Skype with brother

We’re getting adjusted to the time change, but end up sleeping late. This is fine since we really don’t have anywhere to be until 3pm when V*ktor is finished with classes. Aleksey went on a paper chase to another city Friday, so we were on our own anyway. I ventured out for SIM cards and minutes. We ate PBJ in the room for lunch. Later, we walked to the orphanage. Now, when I say “walked,” what I really mean is slipped, slid, and swam (haha). The sidewalks are VERY slushy, have many potholes with giant puddles, and have patches of ice. It makes for an interesting walk pushing C in a stroller while Brian carries a heavy backpack. If you are coming here in winter months, you MUST bring warm waterproof comfortable boots. Seriously, worth every penny. In Kiev, even with snow boots with decent traction, Brian and I both took hard falls. The knot on my head is smaller and doesn’t hurt as bad. Brian was holding C, but made sure to fall on his other side. Scared her, but she was fine. He was pretty sore, though. Ahh but I digress.
After our journey to the orphanage, we sat with V*ktor and S (a girl who was hosted this summer) in the girls playroom. We played cards, and they ate a lot of jerky. Actually, V kept forcing it on her because she would only take tiny pieces (but you could tell she really liked it). It was sweet. We gave her the gifts from her host family. Since I had to take out the candy (by director request), I stuffed some more things in there for her. We had a really good time, V and S loved on C for awhile. V*ktor had to go with Aleksey to ask about our “visitation” tomorrow, so S and Brian played War. As we left, we gave a giant bag (that many of you contributed items for) to the deputy director so she can pass them out to the children. There were at least 20 stocking caps, gloves, 60-70 chapsticks, 50 bouncy balls, 20 handwarmers, and several other items. Thursday, I only received scowls from her. Friday, she was very friendly and lots of smiles. Progress J Friday night, we walked over to the “white hotel” restaurant. Oh my goodness! Best food I’ve had since we got here. Something we would call a dip with lots of garlic inside a hollowed out tomato, chicken with mushrooms and cheese, and some to-die-for hot chocolate that was more like drinking chocolate fondue. Brian left before the hot chocolate came hoping to get back and work that night. C started screeching and squirming. Aleksey reached for her, and she went to him quiet as a mouse. Sat there the whole time we drank hot chocolate with her thumb in her mouth! I’m calling him the “baby whisperer” now. Seriously! Hmmm - maybe when she starts screeching at 12Am he will want to take her - haha! After supper, he wanted to go in search of a gym so we walked down this pitch black street to a gym. It was apparently not for public use, though. Ah well, back to the hotel. C actually slept all night. It was nice!

Yesterday, we slept late again. We planned on leaving for the orphanage at 2:30, but Aleksey called at 2 and said he had to go early for paperwork. Since he was taking a car (apparently needed to get there right then), we threw on our coats and ran out the door. We were early to the orphanage, so we had to wait a little while for V*ktor to come out of the lunchroom. When he did, we headed up to his classroom for him to get his coat. We gave J his care package from his host family and took a picture. Adorable kid! After catching up with another host kid O, we headed towards town. It was raining and not a super-pleasant kind of walk but oh well what do you do? Aleksey asked V what he wanted to do, and he said “talk to his brother and sister” so we went into a restaurant with wifi and ordered drinks. We skyped with Mom and A. A was still in bed, so Mom just took him the computer! For probably a good 45 minutes, we talked and watched A show us various things. I switched over to google translate every now and then (Aleksey was making some phone calls). Then, we started walking a little more, saw the school in town where J attends and where V*ktor visits the library. We stopped at the candy store (oh yum yum yum) to get Viktor something. He wanted to show us the statue in town. It’s in memory of a mail carrier who slipped through the ice and threw the letters to the side of the river to save them. The carrier, unfortunately, did not survive, but the mail was delivered. We took some pictures there and it continued to rain. V*ktor wanted pizza, so we went for supper at “Family Pizza.” Brian and V*ktor had a really good meat on their pizza - kind of like bacon.

