We're Expecting......!

We got our referral of a baby in Uganda, and.........

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!!!

Our Soon-to-Be Daughter: She is super cute! She is about four months old right now and seems to be healthy.  We are super excited that this came so quickly and unexpectantly.  As we said before, we really had to let go and let God have his way with our adoption process.  It was when we were suffering the disappointment of losing our hope to adopt from Burundi that Uganda came along.  We didn't expect it, nor think of it, but God placed it in our laps.  On top of that, He has now placed a little girl in our view.  This is God's amazing favor upon us!!  We hope that we will soon become her family.  She has been set apart for our family, but it will take a lot of paperwork before we can bring her home.

Timeline: Those in the adoption world know there is a usual timeline to international adoptions.  That has not been true with us.  We have been blessed to have received information about our soon-to-be daughter, but we have been put in the position that we have to start all over from ground zero with our paperwork.  It doesn't make sense, but that is where we are.

Paperwork: On Saturday we visited the lady who will be preparing our homestudy, and we found out that nothing seems to have "transferred."  All our hard work getting paperwork done since a year and a half ago, all the time spent, all the money spent, all the agonizing.... none of it has made a tangible difference in where we are now.  This is very hard for me to deal with.  I am frustrated.  But though there may not be a practical outcome to what we went through, there are so many lessons that were learned.  There has been spiritual growth and educational growth.  I feel like I know a TON more now than when we started this process brand new.  Though, I still have a lot to learn!  I have also learned many lessons of trusting the Lord.  I see why worrying is so unproductive, because things will happen in God's perfect timing!

Pregnancy: So we are Paper Pregnant!  We are expecting.  Being at this stage is like when you first find out that you are pregnant.  It seems unbelievable, and you don't really notice any difference, but you know that it is really true, and there will be a baby coming in about 9 months.  We expect about the same timeline with our "pregnancy," but it could go much quicker.  The coolest part of our version, is that we already know at this point that it will be a girl!  We also know her name, and what she looks like!  This is so cool!  There are, of course, precautions.  We know that nothing is "for certain" at this point.  We may experience an "adoption miscarriage" and not be able to bring her home with us.  So, we trust and pray that we will, but lay everything in God's hands.

Prayer: Please pray for us!  We have a lot of work to do to get ready for baby Struska to come home. Pray that I do not get overwhelmed by the paperwork.  Pray that things move smoothly and quickly though the mail. Pray that she is protected and taken care of.  Pray for the legal work that needs to happen in Uganda.  Pray for a time of patient waiting as we watch her grow older and older in the orphanage and long to bring her home.  Also, please pray for us as we prepare paperwork for our other adoption from the Democratic Republic of Congo at the same time!


Pictures: So, we are not sharing her name on here just yet, nor full pictures.  But I wanted to leave you with some clues to what she looks like.

Here is her cute little hand.  She is dressed in an adorable yellow shirt:

She already has a lot of hair!

And somebody dressed her in a baseball outfit.  Hmm.... I wonder what that means for her future?

Please feel free to drop us a note of encouragement.  If anyone knows some great organizational tips for a truckload of paperwork, send them our way!  Thank you all for your prayers for us on this journey!