We are home!!!

Stay tuned for pictures! (but don't count on them today!) :)

Coming Home--Amsterdam

Laura here--I got this from Lee this morning.

We are in Amsterdam. Girls do ok on plane. Between flights is another story - it is a bit challenging. Vika slept for 90 minutes. Nastia hasn't but will soon. We board now.

Please join me for praying abundant peace for the girls. This is all so over-stimulating for them. Pray for patient and calm hearts for Lee and Karen. Please pray that the Lord will overwhelm them with His presence today and in their travels. Please also pray for strength and endurance today. (Karen was fighting a migraine this morning)

I am going to Wal-Mart...

...as soon as I get home and the first thing I am going to buy is about 15 tension gates.

I believe every doorway in our house is going to have a gate. When I declared that to Lee and the boys today, they commented that we will be the most limber family in town.

And while I'm shopping in the children's chaos control department, I think I'll pick up about 5 dozen cupboard door lock latches, a few eye hooks, some door knob covers and several outlet covers.

Hmmm....have I mentioned what a loooooooong day this had been in this tiny apartment with 2 very dear but very crabby girls? Not much stuff here to get into - just a few suitcases of clothes, card games, a few books, some diapers, some baggies, 3 remote controls (which are useless as we've unplugged anything resembling a piece of electronic equipment except the computer) - so not much stuff and the place is an absolute disaster! I can't even imagine what these little tornadoes (who are experiencing freedom for the first time in their lives) are going to do in conjunction with my other 2 little tornadoes (David and Annie) when they all get together back home again! Hence...the gateing every door in sight plan of operation.

We have taken turns going out today for sanity runs. (since the girls really dont want to be out walking we tag teamed watching them) Earlier in the afternoon Lee took the boys for some last minute groceries. (water of course, eggs for breakfast, a loaf of yummy Ukrainian bread, frozen pizza for supper, and bananas and noodles for the girls.) I took the boys out after supper tonight. We walked up a hill to a huge famous monument in Kiev - some big statues and a ginormous arch. From that vantage point you can look over almost the entire city of Kiev. We talked a bit, reminisced about our time here - just the twins and I. It was cool. I told them sometimes I can't believe that we are actually here in Ukraine, doing what we are doing. If you would have told me a year ago that I would be standing on a high hill overlooking the city of Kiev, just about to travel home with 2 newly adopted girls with Down syndrome, I wouldn't have believed it in a million years.

Hmmm...life with Jesus is amazing - sometimes incredibly difficult - but always amazing. I wonder where we'll be standing a year from now and what we'll be looking at?

The longest day....

Well, while all of you dear friends in America have been sleeping we Shervheims in Ukraine have been experiencing the longest day ever recorded in Ukrainian history! We have all agreed this day is taking forever! It just seems to be crawling by!

Daniel says, "It seems like its taking a million hours to get through this day."

Andrew says, " I just want to be home."

We have tried taking the girls out for walks while being here in Kiev but I think it is just too much stimulus for them - they want to be held and refuse to walk much at all. The girls are incredibly tired and overstimulated which translates to "uncomparably crabby". :) Todays nap was mostly a bust...Vika slept about an hour but we don't think Nastya slept at all. Which of course, all adds up to the longest day feeling....Our only hope there is that we can get them to bed really early? I hope!

Now, the other big news that we have is actually an annoucement from Daniel,

"I lost my first molar in the great country of Ukraine!"

- obviously, more bragging rights with friends!

Thank you for praying for us tomorrow as we travel. We will be flying and manuevering the airports of Kiev, Amsterdam, Minneapolis and then our final destination! (all during your Friday night of sleep and Saturday day) Keep in mind when we arrive it will be 7:44pm your midwest time, Saturday evening, but our "body" time will be almost 4 in the morning!!!

We will try to email Laura along the way and maybe she can post our progress? Unless of course, she's too busy selling off the rest of my furniture.

The last 48 hours...

A few photos from our last 48 hours. We don't have a great internet connection - so sorry the photos are a little small.