We took a cab back to the orphanage and V*ktor showed us to his room. I went to the restroom which involved walking about 120 ft down a hallway, down stairs, 120 ft down the hallway directly below the other one, another 50 ft to the boys bathroom (the only one in the entire school), and another 50 ft to the girls bathroom (only one in the school). When I got there, a group of little boys were hanging around and politely showed me the door. They followed me back to V*ktor’s room. I have no idea why. I think they wanted gum or something. They were so adorable, and I kind of felt like the pied piper with all these kids following me! They walked into V*ktor’s room where they stayed a few minutes with us until he shooed them on their way. We looked through his picture album from summer hosting. Then, his friend, who was in the room with us, wanted to show us his room. So, we walked alllllllll the way around the school to get there. Picture a U shaped building. The Top corners of the U have stairs that go to the hallways on the sides of the U. The bottom corners of the U have staircases that only go to the bottom part of the U. So it’s quite a maze and not well connected. By this time, our “visitation” was up so we went to ask the teachers if/when V*ktor could attend church on Sunday. After a long conversation between V, Aleksey, and the 2 teachers, it was determined that we should be at the orphanage Sunday at 9:30AM to take him to church.
This morning, we had to wake up early (after C screeching until 1AM) for church. It was still raining, so we took a cab. We originally though at teacher was going with us, but they ended up sending V with us. So, a mile walk in the rain turned to snow and we ended up at the church (only about a block from our hotel). Apparently, their church services are very long and people just come and go for as long as they want to stay. We went upstairs and over to the very last bench way on the front corner of the curved balcony. It’s kind of sad to picture V sitting there alone (or maybe with a friend) every Sunday. After about 40 minutes C started squealing, so I took her out. There was only one room separate from everything and I wasn’t sure if I could go in there. Our coats were still upstairs so outside was out of the question. I tried gesturing to a lady to ask if I could go in there, but she didn’t understand. Another lady seemed to understand my wild charades and opened the door motioning me in there. I was in there with C for about 10 minutes before V, B, and Aleksey came downstairs. We went to our hotel to change clothes and get C her snowsuit. Back to the orphanage we rode! V said he had to go do lessons (which was different than what we were originally told), but we could come back at 3. It is time to wake up Brian and C from their naps so we can head that way!
written Sunday, Feb 3, 2013

We saw V*ktor!!!!

We got to see V*ktor!!!! It was so good to give him a big hug and see his smile J I just realized my last update was Monday afternoon, so I have some catching up to do!

Monday evening we got to talk to Mom and B on Skype. It was really good to see them! Later, we met up with the other family for supper at a café (kind of like Picadily). It was nice because we could just point to the food and get what we wanted. Plus, there were some other English-speaking customers who were very helpful when we weren’t sure what something was. We headed to the grocery store where I thought I was buying milk… apparently not, but by the time I figured it out I was at the register with a ton of people behind me and I wasn’t sure about Ukrainian etiquette on putting something back. So, I bought some pretty gross liquid yogurt. Needless to say I didn’t finish it. Afterwards, we walked a little through an underground mall, but we were kind of exhausted at that point so we didn’t stay too long.

Tuesday, we got up late morning and packed everything. The other family came over with their things to leave in our apartment since they had to check out of theirs. We went on a walking tour of the city. Funny enough, we spent almost half of it at a café (our choice) eating - lol! Leave it to us that we eat instead of tour. We walked around and the guide told us some history. We saw a beautiful monestary/church called St. Sophia. The guide was delightful, the P family perfect company, and the sights were great. I really don’t take in history very well, so I can’t tell you more than that. Oh! C slept the entire tour after we ate. She was wrapped in the moby on Brian inside his coat. I can’t even begin to describe the looks we got with her legs dangling out the bottom of his coat! Enjoy the photo J Our tour ended at the SDA where we met up with our facilitator, went in, signed, and picked up our papers. Piled 7 of us in a car (think mid-size like a Taurus) and back to the apartment where we grabbed our stuff. We parted ways with the other family and headed to our train.

