COURT

We are finally going to court this morning (Friday) at 11:30am. We got the approval yesterday afternoon. I would have posted last night, but the internet cafe was closed by the time we finished dinner. We have been enjoying the company of Victor and Janet Benson from Wisconsin. We had met them in Virginia in 2005 when the kids first visited. They arrived in Berdyansk a couple days ago. They are adopting three girls.

So, to bring you up to date on the last couple of days on Wednesday we picked Dasha up in the morning since it was a holiday and she didn't have classes. We were planning to take Natasha too, but she had gone somewhere with another friend. We took Dasha to a small zoo that is not too far from the hotel. It was fun. Then we walked back to the hotel and she said she was hungry, but didn't feel like going anywhere, so we got Primo and Victor to go get food while Dasha and I went up to the room. When they got back they had not only brought lunch, but a bag of dried fish. YUK. These are the sorriest looking things to look at and they think they are the best thing since sliced bread. We will post pictures soon because you have to see it to believe it! Dasha and Victor were snapping heads off and ripping skin while Primo and I shot video and snapped pictures. Be glad it's not smell-o-vision!!! Dasha took what was left to the orphanage to share with her friends.

Yesterday we didn't go to the orphanage until about 4pm. It was nice out so we just hung out in the yard with the kids. I'm still recovering from my volleyball bruises (on my wrist), so I didn't partake in any activities. Papa played some soccer with the kids.

So after court at 11:30 this morning I will have a short time to gather my things and then Victor and I will head to the train station. We will take the overnight train back to Kiev and I will spend a few days there. Monday I will go to the US Embassy to sign some documents and then I will give Power of Attorney to Victor to sign on my behalf things that will need to be done after the 10 day waiting period. (For those that don't know, there is a mandatory 10 day waiting period after the court date before the adoption is finalized.) I fly out of Kiev on Tuesday and will be home late Tuesday night. Because of the time difference (7 hours), I will live that day twice! I'll be chasing the sun all day!

I talked to Nicholas and Primo Jr. last night and I think they are happy mom is coming home!! I KNOW grandma's happy!!! :) Primo will continue to blog the events on this side of the ocean.

See ya'll soon!!!!!

Defying all logic....Ukraine

It's completely beyond our comprehension how this place works. It does make one appreciate what he has. Couples that submitted their paperwork to the SDA one day prior to ours got their approvals and have gone to court. One couple that submitted on the same day as we did got a miracle Tuesday approval and court on the same day. We are left hoping for approval from the SDA on Thursday. What's the reason for all this? None. From what we can tell it just depends on how they feel that day. The few extra days wouldn't have been an issue if it were applied across the board and if we hadn't booked round trip tickets, which by the way I'd advised against doing. Our facilitator has now gotten reservations for all of us on KLM flights (Northwest) at a nice $824 a seat. So they great Delta tickets end up being an expensive one-way ticket.

We went to the orphanage this afternoon and played volleyball with the kids and then watched a basketball game. Tomorrow we're taking the girls to a zoo here in town after that I'm not sure what we'll be doing.

Delays

I'm sorry to post that we did not get our approval for court today. This means that I will not make my return flight on Thursday. Usually this approval is only granted from the SDA on Monday, Wednesday or Friday. Wednesday is a Ukraine holiday and the SDA is closed. It's a long shot that they would grant permission on Thursday in light of the holiday. It is more likely going to be Friday which means we can't go to court until Monday. This would put my return flight possibly Wednesday. We were not happy about this!! I will have to buy a completely new plane ticket because Delta cannot accommodate changes for several weeks out.

For those of you at home that are able to help out with Nicholas, we would appreciate it. It kills me every time I talk to him. He's just so young and it's hard for him to understand why mom and dad have been gone for so long. Primo Jr. is obviously older and able to understand more, but I miss him just the same. Because of the change of flights I will miss Primo's soccer tournament this weekend. I was really looking forward to watching him play and being there for him. He may say he doesn't care, but I think deep down it matters (at least I hope it does!!).

Today we went to the Notary and got the petition for passports for the kids. Victor spoke with the Judge and told her that we need to reschedule the hearing. She seems flexible, but that's because she doesn't get paid until we hold court! Tomorrow we will go to the orphanage to see Dasha. We probably won't see Michael again until court. I miss him, but it's costly to take a taxi back and forth from Molachansk (close to $50 every time).

So, the news today was not the best, but soon we will look back and think, "it wasn't that bad"...or at least I hope we will!!!

Love ya!!

Two Day Update

Hello everyone! I didn't post yesterday (Saturday) because we really just hung out most of the day. Primo and I went to the open market again and bought some more clothes for Michael. We didn't see any of the kids. I have to tell you that I missed Michael so much! I kept replaying some of the "conversations" we had and some of the things we had done with him. I can't wait until he's ours full time! (You can remind me of that in six months!) :)

Today (Sunday) we had breakfast with Rhondi and Bob. (We actually had dinner with them last night too). We had planned to get Dasha and Natasha and continue the search for a dress for Natasha. Rhondi and Bob decided to join us. We picked the girls up after breakfast and went to the market. We walked the entire thing and finally settled on something. She is very modest and doesn't like anything too short or too low cut. Primo says she's "daddy's girl". After we settled on the dress she of course needed shoes to match....right Aunt Deb??!! We set out to find the perfect pair and Victor decided that one of the first pairs we saw would do the job. I think he had had enough of shopping! The girls are amazingly picky all things considered.

