Waiting Period: Day 7 of 10

It was a beautiful, clear, 50 degree morning today, perfect for a visit to the orphanage. So we had breakfast and left at our usual 9:30 departure time. Since the sky finally cooperated for the first time in days, I asked Sergei to stop by the stadium they are building along our daily commute. I'd been meaning to get a decent close-up picture of it for some time, so today was the day.

Sergei says it will hold 40,000 screaming "futbol" fans. It looks very hi tech being see-thru and with a partial roof, like a spaceship from MIB or something.





As a bonus photo op, next to the stadium is this interesting WWII memorial monument which I hadn't seen before.






The kids were pumped up and ready to play this morning, I took the following clip of them coming down the stairs to greet us in the usual way:


After grapes, granola, and some "bah NAH nee", Alex was cranked up enough to ride solo on the teeter-totter.






Vala and I played awhile on the swing today, while I serenaded her with one of my favorite endearing children's songs:


After our visit, we dropped by the outdoor market to eat at the little indoor cafeteria there...we shoulda done that sooner. It was pretty tasty and darned inexpensive.
At the market, we happened upon a line of street vendors selling flowers, it made for a beautiful scene.







Not sure if we'll visit tomorrow, there's a 70% chance of rain so we may skip that day if so since they are still doing construction on the indoor playroom. Stay tuned to find out.

Da svidania!

Papa John

Waiting Period: Day 6 of 10

Sorry to disappoint, but no orphanage visit today. It was in the 40s and a little rainy looking and gloomy this morning, so we decided not to try the orphanage today since we'd probably get put in another makeshift playroom that would do more harm than good. We'd been trying to get to a souvenir shop anyway, so that was our quest for the morning.

After breakfast our driver Sergei took us to a shop called Ukraine Souvenirs, where we found lots of Donetsk-related souvenirs that were just what we were looking for. We made a pretty good haul there, and since we were on a spending spree, decided to try a large store called Children's World in the downtown area as well. We were rewarded with all kinds of great selections of kidware, and bought shoes for all the kiddos as well as hats to match their coats we'd brought. We had quite the time communicating with the 2 nice ladies in the shoe department, but after a bit of charades we finally were finished and were all quite pleased with ourselves. They commented excitedly about how none of us could speak each others language but we still managed to get everything we needed...they were as happy as we were! :-) Now our shopping is complete, and we feel like we're ready (clothing-wise anyway) to take on the kids next Monday.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful day, so we'll definitely make a visit then, although the temps are slowly dropping a little more each day from here on out. See you tomorrow on the blog with more kid pix! Till then, da svidania!

Papa John

Waiting Period: Day 5 of 10

Hi everybody -

Day 5 of our 10-day wait, I can't believe we're just about halfway through it. Several folks have been asking, so here's our potential schedule. Just for this example, we're going to have faith and assume that all paperwork will go as smoothly as we're praying for.

Saturday, Nov. 8 - Day 10 of 10-day wait.

Sunday, Nov. 9 - Day after 10-day wait, we could pick up the kids. No wait, nothing happens on Sunday.

Monday, Nov. 10 - Sign lots of final court papers, pick up the kids, get birth certificates, get Ukrainian passports (pray for this part!). If all goes well, leave Donetsk and take overnight train to Kiev. Pray that no one gets motion sickness. That would not be pretty.

Tuesday, Nov. 11 - This is Veterans Day, an American holiday which means the US Embassy in Kiev will be closed. If possible, take kids for required basic medical exam at US Embassy clinic. Try not to destroy apartment in Kiev.

Wednesday, Nov. 12 - Make appointments for Embassy interview/paperwork. Go to clinic if we couldn't do it on Tuesday. Try not to destroy apartment in Kiev.

Thursday, Nov. 13 - Pick up medical paperwork (I think), have Embassy appointment. Try not to destroy apartment in Kiev.

Friday, Nov. 14 - Finalize any paperwork needed. Our friend Tim flies in to help us get home. Still try not to destroy apartment in Kiev.

Saturday, Nov. 15 - Fly home!! This will be a REALLY long day, I'm sure. Although we'll be landing in KC about 6:30 pm, it will be 3:00 am for us, and we'll have been traveling about 21 hours.

Some prayer requests:
1) Pray that the passports will be speedy. There's a new process which takes about 1-1/2 weeks, but we've been told there are a few of the old-style passports left, and hopefully we can get those the same day. This is really important, as it would really upset the entire schedule, plus add quite a bit of expense if we had to stay this much longer, and change our plane tickets.

