tomas, Nicolae, Daniel and Cristian together for the first time. Cousins Together...December 14, 2008.

Our First Day of School

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Our plane trip to America!

Our trip HOME!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

We are coming to America....Tuesday!

Hi Everyone,
We are coming to America! We picked up the boys' visas and all the paperwork we will need from the U.S. Embassy this morning at 10 am. We will be flying into Modesto Tues. Oct. 21st at 4:38 pm. We are so excited to be coming home! God is good!
See you all soon!


Love,
Bev, Teri, Nicolae, Cristian and Debbie

"Romania is in the air !"

Pastor Florin sent this email out. I have no idea who actually took the photo, but I thought it was worth sending out to all of you.

"Romania is in the air! ''




I think that this cloud formation really does resemble the country of Romania.

One Campaign.....Tomas!

Here is a video about the One Campaign Campus Challenge. It is worth watching and learning more about. Tomas, my nephew, is in it. Check it out. He comes on at second 31.

Latest update!

The newest update:
The documents arrived in Vienna, yesterday, Thursday Oct. 9th. Now it is up to Vienna to approve the paperwork and notify the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest. Once Bucharest hears from Vienna, they will call me. Then it should be just a few more days after that and we will be on our way home!
Please pray that Vienna would have a sense of urgency. It would be great if they would contact Bucharest on Monday! God how I pray that Vienna accepts all the paperwork as is and that things move quickly.
So ready to be home!
(The picture is of Nicolae's and Cristian's tigers wearing the boys' p.j.s.)
Love,
Debbie
Thanks again for all of you who have been and continue to pray for us!

New pictures of Nicolae, Cristian, Teri and I

Today after mailing the final documents(hopefully) to Vienna, we went to the park to play. Here are a few pictures from our day ....enjoy!




The paperwork should arrive there Thursday morning. After that, it is up to the U.S. Embassy in Vienna. I am praying that they will have all the documents they need and we will be heading home soon.





After Vienna gives the o.k., we have an exit interview with the Embassy in Bucharest. We also need to get new medicals for the boys. I am told this just takes a day. So... please keep those prayers coming. It is conceivable for us to be given the "thumbs up" sometime next week.




Love,
Debbie

Whooo Hoooo!!!!!!!!

WHOOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!
FINALLY!!!!!!! We finally got the passports for the boys today!
I wanted to show you how adorable their pictures turned out, but figured it might be best no to show all the information on the inside via my blog. God willing we will be home soon and then you can see them in person.(The passports and the boys!)
Teri, the boys and I went around 11 am to the passport office to meet with Mr. Mocanu. We left there around 4pm. It was a long day.
Well, because of course, we had troubles (I will spare you the details), but thanks to Mr. Mocanu and a very nice lady from the passport office, we got it all worked out. Praise God!
Which means, we are finished with the Romanian side of things!

Tomorrow,we will send off the last of the documents to the U.S. Embassy. Then, if all the paperwork is as it should be(which as far as I know, it is) it should be a very short time before we meet with the Embassy in Bucharest. After that, we should be on our way home!!!! Short: meaning another week or two.
I can hardly believe it actually becoming a reality. Today was one of the first days where I felt that this journey is almost over. Of course I am still "guarded", but it was so amazing to be holding the boys passports in my hands. We truly are a family now.
On Saturday, I saw their new birth certificates as well. To see my name as their mom was/is so surreal. Truly amazing.
Soon Cristian Jack Vaughn, Nicolae Thomas Vaughn and I will be heading home. Along with two very amazing Aunties....Teri and Bev!
For all of you who have been praying......"thanks".....
Love,
Debbie

A NEW UPDATE FROM ROMANIA!

THANKS SO MUCH TRICIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey everyone,
I know it has been a while since I last blogged. Sorry, but life is like this sometimes.
I wanted to show you a few pictures of the boys' room. Tricia, a friend from Livermore, was the greatest help. I met her in Romania just about 1 year ago. She offered to come help paint. Not only did she paint, but she even brought the paint too!
Here are some fun photos of Bev, Tricia and I painting! Enjoy.
Thanks again Tricia....
You are truly amazing.
Thanks too to all the people in Livermore who donated the paint, bedding, p.j.s and moola for the boys' beds! A huge blessing for sure.
I hope to be able to send updated pictures soon.
Love,
Debbie

Nicolae

Last night at dinner, Nicolae was praying. He always prays for Maga(my mom) and Osita(my dog that I had for 16 years). Nicolae and Cristian used to both pray that God will help them not to be dead anymore.
Now they thank God that they are in Heaven with Him. His prayer was pretty much the same as ever other night, except for one thing....

