This is really happening!

We have planned, prepared, prayed, and waited for this day for a year and a half. It just doesn't seem real that in just 10 days we will begin our journey to Ukraine. The airline tickets are bought and the reservations for our accommodations have been made. This is really happening! This time next month we will have a son!

Our flight will leave Atlanta on Sunday, March 10th at 11:40am. We will arrive in Kiev, Ukraine on Monday, March 11th at 1:05pm. Our appointment with the SDA will be on Wednesday, March 13th. We haven't been told what time yet, but I'll let everyone know as soon as we find out. For those who aren't familiar with how the adoption process works in Ukraine, we meet with the SDA, then we return the next day for the referral to Daniel's orphanage. We will travel to the orphanage once we have the referral, where Daniel will write a letter stating he wants to be adopted by us. That letter is what gets the ball rolling. We will meet with the regional "social worker" and the orphanage director. They will have to complete some paperwork and once it's submitted, we should receive our court date.

I have to admit, the thought of court is a little scary. They can ask us all kind of questions from; "Why do you want to adopt a 15yo boy when you already have two children?" to "How do you think your health will affect you raising him?" I think it's the fear of the unknown. They have our home study which has just about every detail about us and our lives. There is no telling what they may pick out to ask us about. How do you prepare for that? But I know that God will be with us and He will lead us. I keep repeating in my head,  "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6  It helps a lot, but I find myself having to do it more often as the day draws nearer.

We've been talking to Daniel about 2-3 times a week. He is so excited! He said he's already packed his bag! I can hardly sleep at night and we've already started packing too! Maybe I'll be exhausted enough by the time we leave that I'll be able to sleep on the plane. I doubt it though, because I'll be so excited to get there! We arrive on Monday and our appointment isn't until Wednesday, so we're going to take the train to Daniel's village and surprise him! He doesn't think we'll be there until Friday. I think that's what I'm most excited about, the look on his face when he sees us the 1st time. Seeing him with the girls will be awesome. They haven't seen each other in so long. I'm sure we'll get plenty of pictures!

Yay! T minus 10 days and counting! We're coming sweet boy!

Best Words I Ever Read...APPROVED

"For this boy I prayed, and the LORD has given me my petition which I asked of Him." 1 Samuel 1:27

I opened my email and it was the first one on my list. It was from our facilitator and the subject said "Approved!!!!"

It's surreal. That's all I can say. We have waited and prayed and waited some more. I can't believe it's finally happened, we are approved to adopt Daniel! In a little over a month, he will officially be our son. Son. I like the sound of that. Don't get me wrong, everyone knows how much I love my daughters, but there's something special a mother feels for her son.

We don't have our official appointment date yet, but it looks like it will be the week of March 20th. Hopefully we will find out the definite date later this week.

Thank everyone so much for all your prayers and support! We will keep everyone updated as we find out more.

Long Overdue

Sorry I have not kept our blog updated! Been a couple of crazy months! For those of you who don't know everything that's been happening, I will bring you up to speed.

We submitted our dossier in November, 2012 with great expectations of traveling to Ukraine in December for our adoption. We were thankful to get it submitted in time because the SDA in Ukraine closes in January to observe Orthodox Christmas. Unfortunately, instead of an appointment date, we received our dossier back. Our doctor had not put ICD-10 codes on our medical reports. We were so disappointed. I was devastated and our poor facilitator received a call from me, crying. Remember, English is not his 1st language, so understanding a crying woman on a poor phone connection was a real challenge for him. Why couldn't we just have the doctor send the codes? How could they reject us just because of a type-o? How would we tell Daniel there has been yet another delay?

It took a couple of hours and some raging with God (thank goodness He can take anything we throw at Him!), but finally I felt the Holy Spirit begin to calm me. "Everything in His timing", "He knows the plans for you, plans not to harm you", "I am with you even now", etc...As I went to bed that night, all I could think of was breaking the news to Daniel the next morning. This would be no short delay, due to the SDA closing for Christmas, we wouldn't be able to resubmit until February. Overnight I had a dream and I really felt it was from God. A dream of gong to see Daniel for Christmas. When I woke the next morning I mentioned it to Bill. He had been thinking the same thing! I began researching how we could do it. Could we afford it? Could Bill get the time off?

