Our 2nd Adoption Journey: Initial Phase

June 1, 2019

Where do I begin? This week has been a whirlwind. So, let me start out by saying that adopting again has never really been on my radar. I would have loved to but I felt that four kids was my max. Our kids are getting older and more independent and life is beginning to get a little easier. Somehow, though, God has a way of stiring things up.

Last year, God gave be a longing for the baby years. With my baby almost 7 years old, I was a little sad. God answered that desire when my sister-in-law asked me to watch her infant daughter. I gladly accepted! I quickly found out that five kids is actually manageable. It has been a great experience for all of us (except for all the baby gear all over the house ).

During this time we added on to our house. We thought the addition was simply to give us more room, but God had even bigger plans.

Tuesday night, as I was scrolling through Facebook, I came upon some pictures of a precious little girl in need of a family. She reminded me so much of little Katy when we first met her in the orphanage. This little girl was the same age as Katy was when we adopted her. My first thought was that she could be Katy and Brody’s biological sister. But I knew that most likely wasn’t the case. But a burning desire began to grow inside me. I just knew this was meant to be. Jason teased me and told me not to think about it. While Jason was putting the kids to bed that night, I prayed that if God wanted this to happen he would get Jason on board. A few minutes later, Jason came into the room and told me that if I wanted to adopt her then we could. I found out later, from the kids, that the bedtime story he had told them was about a little orphan girl who needed a family. When I heard this, I almost started to cry. Jason told me that night that nothing really scared him about this. We were familiar with the country and her condition (she has Spina Bifida like Katy.)

We decided to give it 24 hours to pray and discuss it. Nothing changed, we were all in. On Thursday morning, we found out that another family had committed to her. I was heartbroken. Later that day, we had a little hope when we found out that there had possibly been a little miscommunication concerning the other commited family. I asked some family to start praying. I just knew she was meant to be ours! The next day we found out that indeed she was available to us!! I was thrilled.  

So, now it all begins! We’re doing this again. Please pray for us as we first enter the home study phase and then as we start to gather all of the needed documents. Also, there are no guarantees in the country we are adopting from. They don’t “hold” children. So she could be adopted before we make it over there. This was the case with Katy and Brody as well. But it doesn’t scare me because I know that if God wants this to happen, it will.

June 16, 2019

Today in church, I was in absolute awe of God’s presence. It was so strong it overwhelmed me. Our pastor’s words were exactly what God has been teaching me. 

Let me backup a couple of weeks ago when Jason first gave me the go ahead on the adoption. I remember telling him that we weren’t in this alone and that the church would rally around us. I also said that perhaps this was our mission. The next morning is when the spiritual warfare started. The evil one was trying to convince me that we weren’t financially able, that I couldn’t handle more kids, that I’d never be able to accomplish all this adoption paperwork, that we wouldn’t be able to handle the multiple in country stays, and list goes on. By the next week, I was beginning to get overwhelmed. I knew God would be faithful but somehow these lies started to almost suffocate me. That’s when I asked for prayer. Jason was out of town that week. He called me and asked me what was going on. I burst into tears and poured out my concerns on him. He reminded me of how God has been faithful to us so many times before and that He would be faithful this time as well. It’s amazing how God used Jason’s words to comfort me. I cried out to God that day and His peace has been so evident since that day. 

God has already sent so many people to help us. Many friends have already begun fundraising efforts for us. A friend I haven’t talked to in years, bought us a bed we needed for one of the kids’ rooms. Friends and family have given us references. A friend who is a notary has offered to help. Many people have ordered pallets signs from me and I’m getting more almost everyday. It’s absolutely astonishing to watch God work.

There are so many things that show God’s hand in all this. I’m discovering new ones everyday. 

• The first one that comes to mind, is our recent home addition. We’ve tried to build on a couple of times before but it didn’t work out. Each time I felt a little selfish for wanting to build on. This last time, I didn’t feel that way. I can’t explain it. I simply had a peace about it. Little did I know why.
• The second one is how this all happened on our summer break from school. It gives me time to work on the mountains of paperwork, prepare our house for the home study and make pallet signs.
• The third one is very simple but I see God in it just the same. I didn’t have a summer garden this year for the first time in  5 years! It was sad for me but I thought I needed to focus on the addition. Little did I know that I needed that precious time for adoption stuff.

