Halted

For the sake of preserving what's happening on this journey of adoption, we would be remiss not to
mention that a global pandemic has halted the adoption. We haven't stopped. The process is just stalled.

Early last week we excitedly mailed all our dossier forms to our agency in the state of New York. But like so many people everywhere they can't "gather" - work is slowed or totally at a stand still. So our documents sit. Waiting. 

Ukraine has been dealing with this slightly longer. They hope to begin accepting dossiers again on April 2nd. Will they reconsider? Probably. Would our documents even be there by then? 
(Update: Ukraine has pushed the end of their quarantine to April 24th)

Like so much of this process, so much of the last year, we wait. 
It's out of our hands. 
We wait. We trust. We hurry. We get excited. We get stand still. 
We are reminded yet again Who is in control. 
That none of this is based on our desire or feelings or effort... but some grander, perfect, good plan that will glorify Him. 

On the flip side, life here is pretty much the same. The daddy and big kids (thankfully) still keep working. Gene as a truck driver, the boys as support for truck drivers (they wash big trucks, which keeps our food trucks rolling), and the older girls in food service (for now). But because of their exposure to folks from all over, we are just assuming we could have been all been exposed. We had already decided to stay away from others as much has possible. 

Life at home is pretty much the same. We continue homeschooling, minus our few regular classes and gatherings. We're finding lots of new things to learn on YouTube. We've indefinitely postponed Josiah's big 10th birthday party. We're just staying home. 

Thankfully, for the most part, we are really good at just being home. We are thankful for good health, for supplements to help boost our immunity, a good size house and a big yard, sunny days, and that we are all pretty easily entertained. 

In other news, I was put in contact with a mom in Minnesota who is trying to adopt the best friend of the kids we are trying to adopt. This young person "calls" then nearly daily. So the mom has gotten to know our hoped for kids a little. What I learned was that 1) eventually, we'll be visited by Minnesotans, and they'll be visited by Georgians, and 2) all three kids have hopes of being home in the USA by summer time. Oh wouldn't that be wonderful!!! 

So we continue to pray. We've just added to our prayers that this virus will pass quickly. That all 13 of us (and all the grand folks) stay really healthy. That this adoption process picks back up. That grants and donations will come in while we wait. That we can be with them soon. 
And we trust He who is sovereign. 
And we wait.  

“Be still, and know that I am God.

    I will be exalted among the nations,

    I will be exalted in the earth!”

Psalm 46:10