2) Pray that the timing of the Embassy holiday wouldn't throw a monkey in the wrench, as John would say.

3) Pray there will be no flight delays on the way home, and that the kids won't be too freaked out by all the new stuff happening. And that they might possibly sleep part of the flight home. I can dream, can't I??

I'm sure this schedule isn't entirely accurate, but it's my understanding of what's coming up.

Today we had our regular outside visit, more playing in the sandbox, with the teeter totter, and lots of running around. It was kind of a Red Bull day for Alex, maybe he had Coco Puffs for breakfast. Talia had that "I'm looking for trouble" look on her face most of the day, and Vala was in her own little world, as usual. But they all had fun. Afterwards we met the Scruggs at an English pub they told us about, the Golden Lion Pub in Lenin Square. Fish and chips were pretty good. Especially after so much McDonalds. Ick.

More of the same tomorrow -

JoEllen : >


They turned the teeter totter sideways, and they're sitting on it. Doesn't Alex look like he's plotting something?






Alex loves to carry the sippy cup around in his teeth, and guards it like a bulldog.







Can you see the little braids and flowers in Talia's hair? Some caregiver spent a lot of time doing that, bless her heart.






This is a typical tomboy Talia photo. But what a sweet smile.








Somebody learned how to shush Mama and Papa today. We'll have to work on that one.






Somebody else really loves her teeter totter.








Big blue eyes.









Looks like a traditional English pub, doesn't it? Except for the Russian menu, it was.







Us and the Scruggs on the day before we get a new President.








Tough to see on a cloudy day, but that's a statue of Lenin. In Lenin Square, of course.











I don't know what kind of tank this is, but I'm sure John can tell you in excruciating detail.

Waiting Period: Day 4 of 10

It was a beautiful autumn day here in Donetsk today, no wind and clear skies in the 50s, as you can see from our hotel room window below.














Since we had no visit at the orphanage today, we just got up late, ate breakfast, and planned to try and find the local souvenir shop. Our random cabbie we hailed found it OK, but apparently it was closed, which is fine because at least now we know where it is and we have all week to go back. I was running a little low on "mad hryvnia" and was trying to find a bank open too to exchange some dollars, but apparently they were all closed as well...so maybe it was just best to try again later anyway.

So, we went and ate lunch at Cherry Pizza, which was just a couple of blocks from the shop (as the crow flies, a LOT farther by cab). Jo had her favorite chicken lasagna, and I had my shrimp pasta dish I always get if we don't get a pizza. We then strolled through several outdoor markets on the way back to the Atlas, and got a few things on our list we wanted. Trying to find some coloring books for next week we found a nice little toy shop in Diagon Alley, and the shopkeeper GAVE us a whole stack of them for free. We also bought a little set off stacking cup toys that Jo had read on the FRUA.ORG site that are very good for travel since they are fun and nest well for travel. We also were shopping for some shoes and hats for the kids, since we brought 3 sets of clothes for each of them and that's all we lack. Yesterday we found a cute pair of shoes in Talia's size, so we just have 2 more pair to find now and we'll be set for when we pick them up next Monday (can't wait!) We also found a market that had TONS of kid strollers, so we are debating investing in one of those before our train ride Monday night...we may not need one since we have 3 sets of backpack/leashes but we are thinking about it.

After the shopping trip, we came back to the Atlas and just vegged out, not much going on here today. My plan was to hang out in the lounge/bar, but there was a Mary Kay gathering in there today, thus nixing the idea. :-P

I just got back from Mickey D's for dinner, and we are settling in for another TV series marathon (downloaded from iTunes). Last night we got through 4 episodes of Eli Stone (highly recommended series), and will finish up that as well as some episodes of Eureka. Pretty exciting life huh?! Actually I'm just enjoying our "quiet time" for the next week, as I'm pretty sure all that will change a week from tomorrow. :)

Oh well, tomorrow we visit the kids and continue the countdown, thanks for reading.

Da Svidania!

Papa John

Waiting Period: Day 3 of 10

Hi everybody -

Today was a bit of an odd visit. We got to the orphanage to find the gate to the parking lot closed for cars, but there was an opening for pedestrians. It was really foggy, and just a bit misty, and we wondered if they had closed to visitors for the day. We didn't really know, so we went in to check. One of the nurses told us we couldn't play outside because they were putting in new windows, and there was a conference in the regular visitor playroom. This was actually one of the two orphanage workers that attended our court time, and she's the best English speaker we've run into so far. We had no trouble understanding her. We didn't see any other parents, so maybe we did miss a message somewhere about not visiting today. Not sure.