Apparently their typical plan is for Americans to grab McDonald’s as we hop on the train. It’s a good thing we had 2 facilitators with us who helped carry everything to the train. There’s no ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), so elevators are pretty uncommon. LOTS of stairs to haul C down in her stroller. Once we got to our compartment, though, we got everything settled in. Some people came and asked to use our upper storage space for their painting, so we handed our stroller to strangers and put their painting up there. Only later did the thought cross my mind that they may be getting off before us while we were sound asleep! Thankfully, they had the same destination. We were in “first class” which is 2 beds. Our facilitator in region is Aleksey, who we just met as we boarded the train (there are lots of different facilitators who help us along the way). He stayed in the 2^nd class with 4 beds on a top bunk in another car. Honestly, it wasn’t a terrible way to travel. It got pretty stuffy and hot in there, but otherwise we rode along doing crossword puzzles, making up long drawn out math problems (we are fully aware that we are complete dorks), and later watching a movie on the laptop. Unfortunately, C did NOT think it was an ideal way to travel or to sleep. So, after sleeping for about 4 hours, she was pretty much screaming and crying from 2AM-5AM. That is very atypical for her, but she’s been through a lot of change and interrupted sleep schedules for several days. It was a nightmare for us, but we knew it had to end sooner or later! We slept until 8 when Ukrainian music started playing in our compartment. By 9:45, we had all our luggage out and ready to get off the train. Fifteen and a half hours - whew! A car was waiting for us, and we headed to V*ktor’s town!!! The first stop was dropping stuff at the hotel. Then whisked to the social worker where they asked us a few questions. Mostly, they talked to us. When the lady asked if V*ktor knew and what he had said. I told her, “He said YES YES YES TELL THEM YES!” She laughed and apparently decided the interview was pretty much over. We headed to the orphanage where we didn’t think we would get to see him yet since he was in class. I have a whole new appreciation of how V*ktor felt in America. Seriously, it’s so weird following somebody into a place, hearing an exchange of words, having no idea what is said, and then being told “okay, we’re going somewhere else now.” Half the time you don’t know what’s going on or if things are going as they’re supposed to go. They took us to what seemed to be a playroom with several couches and left us there with Aleksey. He said they were going to get V*ktor!

It was a very long few minutes waiting for him to get down there. We jumped up to give him big hugs and sat down where he immediately reached for C. We talked to him for a few minutes and kept waiting for the 2 observing social workers to ask questions or something. It was really awkward just being watched like that. We hadn’t brought any of our gifts for V*ktor or his friends because we didn’t realize we’d see him. The social workers asked him if there was anything in the room he wanted to do, and he said no. This was “girl” room - lol! They eventually left and a guy came in. He was really friendly and talked a lot more - asked questions of us. Whatever any of them were saying to him, V*ktor had big smiles and kept nodding his head yes as he talked while he played with C. After everyone was gone and it was just us with V and Aleksey, he opened up more and it seemed more natural. Then, when Aleksey left it was even better. V*ktor is just really shy and I think felt like he was on the spot with all those people in there. After about 10-15 minutes, Aleksey appeared with the social worker and said we needed to go now. They’re very abrupt “okay, time to go! V*ktor needs to go back to class, now.” It takes a minute to bundle C into her snow pants, boots, coat, and hat. We did it as quickly as possible, but still felt like they all thought we were taking an eternity! We hugged goodbye and were told we could return from 3-5. The car left with the social worker, and we were on foot from then on out. I was sooooo glad we had the stroller! First, we headed to a notary who seemed very busy and uninterested in helping. We showed her our passports, more words exchanged, and then “okay, time to go!” I asked Aleksey if that went okay and if she was going to do it for us. He said it took some time to prepare and we needed to come back later. Onward back to the hotel where we ate in the restaurant for lunch.

Our second trip to the orphanage was much better and more relaxed. First, we had to stop and pick up the papers to sign at the notary. We were late getting there, but finally made it through the snow. At this point, V*ktor just met us there in the hallway and took us up to a classroom where 2 boys were watching TV. They always locked the door whenever somebody came in or left. We though it odd until we realized that the door didn’t latch unless locked. There, he showed us his desk with pictures A and B had colored and sent to him. He got out the violin, but didn’t play for us since the other kids were watching TV. He was wearing his cross necklace we sent. I told him how each of his cousins and A had one as well in all different colors. After showing us “around” his classroom a little, we played checkers. Not so shocking, he beat us both rather quickly. Then, Brian and V played battleship. C had a dirty diaper and I realized I had no wipes with me. Oh well, Kleenex would have to work! It was fine. As I headed out the door to go throw it away (in the downstairs bathroom), I ran right into his roommate J. I promptly gave him a hug (which seemed to shock him, but he let me hug him anyway) as I ran out the door. By the time I got back, it was time to go, so we packed up and headed out just as the classroom started to fill with kids and a man who was there to supervise study hall. V*ktor walked us out to the door of the orphanage and gave us hugs as we left. We will go back today to see him again!

