WE HAVE A COURT DATE!

We are thrilled because Sveta called and we have a July 15th court date. We will be heading back to Ukraine on July 12th so we can make sure we have an extra travel day in case something happens.

Praise God he is so faithful, even when we get discouraged with all the road blocks. I am jumping up and down and singing we can not wait to be reunited with Lena.

I have to tell you one quick thing (I know unusual for me to be short with words) I brought home a video for our other kids that I made of Lena and some of her friends. They were speaking Russian which I couldn't understand, but as soon as my girls saw it they told me that when Lena was filming her friends they were telling her "Lena we are so happy for you this is the dream you have always talked about. You finally have the family you always wanted. You have waited so long. Your mama and papa love you and you are getting to go to America. We will miss you so much but we are glad that you will have a better life."

Wow, it is gives me chills to think she has been waiting for us for so long. Her wait is almost at an end and we are so blessed and happy to be adding such a wonderful daughter to our family.

Praise God he brought us home safely!

There is more to this title than you can imagine. Actually now that we are home I can laugh about our trip. Just another crazy memory on this adventure.

We decided we had to fly from the region we were in to Kiev in order to be able to connect to our flight to the U.S. because the train would have put us there too late for our flight.

Let me regress a little and tell you about our taxi driver which does tie in with our getting home. We had the greatest taxi driver named Genna taking care of us the whole time we were there. He knew everyone and everything about this town.

We were staying in a hotel which had started getting rather expensive. It didn't have a kitchen so we had to eat out more as well. Sveta had never done an adoption from this region so this was all new to her and she wasn't familiar with what was available for cheap lodging. The apartment that many families stayed in was booked already. We usually ate only one meal a day out, and on a side note everything we had was delicious. Sveta started looking for a cheaper place for us to stay when we return. Our wonderful taxi driver Genna told her he found us a place and did we want to go look at it? A way to save some money, we were very excited about looking at it.

It is hard to describe the apartment buildings in Ukraine where the majority of families live. They are huge cinder block buildings with many stories. In the states they would be described as poverty level residences. There are broken windows that have been boarded up and many are crumbling and in need of repair. They are not uniform, one level may look decent and the next not so much. They are Soviet era and nothing is spent on repair because most people are just trying to make enough to eat.

We drove up to one of these huge high rise buildings and Genna stopped and motioned us out. The sweetest lady came up to us and Sveta told us she has 6 kids and one adopted child. This is unusual in Ukraine both because she has so many kids and especially that one was adopted. They have small families, usually no more than one or two, and wonder why Americans want to adopt and many have large families.

She and another lady took us in this building and I have to say in all of our adoptions I have not ever been in any of these buildings even though they are everywhere. We started up flights of stairs and as we went I was looking and thinking, oh my, I don't know if we can stay here. Later I would realize God is always finding a way to humble us and I am so thankful for it.

As we wind our way up, there are broken windows on the landings and rusted wires running everywhere. I have about decided we can not stay here when we arrive at the apartment.

These two women were so proud when they took us inside. We found ourselves inside a spotless, very cozy apartment, but it was the apartment one of these women lives in! She said she would rent it to us for $150.00 a month! They are leaving and will let us stay there. They pointed out they don't have air conditioning but they internet and a computer. There is a very small clean kitchen and it has two bedrooms one for Mark and I and one for Sveta. We decided this would be a wonderful opportunity for us to live as the Ukrainians do and to get to know them and the culture of our children even better. We now view this as a blessing and I am really excited about it.

After we left we are going to drive the hour and a half to the airport to catch our flight to Kiev. On the way there the taxi starts having problems and we stop while the driver jumps out and fixes the taxi right there on the road. Then he stops to get gas but lets us out at this little rusted looking bomb shelter. He doesn't want us in the car because they use propane and I guess they worry about the car blowing up while they are gassing up. It is just amazing to me the way they take these inconveniences in stride.

We finally arrived at the small airport and got out. After we check in we look out and see our taxi driver pushing his car and trying to jump in it at the same time to start it. Mark goes out to help him. Mark pushes it and the driver jumped in and away he flew.

After waiting an hour we went through security check. It was so hot and the flies were landing all over us I couldn't wait to get on the plane. Then this man comes out and says the plane is leaving and isn't taking any of the passengers. Don't ask I have no idea. So it takes off empty no reason and no explanation. People were asking if there was going to be another flight because now it is 8pm. They went and got some lady to tell us in English what was going on. Then a man comes in and says no more flights tonight and maybe not one tomorrow. Now they just close up office and all these people are stranded and there was no concern from the airline about what any of us was going to do about getting out of there.