She took us upstairs to a small, sort of outer chamber/storage room which was apparently just outside the kids regular all-day playroom. She really tried to accommodate us, but unfortunately the room was a terrible playroom, logistically. The kids knew they were right outside of all their buddies, and kept trying to open that door. On the other side of our room was a door to another playroom for the smaller kids, and there was a third door that led down the stairs to the front entrance. Also, no toys, just a small, collapsible (and rickety) slide. It was definitely an exercise (literally!!) in boundaries. The caregivers did bring out a couple of dolls and a ball, which helped, and a small bottle of bubbles, which did NOT. It was the first of several spills on the floor. Although, soap on a floor, how bad could that be.

We brought our laptop today, mostly to show our driver Sergei photos of Kansas City because he'd been asking to see some. We were able to watch part of a VeggieTales movie before we had to close down due to too many little hands being able to reach the keyboard and definite defiance. It was hot, we were in a new room with lots of things to "nyet touch," and with kids that had apparently mainlined sugar - or Red Bull - for breakfast. It was a LONG couple of hours.

But the bonding is continuing to progress through all that, and we did have a couple of firsts today. Alex came out in his glasses, which we hadn't seen yet. He looked almost professorial until the Red Bull effect took over. And while we were practicing saying "pleesh" and taking turns during "banani" time, or actually during the grapes, Talia wanted to make sure Mama and Papa got a turn to eat a grape occasionally. Oh, and Vala is learning to say please as well, although at this point it comes out more like "eeeee." But she's definitely attempting to say it.

It looks like Alex is sticking his tongue out at Mama, but we're really just verifying he doesn't have a mouthful of banana already. Sometimes kids in orphanages will keep food in their mouths for awhile, kind of like squirrels. So far our kids don't do that. But they will inhale any food or drink they can get their hands on, and occasionally stuff an entire cookie in their mouth at one time.

I think Alex looks really cute in his glasses, and he did pretty well keeping them on. For those of you who may not know John all that well, this is the same face he makes for all ID photos. Driver's licence, Sam's card, etc. - all this same face. Goof. : >

No visit tomorrow, so that makes for a long day. We're going to try to find some souvenirs, maybe walk up to the outdoor market. It's been in the 50s today and breezy, but the leaves have turned pretty colors, and this is my favorite season of the year. Fall is a beautiful time to be outside.

JoEllen : >

Waiting Period: Day 2 of 10

Happy Halloween! I can’t say we’re really sorry to miss that particular holiday at home. Wouldn’t it be strange for Halloween to be the kids’ first American holiday? Welcome to America, now we’re going to dress up like dead people. Weird. Haven’t seen much here to indicate they celebrate Halloween, except for the jack-o-lanterns at Cherry Pizza today:





















So, already we’ve been here for four days. It’s very odd to me how we’ve only seen the kids for two days in a row now, but we’ve already fallen back into the routine established in September. Get up, go eat breakfast, meet Sergei out front (same driver!), play with the kids at the orphanage all morning. Meet Sergei out front of the orphanage, he drops us off at Cherry Pizza or McDonalds, have lunch and walk back to the hotel. Spend late afternoons/evenings either reading or watching a few TV shows we’ve downloaded on iTunes. (iTunes has been a life saver, although now we’re hooked on a couple of TV shows we’ll never have time to watch once we get home.)

It’s almost like we never left. We continue to make progress with the kids in small steps every day. Alex and Vala like me fine, but they’re definitely intrigued with Papa and would rather have his attention. I’ve spent the majority of the time the last couple days with Talia, and we’re definitely starting to connect. She’s not terribly concerned about doing what Papa says at this point, but she’s starting to listen to me. (Whew.) As we all get to know each other, I’m feeling better about how the transition may go once we get home. I know there will be lots of, shall we say, CHALLENGES, but it seems less intimidating all the time.

Today there were only three families visiting kids at the orphanage. Us, the Scruggs (other Americans), and Eddie and Mary, an Irish couple that’s just started coming. I didn’t catch their last name yet, I’ll try to get that tomorrow. Eddie and Mary seem a little overwhelmed, and were REALLY relieved to hear some folks speaking English. It’s been fun to be able to communicate with the other families, and it prevents the kids from running to other Ukrainian adults who can speak their language.