Today in church, the sermon by our pastor, Cody Hale, was titled “How to sing in Prison”. It was based on Philippians 1:3-11, when Paul was in prison. At first glance you may wonder how this pertains to my situation. But I’m telling you, it was exactly what God has been teaching me and more. Here are some truths from his message that stuck out.

• “God calls you to do the impossible so that He can show you His goodness and His faithfulness”.  When God calls us to do something that seems impossible we don’t need to try to sacrifice in isolation. With the adoption, first we tried to find ways of sacrifice and how to accomplish it on our own. That’s not what God wants, however. He wants us to rely on the church and He may even possibly work through non believers (what an opportunity to point them to Christ). That way we can never boast on our goodness. Only through God, can His people rally together to make the impossible a reality.
• “Nothing produces joy like seeing hard days pay off”. I mentioned to Jason a couple weeks ago, that our greatest joys were when we were going through hardships. I don’t want an easy life. I want a life of following where God leads, no matter the difficulty. That’s what brings true joy!
• “Joy today is found in remembering God’s faithfulness yesterday and in trusting God’s faithfulness for tomorrow”. This literally brought me to my knees. This is what Jason told me on the phone when I was struggling with spiritual warfare. We’ve seen God work in tremendous ways with our last adoption and we know that God will do the same with this one.  He is faithful to provide! He is the God of the universe and He’s got this.

The reason I write all of this today, is so that I will never forget the glorious details of how God has been faithful to us. I never want to doubt what He can do. I’m not concerned with the lies the evil one throws at me because I know my God is faithful!

October 30, 2019

I wanted to give an update on the adoption. It’s moving along. We hope to make our first trip to Mila’s country around late January or February of next year. If every goes well, we’ll have her home in April or so. I can’t wait!!!

In the beginning of the process, I was so concerned about how we could afford this adoption. I knew that God would provide like he did last time but I was having a hard time trusting him. Sure enough, he did provide. I want to share the ways he has provided for us.

• Two friends step up and organized an online auction for us. 
• A lady we don’t even know, gave us proceeds from her business.
• Patricia Heaton (from the tv show “Everybody Loves Raymond”) advocated for us through our Reece’s Rainbow page. 
• Many friends have simply handed us donations. 
• I was able to lead a paint class at church. All the proceeds went to our adoption. 
• My pallet sign (and other creations) fundraiser was been incredibly successful.
• Our daughter has a large grant for her adoption.
• Jason’s company offers an adoption reimbursement, after the adoption is final.

Altogether this equals to around $15,000! That’s half of the adoption cost! That along with us living on less, savings, etc. the adoption is paid for! All I can say is that God is amazing!!! 

Don’t let fear stand in the way of what God has called you to do. Nothing is impossible for him!

January 23, 2020

Today I received a very special phone call at 11:13am from our stateside adoption coordinator. WE HAVE A TRAVEL DATE!!!!! I literally started crying. I have waited for this day for so long. 

On February 3rd, we will have our appointment at the Department of Adoptions in Ukraine to (hopefully) obtain our daughter’s referral. At that point, we will officially be matched to Mila. The next day, we will hop on a train and travel all the way across the country to meet her for the very first time. After meeting her, we will accept her referral and we will start the process to get a court date. This process takes at least a month (usually) so we will return home.

When we get a court date, we will travel to Ukraine again. After court, there is a 30 day wait period. So, we’ll head home again. 

After 30 days, I’ll travel to Ukraine alone (just like last time) to finish the process up and bring Mila home.

Three trips! Nearly everyone asks why so many? Well I always reply, “every adopting country is different and has different procedures”. It’s either three trips or one or two very long trips. The process is longer than when we adopted in 2014. It was so difficult leaving our kids so long that time! I don’t want to do it again. So, three trips it is!

If everything moves like the timeline above, we’ll have her home by late April.

I wanted to share our timeline so far...

May 28, 2019

We saw Mila’s picture and decided to start the adoption process

September 11, 2019

Our homestudy was completed and sent to the USCIS (United States Citizen and Immigration)

October 31, 2019

We received USCIS approval!

December 3, 2019

Our dossier was submitted to DAP (Department of Adoptions) in Ukraine.

February 3, 2020

DAP appointment