An Opportunity

Well, we have decided that we just can't stay away from Ukraine, so we are going again! No really, we have come to love this country and now we have even more of a reason too. We have decided to adopt Kyle's two sisters. Here's the short version of the story:

When we were presented Kyle's file, we were also told about his two sisters. They are quite a bit older, and were located at a boarding school in Mariupol (same town where Kyle was). We new that we were not ready to adopt 3 kids at that time, especially teenagers! I was already nervous enough (in a good way)about becoming a first time mother to an instant 3 year old.

We have had almost 5 wonderful months at home with Kyle, and feel that we are ready to add to our family. Kyle's sisters are 13 (Tanya) and 10 (Luba) years of age and are just the cutest girls ever! We are extremely excited about reuniting this family. Kyle is too young to remember that he has sisters, but they remember him quite well and are very excited themselves. This will make for a good story when Kyle is old enough to understand! Fortunately, we are able to keep in touch with the girls by sending them packages containing letters, gifts, and lots of pictures.

We know that this is not an easy thing going from just 2 of us, to 5 of us within a years time. We are going into this with realistic expectations knowing that we will have hard times along with the good. I am sure that there are things we cannot even comprehend at this point, because we do not personally know these girls yet. But, the idea of us putting this family back together is our number one priority and we couldn't be happier about doing it! We know that this was meant to be for us, and this is the way God planned us to have a family.

It is exciting to know that we are helping two older children in Ukraine by providing them with an opportunity and a chance at a good life. Most children in Ukraine "graduate" the Orphan system at the young age of 16 and most have nowhere to go but the streets. This is sad, and I think it is great that there are so many families turning to Ukraine, and many other countries (including the US) for adoption.

I just want to thank all of the "adoption bloggers" that I have contacted over the past few months asking so MANY questions. You are all wonderful, and most helpful in opening our eyes to the things you have learned and experienced in adopting older kids. We know that this not just an opportunity for the girls, but an opportunity for us and are excited about sharing our journey with everyone.