a very special delivery

One of the cool perks of writing for Steeple Hill is their devoted book club readers. Even though my next Love Inspired novel doesn't hit the stands until May, readers are already contacting me. So far, the news is good. And I am deeply thankful that they are loving A VERY SPECIAL DELIVERY. The cover is pretty too. All pink with a darling little baby on it.

Ukraine & INS

We received good news today. Our immigration application was approved, so if Ukraine will allow us to adopt Sasha and her sister, we have the approval to bring them to America. Other good news is that Sasha is feeling better. She's still coughing and orphanages are not all that warm, but at least she is mending. We are praying hard that things will reopen in Ukraine and we can get the girls out of the orphanage by summer. We know it's a long shot, but God can do anything. Please pray. Children shouldn't be in orphanages when they could be with a loving family.

Waldorf Salad Recipe

I haven't made Waldorf Salad in a while, but since Gene and I both could lose a little weight, I decided to make more salads. Here's the recipe I used. It turned out great.

2 apples
2 stalks of celery
a handful of green grapes
a capful of lemon juice
1/4 - 1/2 cup of walnuts
1 heaping TBS. of no fat sour cream
1 heaping TBS. of Miracle Whip
a little spoon of Mayo. (You could use lowfat here too if you had it.)

Chop fruits and celery. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Add all other ingredients, chill and enjoy!

Prayers Needed

If you read this blog, by now you know there is a little girl in Ukraine who owns my heart. Today I received word that she is sick and has been taken to the hospital. My mother's instinct is screaming to get on a plane and go take care of her! Impossible, of course, but please pray for her. Being an orphan is hard enough. Being a sick, six year old orphan is horrid.

Ukrainian orphanages

Linda Goodnight
When the former Soviet Union collapsed, it left a lot of good people in very bad situations. The result has been an influx of children into orphanages across eastern Europe. I must say, from personal experience that these are beautiful, bright, wonderful children, but if the statistics coming out of Russia are correct, their future is bleak. Sixty to seventy percent of kids that age out of orphanages end up in crime, prostitution, or dead from suicide.

This weekend, I agreed to add to my already overburdened schedule a roll as coordinator for donations for Gorlovka Hope Orphanage, the orphanage in Ukraine where our Sasha and Elena live. Please take a minute to go to life2orphans.com and read about the wonderful work this group does. In the days to come, I'll be telling you about a special project I'm trying to get going to help the kids at G.H. I hope you'll agree this is a worthy cause. Caring for orphans is, as the scripture says, the very heart of Jesus.

Ukraine Adoption Plea

Linda Goodnight
Do you know anyone who has ever adopted from Ukraine?

In previous posts I mentioned that we hosted a little Ukrainian girl at Christmas. Since then, after much prayer and asking ourselves if we had lost our minds, we decided that we couldn't leave her to grow up in an orphanage. So, we are currently collecting the paper work to adopt both Sasha and her sister, if possible. The problem at this moment though, is not in the mountain of paperwork or even the frightening expense. The problem is that Ukraine has suspended adoptions to Americans. Why? Because about 900 American parents who have adopted from Ukraine have not turned in the yearly reports that the Ukrainian government requires. And now, because of the noncompliance of a few, many children may live out their entire childhoods without families, including the little girls we would love to bring home.

So, please, for the sake of many, many needy kids, if you know of anyone who has adopted from Ukraine, please urge them to check and make sure they have filed their yearly reports.