Everything worked out and we were able to leave on December 25th to visit Daniel in Ukraine! We were able to spend 7 days with him and it was awesome! I think we all needed it, the reaffirmation and connection. On our way back Bill & I realized that was the most time we had ever spent with Daniel. It was definitely the most one on one time. When we met him at Bridgestone, there were 8 other boys and we didn't meet him until their last week here. Even though he has grown up in an orphanage half a world away from us, we just fell right into "family" together. He is so much like Bill in his personality, the 3 of us have the same eye color, and he even has a cleft chin like Bill & Hayden! We had a wonderful time together and can't wait to return so we can bring him home forever.

The orphanage where Daniel lives.

Family!

Orphanage Rodyna

So all the corrections have been made and our dossier was resubmitted on February 5th. We have been told that there are not many applications right now, so we may know as early as next week if we're approved and get an appointment date! So many emotions: happy, anxious, excited, nervous; all mixed up inside. I will definitely let everyone know when we hear something!

Thank you everyone for your continued prayers and support. I know we (mostly me) have been a little withdrawn from friends and activities lately and we (I) apologize. For those of you have never been through this, let me just say it's the worst, best thing I've ever done in my life. It's like a pregnancy that feels like it will never end! The doctor keeps changing the due date or rescheduling the induction and you just can't face the questions anymore about "Are you ever going to have that baby?" Everyone wants to know when we're going and so do we! I'm not saying not to ask us about it, you deserve to know. We wouldn't have made it this far without your help! It's just hard, the hardest thing I've ever done, and sometimes instead of reaching out to y'all for support, it's just easier to turn inward. I'm working on that because I am sure once Daniel is home, I will probably need some help or advice or a shoulder to cry on. It will be a process and I know it won't be a fairy tale, perfect transition, but there will be one less orphan in this world and he will be loved by a mother and a father and 2 sisters for the rest of their lives.

Adoption - Not for the faint of heart.

Many of you have already heard about our very disappointing news. Two of our boys, Christian & Henry, have been moved to a foster home. This makes them unavailable for international adoption. It was ultimately their decision, but what upset us the most is that we nor our lawyer where notified that this option was being offered to the boys. They made this very important decision without any input from us. What made this option so attractive to them is that it's the foster home where their sister, Leana, lives. We didn't get to explain to them that we have also been working on adopting their sister. We made no headway over the summer to have contact with her, so we moved forward on the 3 boys with plans to meet Leana while we're in Ukraine. We feel like they would have made a different decision, possibly, if they would have had this information. All we can do is trust that this is all part of God's plan and there is a reason Christian & Henry weren't meant to be part of our family at this time. It's so hard though. We have loved these boys over a year and already thought of them as our sons. It feels like our children have been taken from us. We know it will take time to heal and accept this situation, but these boys will always have a part of hearts.

Good news is that Daniel is definitely coming! He is very excited that we will be there soon and is telling everyone "No Oleg. Daniel Holliday!" We can hardly wait to bring him home and meet our family and friends!

We think this may be a good time to tell you all about another sweet boy that stole our hearts last December. His name is Vova, or Bobo as my dad calls him. He is 9 and just the most precious boy you'll ever meet. We felt very attached to him while he was here. He would call Bill & I "Mama" and "Papa". I don't know if its b/c we were the 1st houseparents when he arrived & spent lots of time with him throughout their visit or if maybe he already knew something we hadn't figured out yet. We knew we were already in the process of adopting 3 boys and were in no position to be considering another, so we just decided to wait & maybe adopt him later on. We had thought about maybe next year if he was still available. We have had friends adopting from his orphanage and he has told them to tell us "Hi" and we've sent him a photo album. So there's been a little communication between us, but nothing like what we had with our 3 boys. We didn't want to discuss adoption with him until we had a better idea of when. It wouldn't be fair. We still haven't discussed it with him, but we have made several inquiries to get information about him. Someone we spoke with, we have since found out, told him that there's a family in America that wants to adopt him. I'm sure he suspects its us b/c we've sent him messages through friends and the photo album. Our friends that are their currently have been able to visit with him often and he's told them all about how an American family is coming to get him, but he doesn't know when. Awww. So at least we know he's open to the idea.

