The Waiting Game: Part 1. Here we are approaching the end of another month. Since our dossier was submitted it seems like time has almost come to a stand-still. Days seem to pass so much slower now and the waiting is getting harder. I had thought that once our dossier was "in the door" I'd be able to rest so much easier and the waiting would be bearable. Instead, it has given me a hunger to move forward. With childbirth, at least you can control some things, even if it's as small as what you eat that day to keep your baby healthy. With adoption, we are totally at the mercy of the Ukrainian system and God. Time is so precious and I want to cherish every day...but I also want it to pass by quickly until our child is finally home.

We've been trying to educate ourselves on the medical conditions we may be faced with in this adoption. Based on stories from families that have traveled recently, I was getting very worried that we may not be able to find a healthy child when we finally get to Ukraine. We expect some correctable medical conditions but Ukraine officials often show you the sickest children first in hopes of finding them homes so they have a chance at survival. The idea of having to search through binders and "choose" just one child to meet is intimidating also. I mean come on, sometimes I can't even pick out a pair of shoes, and we're going to choose a child??

After praying and stressing about this for a few weeks, one morning I woke up with a sense of peace on the matter. Of all the men in the world I could have ended up with, God connected me to the perfect match for me, the one he had chosen for me. Despite the thousands of miles that divided John and I and the nearly impossible odds of us ever crossing paths, we ended up together. I know that God will also lead us to our child. God does not call on the qualified, he qualifies the ones he calls on. So, I'll prepare myself the best I can and leave the rest to our creator.

As of today there are still no updates as to when our registration letter will arrive. Many families have been given estimates of 20-45 days so hopefully we'll fall somewhere in that window. We are hoping that we can travel in January still. John is possibly up for promotion to officer this year and we'll learn those results in October. If he does get picked up he will have to attend a 3 month training starting in late Feb or early March. During that time he won't be able to take any leave so if we don't get a date in Jan or early Feb we may have a serious schedule conflict. We'll cross that bridge when we get there but we do appreciate your prayers on the matter of timing.

Also, we love to read your comments so please leave us a note when you visit here. You can post comments by registering or by just selecting anonymous for your name. We will be updating again soon with some fun facts on Ukraine. We love and miss you all.
-Janine