We had a flight to the U.S. in the morning and we couldn't miss it. Mark had to be back home because he has a test on Friday to renew his landing currency and if he missed that it means he can't fly which means we don't get a paycheck. So needless to say we were under major stress wondering if we could get a train or if we could even re-book our flight to the states the next day to get home by Friday. Mark had us going back a day early just in case of an emergency and here it was the emergency, good thinking on his part he doesn't trust the system we have seen too much to know anything can go wrong and it usually does. We tried gettinga train that would get us back in time for our flight but there weren't any.

We called Sveta and she called Genna our taxi driver. He said he would come get us and drive us to Kiev. Now folks we are talking a 9 hour taxi drive and we had just seen how well that taxi was running. Plus Genna was going to take an hour and a half getting back to to us and our plane left at 6:30 in the morning.

Sveta calls me back and says Genna was thinking he wouldn't be able to get us there in time. He contacted a friend of his in the town we are in and says he will drive us to Kiev because we can leave right then. Ten minutes later a car screeches in in a cloud of dust with a driver who hasn't even lost his baby fat. The car actually looked better than most of the taxis we had been in but the driver had me worried. I wanted to ask if he was old enough to have a drivers permit.

He flies out of the parking lot with us bouncing around inside like beans. I put my face in my pillow and prayed, dear God let me see my children again. I asked him if I could put on the seat belt and he says, "no work!" He grins and says, "do not worry" as we screech out.

Now some of you know what I mean when I say the driving is something else. They drive fast, very fast, they pass in any situation on bridges, curves and they honk horns all the time. They get a foot behind another vehicle and then pass sometimes with 3 cars in two lanes.

I think I went into petrified mode I was speechless and Mark kept saying, "honey just don't watch!" Then he shut his eyes and went to sleep. Now I am not a person who even likes taking aspirin but when I travel I do take these little benadryl pills to help you sleep. I really hadn't had to use them much, but at this point I popped two and thought about how many I could take to make me unconscious. I knew with definite certainly it was all in God's hands.

There we were in the middle of the night winging our way toward Kiev at speeds of 100 mph on roads that have more pot holes than smooth places. I looked over at one point and Mark's head was bouncing so hard on the seat back I wasn't sure it was still hooked to his neck. How he could sleep through this is unreal!

Suddenly it started pouring down rain the driver stopped because the windshield wipers weren't working so he tried to manually start them. When that didn't work he shook his head jumped back in the car and drove even faster so the rain would blow off the windshield and he could see better. I thought no one would believe this I can't believe it and I am living it!

We sped through the night and finally it started breaking dawn and I knew it was going to be tight for us to make our flight. About a half an hour from the airport the car started shaking and sputtering along with my husband who was about to lose it if we didn't make that flight. We actually slowed down to a normal speed and that was a relief, but then we were worried the car was going to die before we got there. We finally pulled into the airport at 6:05 for an international flight that was leaving at 6:30. We jumped out and ran as fast as we could to the counter. We were so out of breath we could barely speak and the lady says that flight gate has been closed. I looked at her with a wild eyed look, drool on my chin and hair sticking out at every angle and I think she saw that she was going to have major meltdown right before her eyes, she didn't know if I was going to faint or lose it. I screamed, "we have just been on a 9 hour taxi ride (wanted to add it was a taxi ride from you know where and we weren't going to be deterred by the fact the plane was leaving in 20 min) please, please, please, get us on that flight!!!" Well, that lady got on that phone and made a call and soon someone swooped in and literally ran us through security and the whole bit and they held the bus until we got on it to go out to the plane. One look at me and I think they just wanted to make sure I was out of their country.

Then we flew to Paris had several hours of layover and finally was on our way home. I had been in the same clothes for two days and I felt sorry for the people who had to sit by us on any of the flights. Mark and I parted company in Atlanta he had to fly to Memphis for his test and I came on home to Texas.

Our fabulous children met me and they had roses for me and the girls ran into my arms.

Life is good and now I need to take the girls to water color camp. Mom is home and as happy as the girls are, the boys are even more so. Brett went home last night to sleep in his own apartment. That is until he has to return when we begin our next adventure on our trip back to Ukraine.

Leaving Lena

Let me catch you up on our leaving Ukraine. The last day was very difficult saying goodbye to Lena. We explained that we wouldn't get a court date until the middle of July or later and that Papa had to come home to work and Mama had to come back to be at home with the other children since it was going to be such a long time. We didn't mention our funds are limited and it was also cheaper to come home than to have me stay.

Several people have asked why so long until court? There really isn't a set answer, Ukraine doesn't give you reasons. It depends on the region, the judge, the case load and it can vary at any given time. Our facilitator has just been fantastic and if anyone could have gotten us a quicker court date it would be her, but it is just hard right now no matter how much effort was put in. The other family adopting from there, who have now become our good friends, are in the same situation.

