I can’t believe how quickly time is flying by and already we are at the end of March which is the expected time we will receive notification of when and where we are flying to for our first trip over to the Ukraine.

The first trip is so exciting for us as it will be the first opportunity we will meet our children.  At this point in the process, all we know is that the children will be 2 to 12 years of age, and that they will be siblings.  We should be receiving notification from UAS, our adoption agency, any day now which will disclose to us when we will be travelling and to which part of the Ukraine we will be going to.

With not knowing anything really about our children at this point, it has made preparing our home a bit challenging.  Much of what we will need to purchase will need to wait until we get back from this first trip.  A 2 year old would need a different sized bed than a 12 year old, so we can’t even buy a bed yet for example.  I am really excited for when we get back to put everything into high gear and purchase all the necessities once we finally know more about our children.

After this first trip, it will likely be about 2 months before we can bring them home to Canada, but we may be required to make an additional trip in between.  That part is unknown at this time.

Ryan and I have been busy these last few months working on a few more renovations before our travelling will begin.  Excited and anxious for this next step in the adoption as we have been anticipating it for so long now.

One of the recommendations we received from the agency was to prepare a small photo album of family and friends to share and leave with our children after the first trip over.   We collected pictures from everyone and compiled them in a photo book.  We also included pictures of our house, yard, and local playground so they can see all the things to look forward to here.  I cannot wait to show the kids these books and introduce them to all of the important people that will be a part of their life!

The outpouring of so many people have shared with us since we started sharing our journey publicly has been so amazing to see.  Many sharing their adoption journeys with us and similar circumstances of infertility has been so heartwarming and encouraging to us as we push through this last leg of the adoption process.  Thank you to all of you who have reached out to us with your kindness and support – we appreciate all of you so much!

We are soooooo close!!