Dossier Submitted!

Our facilitator notified us today that our dossier was submitted, yesterday. It will only be a little time now before we know if 1.) the SDA accepts it as complete, and 2.) they notify us of our referral date. We expect that date to be in mid-January, which is what we have been told is Lizzie's availability date. We would eagerly travel before then to get her should some time be waived, but alas, this is never the case with the SDA.

Our hearts are happy and troubled all at the same time due to the recent vote on international adoption in Ukraine. It seems that the moratorium would actually be a halt to adoptions for countries do not have a signed bilateral agreement on adoption with Ukraine. I know of only two countries, Israel and Spain, that have signed such an agreement and even those agreements are in question now as new language is being requested. Didn't the Hague convention on international adoption hammer all this out years ago?

Right now there are two schools of thought.

On one hand, facilitators of friends are writing and saying that the second vote (they will need three) is only a political move and is a rumor at this point as to it's time and occurrence. They speak of the process of adoptions currently ongoing as routine and nothing out of the ordinary happening and this process could take months. Everyone agrees that we as a collective should call and write our representatives and urge them to write and pass a bilateral agreement (who's language is not known and could change at the whim of Ukrainian law and not required at this time). Good luck getting a US politician/government entity to do something that isn't required yet. I pray that these people are right. If Ukraine follows Russia's example, adoptions will continue as this "magical" bilateral agreement is worked out...it could take years.

On the other hand, I sense a bit of concern in our facilitator's e-mail today. While he/she wishes us good tidings in our process and encourages us to keep pushing along, I also get the sense that he/she is certainly preparing us should the adoption stall. Our facilitator has always been terrific in telling us the news, both good and bad, promptly and accurately. It is why we hired them a second time. It may not be the news you want to hear, but you will hear it from them and you will be the second person they e-mail or call. Also, they just "get things done" and that's true value with your adoption dollar...that's worth something.

Your prayers for the children of Ukraine and ALL prospective adoptive parents are appreciated! Pray for those who sponsor this law and for those who will vote for it. At the least, pray for continued adoptions while agreements are made should this law pass. Amen.