Our dear and wonderful facilitator is so funny she says to Lena, "Mama and Papa are going to leave a suitcase here, so see they will be back." Wow! suitcase security! it doesn't get any better than that.

On a serious note, we left her our hearts and we have hers, there is her security, and I can't wait for the day we can bring her home.

The orphanage has set up two pools that sponsors have given them. One is a small pool and the other is a larger 4 foot pool. The ground under the pools are all rocky and broken so they have laid blankets underneath so it won't poke holes in the pool. The kids swim in shifts of about 10 minutes each and it amazes me how they stand on the hot pavement just waiting their turn for a short stint in the pool. No one complains when it is time to get out. About twenty kids get out and twenty kids get in, it works like a well oiled machine. At times the pool is wall to wall children splashing and playing and having a great time. With the happiness these kids exuded you would have thought they were at a resort.

The day we left the pools had been set up for about a week. The water was black and very warm from sitting in the sun. I can't even imagine what is brewing in there or what the bacteria count would be. We asked Lena to please not swim in the pool and she seemed OK with it because I don't think she liked the look of the water either. We told her we have lots of pools and lakes at home she will be able to swim in. She loves to swim and was very excited about that idea.

As I mentioned, we have gotten close to several of the children and as we got in the taxi to leave it all caught up with me and I just cried as they all gathered around to say goodbye. Lena was smiling and waving through her tears. As I looked back from the taxi window I realized she was sad because we were leaving, but smiling because she knows we will be back, her family has found her. Our hearts were really breaking for all the kids who are still waiting for the miracle of a Mama and Papa to come find them. You can see that hope on every precious face, maybe next time it will me.

It is a very emotional experience and I thank God we have had the privilege to do this, but it is definitely not easy at times. God has drawn Mark and I even closer through our adoptions and he has taught us patience to wait upon him and his timing, and all this shall come to pass. We would appreciate your prayers for protection for Lena and for this time to go fast.

Going home

We will not get a court date until the middle of July. We have decided to use our air miles to go home to wait. We hate to leave Lena and we will have our facilitator explain that we will be coming back, but I know she will be upset because she has become very bonded with us in a short time and vice versa. We are leaving her our Ukrainian phone with lots of minutes so she can call us anytime. Yesterday we took her toiletries that she needed. She was so appreciative, and to think this is such a small thing that our other children have always taken for granted. I brought Lena some clothes and one of her friends from the states has sent her clothes. When we arrive at the orphanage she has taken so much care with her appearance and she is very meticulous with everything. This is not an easy thing to do in an orpahange situation. It is obvious that the clothes that have been given to her mean alot and she takes care of them.
We will be leaving here tomorrow to catch a plane home on Thursday. I am very excited to see our other children. They tell me the house is still standing so that is a relief. In all seriousness they have done a great job and we are proud of them. Brett got everyone out of bed really early on Fathers Day to take a picture to send to Mark.
We have gone to the orphanage each day. There are two little brothers in this orphanage that are 8 and 11 and are small for their ages. They are good athletes and the younger one is so smart. I am trying to see if they are registered and available. I have taken pictures when the care takers are not patrolling :) There is a 14 year old girl who is adorable,sweet and has the potential to be a stunning woman unfortunately she needs braces in the worst way. There are two sisters and they both have so much personality. I brought beads and they made the most stunning necklaces out of them. It is hard not to look at these children and think of the potential if they just had a family. I have to remember that God loves them more than we ever could and he knows their situation.
We have been staying in a hotel that has a nice place to eat. Last night they were celebrating a 50th birthday. They were dancing in a circle holding hands and having such a great time. I was invited to dance with them and it was so much fun. I love the music and the food has been excellent. I am not going to lose any weight as I have with our last adoptions.
The next time I post will hopefully be from home. Until then as they say in Russian "Dos va donya"