Last night I ventured out to the grocery store. I wish I had gone with Aleksey, but he was running around getting papers. I tried to buy shampoo and conditioner. The lady kept pointing to what I could tell was the “2 in 1” which doesn’t work at all for my long hair. Finally, she pointed to 2 different ones. I thanked her and took them. (Only this morning did I find out that it was just 2 shampoos.) When I tried to mime diapers, they showed me individually wrapped diapers. WHAT??? So weird! LOL! I asked for bananas, but they didn’t have any. At this point, I was just SURE that this must not be the “big” grocery store Aleksey had described. I went ahead and bought what I could, then headed back to the hotel. A few minutes later, Aleksey was back and I told him that surely I was in the wrong store. He took me there to the same store… Anyway, he asked about the diapers and it was, in fact, only the individually wrapped diapers. I asked if there was nowhere to sell packages of diapers? It’s not that I NEEDED a whole package of diapers, but in my experience you save a lot of money buying bigger quantities of such things! We went to a few pharmacies (which seem to be as plentiful as pharmacies in the US), and they only sold individual diapers as well. Aleksey explained that people don’t have the money to buy more than a few at a time. So, I will be buying diapers individually while I’m here! They’re name brand and about 32 cents apiece. At home, I pay about 14 cents a diaper. Oh well! I didn’t really have the luggage space to haul a lot of diapers with me anyway even if I had known ahead of time.

We ate dinner at the hotel and were able to skype with A and B! A had a snow day from school. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to catch him at the house. Our hotel room is good for us. The staff is so wonderful. They are really going out of their way to help us out with whatever we need. The housekeeper brought a crib for C to use! Brian had to put it together first, which was a little funny considering there were no directions. It works great, though! She also brought me extra pillows. She really laughed when I told her I usually use 4, but 2 would be fine. (Thankfully, my friend M had left travel pillows and blankets for us to use.) Our room has a television with only Ukrainian channels. Brian still feels the need to turn it on and watch sports shows and discovery channel, though J We have what I think is a king bed (it’s at least bigger than a queen) and a sectional couch and chair with a table. We have a dorm-sized fridge, and there is a bathroom with HUGE tub and sink. The toilet (and another sink) are in a different bathroom. We had been warned that ALL toilets and bathrooms smell in Ukraine. We found this to be very true, and just keep the door closed to the toilet bathroom! The room actually smells okay otherwise. At first, I thought the bed would be comfortable, but after a night on it, I plan to use the camping air mattress I brought with me.

This morning we slept late and ate in the room. Then, we headed back to the orphanage again to see V*ktor! This time, we were back in the playroom. He said there was a big group of kids upstairs playing. We talked for a while, played legos with Chella, played go-fish, and talked to the director about bringing toys and things for the other kids. He said we can take V*ktor to eat in town on Saturday - yaa! Tomorrow, we will see him again from 3-5 at the orphanage. We ate pizza with Aleksey on the way back to our room. C fell asleep and is still asleep now. Great. Another night of a baby who doesn’t want to sleep! Ahh well, as they say in Ukraine “It’s okaaaaaaaay!”

In country!

