Next Time There Will be Pictures

I really hate blog posts without pictures. Even if I have to look up some random clip art to include with a post, I have to put a picture with my words. Well, this time I'm not going to do that. Instead, I'm going to do a picture-less post in anticipation of posting NEW pictures of our sweet Kirill that WE will take IN PERSON in just a few days.

Here are my last minute thoughts/notes before we leave:

We leave tomorrow for Atlanta where we will spend the night. Plane tickets out of Atlanta were cheaper, plus we will only have one layover vs. two if we flew out of Birmingham. Paying for a night in a hotel is still cheaper than flying out of Birmingham plus paying long-term parking (we can leave our car at the hotel for free as a part of a "park and fly" deal we got).

I highly recommend our travel agency, Golden Rule. They have been outstanding. They provide excellent service for humanitarian, adoption, and missions travel. Our agent was wonderful and did a great job making all of our travel arrangements on very short notice for (literally) hundreds of dollars cheaper than any other airline, travel agency, or online travel site. Don't get me wrong, it still ain't cheap to fly to Eastern Europe! But it was much less with Golden Rule.

I've really been struggling with my emotions for the past couple of weeks. On one hand, I'm so excited to meet our sweet Kirill. However, knowing that we will leave him there for who knows how long breaks my heart. It has been so hard to be happy about this trip because of the anticipatory grief I feel about leaving Kirill. Bittersweet seems so inadequate to describe my feelings. It seems so strange to feel such polar opposite emotions all at once.

As for how long it will be between trips, we have no clue right now. The news from our agency regarding court dates has been slim to none. There is talk that the judge in our region has decided that she will not hear any adoption cases until the treaty between the U.S. and Kirill's country is signed, sealed, delivered and implemented. The could be weeks, it could be months, it could even be longer. I don't want to think about it at all because it just seems so daunting. The unknowns and the waiting are the worst parts of adoption. Can I get an amen from my adoption peeps???

If you are praying for us, these are the specific requests we have:

1. The judge will resume issuing court dates immediately and will not wait until the treaty is signed.

2. Our travel will go as smoothly as possible.

3. We will be able to show the love of Christ to the people we meet, whether it be in the airport, hotel, streets, orphanage...wherever we are we want to be Jesus to the people we meet.

4. My diabetes will BEHAVE while we travel. My blood sugars tend to go all wonky with travel; it's the nature of the disease. It can make travel extremely difficult. So please pray that it remains stable throughout our trip.

5. Our marriage...ha! Seriously, please pray for me and Greg to be patient and keep a good sense of humor as we travel.

Next post will be from Eastern Europe! Stay tuned for pictures!!!