We had a late lunch at a cafe down the street from the hotel and then drove the girls back to the orphanage. Many of you have asked how Natasha is holding up under the circumstances. She is doing very well and understands that she has not been registered long enough to be adopted. She knows that she has to wait, but I think it will be difficult for her when the time actually arrives for Dasha to leave. We also found out today that Natasha's brother is only 17....not 19 like we thought. He graduated in the same class as the girl that Rhondi and Bob are adopting. If anyone of you is looking for a son, he may be your boy!!! I actually have found enough children for all of you!!!

Tonight should be a quiet evening. I'm actually reading a book!! I haven't read a book in years!! Hopefully tomorrow we will get our approval to go to court. I know we have to meet with the notary at 1pm. I'll let you know what we find out!

Fun and Games

Yesterday (Thursday) we walked down to the arcade and played some games to kill time. Then we went to the market to get some more snacks. These kids are eating us out of house and hotel! I bought some chips (for me) and when I went to get them, they were gone! So when we shopped yesterday I told Michael, "MY chips....DON'T eat my chips!!" Then he would say, "Don't eat my chips!"...like a parrot! It was very funny! We also taught him to say "Wassup Homey?" He's eager to learn. Dasha pretty much spent the afternoon watching TV and fell asleep again fairly early.

Today we went back to the arcade for a short time for something to do. We also stopped at a bookstore and Dasha and Michael got a couple books. We made our way back to the room and hung out until Victor came. Then the kids packed up and got ready to return to their respective orphanages. We took Dasha back first so there would be more room in the car for the long and bumpy ride to Molachansk. Michael and I sat with our arms intertwined the whole way there. When we arrived the kids swarmed the car again, but my focus was only on one child....mine. It was really hard to have to leave him there. I hugged him, told him I loved him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He hugged me back and said "I love you". Then I walked around the car in the opposite direction that he did and met him on the other side and stole one more hug before we left. I know he has friends there that he is going to want to say good-bye to, but I wish he could have stayed with us. We will see Dasha and Natasha on Sunday.

The latest adoption news is that it's possible that we will have the approval on Monday for us to go to court. It wasn't looking good for awhile, but two other families have already received approval and their documents were only turned in one day before ours. If we get the approval, we will have court on Tuesday. If this happens, I will make my original return flight on Thursday. There are a lot of "if's", but we are hopeful!

I guess that gets you caught up on the latest.

Bonding

Yesterday (Wednesday) we walked down by the sea and took a ride out to the peninsula. For those of you who have posted that you want pictures, rest assured that we are taking many. "My friend Ed" asked how old the kids are...Michael is 15 and Dasha is 14. We mostly hung out in the room yesterday afternoon and evening. Dasha fell asleep around 7pm and slept all night! The boys went to their room around 10pm and were up until 1am.

Our facilitator, Victor, had to go to Danesk to complete another adoption so we are on our own today. We are letting the kids play on the internet for awhile and then we will go pick up our laundry!!! Praise the Lord!! After that we are planning to go back to the boardwalk area and play some games in the arcade. Beyond that I'm not sure what we will do.

We will have to return the kids to their orphanages tomorrow. Dasha is in town so we can see her at a moments notice, but Michael is about 1 1/2 hours away so we probably won't see him again until court. We are praying that we will get the approval to go to court on Monday so we can have court on Tuesday. If that happens, I can hopefully leave on May 11th. If we don't get approval, then it will be later.

All in all things are going well. Dasha's a lot like mom and likes her naps. Michael seems to be like papa in that he likes the computers and staying up late. A nice mix! We are anxious to see how Primo Jr. and Nicholas respond to their new siblings.

Enjoy the pictures!!

Shopping, shopping and shopping

Our facilitator got a really bad headache this morning and didn't end up joining us until 5:00 pm. So we went to plan B...shopping in the open market. The weather looked promising this morning so we decided to go and do some shopping for the kids. We especially wanted to get something for Michael as we believe he'll come out of his orphanage with the clothes on his back or less. The Molachansk orphanage is one of those orphanages that does not get alot of money or attention. We found a good amount of items so that he will at least be dressed for when we do come home.

Once we were through with the open market, we went to the grocery to pick up some snacks and drinks for our hotel rooms. Apparently the kids really like snacks as items were flying into our cart. We followed that up with some more intense UNO and then off to dinner with Victor. After playing another card game, we watched a movie. Michael fell asleep next to mom. We had to wake him so that he'd go into his own bed (I draw the line at carrying the kids to bed at 5 years old).

Not sure what tomorrow will bring. It looks like the weather won't be too bad. Maybe we'll actually get to go down by the sea.