It Could Be Any Day

It is hard to believe that in about a month we will be traveling back to Ukraine--- God willing. I am excited about it all--- the packing, the ticket shopping, the plane ride, the people, the language, the staircases, the taxi rides, the SDA appointment, and even the train ride. Most of all I am excited about finally getting to meet A or N and P. Every time I glance at their picture, I smile. They are beautiful. They should fit in perfectly with our family. P is around William's age and A or N is a few years older. What is one more 12 year old?

It could be any day now when we hear of our travel date. Hopefully everything will continue to go as smoothly as it has so far. We can pray.

SDA Appointment??

Since we are waiting, we might as well play the game-- Guess our SDA appointment date!

What day do you think it will be? Maybe it will be the same day as the Dove family.

Thinking of Ukraine

I woke up thinking of Ukraine today. I opened up our sliding glass door first thing this morning and enjoyed the fresh air. This reminded me of how I opened up the kitchen window every morning when we were in Ukraine last summer. The sun shining brightly throughout the kitchen as I made my morning coffee reminded me of-- you guessed it-- my mornings in Ukraine. Oh how I miss the place. It holds such a special place in my heart. The simplicity of this beautiful country is something I long for here, but can never quite achieve.

It will be so nice to get back there. I can't wait to share it with Caleb and Rachel and of course, John. I can't wait to meet A and P--- if only they knew we were coming. Still, I pray that God is preparing their hearts to say yes to our family--- they are at the age where their consent is needed.

Hopefully the SDA will look at our paperwork with favor and we will hear our travel date in the next week or two. The journey is really just beginning.

And Then There Was....

two.

When I was at the store the other day I found a cute pair of shorts with a bright colored shirt. I thought it would be a perfect summer outfit. I also picked up a few more girly things that I think A might enjoy, including a new bathing suit. I hope it fits her.

Just to be fair, I found some cool boy outfits for P. I wonder if he is around the same size as William. I'm thinking he isn't quite as tall. I can't wait to see if I am right!

Yes, we have petitioned to adopt a sibling group---- hopefully we will have a new son and daughter (just a few years older) by the end of summer!

Choosing

I have had dreams of sitting at the SDA flipping through files of children wondering which one we should choose. Each face looking into my eyes begging for me to choose them. Looking over at John who is of no help whatsoever because he too can't decide how to choose our next child. Just when I think I have finally chosen the right child for our family-- I hear a little voice coming from one of the boys' pictures that we didn't choose, crying and asking, "Why didn't you choose me? Why? I am a good boy. I promise."

Sounds more like a nightmare to me.

And that is why I really had no desire to travel to Ukraine for a blind referral.

I know for many people this is just part of the process in finding their child, and that is fine, but for me, I had absolutely no desire of living out my bad dream. No desire at all.

And what would you know? Without even having to really ask, people began telling us about children. And as soon as we found a match to our homestudy specifications we pretty much committed and prepared to submit a petition to adopt.

However, God had different plans because we got ready to submit a petition two times prior to this last time only to find out it wasn't meant to be.

So who were we supposed to adopt? Who did God have chosen for our family? Was it a boy? Was it a girl?

Or was it both?

The Email

This morning I got an email.

A part of me expected it to say that there was a slight delay. It has been that way with every other adoption.

But no.

We were submitted!

Yea yea yea!

In a few weeks we should receive our travel date!

A Blessed Time Line

In just two days our dossier will be submitted for review and then a travel date should follow. How exciting! I hope all of our paperwork is okay--- but then that would be a world record for us--- and we all know that rarely happens for anyone adopting from Ukraine--- but I can hope. :)

Everything is coming together nicely--- even had someone offer to help out with the kids if we needed it. Oh and then sweet Sally who I had the privilege of meeting a month ago also offered to help out if she was back from China with her new son in time.

My biggest concern is this whole Interpol thing where the SDA checks our background at the international level. Pretty crazy huh?? No I am worried about passing the check--- but what I am worried about is the whole timing thing because this "check" takes 40 or so days-- and you can't get a court date until you have it. And I have seen over and over these families being invited to Ukraine for their appointment way before this time has passed holding them up in Ukraine longer than necessary.

But God knows our situation with our kids at home-- He knows how hard it will be for us to be away from our kids--- and I trust He the best time scheduler ever---- and will do what is best for our family. With that said, I am still hoping for a mid June appointment--- any sooner and we will miss Caleb's graduation and all the kids' last day of school.

Oh, and one last thing. Did I ever mention the term, "Petitioning for a child?" Hmmm, maybe I forgot to.