Before Getting Started

We have wrestled for months with the idea of adopting. Should we adopt internationally or domestically? If international, which country? Do we want to adopt siblings? How long are we willing to wait? How much can we spend? If domestic, do we want to adopt via foster care or through an agency and wait for a phone call (that may never come)? Little by little, things started falling into place. After months of research on countries and agencies, we have decided on the Ukraine program via Commonwealth Adoptions (www.commonwealthadoption.org) .

This program's wait time is much shorter than other countries we considered, but also costlier. In the end, time was the deciding factor for us. We hope to travel to Kiev, Ukraine in about 12 months. Our stay there will be 4-6 weeks, and we will begin the process of "selecting" our child. No worries...we will have a Ukrainian guide & translator with us at all times to help us get from one place to another. Our worry right now is...Who will we get to house-sit & keep an eye on the dogs??!! Any takers??!

We are hoping to get some final questions answered this week before we formally submit our application into the program. Once that is submitted, our home study process will begin. Before, during & after the home study process, we will begin assembling paperwork for a dossier (pronounced "dos-e-a"). This is a packet of information all about us & our background (eg...criminal, medical, bio's, etc..). If we are organized and on the ball, we can get all this completed in about 3 months. Once it is submitted & approved in Ukraine, we get the "invitation" to travel 3-6 months later. I think we'll have about 3-4 months to prepare for travel, then be in Ukraine for 4-6 wks.

We will update this more once we have actually submitted the application. Wish us luck on what will probably be the most exciting & frustrating & nervewracking & wonderful time of our lives. Please leave comments &/or ask questions! We'd love to hear from you.