Waiting

I am sorry it is so many days between the times I can post. Each region is so different. The last one we adopted from we walked everywhere, but here we have a taxi because we are not close to most things. We don't seem to be able to get to this internet place as often and when we do we have someone waiting on us.
We do not have a court date yet. We do not know when we will get one, hopefully we will find out Tuesday. The other family that we are here with still doesn't have their court date and they were here a week longer. They think they will get theirs the first or second week of July. If this is the case we may use Mark's air miles to return home. I miss our kids so much.
We have a routine down now, we go to the orphanage for several hours each day and we have been going back most evenings. Lena always runs at full speed into our arms when we arrive. She is just beautiful and really has a lot of self confidence which is not always the case with children who have been in the orphanages for many years. Lena has been here since she was in 1st grade. She is well loved by many and is a favorite with the teachers. They told us she has been longing for a family forever.
Yesterday Mark asked if we could skip a day, he has gotten so close to some of the kids and he is having a very hard time at night when we return to our hotel we are so depressed. He said he needs a day away from seeing it. I don't think I have ever seen my husband this sad for all these darling children. We have adopted before but this time is the hardest because there are so many young ones and they seem to really want/need our attention. It is summer and they are not in school they just hang in this parking lot. The teachers have them planting flowers around this broken down asphalt court, which just goes to show it is human nature to find beauty in the most unlikely of places. The kids carry these heavy buckets quite a distance with two children to a bucket to water these little plants. It is so moving to see a 9 year old mothering a 5 year old they really seem to take care of each other. They have had so much pain and yet they are so tender with animals, plants and each other. I am sure there are times when they must quarrel with each other but we have not seen it.
These teachers are incredible, they teach music and art without all the materials we would have in the states. I went to watch the girls learning a beautiful Ukrainian dance today. This is the joy they find in this horrible situation they live in. They danced with such abandon it took my breath away. Any one of these girls would make wonderful daughters and have so much potential.Unless you have seen this I guess I could write chapters and it still could not describe it.
I dance with the girls and Mark plays hours of ball with the boys. The kids have told our facilitator that Lena's parents are "cluss" which means cool in Russian so I guess we passed the peer test :) Although there was one girl who looked at Lena's photo album and said something very mean to her Lena closed it and told her to leave. Someone else said she was just jealous of her. I felt sorry for the girl, she was only mean because she wants a family too.
I have taken pictures, but I have to be careful there is a new rule here that you are not to take any pictures of the children. We have gotten other children homes through pictures I have taken at the orphanages we adopted from and it would be wonderful if the same could happen this time. If a mom of Lena's good friend hadn't taken her picture and told her story we would not be here now (thank you S.)
I will post pictures of Lena as soon as I can but right now I have been advised to wait.
Thanks for all your comments and I will relay the messages to Lena.
S. if you send me your phone number to my e-mail I can have Lena give K a call if that is OK.
Also, thanks to those of you who have commented and have walked this road and know how difficult this can be. Last but not least many thanks to our dear friends who have always supported us so much.

Meeting the lovely Lena

We arrived yesterday and had to do the paperwork chase and then we went to the orphanage. We were so excited! How do feel when you know you will meet your child for the first time? Like when they laid our bio children in our arms, it is an unbelievable feeling when you meet your child and begin the process of marveling over them and getting to know them.
The director had told her the night before that a family was coming who might want to adopt her so she was expecting us. They finally ushered in this absolutely adorable and precious girl. We got up and met her halfway coming in the room and we hugged her. I am crying while I tell you about this meeting. She was beaming from ear to ear. She is very pretty, wholesome, and so poised and self confident. We spent the day with her and we bonded very quickly.
When we came back in the afternoon she came running down the path and threw herself into our arms with the biggest smile. We gave her the photo album that the girls and I had made for her showing our family, her new home and her old friends. She was so delighted, and in it I had put pictures I printed from the computer of her friends in America who had been adopted. That would be E, K ,M(A) and she was so thrilled. Today she took us to the music room and she played the piano which she does beautifully and sang for us. She is an incredible young lady. Lena is everything we heard and more. She is well loved by the other children and our facilitator said she is so kind and has a sweet heart. She is nice to all the children even the ones who are younger. She shared everything we gave her with the others and would pull in the ones who were shy and standing in the back to make sure they got something too.
Later she came and sat between her Dad and I and she laid her head on my shoulder and started crying and kept hugging me so tight. I thought maybe she was sad that she was leaving, so later I asked our facilitator to ask her why she was crying. Sveta talked to her and said, she was crying because she was so happy to finally have a family of her own. She kept showing everyone her album and saying my papa is a pelot (pilot) and mama a teacher and my brothers and sisters and my home. Does it get any better than this, and people think we are so wonderful for what we are doing. No, this is so selfish because we love the feeling of being able to give such a deserving child a family and a future.
I never have the words to express the orphanage children. We have spent so much time playing with them and every night we go back to the apartment and cry for them. Such beautiful children with no family. They wander around a pitted asphalt area. The teachers are wonderful they are so kind and try to do so much on so little. I brought two suitcases loaded with games, hair clips, paints, and so much more. Tonight Mark played for two hours with the football I brought. That was very new to them and he showed them how to play the game. Quite funny when there is no common language, but amazing how that barrier can be overcome. It brought tears to my eyes to see these boys of all ages just loving the attention and how they hung on everything he said or did. In the meantime I brought big bubble makers and we had them running and jumping, blowing and catching bubbles. Then I brought all kinds of earrings, lip gloss, and nail polish so I spent the evening doing manicures with the girls. We also made paper cranes and they were so incredibly patient. I teach paper crane making to my 6th grade class and my students are not nearly so patient.
They have so little it is heart breaking. I see them running around in the plastic shoes and half of the bottom will be missing so only the heel will be covered and the toes will be on the pavment. This is an extremely poor orphanage. There is one little girl who is 8 and she looks to be about 5 she followed me everywhere, but kept her distance, she is extremely shy. I would talk to her and she would not make eye contact so I just kept trying. I finally won her confidence and now she stays by me the whole time. She is really a stand out in many ways I would love to see her get a home. Everywhere you go they just want two seconds of your time to show a drawing they have done or to hope you will speak to them. I had two little girls about 7 bring me a drawing today that had both their names on it and had mama and papa written over their names. I told Mark this is always the part that is the hardest to bear the ones we know we are leaving behind. They are forever etched in your hearts and your memory.
There is so much more to tell but I must close for now.

