Maybe Some News Today

Well, today Yuri is supposed to be going back to the SDA to inquire about the status of our adoption file. If you have been following our story, you are aware that we were family #91 to be sent home last year without a child. So far, the only other American family that we know of that has been sent home to wait for another appointment is the Hollands, which have turned out to be great friends of ours. They have truly been a blessing because we can relate to each other in a way that no one else can right now. From reading posts on Families for Russian and Ukrainian Adoption (http://www.frua.org/), apparently there are quite a few Germans who are waiting as well, but we haven't connected with any of them (yet anyway).

We haven't heard anything from our agency or facilitator except that the families who have had their second appointment are very happy with their referrals. Needless to say, we are very frustrated because we have tons of questions about what to expect, what number we are in line, will we will be traveling for a specific child, etc. Hopefully we will receive some news today.

For those of you who are in Ukraine right now or returned home and have had great referrals, we are very excited for you. We hope you realize how fortunate that you are because there are a many of us who feel forgotten and buried in an endless stack of paperwork. We are struggling with how assertive to be because we have experienced the dislike and poor opinion of Americans firsthand. The last thing that we want to do is anger the people who stand between us and our daughter, so there are very fine lines that must be adhered to. At the same time, we do not want to be quiet and just keep waiting without hounding our agency and facilitator. We have heard nothing but good from families (both using our agency and those going independent) about our facilitator, so I don't think he really has much to do with it. The problem with being too pushy is that we may get a bad referral and then it's all over with and we don't get a child and we have lost A LOT of money and are still childless. The SDA officials told us that two referrals is the limit, so what do you do and how hard do you push? In the US, we have totally different attitudes about the laws because they are designed (at least theoretically) to protect and serve us, whereas in Ukraine, people are to serve the laws - at least that is what we observed. One word sums up how we feel right now - FRUSTRATED.

Well, in the meantime, I am trying to do something to keep me busy besides reading blogs (this has proven to be an addiction). We enjoy reading the blogs, but for those of us who feel forgotten, they can also be very frustrating because people are receiving referrals for children on first appointments that those 125 families who are waiting would love to be shown. For those of you who are receiving those referrals, we don't begrudge you your children because in our hearts and minds we know that God has those children picked-out just for you and that it's just not our time yet, however it's not truthful to say that we don't wish that we weren't sharing in the excitement of finding a child. We would love to be able to share a meal with you in Kiev and finally meet you face to face!

Anyway, what am I doing in the meantime - decorating cakes. I'm actually pretty excited about the cake that I made over the weekend, so since I can't post pictures of our little girl, I thought I would post pictures of my cake. This is my first basketweave cake. I made the chicken using the 3-D duck pan. The right side of the head is a little flat at the top, but I still had fun creating it. The cake was made at the request of my parents who attended a Sunday School function on Saturday evening in which a games of dominoes known as "chicken scratch" was played. My dad gave my mom a hard time about trying to steal the show by bringing the cake. This was a definite first for me, so I was excited that my mother was excited about the cake. It thrilled her when it was placed on the table like a centerpiece. I'm just glad the dowel rods held-up and it didn't fall apart during transport!

White Japanese Bantam