Jetlag - whew! Brian is going to feel it worse than I am, though, because he's taking a nap! I'm powering through to stay awake and get on the new schedule quickly. We'll see how it goes. So far, I have a caffeine (withdrawal) headache because the only diet-coke they have is "coca-cola light" which doesn't have any aspartame and is kind of gross - lol! Oh well, guess I drink too much diet coke anyways.
Mom got into town Thursday. In the 2 days before we left, we had a whirlwind packing job, another doctor's visit (C has an ear infection :( ), radiator leak in the van, lost debit card into the abyss between Walmart cash register and baggage carousel, frozen pipes, and kids puking! I tell ya - Satan attacks when he doesn't like what's happening. That's all I see there! Problems were all solved (well except the van, and it will wait).  Mom has been sick really bad since we left, but she is feeling better.  Please pray for her energy and health as she is there with A & B!
The morning we left, I could NOT find some of the medication we were planning to take. We looked high and low, unpacked ALL of the suitcases (there were 3 suitcases weighing in at 49.5 lbs after packing and repacking 800 times, a carryon rolling suitcase, and a backpack), and finally gave up. Brian's mom ended up driving us to the airport due to aforementioned van problem... Halfway there, I realized that since we hadn't taken our van, we didn't have our stroller. Then, I thought we didn't have the moby wrap either and I was really upset about all the things we now were without.  A said from the backseat, "MOM!  God's got it under control. He will take care of it!"  lol - nothing like your 9 year old to give you a wake-up call.  As it turned out, my Mom had one of the exact medications I misplaced, and my friend had the other. Plus, this friend was able to meet us at the airport with a stroller!  So, thank you A for the reminder, and thank you Lord for your provision.  It was really hard saying goodbye to our moms and kids, but we know at the end we will have ALL our kids!
We survived the first leg of the flight in the regular coach seats. It wasn't too bad, and it was quick.  In Chicago, we met up with another couple and their adorable 11 month old son.  We ate and hung out at the gate letting the babies crawl around and play.  The flight from Chicago to Frankfurt was as expected. We sat in the bulkhead where they give you a bassinet for the baby.  Between us, the other couple adopting, and 2 other families... There were 4 babies all in that row.  That means that roughly-40-50% of the time at least 1 baby was crying or fussing.  Ah well, not a ton of sleep, but whaddaya do?  It took us forever to deplane, so by the time we got to the next gate there was only about an hour which went fast.  Brian sat in exit row, and I had 3 seats to myself with C.  It worked out, and we got in some good sleep on that flight!  Upon arrival, we were happy to discover all our luggage made it. We cleared customs and met our facilitator with a van. First he took us to our apartment. It's really beautiful and has a jacuzzi tub!  I'm taking advantage, because I know starting Wednesday, the accomodations will be drastically different.  Then, we went to the grocery store and exchanged money. Then, we took the other couple to their apartment and headed back to ours where we ate PBJ (btw- we brought the peanut butter because they don't have it here).  We tried REALLY hard to stay awake as long as possible.  6:30 was as far as we got, but it will get better each day!
Today, we got up and ready for our appointment. I was a little nervous -wondering what they were going to ask and if we would do okay.  Our facilitator picked us up and we headed over there.  It went fine, not really any questions for us.  By the time we finished, we were told to come back tomorrow and pick up our referral papers! So, we went across the street to a cafe to wait for the P family (the couple we traveled with) to have their referral. Then, we ate lunch there. Now, we're back at the apartment. We think we will head to a cafe for supper, then grab laundry detergeant at the grocery store.  Tomorrow, we will take a walking tour of Kyiv, get our papers, and catch a loooooooooooooooong overnight train to see V*ktor on Wednesday!!!!!!!!!
Last night, his roommate told him we were here, and he can't wait to see us :)

The view from our apartment :)

FIVE MORE DAYS!!!!!!! OH MY!!

For current political reasons, the blog has switched to private. So, at this point, I'm hoping somebody is still reading.  I know you have to login to read it now, but hopefully some of my writings are worth it :)

So much to do, so much to do, so much to do!!!!  I have started writing instructions like a mad-woman. Instructions for my Mom on how to make laundry soap, A's schedule for getting ready in the morning, how to use electronic devices in the house, who to call for carpooling kids, etc. etc. etc.  Then, there's the calendar of events for Mom, then Brian's parents, then for Brian when he returns.  Oy vey!  Cub Scouts, Awana Grand Prix (AAAAAAAH!!!!  Need to build a car in the next 4 days!  Junior? Help?), Cubbies, TNT, basketball, preschool.  When I make casseroles, I'm doubling up and sticking half in the freezer.  I have lists of groceries needed for the house, items we need to buy for the trip, things to pack, things to do (btw- so sorry for those of you who never got a Christmas card:(  They might not make it this year.  Some went out, but not all of them), people to call, forms to sign.  On and on and on and on

