We have Visas and will be on our way home tomorrow!

           I know that I am long past an update, however blogging and journaling have never been one of my strong suits, for that I apologize. Nonetheless, I do have a lot to update everyone on. Once Fran and Rita left I was left up to my own devices to find entertainment, thankfully Bill and the youth group at church, Don’s movies, and Inna and Lena kept me from being bored.

I spent most of my final days shopping for stuff for the kids (thanks to Inna’s help, she made it soooooo much easier), visiting the kids at the orphanage, getting my fill of Ukrainian candy, and having tea with Inna and Lena. I could not have asked for a better way to end my journey.

Our 10 day waiting period was up on Monday the 15^th, so Tuesday the 16^th set in motion the mad dash for the finish line. For me it was a hair pulling day, Victor, Roman, and I spent all of Tuesday morning running around Berdyansk. From the  court house to the bank to the court house to vital statistics to the apartment to the inspectors office to the orphanage to the inspectors office to vital statistics and finally back to the orphanage to pick up the kids. By the time we hit the orphanage I was exhausted. But I must say that I was very proud of the kids, they walked away from the orphanage with their heads held high and never shed a tear. They said good bye to a few of their friends and bravely marched into the unknown…I must say that they are braver than I will probably ever be. We then made our trek to Zap (I would spell out the entire name, but I would only butcher it), Taiya was asleep after 15 minutes in the car and Jacob sat wedged between the 2 front seats…he never missed a turn.

We hit Zap around 3:30 and we got our passports and were at the train station with about 30 minutes to spare. I was worried that we were not going to make the train, but Victor never wavered and just as he had promised we were on the train Tuesday night to Kiev.

The kids absolutely LOVED the train ride. They were thrilled that we had bunk beds and were excited that they got to sleep on the top bunk. We made everyone’s bed, took a ton of pictures and settled down for the night with tea and cookies. Taiya settled down pretty early and was passed out asleep by 9, Jacob on the other hand was still in awe. He sat until well after 11 with his face pressed to the glass of the train window. The two of us sat for a long time and just looked out of the window, he kept saying “WOW” and giving me the thumbs up and smiling and every train station that we pulled into he would say “Mama, Kiev?” “Mama, Kiev?” I finally showed him my watch and told him what time we would be in Kiev. About 1:30 Jacob decided that sleeping on the top bunk was no longer that much fun and he was afraid that he would fall out, so he and Victor switched places.

We got to Kiev around 6ish and made our way to the apartment and chilled out and watched TV for a couple of hours before we headed out for Breakfast and to make our way to the U.S. Embassy and to the kids’ medical appointments. Everything there went without a hitch, except I got a lecture from the Doctor about parenting, I got worried that she was not going to let the kids go, but Victor said everyone gets that lecture from her. Nonetheless I was relieved to get her stamp of approval.

Then we headed to the grocery store to stock up on some snacks for the apartment and the trip. Jacob was in utter awe at it all, I do not think that either one of the kids have ever been in a grocery store that large before, and Jacob wanted everything in sight. If he thinks that store was big, wait til he sees a Super Wal-Mart! We then went back to the apartment and hung out til dinner time. After dinner we settled into a movie and bed.

Today we went shopping and went back to the Embassy to pick up the Visas!!! I have never been so relieved in all of my life. The woman at the counter said that I could finally go home, I don’t think any words could have been sweeter. So tomorrow at 6 we will begin our trek home. We leave Kiev and fly to Zurich, then from Zurich to New York, and finally from New York to home. I can’t wait. Seeing Dave, my parents, and my family and friends will be an awesome feeling. I love to travel and to see the world, but I am ready to be home.

Hopefully within the next couple days I will write about our journey home. Until next time…

At long last...

After a long and emotionally exhausting week, we are now the proud parents of Taiya and Jacob. Today Taiya essentially skipped into the court room, all smiles, and happily (although cautiously) said yes to being adopted. Today was an emotional climax for both Dave and I, after sitting on pins and needles all week, we were finally able to exhale a sigh of relief. 

