So Discouraging

The good news? The school Donald was scheduled for this spring (which we expected to possibly effect travel) has now been pushed out to August. I was so happy when we found that out :-)

The bad news:

http://adoption.state.gov/news/ukraine.html

The Ukrainian government has partially passed a bill which would halt further adoptions from most countries, including the United States. All the bits of information I've received so far have been, well, bits. It's hard to piece everything together to get a clear understanding of what exactly is going on over there, but here's what I've gathered so far:

The bill has passed one vote, but still must pass one more (one source I heard from said two more votes), after which the president will sign it into law.

The process could take roughly six months, but the link I provided said it could be completed before 2011.

The new law would also effect those who have already submitted their documents, including those who are already in Ukraine for their adoptions.

After all the random delays we've had, we're now grateful because they prevented us from wastefully spending thousands of more dollars on an adoption that might not happen.

We've decided to wait until the bill is completely dismissed (which could be between 1-7 months) to proceed with the next steps in the adoption. So far we're only out a few thousand dollars, but unfortunately we're not in a cushy enough financial position to proceed on optimism, because from here things get dramatically more expensive.

Jeremiah 29:11 KJV

¹¹For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

I have no idea how things will turn out for us, but I know that our Heavenly Father does. Hopefully I can keep a stiff upper lip until His plan eventually comes together.

Joy, Joy, LOTS OF JOY This Morning!

1. My physical went well! Donald had the week off work for his hike, but is on his way to work right now, and is getting the physical notarized, which will then be sent out this evening! I HAVEN'T BEEN THIS HAPPY IN MONTHS!!!!!

2. Some eastern European countries won't pre-match you to children, such as Ukraine. However, there is an organization, Reece's Rainbow, which specializes in special needs adoption, and some profiles are offered for children in the country Donald and I are adopting from. We never heavily considered using their organization in general, but there was one little boy who I was drawn to for months. I emailed them and inquired about him, and prayed... but this little boy was not meant for us. He had been listed for quite some time, and I was honestly losing hope that a family would find him. I continued to check his profile every few days, hoping to see a missing picture, and a new adopting family listed on their "new commitments" page.

This last month, I noticed that he was no longer listed, and I was overjoyed that he had found a family. Through another adopting parent, I found his family's blog, and am happy to see that this precious little man will be coming home very soon.

There are so many waiting children out there, but to know that a child I cared about has found a family brings me so much peace and happiness. Check out their blog, and take a few extra seconds today to send prayers their way.