Our "Bobo"

We know we will be traveling to Ukraine sometime early December. We have been trying to decide if we should go forward with adopting Vova while we're there since we're already approved for more than 1 child & we'd already be there. The issue is that he's in another region from Daniel and that really complicates the adoption process. Adding to the complications is "when" we're going. The Ukrainian government all but shuts down in January for Orthodox Christmas. There is no way to foresee how long it could take to complete both adoptions. We had friends this summer who adopted from the same 2 regions and there's took about 3-4 months! We just can't be gone like that. I think we're just going to play it by ear. If things are going unusually quick with Daniel's process, we may consider going forward with Vova. If things are going slowly, which seems to be the norm in Ukraine, we will just have to make another trip next year. We will continue to pray for God's will in this, but we're feeling more & more that He is moving us toward adding Vova to our family.

The time is growing near for us to leave for Ukraine. We have all the funds for the adoption costs and travel, but we're still in dire need of funds for our 30-45 day stay. We'll have to rent an apartment, pay for food, and the costs for transportation while in Ukraine. We have a donation button on the top right corner of our home page, but you can also send tax deductible donations on our behalf to Manifold Mercies. Make checks payable to Manifold Mercies and mail to: Manifold Mercies, P.O. Box 237, Kellyton, Al 35089. Put "Holliday Family" on the outside of your envelope to ensure the donation is set aside for our adoption. If you don't like snail mail or checks, you can visit their website www.manifoldmercies.org and click on the "donate" button. If you make a donation online, just let us know so we can notify Manifold Mercies and let them know its for our adoption.

Thank you so much for all your prayers and emotional & financial support. We could have never done this without all your help!

Love,
The Holliday's
Bill, Kim, Hope, & Hayden

So close, yet so far away

Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. 

Fight for the rights of widows.

Isaiah 1:17

I know God's timing is perfect. I know it in my head and in my heart, but it does not always make the waiting any easier. Some days my heart aches so bad to see our boys that I don't think I will make it through the day. Other days I try to stay busy working on the dossier, their bedroom, painting something for them, etc...It seems to make me feel close to them-like they are here with me. I was thinking the other day-it will be one year on September 2nd from the first time we met Daniel and Christian. On September 9th it will be one year since we touched them last. That made me sad, but also thankful that we met them, that they will soon be with us forever, and really amazed at how fast a year goes by.

Here are 2 paintings I've done for their room.

 

It gets hard answering the "So, when are yall going?" question. We don't know. Every time we think all the paperwork is ready and we have an idea of when we'll be going, something else comes up & the dossier is still not sent to Ukraine. It is very challenging being so close to ready, but still feeling so far from it actually  happening.

It's amazing though, (why I am even surprised by this I don't know) God always shows up with something to sustain us when we feel like we can take no more. While Daniel was at camp, we had friends there too. They kept us supplied with photos and even let us skype with him one day. Also, his phone had service in the town they were in, so we could continue to text him and call. We really enjoyed talking to Daniel one-on-one, him not having to share the phone with his two more talkative brothers. We feel like we got some great bonding and communication done during this time having him all to ourselves. But having him alone meant not having the other 2 to talk to.

Christian and Henry had gone to Italy for the summer. We had no way of contacting them or even knowing exactly where they were. We did good over the 1st weeks, but as it neared a month without contact we (and by WE I mean mostly ME)  began to lose it: crying a lot and being sad. Then, out of no where, Bill gets a friend request from a lady in Italy on Facebook. He almost didn't accept it, but I reminded him the boys are in Italy.  Her name Valentina and she's awesome. She said Vlady (Henry) has stayed with her family for the last 3 summers. We have been talking on FB & skyping all week. All I needed was to see that sweet face and I'm back on cloud 9! Now if I can just find Christian! He left Italy on July 27th. I checked with Daniel and he said he's not at the orphanage, he's gone to visit someone in Kiev. I know his sister lives in Kiev, but I can't imagine he would be with her and not Henry too. Hopefully I will be able to talk to him again soon.