For some reason, I was crazy enough to schedule a 3-day family weekend vacation right now! No, really, I think it was a great thing that we got to do a fun weekend together especially since we're leaving A & B.  They both readily agreed to a weekend at indoor waterpark and hotel instead of having birthday parties this year.  Score for me - no dressing up as a clown, baking a cake, chasing a bunch of kids around :)  Just got to hang out with the kiddos having a blast!  We went there after tumbling and basketball Saturday morning, played in the waterpark all day, had the best pizza EVER (well, except for Giordano's), played awhile longer, then back to the hotel room for baths.  I ran out and got a birthday cake (Brian's bday today) for a snack. B and C were asleep when I returned.  Sunday, we had breakfast and headed to the waterpark around 10.  It's a great place to go!  It's not huge, so you can find each other if you walk around for a few minutes.  The kids bounced from slide to slide, down the lazy river, splashing in the pool. A, C, and I headed up to the room around 4.  Brian and B came up not long after. She was sick. Really sick :( poor kid!  A REALLY still wanted to go to Olive Garden for supper, and Brian didn't care one way or the other. So, I got a date with my little man (and C) for supper last night! B was sick all night long, poor sweetheart. She really bounced back this morning.  Now C has a fever. Oh joy. At least she seems happy, though!

We leave in FIVE DAYS!!! FIVE!  NUTS!  Mom gets here in THREE days :) Wow - it just doesn't seem real.  I am not prepared enough to be leaving in 5 days!
Two big prayer requests at this point.  Please pray that an apartment can be found for us in region.  Also, pray for a quick timeline. Things can move quickly - like 5 weeks, or they can drag - like 8 weeks.  We want to get home with ALL our kids as fast as possible.  We don't have control over the timeline, we don't have control over the apartment. God does, and we will trust it's going to be okay.
I talked to V*ktor on Saturday.  I get all high pitched, squealy, and happy when I say anything about how soon we will be there.  He laughed at me, but I could tell he was just as excited and antsy:)

Your Grace is Enough, Your Grace is Enough, Your Grace is Enough for meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee :)

Getting closer!!!

 

I don't really feel like I have any one important thing to say, so this may just be a bit of my rambling :)  WE HAVE 18 DAYS UNTIL WE LEAVE!!! WOW!
   So we got home from TN and turned on the water.  One faucet (which was already kind of a problem anyway) just kept running even when knobs were turned off.  So, we shut the water off to that faucet and 3-4 days later Brian was finally able to completely replace it.  Old houses are tricky, you never know WHAT you're going to get when you go tearing into a project.  Poor guy kept having to go back to H*me Depot every day to get a different part!  Alas, that's done, and now I have a few more (hopefully quick) projects for him to do in the next 18 days- yaaaa!  (Sorry, every time I say how many days I have to say yaaa - it's  reflex - haha).
     V*ktor continues to be excited about our arrival.  Having the date has indeed made it seem a lot better for me anyway, and I think it probably has for him, too.  He has asked if we can bring some things for his roommates and maybe other kids.  Though I am going to want to pack a lot of stuff for us since we'll be there so long, I definitely want to take some things for him and the other kids.  So, if anybody wants to donate any of the following for us to take over, just let me know:  bouncy balls, gum (like in 5 pks), hand/foot warmers (the onetime use to put in gloves and shoes), hats, warm gloves, chap stick (poor kids beg for this because their lips are so chapped), or other small toys. These I can carry with me whenever I go to the orphanage and hand out something to each kid I see.  His roommate J's mom (still praying for a miracle with the registry for this sweet boy) was just there for a visit and she said every time she was there that the kids just swarmed her for hugs and a little suprise.  It's an opportunity for us to love on and minister to the other kids as well as it is for us to get V*ktor home. Ha- at the start of hosting, we thought of it as our mission trip without leaving home.  Now, I guess through our adoption over there, we will be on a mission trip of sorts :)
       I have just a swarm of thoughts in my head and prayers going up.  If you are wanting some specifics on what to pray for us, I'm just going to lay out a list here for you :)