It was chilly, in the 50s, and I’m wondering how cold it will have to be before we all get to play inside. But the amount of clothing they put on all the kids here is incredible – I’ve never seen such bundling. What’s that movie where the mom gets the kid ready to go out and play in the snow (note by John, it's "A Christmas Story"), and by the time the kid is finally dressed, he can’t move because he’s so bundled? That’s kind of how it is here. We’ll try to get some good photos to illustrate that.

We’ve tried some new foods on the kids, and they’ve inhaled anything we brought. Grapes, apples, bananas, yogurt, granola bars, cheese and sausage snacks, chicken nuggets. No, we didn’t bring those last two, other parents did. The little scavengers will run to whoever (whomever??) is holding anything to eat or drink. So we definitely know how to get their attention. Toys are pretty good, but food always works. We’ll keep trying new foods, with different textures.


The kids all love to play on this small landing. Talia's expression is pretty typical.








Jailbirds.








Talia was wary, then a little freaked out by one of the other papas playing "scary Halloween guy" with her. Apparently she thought he was serious. Alex, not so much.





Alex is imitating John, who's doing that "I'm watching you" expression where you point two fingers at your own eyes, then at someone else's eyes. Was that DeNiro in "Meet the Parents"? I didn't see that one, but I think that's what it's from.





We walked through the outdoor market to pick up a couple of things.






These boots are very typical of what Ukrainian women wear. Lots of black, lots of high heels, occasionally a pop of color - notice the one boot that's red.






Lots of vendors crowded together. John calls this Diagon Alley.







It was really foggy this morning, but turned out to be a beautiful day.






Mona, this one's for you. We see this calico kitty almost every day, she must live right near the hotel. She's very wary, but will allow humans to pet her. As long as it's her idea, of course.



Tomorrow will be more of the same on Saturday, then no visits on Sundays. We’re going to try to hook up with the other families for lunch on Sunday, just to break the monotony. And hopefully find some Ukrainian souvenirs. This is definitely a blue-collar town, not very touristy. But the people are great, and we’re making memories.

JoEllen

Waiting Period: Day 1 of 10

Today we went and played with the kids for the first time as their "official" new parents, it was very exciting for all. We were wondering if they would remember us or react at seeing us again, and we were richly rewarded (well mostly). They brought all 3 kids out to us in the playground, and upon seeing us Alex and Vala yelled PAPA/MAMA! and ran towards us with arms open wide and gave us big hugs. Alex then gave papa our customary "gimmee 5" handslaps that we used to do upon greeting each other...he hadn't forgotten. Talia, being true to her independent self, seemed happy to see us but ran right past us and straight to the playground, a little work to be done there still on the greeting manners.

Anyway, we broke out what little toys we'd acquired or made from the previous day and the playing began. We'd also snagged a banana and some yogurt from the breakfast bar this morning, so that was a hit as well. We forgot to bring our sippy cups for drinking water, so drink time was a bit of a mess but still it worked...we'll plan better tomorrow.

Jeanete and Michael Scruggs from Mississippi were there as well, and their cab arrived at the exact same time as us. Their new son Samuel Daniel was happy to see them, and he had a great time playing with our kids as well, they are good buds. Please pray for the Scruggs family, their court date was a couple of days before ours, but the decision was delayed till this Friday due to some incorrect paperwork...our heart goes out to them as they go through this process alongside us. We hope to hook up with them for dinner (not McDonalds) tonight.

Playtime outside was enjoyable albeit a bit of work since it is outdoors (mid-50s, a pleasant fall day), but the kids seem to be minding us a bit more now and I have the ability to keep up with them since my back is about 90% healed. I had fun lifting them up (even Alex) and swinging them around time and time again as a fun game. That would have been virtually impossible only 5 weeks ago, God is good!

Anyway, without further ado here are some of the photos I took, and some video. Enjoy!


This is Alex doing his best DiNiro imitation ("are you tawkin tah me?!") Actually I think he's just got food or something in his mouth. :)





Talia waiting for more yogurt, a good bonding exercise, and oh so tasty! JoEllen thinks she resembles a babushka in this hat.




Vala having fun on the teeter totter.







A bit of a close-up, but ain't she cute! :)








More lessons in the word "please," I like how they nod when they say it:


I pretended they bit off my finger every time they had a bite of banana, Alex got the giggles so much he couldn't stand up. We did this for quite awhile, it was pretty funny in a morbid kinda way...hey it is almost Halloween!