Getting dressed to leave the orphange.



Saying 'good-bye [paka paka]' to the staff that has taken care of them for their entire lives.



The start of the journey from outside Kharkov to home. It begins with a drive with 7 people fitting into Vlad's little Skoda. For those that read the Leaving Kharkov post - this was all 'pre-kaka'.



At the Kharkov airport - waiting for our flight and seeing MTV for the first (and maybe last) time.


Both girls did well on the flight - we can only hope the same for Saturday!



The boys tolerated the flight well - not too much fussin' from these two world travelers.
by the way - we have renamed Andrew to be Anton and Daniel is now Dimitri.


Emelia's first night with a family - the look on her face says it all.



This book has been reviewed in detail - page by page by these two little scholars.


One has to wonder when you have spent your entire life in an orphanage; what does it feel like to dip your hands into a fountain in the middle of Kiev?

Last night we had the priviledge of meeting up with Peter and Lisa DeAngelis. They are a dear family we met through Reeces Rainbow. We are at the end of our time in Ukraine and they are just beginning their adoption of a sweet little girl with Down Syndrome, from the southern part of the country. Interestingly enough their little girls' birth name is also Victoria and they also plan to call her Katie!

We are done!!!

Today we took the girls to the US consulate in Kiev to obtain visas. Sometimes that takes a day but for us they came almost right away. So, now we have completed everything! Wow! I can hardly believe it!

Tomorrow (Friday will be a free day - Im not sure what we'll do) Saturday we leave the apartment at 8:45am for the airport. At 11:45am we leave the great country of Ukraine and go to our home!!! (that's 3:45am midwest time, Saturday morning) Assuming we make all of our connections (Amsterdam, Minneapolis) we should be arriving at our airport at 7:44pm Saturday evening.

Be forewarned...Vika looks like she's been through WW II with her hives, scratches, bugbites, and swollen eyelids! Actually, after 18+ hours of air travel we will probably all look like that. And since she will be waaaay out of her comfort zone if you meet us at the airport you might even see her little fist shaking, spitting, and bdbdbdbdbd remarks....We have learned though, so much of that is an act and a game she played with the orphanage workers. So, don't be too weirded out. Papa and Nana, please forewarn Sam though, that the girls might be crabby and tired.

WE CAN'T WAIT TO BE HOME!!!!

Post Script:

(update on Vika - I gave her benadryl at night - it helped tremendously. But, this morning I could see it wearing off as the hives and swollen eyelids intensified again. So I gave her claritan - (which is what the Dr. here recommended - but it just doesn't work as good as benadryl) Its a good thing she loves noodles and soup and bananas because thats about all Im giving her.

And another Post Script:

This is a prayer request for me personally. I am soon to be a mother of 7. Thank you for praying for me. I am soooo excited to be home with my Sam and Annie and David. I miss them so much. So, now we have finally gotten to the end of this adoption and now I am thinking more and more about what is next - specifically, the reallities of parenting 7 children - 3 of whom are special needs. I know the Lord has called us to this path. But, please don't think I am doing this because I am a good mother or that I have my act together. (its anything but that) We have done what we have done because the Lord planted this deep in our hearts. And we are being obedient to what He has called us too. I would be a "liar, liar, pants on fire"(as my boys say) if I told you I wasn't overwhelmed at times. I know if the Lord calls us to something He will provide so please pray that I will have confident faith in that. Thank you all for your encouragement along the way. You have been amazing to us!

Saying goodbye to Kharkov...

Thank you so much for praying for us and for all your encouraging comments!

Yesterday was an incredibly difficult day...As it turns out our facilitator could not return to help us complete the adoption portion in Kharkov. She hired a lovely, very capable woman named Natalia, who was wonderful but unfortunately knew no English. (So the long and the short of that is that our facilitator facilitated the entire day over the cell phone!)

