Update!

Since I last updated......so much has happened!!!!

On Monday, August 12th, Jake and I traveled 14 hours across Ukraine to Mukacheve. From Mukacheve we went to Beregovo where we found the ONLY hotel room in town. From there we immediately picked up the SDA inspector and traveled to a teeny tiny town, Bene, to the orphanage where our sweet D lives. We were warned ahead of time of the condition of the orphanage. His was supposed to be one of the poorest in the country. Jake and I spent most of the morning preparing our hearts for what we would see that day. But we pulled up to the orphanage gates and they were painted a bright, fun, turquoise. The gates opened to a long rock drive lined with greenery and flower gardens inside painted tires with kids' hand prints all over them. To the right of the driveway was a sprawling play area. Hand carved wooden swings and a pirate ship and a choo choo train. Monkey bars and a gazebo and weeping willows offering shade to the children in the hot summer sun. We were ushered into the orphanage directors office and (she's amazing by the way) we started chatting. Again, Jake and I were very unsure of what to expect. We were told that D had some health concerns that led us to believe that he could be quite sick. After about 30 minutes of Q & A with the inspector and director, we saw a tiny little face poke around a corner. And then we saw his grin. His giant, toothy grin. He told our translator that he has been waiting for us (melt my heart).

He's a VERY affectionate little guy. He hopped up on the sofa next to Jake nuzzled his head right under Jakes arm. We brought a photo album with us with pictures of our family, home, the beach, and a few of our sweet chocolate lab Brandy. D opened the album and the first picture he saw was our family picture. He gasped. He ran his hand across the photo at least 10 times. Then he moved his hand so it was resting on Jakes leg as he belly laughed his way through the rest of the album. He's healthy. He's smart. He's beautiful. He has been praying for a family.

Jake and I had limited time with him this week. The orphanage only allowed us to visit each day from 10-11 and from 4-5. We spent the time in between that doing a literal paperwork chase. Our translator is amazing (seriously.....if anybody has ever considered Ukrainian adoption, lets talk because this woman LOVES children and works her absolute hardest to get them into families). She did two weeks worth of paperwork in 3 days in an effort to get us home from Coles first day of school.

Here's the super hard stuff.......D doesn't understand what takes so long. He doesn't understand why he can't leave with us. He doesn't understand that we are coming back for him. It hurts my heart to know that he cries for us at night. 3 weeks is going to be a very very long time to be away from him. I considered sending Jake home and me staying in Ukraine......but God answered those thoughts when there was NO lodging anywhere for me after the day that we left. We prayed for an answer, and we got one.

SO, in about 2 and a half weeks, Jake and I will return to Ukraine for our official court date that says D is a Kubnick! Then, I will stay in Ukraine for a few more weeks while we wait out some of Ukraines 10 day wait periods and birth certificates and passports and medical exams and Jake will return home to be with Cole and Zella and well, lets just be honest, bring home the bacon. There are lots of emotions today....LOTS. But I'm saving them for a shorter post - you're welcome.

I need to make a couple of PSA's......

1. We have had SO many people say to us "you guys are amazing! We need more people like you!". Jake and I were talking the other night and we don't know what to say when people say that. We aren't amazing. We are Jill and Joe Schmoe. We're just a couple of kids that love Jesus and really and truly seek Him and to hear Him. We agree that there need to be more people adopting, but we are no different than anyone else. We struggle with selfishness. We struggle with letting go of the money that God raised for this adoption. We struggle with extending ourselves outside of our comfort zone and parenting not just another child, but a broken child. We believe, 100%, that no parent is perfect, but that there is a perfect parent for every child. They just have to say yes. In our brokenness, we were rescued by a Father that loves us in our ugliness. John 13:34 "this command I give to you; love one another as I have loved you." In D's brokenness, we will love him. Anyone can do it. Everyone can do something. The orphan crisis gets minimized every day by people that say the numbers aren't REALLY as bad as the reports indicate. From a woman that has seen the faces of the children in the files in Ukraine and has felt the touch of their tiny hands at an orphanage in Bene, Ukraine, the crisis is real, and you are needed. Pray about it.

2. We are VERY well aware of the struggles that we will endure when we get D home. Please, save your horrible adoption stories about your cousins friends uncles best friend that adopted once and their child burned their house down and suffered from severe detachment disorder. People. These children are broken. Do you think they ASKED to be treated so poorly that they developed these issues? And do you truly think that everyone saying no to adoption because of the sharing of these awful stories that its going to fix the issue? If you have those stories, don't share them with us. We don't need your negativity. We choose to surround ourselves with people that will pray about an issue and not just talk about it. We choose joy....even in the storms, and they will absolutely come, we choose joy. If you have something other than that to deliver, take it somewhere else.

We are in a beautiful hotel in Amsterdam tonight as we missed our connector in our effort to get home to Cole and Zella today. Tomorrow morning we board a flight and God willing, land in Savannah tomorrow afternoon. We CANNOT wait to squeeze our babies!!!!!!

More updates to come....AFTER I get some sleep :)