We've decided that Talia may have a future as an Olympic rowing captain, she takes fun so seriously! :)

Pics of the new bedroom

OK, I couldn't help but post one more time before I go to sleep (it's 1am here). Before we left KC, we took a couple of pictures of the new and improved "bedroom for 3" we assembled during our last 3 weeks at home:

Yes, we had to move all 3 beds down to the new "purple bedroom", which is our 2nd largest bedroom. In the foreground is Vala's precious little "Disney Princess" themed bed, and in the background is Alex's bed decked out in "Cars" attire (since he loves "MAHchinas").

Being true to her independent spirit, Talia's bed is sporting the "Dora The Explorer" theme which we hope she likes. Note the "reading chair" which no doubt will help provide many evenings of helping toddlers fall to sleep with various fairy tales and computer programming articles.

Thanks again to the host of friends and family who helped make this special space available with your time, talent, and treasure...it is GREATLY appreciated.

More pix tomorrow, pa-KAH for now!

Papa John

AND THE VERDICT IS.....

WE'RE PARENTS, WOOHOO (well sorta)! Our status as parents at the moment is "official, but not finalized." The judge declared us as such in court around 5:30 this evening. A few documents have yet to be signed by us, and the ever-popular "10-Day Waiting Period" has to transpire for everything to be finalized, but as far as court is concerned we are the proud new parents of Alexander Maksim, Natalia Irina, and Valentina Grace Livingston. Thanks for all your prayers and well wishes, it was very evident during the proceedings that we were in Good Hands and were exactly where we were supposed to be at exactly the appointed time.

Prior to us arriving at the courthouse, especially around 4:30, I wasn't so sure. For those of you in the know, our long-awaited court appointment today was at 4pm...someone should've informed the Ukrainian President of that, because his surprise procession through Donetsk this afternoon shut down many key streets near our hotel, causing mass gridlock for miles around. Marina, our translator, was supposed to pick us up around 3:15, but instead called around then to tell us that we should catch a cab instead and meet us at the courthouse because she was stuck in the gridlock. So we caught a cab around 3:20, and proceeded to make our way to our ever-important court appointment. The poor cab driver did his best to make good time, but the police seemed to have streets closed at every turn. In the 20 minutes it should've taken us to get to the courthouse, we moved 3 blocks...it wasn't helping our cabbie that I was having a mild (JoEllen would say severe) cardiac infarction, even with Jo trying to calm me down. It was the closest I think I've ever come to having an actual panic attack (in public). I called Marina and told her we'd be hopelessly late, and she discussed the gravity of the situation with the cabby, who confirmed what I'd just told her that there was no way around it, we'd definitely be late unless we suddenly sprouted wings. 4pm came and went with us nowhere near the courthouse, and I was pretty much an emotional puddle at that point, already figuring we'd need to make another trip home and back and other such ugly scenarios. To make a long story shorter, we did finally make it to the courthouse around 4:45 (it was dark then, due to daylight savings time here already). Marina had pleaded our case to the judge, and he mercifully granted us a little extra time for our lame excuse (the dog ate my homestudy, the President was causing gridlock, yadda-yadda.)

Anyway, at 4:45 we met Marina at the curb at the courthouse and literally RAN to the little courtroom, where all kinds of folks were gathered there waiting for us. It was a small light-wood panelled room, with a desk at one end, folks seated on benches on both sides, and a few rows of chairs at the back with a podium in front...Marina instructed us to sit beside her in the front row behind the podium and say to the judge "yadda yadda yah Livingston, blah blah Request yadda Adoption yadda." I filled in "yaddas" where I really don't recall what she said to say, we were in that much of a rush. As soon as we were seated, a tiny court reporter with the look of an empath (Trekkers know what I mean) walked in, followed by a 6'5" black-bearded linebacker (okay, the judge) wearing a black robe...they both sat down at the desk at the front of the class. He asked us each one at a time to stand up and tell us why we were adopting, does our family support us, what are our plans for home care, and various such questions. All these we did while still trying to catch our breath and still appearing not nervous. The others in the room included our attorney, a social worker, 2 caregivers from the orphanage, and another gal who announced herself as "The Prosecutor" (oh great, she's going to prosecute us, which was entirely plausible with the mini-jail cell which occupied the room just to my left). There was an endless stream of standing up and sitting down, which sort of reminded us of a church service. Anyway, we apparently answered the interrogation successfully, "Dahs", nods and smiles were exchanged, and Marina told us we were proud new parents as The Judge left the room, and then many of us exchanged hugs of joy.