            I must apologize for not updating the blog this week; however I could not find it in my heart to write. I generally have no issues with coming up with anything to say, however after last Friday I have been at a total loss for words. Dave, Viktor, and I decided to tackle this week with a vengeance, and spent a lot of dedicated time with just our kids, something that we probably should have done from the beginning, at least with one half of our duo. We tried to reassure them in every way that we knew how. I downloaded pictures of friends and their children, and other adopted children and their parents (and for those of you whose pictures I used I really thank you), I downloaded pictures of the beach, Busch Gardens, Water Country, family, and everything that I could think of, to try and show Taiya that we were not trying to steal her away from everything that she has known only to put her in a place of isolation with no friends and no family. We did the best that we could do to try and convince her, that although this would be scary, it would not be something that she would ever regret doing. Viktor spoke to their teachers and they were able to help us encourage Taiya that this was the right decision, and in the end she made the decision for her and her brother. The court didn’t force it upon her.

            Although I am absolutely dreading being here the extra week, in the long run it may be for the best. It proves to her that we love her and stood by her unconditionally and that we did not leave her…even if she made a decision that we didn’t agree with. Hopefully a few years from now we will be able to look back and laugh…but right now only tears roll down my face because I have to wait 2 more weeks before I can go home. It wouldn’t be so bad, except the last 6 days I will be completely by myself…no Dave, no Fran, and no Viktor. Luckily I have befriended Inna who works here at the church and the guy that runs the movie store on the corner knows that when I come in I need movies that are in English, I also have 3 and half more books to finish. However, the apartment is entirely too quiet so I am not sure whether or not I will be able to get them finished before I get back, but at least I have read 5 of the 11 books that I brought, and I am half way through Dr. Seuss’ biography (which by the way is absolutely fantastic if anyone is looking for a book to read).

            I would be lying if I said that today was not an emotional high and low. Today we got what we have been working toward for the last year…the kids, but I also said goodbye to Dave. Which is really rather funny, because most days I am willing to happily shoo his butt out of the door, but the last month together has been really great and I really hated to say goodbye to him today, that and I was jealous that he gets to sleep in his own bed on Saturday night. But he left promising to have the house in order when I got home (Alisha please make sure that he cleans the bathrooms like he promised), but it still didn’t make it any easier to say goodbye.

            I have focused a lot of attention on Taiya and Dave and I, but least I forget Jacob. He has been a real trooper through all of this, his loyalty and trust have never faded and he has been looking forward to coming home since day one. Every “aeroplane” that he sees (be it in the sky or in a book), he points to all of us and says “aeroplane to America”. Poor kid I think that he is more excited than I am about going home. He is going to have such a blast and I can’t wait to see him grow. He finds life adventurous and funny and when he laughs everyone laughs with him…you can’t help it, his laugh is contagious and I can’t wait for my mom to hear him laugh, she will get so tickled.

            We took him and Taiya bowling for the first time this week, and Jacob jumped in with both feet and threw is bowling ball down the lane with abandon, but that is how Jacob tackles everything…with trust that everything will be alright. Taiya on the other hand sat back and watched to see how the game was played, she wanted to see if it was going to be fun, and she wanted see if she could do it. Once she discovered that we were all making fools of our self she jumped up and started playing too, realizing that it was fun and that she could have fun doing it. But this is how she approaches everything…with caution. For the record though I would like to state that I did beat Dave in bowling, this is only the second time in nearly 13 years that I have ever beat him at anything. The first time was at darts some 11 years ago.

            On a lighter side, after we bid Dave and Viktor farewell this afternoon, Fran and I took a ride out to Mel’s house with Don and Inna. Mel’s house is one of the group homes that Heart for Orphans has set up, and it was an amazing experience. They have 21 teenagers living there, 14 boys, 7 girls, and 2 house parents, and they are completely self contained, from chickens and roosters to pigs and vegetables. I was very impressed with how the house was run, the boys were welcoming and enthusiastic, they fixed us tea and sat down at the kitchen table with us and were eager to talk with us. All of the kids are in some sort of trade school and were learning life skills that would make them a productive member of society. It was really cool to see how these group homes have positively affected these kids.   

            Tomorrow Don is taking Fran, Inna, and I out to the peninsula for the afternoon. Fran and I are both looking forward to a day away from the monotony that we have settled into. In the morning I will be traveling to the orphanage for a couple of hours and Fran will be taking the newest addition to their family, Rita, downtown for a little shopping.

            Finally, I want to thank everyone for the well wishes and the prayers, they are greatly appreciated and much needed. Now just pray for our safe return and a wonderful beginning to the holiday season.

            Until next time…