When we went to the orphanage in the morning we actually didn't know if the passports had come yet so we weren't sure if we would be taking them or not. Of course, I was prepared with all their clothes, caregiver gifts, etc...just in case. Our facilitator told us she would call us at 11 am to tell us if the passports came. So, we played with the girls and waited and waited and waited - the time seemed to crawl by. It was such an incredibly intense feeling right up to the last minute as to whether we would get them or not....Finally at 11:15 she called and said the passports came! But she also said we had to hurry to get back in time to get the passports. So, in a matter of minutes we dressed the girls, said goodbye to their caregivers and Drs., gave our gifts, took a couple last pictures, packed into the car and we were off!

The girls excitedly and willingly waved bye, bye and said paka, paka to everyone. There was no looking back or hesitation from them. Do you know what an amazing and miraculous feeling it was to be leaving that orphanage? Their lives are changed forever because 4 strangers - who called themselves mama, papa, and brat (brother) , showed up at their orphanage in the middle of Ukraine 6 weeks ago. Suddenly, they were saying goodbye to everyone and everything they have ever known in their little world for all of their 4 and 5 yr. old lives.

In the end, for me it was good that the goodbyes were rushed. I wasn't sure how I would be able to handle leaving Samson behind. In the previous weeks I have held him and loved him when I could. I saw him earlier in the morning and when it was time for us to leave, I think it was just the grace of Jesus that gave me peace about him. I am certain the Lord will provide a family for him in just His perfect timing. I remember before we left the USA to come here - everything ahead of us felt dark - like we were walking into a mist and could see nothing. Step by (sometimes excruciating) step the Lord has shown us the way. It seems like He has brought us to the edge of the unknown so many times on this adoption journey and then just asked us to wait until the mist clears. Its been really hard. In all honesty, how all of this has worked out and our loss of Samson still feels like the mist has not comletely cleared. I think it will remain dark until Samson has a family and then I will know why the Lord has done things the way He has. For now, we praise Him and thank Him that He knows what He is doing and trust Him for this little boys life.

Anyway, back to our day! So, with the orphanage lawyer (who speaks about as much English as I speak Russian), our 2nd driver (remember Vlad - aka Kurt Bloms?) and Natalia (remember she doesn't speak a lick of English) - who our facilitator hired to assist us with paperwork, we headed back into Kharkov for passports and to finish the legal paperwork at the court house and local Board of Custody.

We had been told both the girls were potty trained which is true in a sense...but if you are 4 or 5 yrs. old, sitting in a car with your new mama and papa, waiting for someone you don't know try to complete your adoption, and its taking forever and you haven't pottied since morning, and you suddenly get a case of the screaming willies (aka diarrhea) any sense of your potty training goes out the window...Forgive me if this is a swear word in other languages, but when your newly adopted girls, who don't speak English look at you, grimace, grab their tummies and declare "kaka" and suddenly it smells really bad - you figure out you are in big trouble!!! I grabbed the drivers shoulder, pointed to Nastya and declared, in a great panic, "kaka"! He instantly panics and hops out of the car (he happens to be very particular about his upholstery, etc...) and hurriedly shows us over to a clump of bushes. So, now we know what Ukrainians do if their children have to go potty and there is no bathroom nearby! And can you believe it, when it was all said and done both girls had the same potty accident, twice!!!! I was somewhat prepared for the first one - had pullups and wipes. But after the second time, we had to just had to endure. Fortunately, not long after the 2nd accident, we were able to leave Lee with Natalia to finish paperwork and the girls and I returned to the apartment for some needed baths.

Lee came back to the apartment late in the afternoon. We hurriedly finished packing and headed out to the airport. I felt terrible because I had left the kitchen an utter mess...there was food all over the place and no dishes washed! But, I just didn't have time. The wait at the airport got really long. Lee was constantly running after Nastya while the boys and I guarded all our luggage and tried to keep Vika entertained. But, the most amazing thing is that both the girls loved the airplane! They were not afraid at all! They chatted, had snacks, drank water and played with their magazines! We taught them how to sign airplane and they continually repeated it.