So that was it in a nutshell, an unbelievably stressfull yet happy day in our journey. Marina was off to who knows where, her cab took her one way and ours took us back to the Atlas where we had a celebratory dinner of steak, veal, dessert, and espresso strong enough to take the enamel off our teeth. Tomorrow we go to see the kids for our first visit since we returned, we can't wait to see them as their new official (but not finalized) parents! We'll be working out the logistics of the next phase with Marina and Serge, but for now we are just enjoying this moment and looking forward to getting through the end of this very long tunnel. Tune in tomorrow for pictures. I think I need a drink!

Da Svidania!

Papa (for real) John

P.S. All right, it's 3am and I still can't sleep...something the judge said in his closing statements stuck with me and I really need to share it because it was profound to me. Paraphrased, he said "it is the judgement of this court and to all present that it is in the best interests of these children to place them in the care of this home." Now, that may sound like a trite legalese closing statement that is used in every adoption case that comes to this conclusion, but it really means something to me now. To me, it seems very easy in this process to get a "we vs they" mentality, whether it's vs your social worker, agency, the SDA office, or "the court", and it's your job to win at every round to succeed in the end. But what really hit me so profoundly as I heard his words and looked on the concerned faces of everyone in that room, is that we were all on the same team, pulling for the same goal. The "opponent" wasn't anyone there (not even "The Prosecutor"), the opponent was the difficult situation that the kids found themselves in, and it was ALL our jobs to see that a negative was turned into a positive...for the kids' sake. Maybe this was obvious all along to everyone else but me and I'm too dense to just now catch on, but I've caught on now baby and this team's gonna win!

Donetsk Again!

Hey everybody -

We're in Donetsk, and got here to the hotel without incident - if you don't count the taxi driver that drove like he was James Bond. Seriously. And after we get home I may never get on an airplane again. Just kidding. Sort of. I don't mind flying (love the takeoffs!), but really hate that sardine-in-a-tin-can feeling.

We're here at the Atlas (same hotel), but our room is a little higher up so we have a better view out our window. Surprisingly, it got dark about 4:30 pm. Guess I should verify if my watch is correct. Somebody on one of the planes told us that Ukraine has already done the fall back/daylight savings thing, so I'm not actually sure what time it is.

After we got here we were going to try to go to the large supermarket we went to in September, to pick up a few toys and basic supplies, but 15 minutes after we arrived (and 5 minutes after hogging all available clothing space, ha) John laid down and went to sleep. So I guess we're not going anywhere today. We'll catch up by phone with our translator Marina tonight, to see what the game plan is for tomorrow. Our court appointment is at 4 pm tomorrow, so that's the next step in the process to pray for.

In the meantime, we'll just veg out in our room for awhile. More details later!

JoEllen : >

Photo Update

Hey Everybody –

We have three weeks at home before we go back to Donetsk for court. Well, actually, now it’s more like two weeks before we leave on October 27. While we’re glad to be home for SEVERAL reasons, there’s so much to do, it’s almost overwhelming. I’m just trying to make a list of the stuff that absolutely must get done before we leave and work on that first. It’s so good to have so many friends and family that keep volunteering to help out. You’re all AMAZING!

An Italian couple we met before we left Donetsk sent us an email with some new kid photos. Apparently there was some kind of recital or program in the playroom, check out these photos. Alex Maksim and Talia Ira are in them, but no sign of Vala. Must have been just the older kids.




Sitting around a mushroom? I don't get it.































LOVE the raccoon and fox masks.








This may be the most quiet we've ever seen them.




















These polka dot hats crack me up.






On the home front, we've been collecting like crazy. We have beds (although one hasn’t arrived yet), car seats, and some clothing and toys. Most of the essentials. It’s definitely much easier to prepare when you know who will be arriving. I’ve been picking the brains of lots of experienced parents with kids this age, especially our friends who have adopted. It will definitely be a zoo when we all get home, but it will be a happy one.

We have a Russian-speaking friend who will be flying to Kiev to meet us, then fly home with us. So the kid-to-adult ratio will be 1:1, much better odds. By then John’s back will be almost normal, although he’ll still be limited on what he can lift. Just having Tim there to help communicate with the kids and to read the signs in the airport will be great. What an answer to prayer – thanks Tim and Karen!