• It's really starting to hit that I will be leaving A and B for possibly 8 weeks.  That is a REALLY long time!  Please pray for them that they would be happy, content, and not worry about us. Sk*pe will be a big help.
• Pray for our parents and friends who will be caring for A and B.  Pray for their strength, energy, and wisdom when parenting for us in our place.  Please pray for good health.
• The financial part of it is not a definite.  Plane ticket prices can vary greatly and there's always the chance that some piece of paperwork can slow down the process which means longer time in-country and more expenses.  We have fundraised the amount we were told we would need.  We completely trust that God has brought us this far and will continue to provide when it is needed.  We hope that we will be able to stay within what we have.
• Travel mercies - that C will be a good little traveler and that we can all get over the jet-lag as quickly as possible.
• Please pray for our safety and health throughout the whole process.
• Remember V*ktor in prayer, too.  Though he is really excited and can't wait to come home, I can imagine he may have some anxieties.  Change is HARD!  It can be scary. Even when you decide to do something and know it is a great decision, there's still a little fear involved in trying something new - the unknown.  I know there always is for me anyway - in new jobs, moving, or other major changes.  Pray for him and for us as his parents.
• Finally - Please pray for a FAST timeline.  There are a number of steps in the process.  Sometimes they go very quickly and sometimes things move slowly. For example - if a certain paper has to be signed by a specific person in a specific office... The day you go to that office, that person is out for the day... it's Friday... You've just added 3 days to your timeline.  or     The judge only wants to do adoptions on Thursday.  You just got ALL your papers and it's Friday... You've just added 6 days to the timeline.  We know God has it all under control and He has a plan.  We are praying for things to move quickly, but in the end we trust it will happen in His perfect way.

This picture is so cute :) My sister M is such an awesome aunt! She knows B so well that she got her a Lalal**psy doll just like the mermaid that B just picked out as a birthday present from my mom. I told B several times that we could take it to the store and let her pick out another doll or toy. She was INSISTENT that she wanted to give it to her cousin H so they would both have one to play with. Such a sweetie!

Thanks again everyone for continued prayers and encouragement!  We are truly blessed!  Oh also, I do have some Tshirts left, so if you want one let me know!  Free-will donation

WE HAVE A TRAVEL DATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!  WE HAVE A DATE! WE HAVE A DATE! WE HAVE A DATE!

Can you tell I'm a little excited? :)  We had a wonderful Christmas here with my family in TN!  We woke up Christmas Eve to an AWESOME Christmas present of our travel date to Ukr*ine!!!! Because of the timing, we have a full 5 weeks notice.  This is a huge relief because a lot of times people get less than 2 weeks notice.  I know in the end God has the plans under control, but He has blessed us in allowing me extra time so I'm not quite so stressed about it!  There are still lots of details about travel and everything to work through.  Yesterday, cousin N got to help us tell V (on the phone) when we will be there!  Even though we had been telling him we would be coming after Christmas, he was still pretty excited about having exact date (as were we) :) 

It was a fast, busy day with all the cousins and family.  The kids are so blessed with many people who love to spoil them on Christmas with lots of fun toys! The day started with Mom in the hall banging pots and pans together loudly! ------ When Dad was a kid, he and his 4 siblings apparently got up at the crack of dawn every year and woke my grandparents up playing with their toys.  After they were mostly grown, my grandfather came home from 3rd shift one Christmas morning.  Since they were still sleeping, he grabbed pots and pans and started banging them together running through the house to wake them up.  When I was a kid, my Dad told us the story, and, of course, we wanted to start a tradition.  Thus, we have been waking up on Christmas Day to someone banging pots and pans for almost 30 years now :)--------  A was really excited that he got his MP3 player. He has been wanting one since he saw V's (that he got for his birthday here this summer).  B got her "Stomp**z houseshoes!"  We had a yummy breakfast cooked by Aunt M! Then, we headed next door to Nana PJ and Papa G's.  Santa visited over there, and the kids all LOVED that!  It was a great afternoon spending time with family, watching kids play, eating great food, and catching up with each other. 

I LOVE this picture.  It's my grandparents with their 11 great grandchildren (okay, so one is photoshopped because she got there right after three of the others left).  In about 3 months, the 11 kids will be 14 through adoption.  My cousin J and his wife N are adopting twin girls from L*tvia, and we are adopting V!  That will even it up at 7 boys and 7 girls!