We are now settled in our apartment in Kiev. It is a very nice place with internet - although it is slow so I'm not sure I'll get many pictures posted. We'll see. I'll let Lee figure that out! This morning the girls had their physicals for immigration. The Dr. was very nice and it was actually an enjoyable visit.

The rest of the day should be quiet. We go out tomorrow after lunch to the American consulate to do more paperwork. If the girls visas are issued tomorrow then we are done! If not, then on Friday and home on Saturday!

Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement! Would you please pray specifially for Vika in regards to the allergy(ies) the orphanage Dr. said she had. (we were told she was allergic to sugar - like candy?, and red fruits and veggies?) She woke up this morning with very puffy eyes, and as the day has progessed I can see hives and some rash. I have no idea what it is if it is something we are feeding her? This is what we have given her since she came to us: bread, crackers, bananas, cherry yogurt(I know - red fruit, dumb of me), milk, noodles, cheese, chicken broth, potatoes. Do you really think it could be an allergy to the cherry in the yogurt? The Dr. this morning gave her some childrens Claritin - which I gave her after lunch - but I'm not really seeing any improvement. (The Dr. also said no more yogurt, fruit or veggies for now, but wouldn't bananas be ok?) I also brought childrens Benadryl with me - but I wasnt' sure I should give it to her, not knowing how she will react. If any of you out there have some advice please - I would appreciate it. We don't know this area well - and for now we are limited on food we can find and cook. I feel like all I'm giving them is bread and noodles but I don't know what else to do. Thanks!

UPDATE

Laura with the latest update--

Passports received, orphange checkout done, planetickets to Kharkov purchased, two little girls melting into a family and one family ready to be HOME!!

Paka, paka
Lee, karen, daniel, andrew, katie & emie

Please praise Jesus with me for this huge step. Keep them fervently covered in prayer as they begin this new life together forever. Please pray for continued bonding and attatchment of their hearts in the name of Jesus. Pray for their safe trip home. And for the Lord to prepare the hearts of their kids here at home anxiously waiting for them.

The weekend...

(By the way Laura and Matt, we can't thank you enough for constantly looking out for our financial interests.  What a relief to know we have such good friends!  See my comment on the previous post! :):):)  You guys are too funny!!!)

 

We have had a relaxing weekend.  We visited the girls once - on Saturday (see pictures to follow) and spent the rest of the time revisiting some of our favorite places here in Kharkov.  (the market, playground, ice cream stands, amusement park, pizza place)   We all agreed it will be a very loooooong time before our lives are that quiet and calm!

Ukraine's Independence Day celebrations turned out to be quite enjoyable and all centered around the city's largest park and main square.  We walked up there several times - took in  a small parade, part of a concert and enjoyed cotton candy and lots of  ice cream!  Most of the fun was just people watching - I'm sure there were tens of thousands of people just out and about walking and enjoying the music and festivities.

Saturdays' visit to the girls entailed a trip to their sidewalk beauty salon!...

Combing hair with sticks!

Like the extra body in my hair?

 

The weather has continued to be sooooo hot!  (90 - 95 at least) When it is this hot, the children at the orphanage only wear underwear and shoes.  (except Vika's groupa - they always have shirts.  Go figure.   And yes, Amy, it is Vika's caregivers that also love the big bows!)

Nastya and Mama...(I actually got her to stop long enough for a quick hug!)

 

We are now starting our 6th and hopefully final week here in Ukraine!  Meredith and Lin, I have a new appreciation for all the time you spent here last winter!  Meredith, you made a comment a few posts back about us needing to stay here longer because the Lord had more people for us to impact for Him.  I have thought of that often. I love your perspectives on life Meredith! 