We'll try to post a couple more times before we leave, but no promises. Too much to do!

JoEllen : >

Home again (woohoo!)

Well, we're all back home now, safe and sound (for awhile). After a 1.5 hour plane delay in Chicago, we finally arrived home around 9pm on Saturday...we promptly hit the hay and slept for 11 hours straight! Our first order of business on Sunday was to eat a nice juicy KC steak, so we went to Longhorn for lunch, came home and watched the Chiefs get embarassed, had dinner and went to bed early again.

I went to work yesterday and it was good to be back! JoEllen got a lot of errands run and visited the doctor for an eye infection she got just before she left Donetsk, it's about healed now. My back is doing much better as well, so I should be 100% by the time of our next trip.

We've got a bit of work to do as far as buying another bed (looking for a twin size) and setting up bedrooms for the 3 kids, which will be much easier now that we know who we're prepping for. We have lots of friends lined out to help with that process. Thanks also to all the folks who have been donating used toys and clothes for the kids, it's a true blessing! Any and all donations are happily accepted. Again, their sizes are:

Alex Maksim - 5T
Talia Ira - 4T
Vala - 24 months (2T)

JoEllen has outlines of the kids' feet, but we have yet to translate that into shoe sizes.

For the return trip, it looks like we'll probably be gone the better part of 3 weeks (given travel time). We'll probably leave on Sunday (Oct 26th) or Monday, and be returning around Friday (Nov 14th) or Saturday.

Well this was just a quick update, more to come, so stay tuned!

Papa John

Last post from Kiev

Hey everybody, sorry no photos this time. The train we needed to get on was sold out, so we flew a domestic airline from Donetsk to Kiev. That was quite the adventure, trying to get through a Ukrainian airport without signs in English. But we made it, and strangely enough we're back for a couple of nights in the exact same apartment we started out in. Yes, with the five flights of stairs. Sigh. So we hiked up the hill to the President Hotel again for the internet access.

An update on medical info - John's back is doing MUCH better than it was 3 weeks ago. He's getting around fine. The last night in Donetsk I apparently picked up an eye infection (in both eyes, darn it), so please pray for that to heal quickly. I'm wearing my glasses, so I can't see as well as I normally can, and both eyes are very very red. Kind of scary looking. We were able to go to the pharmacy in Donetsk before we left, and got a prescription from the pharmacist there. It looks like the same stuff I have at home, too.

So that's the scoop from Ukraine. We'll be home Saturday evening, ready to recuperate for awhile. We've really appreciated all the prayers and all the posts for Adoption 2008, Round 1!

JoEllen : >

Last post from Ukraine (most likely)

It's definitely been a whirlwind day trying to organize a way home from Donetsk. Our plan was to catch a train tonight to Kiev, but they are all booked up. So we're catching a flight from Donetsk to Kiev here in a few hours (1 hour flight vs 12 hour train, much better), and will hole up in an apartment there till our flight around 7am on Saturday. It's definitely been interesting! Anyway, at least we are that much closer to being home.

Yesterday was our final visit with the kids before we left, which was also Vala's 2nd birthday as well. So we had lots of extra parting gifts for the kids, which they all loved (since we bought these after we'd met them), and also left each kid a laminated color printout of the 2 family photos we took on earlier visits. So here's the photos from yesterday:

Here's the dolly Vala got, she spent a lot of time kissing it.








And here she is obviously enjoying it.








Talia Ira got a little doll that came with a seh-BAH-kah, I think she liked the little dog better than the girl doll. You can see Alex Maksim playing in the background with his new toy "machina" (looked like a silver Sequoia), I didn't get a good shot of him with it though.


Goodbyes were harder for some than others, Vala gave us the big "booboo lip" when we finally said "pah-KAH".






We'll finish off with a couple of video clips, this one is during treat time, good practice to say "Please".



One last clip, of the kids on the teeter-totter, with Alex Maksim and Talia Ira giving the "good job!" sign, and Vala about to obsess over her hat Mama was holding:

Coming home Saturday!

Well, the earliest we found we could get a flight home is this Saturday, our plane should arrive in KC around 7pm (United 275)! I'll see all you MRIers on Monday, can't guarantee if we'll make it Sunday to LSCC though (although we miss it greatly)...we might need some time to recover. We'll post more later about our final visit with the kids today, but this is the latest news that's fit to print.