SDA appointment

We had our appointment yesterday and it all went well. The lady who saw us was very nice. I was surprised she did not ask us one question. She showed us Lena's picture and told us that her file said she is a very nice girl, likes to sing and can play the piano, and really wants a family very badly.
We did not get the papers to travel yesterday we are waiting for it today. The director has to sign off on it. We hope to have it in hand at 5:00 and then we head to the region.
I will probably not be able to post for a day or two. The next time I do it will be after we have met Lena. Please pray all goes well we really need to get a court date quickly as Mark has to be back at work.

Mark is on his way!

My time here in Kiev has been a nice break from the very busy and full life I lead at home. I am missing my husband and my children. The good news is I will see Mark tomorrow. It is still such a long way to go before I can see my children again. I called home yesterday and the girls sounded so sad because they miss me and it broke my heart. We are very close and we do so much together. We cook together and it is so much fun. Julia loves to do the meat and Alesa does fantastic salads, she make a Ukrainian salad that is so yummy. I do the vegetables and just generally supervise and teach the girls the how to do it part. We were discussing where Lena might want to help or even take charge of a part of the meal. This is our "girl" sharing time and we enjoy it.
Kyle gave me a compliment yesterday I have always wanted to hear, "Mom I have a new appreciation for all that you and Dad do. I never realized how much work you two put into our family. Just keeping up with the schedule is a full time job." Those words were music to my ears.
They are doing such a good job. Brett is taking on the daddy role he told Julia he is going to sign her up for a reading camp at the library because he wants her to improve her reading. This warmed my heart.
My days are pretty much routine now. The only bad part is I am still on Texas time. I stay up all night reading or watching DVDs. About 7 in the morning I fall asleep and sleep until 3. I know when things start moving here I will be forced to adjust. I walk around the city, come to the internet place for a computer. I stop by my little restaurant for my one meal of the day. The sweet waitress knows me well now. I absoutely love the food it tastes so homemade. I have enjoyed everything, but something called Varenky, it is a dough with mashed potatoes in the middle and it is boiled. I know Zhenya and the girls love Varenky we had a Russian friend come to our house one day to teach us how to make it. Those were made with meat and were good I can't say the potato was too enjoyable for me.
Kiev is a city of contrasts it is so beautiful and they have some of the prettiest buildings I have seen anywhere in my travels. The stores would rival any in New York. Then it is heartbreaking for me to see the poverty. They have been hit hard by the economy situation. It is the old women and the orphans that I can hardly bear to think about. I walked today past an old woman who was begging and one of her arms was missing. I put some money in her pot but I know that will only help for today. There is a young mother with a face of hopelessness holding her baby in one arm and a cup in the other. I see the bent old woman collecting bottles from the garbage cans carrying bags so heavy that I don't know how her frail frame can hold the extra weight. I wish I could make their lives better but all I can do is drop in some money and then ask God to bring a special blessing on them in some way.
Tomorrow Mark arrives at noon. We are hoping the SDA will see us in the afternoon or Tuesday morning. We have tickets to leave for the orphanage Tuesday afternoon. We ask for prayers that this process goes quickly and smoothly.
Thank you for your comments I really appreciate hearing from you. It is nice to know I have connections to all my friends and even those of you I do not know in person. Thank you for your encouragement.
I will let you know if we get an appointment tomorrow.