After a great day next door to Mom's, we headed to my Aunt A's house to visit my Dad's family.  Almost everyone was there, and we had a good visit. B and C were REALLY tired, though, and slept practically the whole time we were there!  We had a very blessed Christmas and hope you did as well!
We are REALLY thankful for Brian's parents!  Apparently our pipes froze yesterday (guess I shouldn't have turned the heat down so low when we left :( ) They spent almost 4 hours at our house getting them unfrozen.  I feel awful that they spent their Christmas doing that, but at the same time we are so blessed that they were willing and able to do it for us.  Today we're just enjoying a low-key day at Mom's house playing with Christmas toys and games!  Maybe we'll venture out later to see about sales on comfy snowboots for C and me.  (I got Brian some for Christmas.)  Looks like we'll need them soon!

Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹ For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  Luke 2: 10-12

Waiting and waiting and waiting - and a cool tree topper

I think I spoke too soon about this waiting going fast.  I read my last blog how I thought this would go quickly because of the holidays and everything. Well, now that I have nothing to do except wait.... it's slowed down considerably! The 3 days between phone calls seems longer and longer!  I sometimes forget that people don't know what's next in the process. Of course, half the time even I don't know or can't remember what's next!!  I thought I'd take a minute to break down what is going to be involved in our trip to Ukr*ine.
Sometime in the next 2 weeks (REALLY hoping sooner rather than later), we will get a call or email telling us what date we will be expected in Ukr*ine for an appointment.  At that point, we will book plane tickets and make our final childcare arrangements, preparations for the trip, etc.  We anticipate the appointment will be in mid to late January.  We are hoping for January 21st :)
2 days before our appointment, Brian, C, and I will travel to Ukr*ine.  We will go to our appointment first thing in the morning on the date given. Then, we wait for a day until we get our official papers.  Once we have that, we get on an overnight train (that will be 14-15 hours) that will take us to V*ktor's city.  The next day (or really when we arrive off the train), we go to the local court in order to get our permission to see him.  After a few days of paperwork, we wait.  We pray that the wait will be short.  It can be anywhere from 1 1/2 weeks to 3 1/2 weeks.  During that time, we are not "doing" anything, but we can see V*ktor every day :)  Some people go home for this waiting period, but that is a lot more expense in airfare, so we are staying.
At the end of that wait, we go to court and the adoption is official! Brian will go home the next day.  There is a 10 day wait at that point (which again some people go home for this). Then, it is finalized, and V*ktor can come with me!  We will catch a train back to Ki*v where we will visit the Emb&ssy for birth certificate, visa, etc.  About a week later, V*ktor, C, and I will COME HOME!!!!!!!!!!
I hope that has shed some light on the process as it will unfold!

In the past few weeks, we had Thanksgiving at Grandpa's, I did some Christmas shopping (and finished), we decorated our tree, saw Santa, watched several high school basketball games, had lots of Christmas program practices (I'm directing the program at church again this year), and pretty well kept ourselves busy :)

Four score and... okay, about 17 years ago... We lost the angel for the tree. Mom graduated from college that day, and seeing how she had spent many years working towards it, we put her diploma atop the tree.  There began a new tradition of choosing something different to top the tree each year.  We usually try to pick an object that represents something meaningful that happened that year.  When Brian and I got married it was my veil.  When Megs got married, we put my bouquet up there, when Dad died, we put his hat, when C was born, we put her hairbow, etc.  This year, we, of course needed something to represent V*ktor.  Everyone agreed on the beautiful towel he hand-embroidered for us :)   I uploaded this picture so he could see it when he had access to the computer.  Though I tried to explain, I'm pretty sure he was quite confused.  I asked if he had seen the pictures and he just said, "no make sense."  LOL!  Not sure if Santa didnt' make sense or the crazy Americans who put a towel on top of a tree...  Ahhh, he'll understand soon enough :)



 

I'm not going to spend much time or detail talking about this, but I do ask your continued prayers for V*ktor's spirits.  We cannot WAIT to get him home!  Pray that we find out our date very very soon.

 

Not sure if anyone is still reading my blogs since I didn't update for so long!  I'll try not to let it get so spread out next time between entries :)  MERRY CHRISTMAS!