Recap!!!

O.k. I decided that it is time to recap! Time to go back to when this all started and give a timeline of this ridiculous, yet marvelous journey.

2/2004 Decided to adopt on our 1st anniversary
4/2004 Studied up on various Countries and decided to adopt from Ukraine
5/2004 Had fundraiser raise money for the homestudy
8/2004 Found an agency and started homestudy
2/2005 Agency finally got their stuff together and completed/approved homestudy
3/2005 submitted our complete application to Ukraine
7/2005 Ukraine registered us as adoptive parents and assigned us a registration number
9/2005 Ukraine "closed" down to adoption due to the lack of compliance by Americans for the filing of the post placement reports. No new adoptions. Also announced that there would be changes for the adoption center including directors.
12/2005 Adoption Center closed their doors to switch control over to the new department (known as the State Department of Adoptions; SDA)
1/2006 SDA announced that they would reopen in March
3/2006 SDA understaffed, cannot open until June
6/2006 SDA will open but will not be "working" until July
7/2006 SDA announced that appointments will start in September
8/2006 Letters went out to few families for September appointments
Here we are today....Waiting for our letter of invite for October. Supposely the 23rd. I am praying, but incase you haven't noticed from the timeline above - nothing is predictable.

We are hoping for a girl... Sophia (name is chose)
ages 15months to 5 years

We will get an appointment to go to the SDA, we will meet with officials and they will show us binders of children that meet our request. We will chose one to meet based on history and medical information. We will travel to the orphanage that the child is at and meet her. After spending time with her we will decide to a) adopt her or b) not adopt her and go back to the SDA to chose another. **this is only something that would happen if for some reason she was not available or maybe a lot unhealthier than we were lead to believe**
Once we decide to adopt we will move forward with the paperwork and court dates. During this time we will visit her in the orphanage everyday. Spend time getting use to her, and her, to us. Once we go to court we will then need to stay for 10 more days. After the 10 days we can finally take her out of the orphanage, back to Kiev, visit the US embassy to get her VISA and then HOME!!!

OCTOBER!!!!!!

Orange and black.....maybe that is a sign Aunt Jennifer. Your "favorite" colors right? Also the color of October! October is the month we are bringing Sophia home!!! Before you die of heart attack right now, no we did not get our letter of invite. BUT we did hear from our translator and he said that we fall under the October appointments.

Here is the list that is at the SDA right now....
September - Registration no. 9913-14507
October - Registration no. 14511-15196
November - Registration no. 15196-15717
December - Registration no. 15718-16099

We are number 151**...so that puts us in October. Our translator said that they are suppose to be mailing out the letters for October appointments on August 23rd. I am trying my best to keep my cool because things are known to change in Ukraine at a drop of a hat so I am somewhat reserved about what I hear. Yet my heart is dying with excitement! The 23rd is only next week so pray to God that we get this damn letter. I AM TIRED OF WAITING!! UKRAINE HERE WE COME!!