Shoes at the end of the rainbow

Dennis has a cute little tummy (with a button nose) if I do say so myself. :) And hopefully it is only getting bigger with each visit. In the morning he wolfs down a big mashed up banana and in the afternoon we give him a whole jar of baby food. We are so tempted to sneak in some kasha (rice cereal).

On one of our walks outside today we saw this play pen dressed with a blanket and bumper pad. It is so big, I could have taken a nice nap in it.

I think it was for a child that was having a lot of family members visit them.

This tree has a kind of flower that almost looks like cotton. It was very pretty.

After our morning visit we went walking around with the two other adopting couples. They are very, very nice and though they are not from America, the Israel couple speaks very good English and the Spanish couple is able to communicate with John pretty good. They informed us that the other Spanish couple that was here adopting a little girl changed their mind and went back to Kyiv for another appt because they got scared. I know I shouldn't judge, but what are they scared of..... a cute, little girl? My heart is broken for this little girl who after spending time with a couple who she already was beginning to come to know as Mama and Papa for the last three or so days is now left having to try to understand why they are no longer visiting her anymore. I probably should have more compassion for this couple, but what about this little girl? I just wish the decision could have been made much sooner before the little girl had a chance to realize what was going on.

Moving off my soapbox, we had a wonderful time getting to know these wonderful parents to be, and enjoyed a delicious yet very inexpensive lunch at Premier Elite Cafe.

A beautiful flying green beetle joined us.

We had a good laugh as we compared keys to our apartments. And we found some wonderful things for Dennis that we bought.

At 6pm today as we were walking home, Kramatorsk had a huge downpour.


Then our Heavenly Father gifted us with a gorgeous rainbow.


And I was so happy that we found shoes for Dennis that I feel like I found the (imaginary) pot of gold at the end of rainbow. They are size 13---probably equivalent to a size 2 in America. Oh, and did I mention that they were only 25 grivna?

Aren't they adorable?

Probably sounds strange but it feels good to finally have your child wear something that you have provided for them instead of everything being from the orphanage.

So what does submitted mean?

Yesterdays news means that the SDA (State Department on Adoption and Children's Rights) has accepted our dossier (adoption paperwork) to adopt from Ukraine. Now we have about 20 business days to wait and see if they accept or reject it. I am not too worried about them rejecting it because it had been looked over before it was submitted and all of our documents still have 6+ months on them. So........... in twenty days or so we should get our invitation to travel with a specific appointment date to hopefully be referred our known child--- Dennis.

At this point, I am very hopeful that he will indeed be home before his 2nd birthday now. Wouldn't that be totally awesome? I just have to keep praying. I just have to remain faithful that God will continue to work miracles on Dennis' behalf. Will you please continue to pray for little Dennis too?

I also want to take a moment and say thank you to all that have recently given to Dennis' adoption fund. We are now at $1730.00. Praise God! Isn't that fantastic? Thank you God for touching the hearts of those around us and those that have only gotten to know us through our blog. It is hard to understand how complete strangers would want to help us. By the end of it, I hope we are no longer strangers. May You bless them as they have blessed us.

This past Saturday, our church mother's group had a family picnic. To my surprise they honored my hard work and dedication for helping to start the successful mother's group over 11 years ago. It was a very special time, and I am in awe of how wonderful my church family and friends are. What made it so special was that they took up a love offering from the group and presented us with nearly $200.00 to go towards our adoption costs.

Thank you to all of the moms of MUGS (Mothers Under Grace). You guys come together to support and uplift your fellow sisters in Christ like no other group that I know. You guys rock!

As I digest all the prayers and donations that have been done on our behalf, James 1:27 pops into my mind. "Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you."

After this incredible week how can I worry about how the rest of our adoption is going to go? I trust that I will have Dennis in my arms very soon. And as we get closer to traveling and having to actually hand over the biggest portion of our adoption costs for facilitation fees, travel, orphanage donation, and living expenses, I have Faith that God will provide. Every week we are getting closer to having the money we need to complete this adoption. Hopefully, next week we will have our stimulus check.... and boy will that get us even closer!

Thank you again for your giving hearts.

Exciting News!

I got the call!

We have been submitted!

Praise God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for all of your prayers!