When we were at the passport office last week trying to get the girls passports submitted we had to wait in a large waiting room for at least 45 minutes.  There were many people in there - watching us and our 2 little girls as we chased them all around the room again and again.  Most watched but pretended not too. But, one lady in particular  tried to talk to me - I tried to tell her in my inept Russian, that we were American and our girls were Ukrainian - and that we were adopting them.  I think she got it   - her eyes and her face showed such love and joy toward us I couldn't believe it.  And we have also met a young Ukrainian couple who are adopting  a darling baby girl from our orphanage as well!  (Yeah! There are a few Ukrainians who will adopt special needs children!) We have seen them during several of our visits to the girls.  Finally, this last time we figured out through their broken English and my Russian phrase book that they love Jesus and so do we!!! That's so cool God!

Anyway, we'll see how this week goes!  Please keep praying the girls' passports come on Tuesday.  If they do, we will immediately pick up the girls and head back to Kiev.  (by plane or train)

I'm not sure what kind of internet we'll have the rest of the week.  If we have internet in our apartment in Kiev it will be easy for me to update the blog.  If not, then I will rely on emails to Laura and she will update for me.  (that could be more interesting than I first planned on!)  I think we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!

Stolen Blog Post--by Laura

Laura here--Lee and Karen, this post is just for you! Matt, being the business mind that he is, decided that we should raise a little moola to get you home. I, being the submissive wife that I am, went along with his brilliant plan. We decided to sell off a few things...

(you never know when these might come in handy)

We figure that you have been gone so long that you have figured out how to live without these things. Hope you don't mind! And for all of you dedicated readers...I am sorry to disappoint you with a post from me rather than and update from Lee and Karen.

We are staying!

We were contacted by the passport office at noon today. The official said we should stay in the country...they believe we will have the girls passports by Tuesday!   Thank you for praying for us! And thank you Jesus! Thank you for doing an amazing thing for us!

We realize there are no guarantees - we have learned that in Ukrainian adoption - you believe it when you see it!  But, we are rejoicing because we think now there is a hope we will all be able to come home together! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!     We have bumped our return tickets until August 30th and purchased additional ones for Katherine and Emelia.    Please keep praying that the passports will indeed arrive by Tuesday. That will still allow us enough time to  return to Kiev for 3 more days of paperwork and hopefully be on our way by Saturday!

And an added bonus is that now we get to celebrate Ukraine's biggest holiday!!!  (or not?)  Sunday, Aug. 24 is Ukraine's Independence Day!  We live very close to the center of Kharkov and by the looks of the flags, decorations, banners, stages, policemen, roads closed - we are in for a full weekend of celebrations!  Should be an interesting weekend.  Our main driver went on his summer vacation today so we will probably only get out to the orphanage once in the next 4 days.   So, to hold you over here are some pics from today!....

Nastya with Daniel...

Vika...

Promised pics from Wednesday...

We had the girls just for the day - to take passport pictures.

First time in the van...

Exploring the apartment...

On the way back to the orphanage...

(Vika with our facilitator...) 

(Nastya with Daddy...)

Update...

Thank you for praying for us.  We still don't know if we will be able to get the girls passports.

We were able to get all of our passport information submitted and in the system.  That is a good thing

After our meeting at the passport office,  we were simply told , "Do not leave the area.  We will call you tomorrow. " They said they had been made aware of many other adoptive families across the country of Ukraine in the same difficult situation.  We are hoping hoping that somehow they will make an exclusion for us .  It is also unclear to us if the old passport applications were even a possibility.

That is about all we know - we just have to wait another day.

Other than the above stressors, we did have a fun and interesting day with the girls.  We actually took them out of the orphanage to get passport pictures.  To our relief, both did really well in the van.  Nastya, sat by Lee and chattered non-stop - continually looking out the window and excitedly commenting on all the trucks and cars whizzing by.  Vika was very afraid at first but a bag full of crackers did wonders to calm her fears. She just snuggled in beside me, nibbled on her snack, held George, and looked at books. Passport pictures were an entirely different matter...Lee had to hold Nastya down for hers.  Its a miracle they ever got her facing forward.  Vika screamed. She was absolutely terrified of the photographer or the camera or something.   All the while she was screaming, Nastya was laughing and laughing at her - like it was the funniest thing she had ever seen.   So much for sisterly empathy!