Papa John

So, good news, not great, but not bad (John's take)

Thank you to everyone who was praying for a good outcome to this trip. Since our court date is a month off (Oct. 29, see Jo's post below), it may sound like we got hosed...but really we did quite OK. Getting a court date this week would've been a miracle, but frankly just knowing what our solid (in writing) court date is, is a huge relief. Really we had no hard decision to make, we just come back in a month and finish where we left off, and at least we're not burning through time off or money hanging out in the hotel. Serge also comforted us with the fact that the kids won't be "up for grabs" while we are away, they are going to be ours!

We're REALLY glad we'll be home this week, and looking forward to getting together with all our friends over the next few weeks and EATING A GOOD STEAK!! :-) I'm actually kinda looking forward to being at work next week even, I miss all my MRI buds, A LOT! So please pray for our safe return. In theory we'll be on the 12-hour train to Kiev tomorrow night and will catch a plane home sometime Thursday morning, possibly arriving home on Friday. This of course all depends on the availability of flights, which we don't know yet.

We met with Serge twice today, once before his meeting with the judge, and then immediately afterward. I think he thought the news would dismay us, but frankly we are just happy to have a firm date and a plan in place to work with...not knowing was the hardest. He even took us to dinner this evening and had us try "salo," which is a Ukrainian national dish. It's basically raw bacon, yah, I said RAW! OK, it wasn't so bad, especially with bread. Trying to eat before he caught his plane back to Kiev, he quickly snarfed down several pieces of salo, a bowl of soup, a plate of creamed herring, and pork filet with cream sauce and hash browns...basically heart attack on a plate. We really had a great visit with him today, and thanked him for all the extra work he did to try and expedite our process and get us back home. We have a lot of kid-prepping to do in the next month when we get there (help wanted, apply when we get home).

So, we'll see you all soon. Not sure how much more we'll be able to post after tomorrow afternoon, probably not at all. So, hopefully we'll see everyone on Friday or soon thereafter (please ignore the jetlag).

Da svidanya!!

Papa John

Scheduling News

Okay, so here’s the update…

Our facilitator Serge blew in today like a tornado, greased some wheels, made some phone calls, met with the judge this afternoon, and got a court date. After all that, he told us we had two options. Our court date is October 29, so here’s the first option:
— Keep that court date
— Go home for almost four weeks
— Come back in time for court
— Wait out the 10-day waiting period, visiting the kids every day
— Pick up the kids, get their birth certificates and passports in Donetsk
— Go back to Kiev for a couple of days, get medical exams and go to the Embassy for visas
— Fly home (so roughly 2 weeks for this whole trip)

The second option is to ask for a new judge, request a new (sooner) court date, and pray that would work. No guarantee of any change, plus more time at this nice but expensive hotel. So, to save dollars and vacation days, we chose the first option. We’re in the process of getting our flights changed, availability of those will determine when we can get home. We are definitely welcoming the chance to get home to prepare for the kids. Not to mention sleeping in our own bed!

We had a good visit with the kids today. There was a little teeter totter on the playground that was a huge hit. Somebody unearthed some ancient tricycles, and those were a hit too, except that the playground is sloped in several places, and there were a couple of minor crashes. We thought the kids were fast when they were running – the tricycles made them nearly impossible to catch. We spent a lot of time blocking off hilly areas so they could keep riding. After one particular crash, Alex Maksim got a tiny little scratch on his hand, and after I cleaned up his little owie, he definitely wanted papa. It was a good bonding moment. Another good bonding moment happened when I walked Vala back to her little group when it was time to go. She didn’t want to leave and we got the big booboo lip and real tears. That’s another good sign. Talia Ira is coming along. She’s very independent, but is challenging us less and less. She’ll even help us get Maks or Vala’s attention when it’s time for treats. That girl is definitely food motivated.




Who knew what was hiding under the red hat!!










Deep concentration. I can see we'll be needing some of these.









They all loved this, it was good for about 20 minutes. Notice the "good job" from Alex Maksim.







This was the big group today. Papa being his regular funny self.










Can you see the "I'm about to cause trouble" expression on Talia Ira's face? This was definitely after the cookies.





Tomorrow will probably be our last visit to the orphanage before we come back for court. And, it’s Vala’s second birthday. I’m not sure if she even knows, I doubt if they make a big deal out of birthdays at the orphanage. I can see where that would be really difficult. We have a small toy for each one of them, plus we’re printing out a photo of the five of us that they can keep until we get back. Four weeks won’t be long for us, but of course it’s a lifetime for a kid.

More later!

JoEllen : >