travel plans

Hi all:)

Our dossier was submitted last week in Ukraine.  We are expecting to travel right around the end of April...everything is becoming real now!  Some members of the team were in Ukraine last week, and they were able to spend some time with Dasha..though she was reserved, she did say that she is excited to come home:)

When we have our court date set, I will be post it immediately...

our team

Just wanted to write a quick post about how fortunate we feel to have such an amazing team.  I was on the phone with David (our adoption agent/coordinator) yesterday when he received notice that two families had been given court dates that were scheduled in TWO SHORT WEEKS!  He could not contain his excitement, and could not wait to contact these families.  How awesome it is for us, to have people like him who are genuinely rooting for these orphans, these families.  And it doesn't end with David...the amount of love and support that's been given to us is overwhelming.  We are humbled, we are blessed...

Thanks to ALL of you.  They say it takes a village to raise a child...I guess it takes one to adopt too:)

dasha

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Prayers for Dasha

Good Morning All:)

I have had a few requests to create a specific prayer list for Dasha...what a great idea (thanks Allie)!  If any of you are interested...here it is!:)

• First and foremost, we continue to pray that the adoption DOES go through.  While we feel quite confident, the fact is she did turn 16, and we do not have her yet. We were granted the extension, but lets be honest..this is a pretty up & down, back & forth ride. We are NOT worried that it won't go through, we just continue to pray for it...and put our trust in the Lord that this is His plan.
• We pray that our time in Ukraine goes smoothly.  We pray that no one comes out of the woodwork to try and complicate, or stop the adoption.  This has happened for quite a few of the other families who've already been to Ukraine to adopt their children. We pray that if that DOES happen, that Dasha can see through the scheme and knows how much we want her...how much we love her.  To give an example, there have been  some family members of children being adopted, who've come to court and said that the adoptive parents only wanted to bring the child home (USA) to hurt them..that they would be unsafe...and these family members asked for money from the parents adopting.  We are definitely praying that this does not happen.
• We pray that Dasha feels comfortable with Al and me, and with her 4 sisters who already adore her:) We pray that she feels the same way we do...that there is no difference in the amount of love.  That we CHOSE her...that we will always CHOOSE her.  God gave us Gracie, Bella, Maddy & Kate because He knew we were a perfect match.  He also knew what we did not, that our perfect match wasn't quite finished...so then He gave us Dasha.  Oh how we pray that she FEELS this.
• We pray that Dasha adjusts as well as possible.  There is a particular family who is really in turmoil right now...these amazing parents adopted 2 children from the Ukraine and they have 2 biological children as well.  These orphans have been through SO much in their short lives...and now that they are safe and loved, all of their pain and heartache is coming out.  While I pray for Dasha's adjustment to happen smoothly, I also pray that this family is able to heal and come together soon too.  You want to talk about a strong mom and dad...well, this family has it!!  Please pray for them too.
• We pray that Dasha is able to learn English quickly, that she is able to get into the most age appropriate grade as possible and that she is not too far behind educationally.
• A BIG one...we pray that Dasha is able to gain self-esteem, and learns that she is worth the world.  We pray that she doesn't seek the wrong kind of attention (mainly from boys).  This is a common problem for girls everywhere, and at every age. We are aware that Dasha already leans toward low self-esteem, and seeks attention.   We pray that we are able to quickly instill a strong sense of self-worth and confidence in her that NO ONE can shatter.
• We pray that our family is able to blend...through counseling for Dasha individually as well as with all 7 of us:) We pray that through counseling, and through her learning to trust that she IS part of a real family...that Dasha is able to have total emotional healing from anything & everything she has been through in her short life.
• Most of all, we pray that Dasha continues on her walk with the Lord.  If she does this, then each of the preceding prayers will naturally fall into place.

On top of these prayers for Dasha...one last thing that our family is continually praying for is our 4 daughters back home.  When we leave for Ukraine, we will be gone 3-4 weeks.  That is SUCH a long time for children to be away from their parents.  We are praying that Gracie, Bella, Maddy and Kate don't miss us too much, don't hurt because of our absence, and are able to laugh and play just as if everything is normal.  A special prayer from their mommy~I pray that Maddy & Kate (because of their ages) don't forget my face, my smell, or my voice. I pray that they are not scared of me (from not understanding) when I return.  We just really pray that the girls get it...that they understand why we are leaving.  We pray that all of the letters, DVD recordings of reading books and telling them how much we love them, and SKYPE, are enough to soothe the girls while we are gone.  We love all 5 of our babies more than our hearts can hold..and leaving one for the other is never easy...I guess sometimes it is just something we have to get through...

Thanks for all of your continued support!

Love,

The Littels

all 7 of us:)