We even took the girls to our apartment for awhile - that was fun!  After all the picture taking and waiting and signing papers and chasing little girls up and down hallways of official government buildings, we headed back to the orphanage.  Both girls fell asleep. :)  I will try to post some pics tommorrow.

Thank you so much for all your comments and prayers - they are such an encouragement to us!

The Last Mile . . .

Please pray!

First off thank you for praying for praying for the social security codes – they finally came today! As it turns out they were not submitted last week when we we were told they were, hence the delay. And yesterday our facilitator was able to locate the info we needed for Nastya’s passport.

But now we have encountered a huge obstacle in our adoption process. We found out today that the passport application system for the entire country has been shut down. (it is centralized in Kiev) No one seems to know for sure for how long – could be 2 to 3 weeks or more. Ukraine has been attempting to reform their passport system for a couple years now and apparently the minister in charge suddenly decided they needed to work on it right now! Ugh!!!. Without passports we can’t take the girls home.

If we can find no way around this, then some or all of us will have to go home to the states and come back in a month or so to get the girls. I can’t even begin to tell you how disappointing this is to me. This journey has been so hard and it just seems like it gets harder and harder.

We do have a slim chance at a different outcome if the Lord would choose to perform a miracle on our behalf. There are old passport (pre-reform passport) applications still floating around in some regions. Tomorrow we will go to our designated passport office to submit all of our papers (please pray they will still allow us to do this still, in spite of the shut down in Kiev) and if possible we will ask if we may speak with the top manager there. Please pray he will grant us an appointment and if he happens to have any of the old passport applications that he will allow us to use those forms. If he does, then we can still get passports during our present visit and return home with the girls in the next 7-10 days.

We know the Lord is still in control of all of this. Nothing on earth can change that. Even a perceived delay to us can be exactly what He needs to accomplish His tasks. We will thank Him and follow Him in however He leads. Please pray for patience, endurance and grace for us. We are soooo close to the finish line.

Emotions...

(written Saturday PM, August 16)

I'm not sure where to start this post.  Its been an emotional day. 

This morning we had the privilege of meeting Vika's birth mother and father and maternal grandmother and grandfather.  I believe this is a rare occurrence in international adoptions and as Vika's new mother I view it as a precious gift. I had not blogged about the possibility of it happening, because (knowing Ukrainian adoption unpredictability) I wasn't sure it was going to happen until they were standing right there in front of us. 

Truthfully, it is quite a miracle that we have been able to adopt Vika!  Last winter after learning of her on Reeces Rainbow and committing to her for adoption, we soon discovered she was visited by her mother. (which at the time seemed a good thing and I was immediately hopeful we could meet her).   Then, when we learned she was visited regularly by many relatives - grandmothers, aunts, etc...some fears about what this could do to our adoption surfaced.  In Ukrainian orphanages, family visitation can actually complicate adoption.  What we learned today filled in a lot of missing pieces that we now know have been orchestrated by the Lord alone. From the beginning, He meant this girl to be ours.

First off, let me encourage you to never think badly of the mothers who leave their special needs babies at the delivery houses.  Many love their children dearly, but in Ukraine there is no social system or framework to  help these new mothers take care of a baby with special needs.  For anyone who chooses to keep their baby, there is no therapy, no early intervention and no education for their child. There is nothing. For the most part the mother is alone. Furthermore, there is no public future here for a child with special needs.  Someday I hope  it changes but for now they are looked down upon by the majority of society.

In Vika's case, she was left at the delivery house, but not "abandoned"  - her parents gave up their parental rights, recognizing their inability to care for a child with such challenges.  This action they voluntarily took, gave them the option of renewing their parental rights as soon as they began establishing and maintaining contact with her at the orphanage.

Vika is now 5. Sometime after the age of 1 yr, her "Baba" (Grandma) began visiting her. All on her own, without support from the rest of the family, Baba would take a bus out to the orphanage to visit her dear granddaughter.  Soon after, Vika's birth mother and other grandmother began visiting as well.  More family visits followed.  It was obvious to us today that they love her very much and she loves them.  During our visit, Baba held her tightly and so did her Grandpa.