From the Heart

I am going to take the time to answer a few questions we have received over the years about our adoptions. These questions and statements include the following. "Why are you adopting from another country? Why don't you get younger children you won't have as much time with the older ones? Why so many when you have 4 of your own?" Then there are the statements such as, "Are you all are crazy. Wow! those are some lucky kids. You all are saints. You deserve a medal. I could never do what you are doing."
To be honest this wasn't something that we sat around and planned. I believe our gifts are planted in us from the beginning. A little girl who knew from an early age she would take care of the hurting and those in need. A little boy who had a sensitive heart to those that didn't have as much. God gives us all different gifts and it is in his timing that these will be brought to light. For some this will be when they are small and for others when they are older. We just have to listen to see how it will play out in our lives and the lives of others.
We did not choose when and where to adopt from. God decided this for us. In God's eyes children and love have no boundries, all of us are his children, he doesn't differeniate between countries, laws, and man made rules.
We were raising 4 wonderful biological children and we felt our nest was full. We had never considered adoption. Then we read an article in our town newspaper about a 12 year old orphan boy from Russia who had visited for the summer. He wanted a family, but no one had come forward, so he would be returning to Russia to live. We found out he would have a very dismal life and almost no hope for a happy future.
The seed that had been planted in us began that day to take root. We asked, Lord do you want us to pursue this adoption? We were open to what God had in store but little did we realize the multiple blessings he would bestow on us. We received our answer, and so began our journey.
We started with Zhenya then age 12. We found out the older they are the less chance they have of being adopted. We have a heart for teens. I want to make sure you know we are not saints, we are everyday people. We are not a perfect family. We have not been perfect parents. We have made mistakes. The kids don't arrive here and fit in perfectly, but neither did our bio children. Each new arrival has an adjustment period for everyone. Honestly, our bio kids don't jump up and down with happiness when we say we are going to adopt another one. Wow, more kids to share mom and dad and resources with, what a great idea! The ones that are newly adopted are not over joyed either, even though they know the future for the kids that remain behind. We talk a lot we work through the feelings and the emotions and in the end we tell them this is not a path of choice, but of destiny, the one God has chosen for us. Each time we watch as they work through this and then accept, love, bond and become family, and we are proud that they have expanded their hearts once again to include others. Now they can't imagine what it would be like without each other as part of our family. We watch each time as they learn to play, tease, take care of each other and love each other so much. I do not believe God has given us limits on our capacity to love and we are better people when we are forced to be stretched beyond our comfort zone.
Are we crazy? That depends on your definition of crazy. Our house can be crazy at any given moment. Mark and I are still crazy in love after 25 years of marriage. We are crazy about 7 children who live in our hearts. The one thing we do know is that crazy does not apply to our decision to bring 7 soon to be 8 children to our home.
Are these kids lucky we saved them as many imply? No, Mark and I are the lucky/blessed ones. We want to give medals to our children. Some of the medals go to our bio children Brett, Kenna, Kyle and Ryan who have in the end supported our decisions and honored and respected what God has called us to do. Medals go to our oldest three during this trip when all of the responsibilty falls on their young shoulders and they are doing an incredible job.You know how you raise them but when they step up to the plate it makes your heart swell with pride and thankfulness.
Medals go to our 3 adopted children. Zhenya who came first and had to pave the way. No one to translate for him. A new strange and foreign environment giving up all he knew to begin a new life in an unknown world. Overcoming a past to start a future. Now a straight A student, football player, a mentor to less fortunate children. Loved by his parents, siblings and all who meet him.
A medal to our precious Alesa, our 15 year old, the quiet presence who prayed for years for a family. She had almost given up when we arrived. Everyday in more ways than I can name she quietly expresses her joy and happiness at being part of our family. She has added so much to our family. She makes great grades and is in the National Junior Honor Society. She is her moms amazing helper.
Another medal to Julia who is 12, our "lightening bug" with dimples. After what she has experienced in her short life how can she be so cheerful all the time. She makes us smile with her happy loving disposition. She writes the most loving notes telling us of her love for us.
These children have lived through things that would have made others bitter and angry but they have overcome these challenges with fight, grace and love. Our children are our heroes!
God lets us know that he can use imperfect people to bring about his perfect plans. Thank you God for allowing us the privilege of sharing in this journey with you.

Helpful hints for those who will be traveling.

Well, since I have time I am going to start giving tips on what has helped us on these trips to Ukraine. I will keep trying to update it as we go along. For those of you who don't need this information you can skip this post :) I just know how much other people helped me by posting things that would be good to bring along.
Things I found to be very useful:
A small flashlight (I used this on the plane several times and also at the apt to find the light switches in the dark)
DVD player I borrowed lots of DVDs and season series the ones I never have time to watch at home (I love having this especially on nights I can't sleep)
bungee cords or some kind of line to dry your hand washed clothes
Hand sanitizer and wipes
A transformer
scissors
bath towel (all the towels are quite small)
bandaids ( they do have these here but sometimes a store is not always available right after you arrive)
A notebook and pens
Plastic baggies gallon and quart size (I have used these for everything)
I bought a phone after I got here it was about $60 I can even call my family you buy a sim card that goes in it and you can call anywhere. The cards are not too expensive.
There is more and I will let you know as I need them and I am either glad I brought it or wish I had.

