Any Suggestions

Time to start booking airline tickets -- leaving 3 weeks from tomorrow!!  We are probably using Golden Rule since they helped us last January and did an awesome job.  Should we book one-way or round trip?  I know round trip is cheaper, but then how do you even begin to guess a return date?  And would the charges for changing return trip dates wipe out the savings between round trip or one way?  Also, we will be flying out of San Antonio or Austin, Tx so does anyone have suggestions on cities/airports that were easier or hardier to travel through.  Last time we flew to Munich and I know it seemed to take a long, long, time to go through all the security.  Of course, better safe than sorry:)

TRAVEL DATE!!

PRAISE GOD!!  We received our SDA invitation this morning --  it is for May 24th at 9:00a.m.!!  I was driving when Mike called me with the news and I literally had to pull over and stop!!  To those who have not walked down this adoption road it may seem like such a simple thing to get an appointment; but believe me this a HUGE blessing!!  There is so much uncertainty right now in Ukraine, with the changing of the ministries, that no one knows exactly what is happening.

We realize this is just another step of the journey and we know there may be (probably will be) other obstacles.  Right now though, we are so thankful that we will get to see Alona again!!  It has been 16 months since we saw her last and 2 years since we first decided to host/adopt her.

We thank all of you for the prayers, encouraging e-mails, phone calls and comments on our blog -- please keep praying!!   We ask also that you pray for all the other families that are waiting and hoping to get their SDA invitation or get their dossier submitted soon.  There are so many children that need forever families and need them NOW!!

Up and Down, Up and Down

I think everyone who has adopted, is in the process of adopting or even just considering adoption can agree on this one thing -- it is an emotional roller coaster!!  So when I started this blog, I was really scared to write about our journey.  I did not want to scare anyone away from adoption;  but yet I wanted to be honest.  I wanted to share our "ups & our downs".
These past few weeks have been an emotional time..., up, down, up, down!!  I have written down many of my feelings and then later questioned if I should have.  I decided last night that I am just going to continue on.., keep writing, keep being honest, keep sharing our "ups & our downs" !!  I figure if I make people uncomfortable or they think I am an emotional mess.., they will just stop reading :)

P.S.   I actually hate to write and I am not good at it.

Looking forward to & thankful for:)

Here are a few things we are looking forward to and are thankful for:

1) The end of tax season is just over 48 hours away.  Mike will actually get more than 4 or 5 hours of sleep a night and I once again will have a husband.
2) Five days from now (Friday morning) our son is flying home for Easter.  We haven't seen him since 2011 began.
3) Not having to miss my nephew's graduation from college in 4 weeks
4) Being here to celebrate & be part of the grand opening of one of our closest friends' new business

Also, Mike said to let everyone know that with the end of tax season he is looking forward to working in the yard, learning Russian and blogging!!

God is so Faithful, even when I am so faithless

 To all of you who know me, you know that I cry easily.  I cry if I am happy, I cry if I am sad,  I cry if you cry, I cry if you are thinking about crying and I cry if I see a stranger crying.  Just wanted to give you all fair warning before reading the rest of this blog!!  So, a friend gave me a new daily devotional this week (Jesus Calling) and I have been reading it everyday instead of my regular one.  Mike and I talked a lot last night about our adoption, the power of prayer, our focus being on God and not our situation, etc.,  So this morning, when I picked up my new devotional and read April 16th it really spoke to me. We are called to live by faith, not sight and we need to give God thanks in all circumstances -- exactly what we had talked about last night.  So I sent out an e-mail this morning to a group of family & friends that have been praying for us the last year and a half. I gave them an update about the situation in Ukraine and about how we were praying and asked them to pray. Then I left the house to run errands and when I came back...,

This is where I cried!!!  I picked up my old devotional "Streams in the Desert" and guess what today's devotional is in that book..., HEBREWS 11:8!!   How could I forget that on this exact date last year, God gave me that Scripture.., right when our adoption seemed impossible.  I even used that Scripture in the title of my blog, I wrote that Scripture on a chalkboard in my kitchen (April 2010) where it still remains!!
HELLO!!!  How easily I forget that all God wants from me is obedience to His call, He wants me to go where He sends me, He wants me to put my faith in Him and Him only.

 God is so faithful, even when I am so faithless!!

This is not to say that I want you to quit praying, on the contrary --  PLEASE PRAY!! Pray for all the families and children that are waiting and hoping that their adoptions will happen before the shutdown!!

