Military Hiccup

There was a slight military-related hiccup during the last few weeks. We received word that we might be re-stationed, so everything was paused. It was sudden, and very unexpected. There we hung for a couple weeks, feeling helpless. Paperwork sat there in front of me, unable to be turned in for fear we'd be moving (to continue on with the homestudy in hopes of staying would have meant wasting a couple thousand bucks if we ended up moving, so there was definitely no room for such optimism).

All is well that ends well, though. We're not moving, and now my head is pounding just looking at all this paperwork. Admittedly, my savage sinus infection might be contributing to that. It's been killing me for several weeks now, but I've had zero time to get into the doctor. The quarter(school) ends next week though, at which point I'll have ample free time to get some antibiotics (oh, AND get my medical exam for the home study), yay!!

An Indescribable Love

Today I just want our Little Winn to be home.

I know, I know... I'm trying hard not to sound sappy and ridiculous. I haven't even met the kid. I don't even know if it's a he or she, or whether (s)he is already in preschool, or was just born. To emotionally complicate things further, we won't know until we arrive in Ukraine... which is nearly a year away.

When I'm not busy working or doing homework, I think of our Little Winn. Is (s)he in a state-run orphanage, or "fortunate" enough to be in a privately operated Christian facility? Is (s)he being held enough... or at all? Are kind words being spoken to him/her? Has (s)he had enough to eat? If (s)he's old enough to understand the situation, does (s)he have hope that we'll be there soon? However insufficiently, is (s)he being shown love by someone? Anyone?

The concept of loving a soon-to-be-adopted child has always made sense to me. Having known others who've adopted internationally, I've seen that engulfing love that overcomes them when they look at their baby's picture.

We, however, do not have a picture. All we have is an answered prayer. I definitely underestimated the frustration, longing, and love that would immediately result after receiving an answer to those prayers. The moment I felt our Heavenly Father had given His blessing on a Ukrainian adoption, a formerly unknown Slavic child suddenly became our child.

...and it's crazy how such a thing can change a person as much as it has.

So how can I explain the love I have for Little Winn before I know a single thing about him/her? To even consider elaborating makes me feel like an emotional nutcase.

...and so I won't.

I love our Little Winn already, I can't explain it, and I'm certainly not gunna fight it.

Shopping Complications

However trivial it may be, one of the most difficult aspects of Ukrainian adoption is that you don't specifically know the age or gender of the child until you arrive in country (at which point you are presented with several profiles of potential matches, much like you would normally do prior to traveling, with other countries). It's not like we don't have a say in things, but between the Ukrainian system and God's will... we could come home with just about anything, haha!

All we know is that Little Winn will be somewhere between 12 months and 5 years old.

So... pacifiers or preschool? Time will only tell! We'll be thrilled with either, but my obsessive compulsive planning/online-shopping has become a bit more complicated lately.

Thus far, these are the only safe purchases I've decided on, as they will be appropriate for any child in our age category.

1. A Britax Boulevard car seat (or seat with similar capabilities and features).

I've already decided to keep my kids rear-facing for as long as possible. It's far safer, and I'm cool with swimming against the cultural stream on this issue. The seat rear-faces to 35 pounds, so a 1-3ish year old would be well protected. It can then be used forward-facing, with 5 point restraints, to 65 pounds. As I also plan to keep my kids "locked down" in 5-points longer than most, a seat like this will work for any child in the age range we've applied for.

2. Toddler Bed. I googled crib mattress measurements. I also consulted a CDC growth chart. Any normal 1-5 year old will fit in one nicely. I know, I'm obsessive. I have extra time on my hands with Donald still deployed... so go easy on the judging ;-) . If we get a squirmy 1 year old, we'll pick up a pack n play. We also have a twin bed in the craft room, so if Little Winn turns out to be a gargantuan kindergartner, we're equally set.

The inability to fulfill my insatiable shopping-itch is a good thing. It forces me to keep things simple, and to keep pinching those precious pennies.

...because seriously, when Little Winn gets here, we're going to the mall, and staying until they kick us out. That requires lots of pinched pennies, I'll tell you what.

Ukraine: FTW!!

Donald and I (Katrina) have recently made the first steps toward a Ukrainian adoption. Needless to say, we're both thrilled with this decision, and are excited for what lies ahead for us.

The road to this decision was a long and complicated one. Though we knew our Heavenly Father had parenthood through adoption in His plan for us, the details of said plan weren't always clear. To us, where our child came from and what he or she looked like, wasn't a factor. We simply desired to find the child we were meant to be with. In the last two years, we explored domestic infant adoption, foster-adoption, and various different international programs. Ultimately, Ukraine turned out to be the route for us.

While we hope our family and friends will enjoy keeping up with our journey through this blog, my main intended audience is other families considering, and going through, Ukrainian adoption. Since Donald and I have started on the process, I've found other blogs to be a huge support, encouragement, and source of information.

I'm generally awful about updating our family blog, so I don't expect to change overnight for this one. Thus, most posts here will be short, sweet, and to the point. Things might lean more toward technical than emotional, as the "technical details" on other adoption blogs are what I've personally craved most.

...wish us luck!