This past spring, when they learned that Vika had a family who wanted to adopt her, her birth parents  researched the options for life in Ukraine for their little girl with Down Syndrome.  We are told they even visited one of the mental institutions. They were appalled and horrified at what lay ahead for her.

So, although they love their little girl deeply, they knew they were unable to take care of her and chose to take actions and sign papers for us that made the process of adopting Vika possible.  They could have easily stopped the entire process - even as late as last week.  But, they didn't.

Meeting them today today is what I have prayed for months and yet it was difficult . The mother cried, the grandmother cried, and I cried.    They willingly shared they were happy and thankful Vika will now have a family that can take care of her and a future and yet I know in their hearts it is an incredibly painful thing to see their little girl go.  What do you even say to a mother that has given up her only daughter to you? I thanked  her for sharing the life of her daughter with us and  told her, that we believe Vika is a gift from the Lord to us.   We will always love her and take care of her.  We are so thankful for Anne to have a sister. And we view her as a great blessing to our family. 

I also spent some time asking some questions about their family.  Vika has some kind of allergy that has not been identified yet but periodically she breaks out in a rash all over her body. They said they were told it was due to red fruits, veggies and some sugars(aka candy).  Don't know about that one. I am anxious to have her see an allergist back in the USA. They also shared that Vika is terrified of cars etc...Oh great!  I can hardly wait to test that one out - if she's afraid of cars, I can't imagine how she'll react to 12+ hours in airplanes interspersed with terrifying mad dashes through incredibly crowded airports! We also took pictures and exchanged some gifts.  We arranged a method of sending them pictures of Vika - this was a great desire on the birth mother's  part and mine as well.  I am thrilled to be able to keep them updated as Vika grows and develops.

After spending an hour and half together we left them to say goodbye to Vika alone, without us.  We didn't see them part, but our facilitator said it was very difficult.  I know they are at peace with their decision but  grief runs deep  - especially in a mother and grandmothers heart. I don't know how you deal with saying goodbye to your little girl for the last time.

Vika -  sitting with her birth mother...

Vika and her Grandpa...

Vika and her Baba.

We spent the remainder of our time at the orphanage this morning with Nastya.  As far as Nastyas' parents go; she was left at the delivery house for babies and in due course, parental rights were terminated.   She was never visited by family or friends. We will likely never know anything other than the information contained on her birth certificate - her parents names.    At the right time, we will be prepared to tell Nastya that her parents loved her very much but could not take care of her.  So, they gave her to the orphanage to take care of for us, until we could come and get her!   The Lord has known all along that she was meant to be ours as well! She is definitely our unexpected Ukrainian gift!

After returning to our aparment, Lee and the boys headed out to the Kharkov amusement park for the afternoon.(see previous post) Our facilitator and I stayed home, rested, chatted and had a nice, quiet afternoon.

And then, just  as my morning began with a tumult of emotions, it ended with them as well.  We finally had the opportunity to try out Skype (including webcam) with our friends, the G's and our little Annie.  It was sooooo good to see her pretty, pony-tailed little face and hear her sweet little voice.  Thank you Kelsey for getting it organized!  The twins sang her songs and she sang back to us.  I was fine during our time on line but then as soon as saying goodbye, this mother cried again.  It hit me how much I miss Annie. I miss all of my children -David and Sam too.  I'm homesick. I want to bring my 2 little girls home and be with my 3rd little girl and my family in my yellow house on the corner.  I want to be done here.

Thank you for praying for us.  It feels long.  We are still waiting for the girls new social security codes [3-5 business days - Monday is day4] and our facilitator does not have the info she needs yet for Nastyas passport (but she is hopeful she can get it Monday).  After the codes come, then we apply for passports which can come quickly or not...

I know the Lord knows what He's doing.  But, I wouldn't mind though if He hurried it all up a bit.  :)