We've got an appointment date!!!!!

What an amazing Christmas present!!!!! This morning, we heard from our facilitator that we have been given an appointment from the Ukrainian SDA (national adoption center). Our appointment date is January 29, 2009. In order to be ready for our appointment, we plan to travel from Jackson, Mississippi to Kyiv on Monday, January 26th.

Right now, we are settling in to enjoy a great Christmas celebration with our family, and beginning Friday, we will let the craziness begin as we make our final preparations to travel. Here is our new prayer list:

1. Pray for God's provision as we work out Erick's absence from school while he travels with us from the 4-5 weeks we will be gone.

2. Pray for God's provision as we work out the final financial details as we prepare to complete the adoption.

3. Pray that our update for the US government approval for entry visas will move quickly so we can have it resolved before we travel.

4. Pray for Erick as he adjusts to a new sibling.

5. Pray for the new kid(s). We are asking God to prepare them for the transition as well.

6. Pray for favor with all of the Ukrainian officials that we will encounter in the process.

Thanks and Merry Christmas!!!!!

Friends making progress

Things are pretty much unchanged for us. We have not received any further word regarding an appointment at the SDA. We are still hopeful that we will hear something soon (hopefully this coming week). Best case scenario would have us traveling some time in January. Stay tuned. We'll post something as soon as we know more...

On a positive note, this was a wild week for our friends the Jordans. They received a call on Tuesday that they had an appointment with the Ukrainian SDA on Thursday. To make a long story short, they were not able to get there, but they left for Ukraine on Friday headed for an appointment with the adoption center officials on Monday. We are praying for a good appointment for them, and that they will soon be on the way to get the children God has chosen for them. We'll keep you posted.

Thanks for praying,

Rick

To Quote Ferris Bueller....

"Life moves pretty fast." And, it looks like things are moving. We think we might be getting an appointment soon. Our twenty day window for our dossier to be reviewed and an appointment issued will be up on Tuesday. Pray hard. One thing we know for sure is nothing is for sure with international adoption...but, the wind seems to be blowing our way!!! Please pray hard. We'd love to travel as soon as possible, but more than that, we want to be there at exactly the right time to get the kids that our Soverign God has for us!!! As always, thanks for your love and support...

Rick

The Waiting Game

Well here we are. Waiting...It really seems like this journey will never end. The whole process of an international adoption seems like a huge exercise in hurry-up and wait. Several weeks ago, we were in a frantic state of panic trying to get documents updated. By God's grace, we got it done. Now we are waiting...