Wondering and Waiting

So . . . our wait begins.  Now comes the time that everything is out of our hands.  First, we'll wait for USCIS (U.S. Immigration) approval to bring Sasha home -- then, as soon as that comes through, we're ready for a quick trip to Tallahassee and then mailing out the dossier to Ukraine.  Now, we just have to sit back and trust God for things to work out in His timing.  I think about Sasha a lot -- picturing her with us, wondering if she'll like my cooking any better than her brothers and sister (hey, one can always hope!), hoping it won't be too isolating for her to have to learn a new language, even wondering if I should bring a doll or stuffed animal with us to Ukraine.  Perhaps, I'll bring both.  I think about how I need to get her clothes (I gave all of Carolyn's clothes away!), wondering what size she even wears -- how do I know what to bring with me?  LOTS of things to wonder about.  I wonder how the kids at home will feel with us gone for a month.  Wondering if I can handle being in Ukraine alone if Q comes home.  Lots to think about.  Lots to pray about.  Never too much for HIM.

No If's

I've begun to really wrap my brain around all that is happening in our family.  At first, there was the excitement of seeing God move and spark a love for a little girl half way around the world that we didn't know.  Then, there was the slight panic of figuring out all that needed to be done and how much money we needed to raise -- but somewhere along the way, just recently, in fact -- I've been able to consider what a miracle it really is that God brought Sasha into our lives.

I guess the story would really need to start about 9 months ago (hey -- that sounds like a familiar amount of time, huh?) when I decided to enroll my kids in the homeschool co-op at Grace World Outreach.  I decided to teach a class because that's what I thought all the new moms did (turns out, that's not always true!) on geography for 3rd-5th grades.  In that class was a sweet girl named Gianna.  I didn't really know anything about Gianna - but as the semester went on, I learned that she had several adopted brothers and sisters, at least 1 with Downs Syndrome. 

Sometime during that semester, I went to a big children's used clothes/ toys sale at the fairgrounds where Gianna's mom (Maria) introduced herself to me.  I felt immediately at ease with Maria and even though we didn't stand around and talk, I really felt like I would enjoy getting to know her someday.  At some point, Maria and I became Facebook friends.  I can honestly say that I have no idea how this happened!  I don't remember if I friend-requested her or she did me!  BUT, it wasn't too much longer that I realized that Maria, her husband, and Gianna were all in Ukraine adopting another child.  I tried to keep posted on how things were going -- and then . . . I saw Sasha.  From that point on, I was pretty much glued to Maria's facebook page!

But, here's where the story turns more into a God-thing instead of just a coincidence, and, at first, I didn't really understand it all.  You see, the Falvo's son (also named Sasha) wasn't even normally supposed to be at our Sasha's orphanage ("boarding school")!  He was actually 1 1/2 hours away from his orphanage at a "summer camp" at Sasha's school.  So . . . as you can see, if all those parts didn't come together, we would have never seen our Sasha's picture.  If I hadn't joined the co-op . . . if I hadn't met Maria at the sale . . . if we hadn't have been Facebook friends . . . if the Falvos had been able to get to Ukraine earlier . . . if the Falvo's Sasha had been sent to a different "camp" . . . there are NO "if's" in God's plan for our lives!  He is constantly working things together for our good!