Kiev

Finally getting some time on the computer and I don't have to rush. In fact time is all I have right now. It has taken me awhile to get over jet lag this trip. My days are my nights and vice versa. I am thankful I brought lots of reading material and DVD's. I have never had a DVD player before and it was a last minute splurge before I left but it has definitely been a life saver.
I have spent a lot of time walking around Kiev. I do love this city it is so beautiful. The buildings are each different, the architecture has such ornate detail. I enjoy the sights and sounds that are so unique to this part of the world. The women here are beautiful and they really enjoy being girls. A hint of lace here or a ruffle there adorns the clothing in a way that we do not have in America. I am sure I stick out in my capri jeans. They walk around in high heels that are stilts. I don't know how they do it since it is dangerous if you are not looking down as you walk. There are pot holes and broken bricks on every side walk.
I have found some good places to eat with wonderful food. It is so neat the wait staff wears what looks to be traditional Ukrainian clothing. Yesterday Sveta and I sat at a sidewalk cafe and enjoyed the warm weather, the music, and all the sights.
I never have time at home to slow down. As much as I would like to have you feel sorry for me being all alone here, the truth is, I am really doing fine. It will get long at some point and I do miss my family, but I have also had those quiet moments to reflect and spend time with God. This is always a positive. Sleeping late is really nice, washing clothes by hand not much fun. I thank God everyday that I am here and soon to meet Lena.
Mark arrives on Monday morning and hopefully the SDA will see us that day. We have tickets to leave Tuesday to go to the region.
I will let you know how it goes please pray that they see us Monday.

Made it to the SDA appointment

After 40 of hours of almost no sleep I made it to Kiev late last night. It was quite an experience and please forgive my last post, at that point I was bleary eyed and drooling. Also, the internet was very expensive in London and I was trying to hurry before my time ran out. We found out there was an oil leak in the main engine and we couldn't make it to Kiev on one engine. I explained to the fight attendant that I had this very important appointment that I couldn't miss. I was only asking her about finding another flight, not that I expected us to continue on, and she laughed and said "well it was land in London or the ocean floor." Landing was definitely a good idea! I really wish I could have spent the night in London I lived there for 5 years, It is where I met my husband and my first child was born there.
God was so awesome because there was another couple on the flight from Florida who are adopting 14 and 16 year old girls. They have 3 older boys. Their appointment was an hour after ours at the SDA. We had to take the longest way to get here but I didn't care what it took as long as I was at the SDA office at 9 this morning.
When I arrived my facilitator who is wonderful and also a dear friend greeted me with an arm full of roses. She is fantastic if you are thinking of adopting I can highly recommend her. She is a warm fuzzy, very well connected and liked and just takes such good care of us.
What I didn't want to share until after our SDA appointment was that I had to come to the SDA appointment alone. A few days before we were to leave my husband was unable to fly. We made the decision for me to go on without him and at least show the SDA that I was there. We were afraid if we cancelled and asked for another date that it could delay it for up to months. The best expectation was that they would give me the referal without him, worst was they would send me home and tell me to get back in line for months which is what would have happened if we had to reschedule. We hoped for anything in between. They were actually understanding during our meeting but did not show me the file. They told Sveta, my facilitator, that they would give us an appointment as soon as Mark arrives which will be Monday morning at 9 so we are hoping to have an appointment that afternoon and catch a train out the same day or the next day.
I have another family here with me that live in Houston and are adopting a 14 year old girl from the same orphanage that we are going to be adopting from. Their daughter knows Lena well and is friends with her. They brought their daughter with them and she is translating a lot for us. We got together today and we went to a great place to eat. It is so nice that I have these families with me it has made being here alone much easier and more fun. My only regret is that I could not have my wonderful daughters with me they would have loved it. I have much to tell you and I so wish that I was a writer so I could make Ukraine come alive for you. I am already envious of those of you are coming when I will be gone. I love Ukraine in a way that has no words.
My time is growing short I need to go but I will try and post tomorrow when there is more time.

Why we called it an adventure

Well, I bet you thought I would be posting from Kiev by now. There is a reason I titled this an adventure. I was rudely awakened on the plane last night with someone tapping on my shoulder saying "put your seats upright we are diverting into London the plane is experiencing electrical problems." I don't have much time but I wanted to let you know that while the rest of the plane's passengers are being put up in a hotel another family whose SDA appointment is tomorrow well we had to run and find another flight to get us to Ukraine by tomorrow. The SDA is unforgiving in most matters and the fact that we missed our flight becasue we are in another country due to an emergency stop will not matter to them. So we are spending the day in the airport and spending 7 hours on another flight to get to Kiev by tonight to make tomorrows appointment. This part of the adventure I could have done without. I am tired stinky and worried about that all impootant 9:00 apt.

