May I ask for prayers please?

[mamaofthreeboys]

Ok nothing urgent health related or anything but its in regards to our adoption. As some know and may read our blog (below) we're in the process of adopting 1-3 children from the Ukraine. Well since Sept they closed to general adoption. On Nov 23rd they re-opened to adoption for children 10 or older, or existing siblings, handicapped.

Well here's the prediciment. Our homestudy finalization is TONIGHT. We have to decide to either keep our paperwork as is (adopting children 0-11)...And have to WAIT until they re-open to submit our Dossier to the National Adoption Center in UA. OR we have to change our paperwork to 10 or older and be able to submit our Dossier shortly I believe.

I feel soooo, sooooo mixed emotions. So that's my long story short can you please help pray that God will give me clarity by tonight for what to do. If he doesn't I will keep our paperwork as is I guess.

Many, many thanks everyone (yikes a teenager my oldest bio kid is 6 and step child is 9)...

[littleturtlemama]

wow, that's sucha tough decision! I will defintiely keep you in my prayers, and I jsut said one for you to have clarity and peace with a decision.

Now, on a personal note - not sure if this will help or hurt in your decision making process. DH and I have talked about adopting (and are in the process of seriously considering it again) and from others we know who have adopted and reserach, it seems that the best/easiest transitions are when the adoptee is younger than the children already established in the family. I think it's because it doesn't *upset* the balance that's already there. I know that for our family, if we were to adopt a child older than our oldest, it would REALLY mess with him to suddenly not be the oldest. So much of his identity is wrapped in being the *first*. Being an only child, I never bought into the whole sibling order thing, but man, after watching DH and his siblings and now my boys, there really IS something to it.

[Jessica36]

Will keep you in my thoughts

[mamaofthreeboys]

Thank you Theresa & Jessica ;)

And advice about disrupting birth order. Well that's what it is frequently referred to as by adoptee parents, etc.

We already kind of disrupted the birth order for my oldest. When I married my DH his one and only son was 4 years older than my two at the time. I just don't know hopefully will have clarity like I said before but thank you very much for thoughts and prayers. The 9 yr old is only here very part time like every other weekend and one evening just for dinner then he goes back to his Moms. Must go pray 2 hours and 20 minutes and counting lol...

[IrishBaby]

:hug

[ladydemetreis]

I hope and will pray everything goes well for you. :hug

[mamaofthreeboys]

Thank you everyone :) 22 minutes and counting. Sitting with a sleepy 2 y.o. in my lap he must stay awake lol...

[Michele]

Kimberly know that the Lord already has your path planned. Listen carefully and He will lead you and your family to His choice for your family; may the wait be ever quick! :hug

[CadenJames062503]

I'll keep youin my prayers throughout this whole situation it has to be tough!

[CadenJames062503]

Oh and I have seen the disruption of age order first hand. It isn't easy and the adopt mom said she would never do it again! All of her kids were adopted and then she adopted one who was older then the now youngest. Caused alot of problems!

[mamaofthreeboys]

Thank you once again ladies you all are a bunch of help :) I haven't had any promptings to change our homestudy age range so it stays at 0-11 years of age for now.

I do know that it is all in God's timing for sure. Our social worker said that he had heard that UA should open up again in January which I have heard from a few others adopting with agencies say the same thing from UA. We are going Independent so no agency. Our faciliator/translator is located in UA. I sure hope so that would be terrific but this whole journey will be a lot of patience and dependence on God no doubt about it. It all started with God so I will continue to have him lead us where he wants us to go. And prayers definitely help. I do have a feeling that we should try to find our sponsored child in the UA. He may not be available for adoption as of now but again that is most likely God's timing. And guess what he has a little sister too. I just really feel a longing to find them. They're 1 & 3 right now. That would make us 9, 6, 5, 3, 2 & 1 lol and the 3 year old and I being the only females in the home hee hee.

Oh and lastly our homestudy paperwork should be complete by Jan 1 or so....probably not the 1st since that's a holiday ;)