Danial at camp with "his baby" Nastia.

 

 

 

Daniel with our friend Rachael Vogel at Camp.

Henry in Italy sitting a Ferrari!

Henry with a Lamborghini!

Thank you everyone for all your support and your prayers. We are so close, yet so far from being there. Please continue to hold our family up in prayer, that we will continue to fight the good fight, and follow this dream to its wonderful end.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

2 Timothy 4:7

Welcome home Anastasia!

Because we had been doing the yard sale all day Saturday, we never had time to get on FB. You can imagine our surprise Saturday evening when we discovered that Julie & Anastasia would be flying into B'ham Sunday evening at 6:25 instead of Thursday as previously planned. So we drove to the airport yesterday afternoon to make sure they received a warm welcome. After 2 hrs. of delays, they finally arrived around 8:15 last night! It was so surreal. We've talked to them on skype, we've been with them as they have planned for this, and we were there to send them off at the airport when they left for Ukraine. It still didn't seem real though, until we held Anastasia once again in our arms last night. She's here, her forever home!

It's not a proper homecoming with out signs!

Here they come!

1st hugs!

New family!

We are so glad to have her back in Alabama!

It was an awesome evening! So glad she is finally here and we are looking forward to welcoming Oleg home in a few weeks. David will fly back to Ukraine Sunday, June 10. Oleg's 10 day waiting period will be up and it will just be a matter of applying for his passport and visa and they can bring him home. Keep the Sanchez family in your prayers.

There are constantly more applications fees and unexpected expenses as we go through this journey we call adoption. We appreciate any donations to help defer those costs. We've added a "donate now" button to our blog page so you can make a donation online through Google Check-Out or you can mail donations to:

Bill & Kim Holliday

Holliday Family Adoption Fund

3132 Fitzgerald Rd.

Montgomery, AL 36106

Thank you so much for all your prayers, love, and financial support!

Home Study-On Our Way Now!

Things are really starting to move quickly now! Its kind of scary, but exciting at the same time. We have our 2nd appt. with the social worker today for our home study. We LOVE our social worker, Sherry, she's just awesome. She is very excited for us us and supportive. The dossier is coming together. Waiting on all our clearances to come back and hopefully we will be able to get all paperwork sent to Ukraine soon.
We have been talking with the boys at least 2-3 times a week. They're really picking up on English and that's just over the phone, I think they will learn very fast once they're with us full-time. I got my 1st "I love you" yesterday from Henry/Vlad. Melts my heart! I get to hear it from Christian/Artem a lot (if there isn't too many other boys around), but that could be because he's a phone hog. Daniel/Oleg is going through a shy stage and doesn't usually talk much on the phone-again this also could be because Christian/Artem is a phone hog. Bill & Hayden were here Monday and were able to talk with them. Because of the 8 hr. time difference, I have to call around 12-12:30 in the afternoon when Bill & Hayden are at work and school. It was a great phone call Monday! The boys shared the phone well and I think Daniel/Oleg talked more than he ever has.

We have 3 sets of friends in Ukraine right now. The Sanchez's have completed their adoptions and the Lawry's and Decker's are in the beginning of theirs. The Sanchez's were at our boys' orphanage yesterday and got this photo.

L-R: Anastasia Sanchez, girl at orphanage, Julie Sanchez, Tanya, Oleg Sanchez, Henry/Vlad, Christian/Artem, & Andre

I'm not sure where our Oleg was, but Julie couldn't find him for photo. He was probably playing soccer somewhere! I miss them so bad, but its good to see they're doing well.

We will be having a yard sale Saturday to raise funds. We are trying to decide if we're having it here or get a booth at Crampton Bowl. There is a chance of rain Saturday, so it may be nice to be indoors somewhere. I just have no idea how we'd get everything there! We will just watch weather I guess. I will let everyone know before Saturday where we will be set up.

Again, we would like to thank everyone for their support, prayers, and encouragement. This is an amazing journey and we are so blessed to have so many friends and family traveling this road with us.