The laundry fairy is missing!

There are two important ways that we survive in a house full of teenagers. We seek God's guidance and we absolutely have to have a sense of humor.

 Right now I am starting to get stressed about leaving our home and children. Even though our 24 year old is now an adult and is leaving his own apartment to come home to help out I still laid awake last night and thought of leaving our kids and of the upcoming trip and the unknown. The unknown are all the roadblocks and land mines between us and Lena. I know we will survive them and that God and our fabulous facilitator will get us through, but as those of you who have adopted know, this trip is not for the timid. If you like adventure, then come along, ours starts bright and early tomorrow morning.

After a restless night I got up this morning to go do my laundry. In our house everyone, including hubby, does their own laundry and everyone is assigned a day. You guessed it mine is Saturday. We have in our laundry room a fairy who flies over the washing machine and dryer. She flies there until some person needs an extra hand with laundry because they have a lot of clothes that week or the clothes are still in the dryer when someone comes in to do theirs. Then the laundry fairy goes to work and when the basket is nicely folded it gets left and the laundry fairy is always put on top. I have been the recipient of the laundry fairy many times myself. She always goes back to her flying spot after the person comes to claim their clothes. 

Today she is missing! This has never happened! I think she looked around and envisioned the stacks of clothes that may pile up to the ceiling while we are gone and decided to fly the coop.

She knows without head mama here moving them along things may get a little slack. Then again maybe the laundry fairy has figured out what I haven't, that we have trained them so well that they can do it without us.

Isn't that our job to give them wings? Now I need to fly out after the laundry fairy secure in the knowledge that we have taught them well and our home will still be standing and clean when we return. 

Bon voyage-next stop Ukraine!

Overwhelmed

So much to do before we leave. Sitting here with open suitcases and "stuff" everywhere. Lists of things that need to be crossed off.  That part can be managed eventually. The hardest part right now is the girls. They are extremely attached and they are struggling with the imminent departure. Abandonment issues are in play, I can see it in their actions. They logically know we will return but memories from a past life have begun bringing up sad feelings. 

Zhenya is fine he is playing football, hanging with friends, working and studying to take his SAT and ACT while we are gone. Never thought that attachment would ever happen, but it has in a huge way and he is such a sweetie. He has grown so confident and truly blossomed these last 4 years.

Kenna is busy getting settled in at her new apartment at Texas State and working all the time. She told the girls they could come to her apartment on her day off, they are really excited about it. 

Bartering has already began around here. Julia asked Kyle to take her to Six Flags while we are gone. Kyle, kiddingly asked her what would she give him in return and she told him a foot massage. Our family is really into trading services, especially the foot massages, this started many years ago with me when I was pregnant with child number 4. It has since become a family tradition. I taught them Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, but Jesus did his as an act of service. Unfortunately, the service part has been lost now they use it as a bartering tool. She gave him the foot massage, and then informed him if he didn't pay up she was going to shave all the hair off of his legs while he was sleeping. The sad part is she probably could and he wouldn't even know it until he woke up. Kids don't ya love em!

 I think in many ways this will be a special time of bonding for them and maybe our leaving will knit all of them even closer. I can already see it happening. 

Then again after all the plans I hear them making we may become dispensable.

 Mom and Dad who? 

Getting ready

After a year and a half of the paperwork chase and fundraising it hardly seems possible that we will soon be returning to Ukraine, the birthplace of two of our beloved daughters Alesa 15 and Julia 12. Have we really been home two years from our last trip? It has been 4 years since we brought our then 13 year old son Zhenya home from Russia. Time has flown by so fast.

Our appointment date is June 9th. We have been packing and trying to tie up all the loose ends. Leaving home for anywhere from five to seven weeks is never easy. Luckily for us our older children will be able to hold down the fort. Our 24 and 20 year old sons will get a taste of the responsibility of running a household. They are very protective of their younger siblings so we know they will be in good hands. Our oldest, Brett, was even giving me the third degree on the camp I signed the girls up for while we were gone. I remember when he used to tell me I worried too much when he went to camp "mom I will be fine" now look how the tables have turned. It is so fun to see them mature into adults.

God will be watching over everyone and everything while we are away so I am at peace with this part of our trip.

We are praying for Lena whom we have not yet met. We feel like we know about her from talking to  several families who have been to Ukraine and adopted from her orphanage. There is also a fantastic website called www.Reecesrainbow.org who helps Downs Syndrome and other special children find homes. This is where we were first introduced to Lena. She is a beautiful, bright, talented 15 year old girl who was getting close to aging out of the system and wanted a family so badly. God called us to be that family.

So begins the start of our journey to Lena.