A Work In Progress

I have had a few hours to process the news that the SDA really IS going to shutdown for 3 or 4 months in June and I am now ready for action. So, what can I do when this is a situation that is SO out of my control.  There is only one thing I can do, and that is PRAY for all the families and children involved.  It is also time to put on "my big girl panties" and have my actions back up the things I say I believe.  I can not say God's timing and plan for our lives is perfect and then panic about the timing of the shutdown and the implications on our adoption.  I can not be so prideful and think this shutdown "is all about us".  I can not say, "I believe that all things are possible for God" and then start looking at a calendar and think "there is no way we can get this adoption accomplished before the shutdown".  So I am once again turning this whole adoption over to God.  I am reminding myself that Alona is truly His child and I am just being given the privilege of adopting her.

Having said all that, does this mean from this point on I will have no fears or questions or tears?  NO!!  Remember, I am just a work in progress.  However, to hold me accountable, if/when I start once again to whine, complain, panic, fear, etc., would you tell me to "STOP"!! -- but remember do it in love:)

P.S.  On top of the news from our facilitator today, I had my dog throwing up, we made our weekly call to our girl and didn't get to talk to her.  I bought a huge Diet Coke & while driving down the highway realized it had a hole in the bottom and it leaked out all over my car & me.  I then had to walk into 2 businesses with wet shorts on and I stuck to the seat of my car the rest of the afternoon.  I am praying tomorrow will be a better day...,

How Do You Spell

How do you spell.., confused, sad, disappointed, scared but yet hopeful?  It is hard to put all our emotions into one word or sentence.  Our dossier was submitted on March 30th and we have not received a SDA invitation yet. Some friends of ours that were submitted the same date received their SDA appointment for mid-May.  Other blogs I read where people submitted around our time have also received SDA appointments, but not us.  We think it has something to do with our girl's international adoption availability date.  Which totally confuses us because she should be available now.  I guess the positive side to this story is the SDA accepted our dossier a little over 2 weeks ago.  The bad news is the SDA is shutting down in early to mid-June for 3 or 4 months.  So will we received an SDA invitation and be able to travel and adopt before shutdown?  I don't know!!  Some say "yes" and some say "no".  After our girl has waited almost 2 years, could the door be shutting (even temporarily) on us bringing her forever home?
 PLEASE PRAY!!

God is Good

I went to a party on Saturday for a young woman who has been in Costa Rica doing mission work.  She is here for 2 weeks and then will return to Costa Rica.  The party was a "Favorite Things" party with each person bringing her favorite dessert & favorite Scripture written on a card.  The cards were put in little decorated boxes and at the end of the party each person was given one to take one home.  This morning I reach into the box and pulled a card out and here is the Scripture  "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.  1 Peter 5:7
Having said that,  here is the lastest Ukraine adoption alert www.adoption.state.gov .

First Mother's Day Card

We received this card from Alona -- she had mailed it March 3rd!!   I am going to consider it my "first Mother's Day" card from her.   Yes, I will admit that she listed all family members by name and said she loved them.  But then she began a long litany of blessings wished for mama (me), from her (my daughter), on the occasion of "International Women's Day".   I have been told that this holiday is celebrated in a big way on March 8th in Ukraine -- even government offices are closed.   Needless to say, I will treasure this card forever!!

I've been a little quiet

I have been a little quiet.., because how do you put into words the emotions that go with this adoption process.  We have waited so long and are finally submitted to the SDA;  and we are so thankful & excited!!   Now we have to wait for the invitation and it has only been 9 days -- not that we are counting!!  We know it usually takes 2 to 4 weeks to hear from the SDA so we will wait.., patiently?

To add a little drama to this waiting period.., we had not been able to contact our girl.  UGH!!  We call the orphanage once a week,  but had not been able to reach her since the beginning of March (4 weeks ago) --  about a week after our dossier arrived in Ukraine!!  Well,  as you know, satan starts messing with your mind.  Is she still at the orphanage? did she change her mind?  is she in trouble?  After 15 months of waiting is the door being shut on our adoption?  Hurry SDA and give us that appointment!!  Oh wait.., we are waiting patiently?

Today, we called the orphanage and guess what..., we talked to Alona!!!  She sounded perfectly fine, safe & like it had been just yesterday that we talked -- "I love you, I mees you, when are you coming?"  She also started advocating for another child from her orphanage that wants a family.  It was such a relief hearing her voice and an extra blessing hearing her advocate for this other child.  We know our girl is a little rough around the edges but she has such a heart for others.

So NOW we will wait patiently (?) for our SDA invitation.