A little insight first:
Nicolae has asked many times why God didn't let him see Maga before she died. I always tell him that I don't know, but that one day we will all get to see Maga again in Heaven if we have Jesus in our hearts and lives.

Well, last night he started asking again about how you get to heaven. He knows he wants to go there too, but how? He said I want this very much, but it is so difficult.

I explained that it really it isn't so hard. We just have to believe in God, trust in Him and invite him in our hearts. Then He will come into our lives and one day when we die we will live forever in Heaven with God.

He said that he wanted to do this. I asked him if he wanted me to pray with him and he said no...He could pray by himself. Which he did. It was so amazing.
The English version is something like this.

God, Please come into my heart and be with me. And please be with Cristian and Mom too. Thank you that Maga and Osita are in Heaven with you. Please be in my life and keep me in yours.
Amen.

Later when he was sharing with Bev on skype. He said, "Auntie Bev, at dinner I prayed to Jesus and then He just came right into my heart."

God is so good.

Nicolae, Cristian and I prayed again at bedtime. Nicolae thanked God for being in his heart.
What a precious and wonderful moment.
Please pray that Nicolae would continue to grow in Christ's love and truly understand what it means to be a child of God.
Love,
Debbie

Happy Oympics Day!

Hi all...Happy Olympics Day!
Our nephew Daniel is in China right now. He is one of 2008 musicians playing in the band. It is quite an honor. He got to play in Tiananmen Square, which is amazing. The band is the first non professional, non Chinese group to play there. Here is a picture of him. He plays the cymbals. The band was supposed to be playing in the opening ceremonies as well, but they later found out that they wouldn't be. A bit disappointing for sure. Pam is in China with Daniel too. What an amazing experience for the both of them..
Nicolae, Crisitian and I are wearing our Olympic T-shirts in honor of Daniel. Go USA!

Cute pictures

When pictures are as cute as these, they need to be shared!
These were taken at the water park last week. Bev, Nicolae, Cristian and I had a wonderful day together.

Bev headed back to the states yesterday. The boys and I miss her already!
We can't wait to go to the states and finally be home!

The Court said "YES!"

Hi Everyone! Here is a picture of all of us celebrating!

Today was a great day. The courts said "yes" to both Karen and me. We are sending up praises for sure!

Karen and I were in separate court rooms today.My meeting was very short. It lasted 1 maybe 2 minutes. Seriously. The judge asked for a copy of the newspaper that proved we tried to contact the biological father(once again). The lawyer from the DPC and my lawyer each handed the judge the notice from the newspaper. Then immediately after that, the judge asked if Nicolae Thomas Vaughn and Cristian Jack Vaughn were the names I wanted for the boys. We gave a collective "Da" and that was it. It was so fast. I don't think the reality of it all has even hit me yet. We all hooped and hollered once we got outside the court room.
Afterwards, we went down to wait for Karen's court hearing. She was one of the very last ones. Her judge was new and asked Karen lots of questions. Karen was very nervous because she knew that they still had not located Beti's biological father. However, it all turned out great in the end!
We all went to Hard Rock Cafe afterwards. It was an amazing day. Now we can begin waiting some more for the final court papers...arrgh and then HEAD HOME!!!!!
Thanks to all of you for all your support and prayers. Tonight it is praises all around!
Wahhhoooooo!

My New Court Date is Here...Tues. Aug. 5th

Here is a recent picture of Cristi, Bev, Nicolae and me. We are all anxious and nervous about tomorrow's court date. Please Pray. The boys, Bev and I are all ready for this to be over.
We need your prayers and a few miracles.
I found out that there will be yet another judge for tomorrow's court date, along with a different lawyer representing me from the DPC. Oh and Mr. Mocanu won't be there either. He is in Italy on vacation. Mr. Moncanu has arranged for a lawyer friend of his to be there with me. I will meet her tomorrow morning.
So... yes all these changes along with just the normal stuff that goes with trying to finally adopt....it is a bit stressful. I am doing my best to remember that God is in control and that He is in control of tomorrow's outcome.
My prayer, of course, is that tomorrow will be the final court date and we can all send up praises of joy!
We need to be there at 8:30 am tomorrow (Tuesday morning), which is 10:30 pm Monday night for all of you.
Oh and Julie is coming tomorrow as a witness...Just in case. Sometimes the judges require a witness and sometimes they don't. Nannette is planning to be there as well. Rebecca and Petra are watching the boys for me. The boys will stay at their house tonight. A blessing for sure. It will be much easier getting ready tomorrow morning.
Thanks in advance for all your prayers.
Love,
Debbie

A fun day with Nann

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

My Little Chefs!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Our Birthday...July 18th

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Nicolae's Birthday....July 10th

Here is a little glimpse of Nicolae's birthday. Click play and then on each picture to view.

Make a Smilebox postcard